the new 28 f2.8 Elmarit asph

[rosuna]

Of course.
I am thinking on coatings, contrast beyond the Nyquist limit, angle of incidence of the light rays...

[albertwang]

I suspect that Leica has adjusted the M8 to allow for a greater reading of dynamic range than possible.

Don't be surprised. I would think that the M8 will have like 10-15 stops worth of processing the image. It's a German secret that those engineers have cooked up so that the guys in Tokyo are earthquaking in their booties.

[wbesz]

Originally Posted by rosuna

Leica and the digital technology...

Therefore, Leica thinks on digital medium from the second half of the 90's. I am not sure about the "digital tweaks" introduced in the design of the lenses, and from which date...

A good question, and as I expect to be at Photokina in just over 2 weeks time, I can ask the question about digital tweaks. An appropriate time.

[rosuna]

Originally Posted by wbesz

A good question, and as I expect to be at Photokina in just over 2 weeks time, I can ask the question about digital tweaks. An appropriate time.

It would be an interesting question. Good idea.

Leica had a technical document about the digital medium and the R lenses ("Are Conventional Lenses Suited for Digital Photography?"/April 2004).

Scheider-Kreuznach has another technical document ("Optics for Digital Photography") and they claim that lenses can be optimized for the digital medium of capture.

I guess there are several possible optimizations "for digital". I don't know if these design adaptations to digital have costs (size, weight, cost) or if they are incompatible with the requirements for film capture. Olympus' Zuikos (or Schneider's Digitar lenses) are designed "for digital", but there are other systems of lenses designed for digital and film (lenses for the H system of Hasselblad, the former N system of Contax...). Whether compability with film must be preserved, can "digital" optimizations be made?

I would like to know if the performance of pre-digital ASPH lenses can be improved in digital medium sometime in the future...

[palaeoboy]

Originally Posted by rosuna

I would like to know if the performance of pre-digital ASPH lenses can be improved in digital medium sometime in the future...

In a way they aready do improve quality in some respects. Lower contrast lenses seem to suit Digital sensors more as some have already pointed out and crop factors cut off those edge bits where most image fall off occurs! It makes me wonder if this new 28 lens is relatively inexpensive because Leica havent been as critical with its edge performance as its more suited to digital cropping? I hope not but its worth a thought why its rumoured price is so inexpensive in comparison with other Leica offerrings.

[wparsonsgisnet]

Originally Posted by albertwang

I suspect that Leica has adjusted the M8 to allow for a greater reading of dynamic range than possible.

Don't be surprised. I would think that the M8 will have like 10-15 stops worth of processing the image. It's a German secret that those engineers have cooked up so that the guys in Tokyo are earthquaking in their booties.

The guys in Tokyo better begin thinking about quakes. A sensor is a sensor, but a lens of Leica quality is a real product. If the M8 can come in at under US$5k, and if it shows quality that compares favorably with a full-frame sensor, then the only thing left of the guys in Tokyo is the reflex with the long lenses for the team at Sports Illustrated that shoots millions of images a week for covers.

We are about to witness a revolution in photography. The king returns -- and you thot it was a movie title.

[stunsworth]

Let's be realistic Bill, the M8 is _not_ going to have the majority of photographers switching from Nikon and Canon - in fact I'm quite happy to bet you $1,000 that in three years time there will be more professionals using Nikon and Canon than the M8 ;-)

[rosuna]

The 28/2,8 ASPH is not cheap. It will cost 1,300 euros (like the Summicron 50, and a bit less than the Summicron 35). I am surprised by the size and weight of the lens, not the price.

This lens will work with film cameras.

I suppose it will incorporate some "digital" optimization, because now Leica works with film and digital capture, and this will necessarily affect the design of the lenses. I don't know how, or to which extent.

The sensor is a bright surface and the light ought fall as straight as possible (retrofocus designs are avoided in the M system). Limit resolution is not as important as contrast is for resolutions under the Nyquist limit.

I think the ASPH lenses designed during the digital era (50/1,4 ASPH, 75/2 ASPH, 28/2,8 ASPH) incorporate some "digital" know-how, and perform better on digital medium.

Zeiss also claimed that ZM lenses were "digital ready". What it means?