Dante_Stella
Rex canum cattorumque
If by "true rangefinders," you mean cameras that can only be focused by telemeters, then that bridge was crossed a long time ago with the Visoflex. The M240 is no less a "true rangefinder" than an M9-P.
Dante
The last rangefinder.
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If by "true rangefinders," you mean cameras that can only be focused by telemeters, then that bridge was crossed a long time ago with the Visoflex. The M240 is no less a "true rangefinder" than an M9-P.
Dante
Dante_Stella
Rex canum cattorumque
And what's the point of selling film cameras into a flooded (and fast-declining) market where you can get a Leica M4-P for $400 and change (and an old-school M4 is barely above the price of an R2)? The manual CV bodies made sense when film Leicas were actually worth something, but these days, the brass ring is basically free compared to what it used to be.
Dante
gb hill
Veteran
Cosina & leica will be the last 2 standing. Leica will eventually be sold off I believe. Their high prices & the economy will be their demise.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
One thing I've noticed about economic recessions is the very well heeled seem fairly uneffected and in some ways enjoy their wealth even more! 😀
thegman
Veteran
Depends what you mean by 'the economy' as of course there are very many more than one. There are the booming ones in Asia and the stagnant ones in North America and Europe. Also many micro-economies within those, with successful, growth businesses, and others failing.
Leica prices have always been high, and it does not seem to have held them back too much. As I understand it, the top end Nikon is about the same price as the top end Leica.
If we believe what we read about the difference in wealth between rich and poor ever expanding, then the rich people have even more money now to spend on Leica.
In the UK, while many companies were complaining about the 'difficult economy', and going to the wall, John Lewis, a relatively high end department store, were posting record profits.
Pioneer
Veteran
Besides, there are still a whole lot of bankers looking for ways to spend all that government bail out cash. 😀
gb hill
Veteran
This is true, but one reason I cast into the net my 2 cent's is that Leica has never faced such stiff competition from the likes of Fuji, Sony, etc. But then I don't see how the Bently dealership over in High Point NC has survived for so long either.😀
gb hill
Veteran
I see reports on the local news that spending on halloween is down this year by 1 billion $$. Speculators are already predicting the holiday to be a bust. Cost of living, healthcare, food etc. Then there is the smartphone boom.
Lss
Well-known
It may go either way depending on the application. I just hope that non-TTL is not thrown in the trash completely, because non-TTL is how I observe the world I photograph. That means something to me personally. Rangefinder cameras allow both viewing and focusing. The current Fuji approach only allows for viewing. Focusing them is a trust based exercise, and it too easily requires the use of the EVF. The Fuji system already works for many people, and I am hopeful they can improve significantly with a few iterations.
"Electronic non-TTL" is an interesting topic that we haven't seen in the market yet (unless there are some professional video systems or something). The idea would be to allow viewing with a large DoF and angle of view through one lens/sensor (thus not really non-TTL). This could allow some interesting possibilities in focusing as well.
There are anyway people who prefer to work the reduction game in their head, people who prefer WYSIWYG, and people who want to switch between them at ease. The direction is towards forcing everyone to work in the WYSIWYG way (or around it) with Fuji (and I guess Leica M) looking at the switching paradigm.
sanmich
Veteran
Next, they will place a small video camera instead of the RF prism, activated by a step motor, and giving the secondary image in the VF.
You will have a choice by menu if you want the RF to look like a Leica or a Nikon/Contax.
upgrades in the firmware will introduce de-silvering in the secondary image, and you will have to buy the DAG 2.3.11 patch to solve the problem (cheaper Youxin 12.3 patches will be available).
Progress...yay!!
You will have a choice by menu if you want the RF to look like a Leica or a Nikon/Contax.
upgrades in the firmware will introduce de-silvering in the secondary image, and you will have to buy the DAG 2.3.11 patch to solve the problem (cheaper Youxin 12.3 patches will be available).
Progress...yay!!
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
apostasiometritis
Established
Well said. The main appeal of digital Leicas for me was always their un-digital approach. The less buttons, the better.
The rd1 was so close to perfection. But it is getting a bit old in the tooth these days.
jsrockit
Moderator
I agree... let's remember Leica is doing well currently... it's not because of AF.
jsrockit
Moderator
They haven't? How about SLRs in the late 50s?
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
jsrockit
Moderator
Hey, even if half true, it found its customer. That's what business is all about... even if we want to think it is to make dream cameras for us non-dentists.
35mmdelux
Veni, vidi, vici
They still sell Ferraris ..Lamborghinis ..Lotus and Rolex watches....
semi-ambivalent
Little to say
Get Ye's patch, Don's takes nine months to download.
semi-ambivalent
Little to say
Don't be so quick to connect "expense" with "luxury", the two aren't connected at the hip. People think they are because this is the Walmart Era, where the ONLY thing to think about is price. If the commercial environment kills Leica it will be because their cameras are digital, not because they have coupled optical RFs. It just costs more to have Leica build something than Canon, et al, and the psychological life span of a digital camera is crap no matter who built it.
Wait for Nikon's new camera, possibly a digital FE2. Returning to past glories because they've run out of ideas to keep people buying. If they build a digital SP or S3, then Leica will sweat. Not because it has an optical RF but because it will be cheaper than Leica can/will build them. It will play out as it plays out. I have an M3 and an MP on order. There are thousands of Leicas on the used market; anyone who wants one will be able to get one. However, if one is addicted to the new well, these will be interesting times.
Cheers,
s-a
zuiko85
Veteran
Please point me to a working M4-P for $400 and change.
Unless of course you think another $400 is "change".
Come on Dante, give up your secret source!
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