with the hulabaloo, isn't the M9 still the "thing"?

[Roger Hicks]

And ... People stopped buying R8s and R9s because they wanted a digital body.

This was, from information I have, MUCH less of a factor in the disappearance of the camera than the unavailability of the sensor. Your suggestion may have been a factor, but the non-availability of the sensor was decisive.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Pablito]

If you want a digital rangefinder and are used to Leica M, there is only one logical choice : M9.

OK, I chose it. Now how do I pay for it? I went to the store to get mine but I left empty handed. They insisted on payment.

 

[Godfrey]

This was, from information I have, MUCH less of a factor in the disappearance of the camera than the unavailability of the sensor. Your suggestion may have been a factor, but the non-availability of the sensor was decisive.

For sure, it has to be. No part ... can't make them. ;-)

 

[Godfrey]

OK, I chose it. Now how do I pay for it? I went to the store to get mine but I left empty handed. They insisted on payment.

Save up the money before you go to the store.

 

[icebear]

21mm IS 21mm - full frame or not.

few people seem to want to understand this.

oh please ... no discussion about the "crop factor" of cameras using other than a proper Barnack size sensor 😀.

 

[Godfrey]

oh please ... no discussion about the "crop factor" of cameras using other than a proper Barnack size sensor 😀.

You mean the original Barnack, the Ur-Leica of two years later, or the first production Leica? ];-)

 

[icebear]

You mean the original Barnack, the Ur-Leica of two years later, or the first production Leica? ];-)

The Ur-Leica using 24x36mm (double the old cine format of 18x24mm).

 

[Darthfeeble]

{Film M bodies (1,2,3,4,4-2,4-p,5,6).
The real deal for a fraction of the price of a M9.}

I tried shoving that film stuff into the slot on my computer and nothing happened. ?? S

 

[kshapero]

Film M bodies (1,2,3,4,4-2,4-p,5,6).
The real deal for a fraction of the price of a M9.

sure but we are talking digital. Hint: I am an M3 and Nikon F user.

 

[semilog]

few people seem to want to understand this.

People are smarter than you give them credit for. For most people the salient feature of the lens is not its focal length, but its field of view, in degrees. Absolute focal length is for most purposes a less useful thing to think about.

 

[Godfrey]

People are smarter than you give them credit for. For most people the salient feature of the lens is not its focal length, but its field of view, in degrees. Absolute focal length is for most purposes a less useful thing to think about.

If that's true, then you shouldn't refer to FoV by focal length in MM, you should refer to it by degrees in Horizontal and Vertical, or Diagonal.

Field of View is only related to focal length in the context of a particular format, and even in the film-only world there are a dozen or more commonly used formats.

 

[dct]

[...]
Just out of curiosity, Leica used to produce also a digital module for R8 and R9, anyone knows why the whole idea just died? I should think that, especially with the prices of R lenses, probably more than someone would have rather invested a bit more in the sensor than changing everything and pay a lot of money for the 50something points autofocus, 11fps shutter and so on and so forth...
[...]

You got already a few answers and assumptions, why the R8/R9 digital backs were not a success. I would also add the specifications (1.4x crop, 10 MP). Compared to new DSLR offerings appearing from CaNikon it wasn't worth the price.

 

[jaapv]

Well, the whole run of (3600) DMR sold out pretty quickly, they still command high prices despite their age and limited servicability. I cannot rate that as a lack of success. 1.3 crop btw. The files are still amongst the best I know. CCD, uncompressed 16 bit color depth and no AA filter give them a head start on the offerings from the far East.
The idea died because Leica wanted to buy Imacon (the builder), but Hasselblad snapped it up, resulting in a corporate dust-up with the DMR as casualty.

 

[dave lackey]

Well, the whole run of (3600) DMR sold out pretty quickly, they still command high prices despite their age and limited servicability. I cannot rate that as a lack of success. 1.3 crop btw. The files are still amongst the best I know. CCD, uncompressed 16 bit color depth and no AA filter give them a head start on the offerings from the far East.

Yes, so successful I can hardly even find one to buy, they just aren't up for sale very often!🙂

I have two dream cameras in my life....an R9+DMR and an M9. That is about the only thing that would make me box up the R4 and the M3.

 

[icebear]

Dave,
don't sell your M3, you will regret it someday.

 

[giellaleafapmu]

The Ur-Leica using 24x36mm (double the old cine format of 18x24mm).

That's exactly why half-frame cameras are called half-frame: they are half of the mandatory double... 😱😱😱

GLF

 

[giellaleafapmu]

The S2 is unique in terms of medium format IQ in a DSLR size package.

Yep, ok, but price here is even more pricey that that of the M9... Also, to me it is very fun how they made that great camera (now maybe normal DSLR are getting to the same level of performance but when it come out it was one of a type) aimed at the studio and more but they only produce one shift-tilt lens at 30mm focal length ingnoring the need of product photographer completely.

GLF

 

[Ben Z]

The idea died because Leica wanted to buy Imacon (the builder), but Hasselblad snapped it up, resulting in a corporate dust-up with the DMR as casualty.

You really don't think Leica could have found another company on this planet who could have built more DMRs at least as well and probably more economically as Imacon?

 

[jaapv]

Highly unlikely - the system was basically a quarter-size Phase One digital back adapted to the R8. They ordered a run of max. 5000 without any intention of continuing the series.
The intention was to continue with an integrated DSLR, but in the final stages of planning it was found that the camera would cost in excess of 6000 Euro, which given the Canikon competition would have priced the camera right out of the market, even if it might have been a superior camera. So then the decision was taken to pull the plug on the whole R system. The right decision imo, I might add. It was a money pit from beginning to end. Culminating in the R8/9. The development costs drove the company into an -fortunately unconsummated- state of bankruptcy without ever selling in the numbers needed, despite it being the best film SLR ever built. Except maybe the SL2, which lost money on each camera sold.

 

[dave lackey]

Dave,
don't sell your M3, you will regret it someday.

No way, the M3 is going nowhere except where I go...😉