This thread makes me drool...

[jaapv]

For those that have missed it, this thread on the DMR (Digital Module R) really should make a lot of people over on this forum start saving up for the digital M.
If they manage to get similar results from a M body, coupled with M glass, Oh Boy :angel:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/267995/54

 

[vha]

looks really nice, but fun stuff with knobs are always expensive.
But of course, if i can talk my parents over to take a new loan on the house . . . 😉
Liked the colouring on the shots, even thug rangefinders are for me mostly B & W.

Well, dreaming is still for free.

vha.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

For a while, Jorge was posting some shots from his own DMR in the P.Net Leica forum... until it suddenly caved on him: the thing malfunctioned, got pooped, flat-lined, failed...

Good he's one of the initial buyers! I think he must have sent it out for repair. However... I must admit the results were breathtakingly sharp.

Thanks for the tip, jaapv! 🙂

 

[egpj]

That is not good that it died though. Does not say much for the Leica quallity control for the DMR. Also Erwin Putz did not really care flor the DMR. He has a review of it and compares it to some of it's Canon and Nikon competition. Hint, the DMR did not come in first. As long as the quality is there for the Digital M then I will buy one but I am not going to be preordering.

 

[zeos 386sx]

Jaap,

Has Leica answered about when they will start accepting pre-orders for the Digital M?

 

[MP Guy]

Well, Leica told me the issue with my dmr was a bad sd card and a faulty card reader breaking the other cards. I have since purchased a new reader and card and all seems well. IF yougo to dslrx.com you can see some of my dmr pics and a diary I keep on it under the leica forum there. Here is one with the 90mm 2.0 APO

 

[zeos 386sx]

Jorge,

We assume that the digital M will use the same CCD as the DMR. Bottom line, are you happy with the quality you are seeing from the DMR?

 

[Ben Z]

Considering the DMR costs $6000 without a camera, and the M7 is up to $3300, with the release date more than a year off I can't imagine the Digital M will cost much less than $10,000, and that's not taking into account any further devaluation of the dollar. And unless their plans change, that's still a 1.37 crop. Much as I like the ergonomics and attributes of a rangefinder, I'll have to take a pass on the Digital M and settle for a 12MP full-frame EOS 5D for what will probably be less money than an M7 by fall 2006.

 

[jdos2]

And in addition to Ben, a EOS 5D with lens for less than an M7/MP.

 

[MP Guy]

I love the resuklts I am getting with my DMR. I have had a 1DS2 in the past and besides the lack of ability to enlarge as big as the Canon, the DMR for me yields a better picture mhich is more like film. There is no doubt in my miond what so ever! To me the DMR has yielded the best results in slr's so far. Thhere are those that argue the Canon is better buildt or has better technology. Howerver, that is not my focus. What matter to me is the end result.

The DMR is MUCH less in Europe and Asia. Why Leica jacked the price up 1k in the US and not the rest of the world makes no sense. All I can say I would buy the M over seas if the price difference is substantial. I cannot see the digital M costing more than 5 or 6 k. The Epson comes in at below 3k and it is a very good camera. Leica would have to be fioolish to price themselves out of the market. However, if they only plan on making x number of units they can probably have buyers lined up. But, if they hd a proper production system for high volume, the would need to be more competitive in pricing.

Disregards all my typos

 

[zeos 386sx]

I have to agree. If Leica uses the DMR CCD for the digital M then the major research expenditures have been made. That should enable Leica to keep the digital M msrp within sight if not reason.

 

[Fred]

I'll keep on watching the Leica info on when/what/how much when it arrives. In the meantime I spose I'll make do with my M (with film in it). With the crop factor they might have to release some wider glass at least for the reduced image circle.

I'll wait and see, then wait a litle longer for the bugs to settle although I doubt Leica will ship unless the big bugs have gone (excluding the things like the auto white balance prob with the DMR).

 

[Ben Z]

I love the resuklts I am getting with my DMR.

Considering what you spent on it, that's something to be thankful for indeed.

the DMR for me yields a better picture mhich is more like film.

Any particular emulsion, or is it more like all of them?

I cannot see the digital M costing more than 5 or 6 k. The Epson comes in at below 3k and it is a very good camera.

Using your reasoning, since the R2A, a comparable film body to the RD-1, costs $600, vs $3300 for an M7/MP, the Digital M should cost $16,500.

Leica would have to be fioolish to price themselves out of the market.

Agreed, but that's exactly where they're headed now, at least in the US.

But, if they hd a proper production system for high volume, the would need to be more competitive in pricing.

That might be a novel approach for Leica, historically speaking.

I doubt Leica will ship unless the big bugs have gone

That might also be a novel approach for Leica, historically-speaking,

 

[zeos 386sx]

It seems to me that there are two seperate problems with digital cameras. One, is the degree of enlargment required. If a photographer needs BIG pictures then a 16-20 megapixel camera (or a film camera) is needed. If a more moderate degree of enlargement is acceptable then clearly a lower megapixel camera, like Brian's, will work.

The other problem is one touched on by Jorge - picture quality. This is where things get really complicated. With post processing able to radically alter any aspect of a digital image, I can't view what comes out of the camera as a finished product so I don't worry too much about it. If it is acceptably sharp and doesn't require that I jump through workflow hoops then it is good enough for me.

That fact makes my priority in choosing a camera how I like to use the camera. I like rangefinders. I'm looking forward to the new digital M.

 

[StuartR]

Well one thing that is nice about the DMR is that if you do want to make a 40 by 50 inch print you can take the back off and load it with Tech Pan, Bluefire Police, or Velvia.

 

[wyk_penguin]

Prediction 1: The digital M will be EXPENSIVE. (twice the price of an M6 TTL?)
Prediction 2: It will be bigger than the M7.
Prediction 3: It will come out winter 2006 or spring 2007.
Prediction 4: By the time it comes out, Epson may build something in M-mount. (This may not come true due to the patent concerning camera mounts.)

Anyone want to predict the future as well?

 

[StuartR]

I will go one better and predict the past! Epson's RD-1 already mounts M lenses....

 

[jaapv]

Jaap,

Has Leica answered about when they will start accepting pre-orders for the Digital M?

Not yet.... 🙁