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DMR Collectable?


leitz_not_leica

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That is one of main issues with digital. It will produce same file in future as today. But, in future some other gadget will produce "better" file, and people will get used to it, and would not accept todays quality file.

 

Look where digital imaging was 10 years ago, and just imagine 10 years from today. Would you, if you are a client, accept today image with quality which was top 10 years ago?

 

I think no digital product, camera, TV, computer, phone, etc.. will be real collectable item. Maybe some for museums of thechnology, or for people who would like to have history of digital technology in their house, but as item which will be used from time to time, or as item which will have some significant value, no, they will not be collectable. For example, how much would you pay for Comodore 64 or Sinclair Spectrum, and would you buy to use them?

 

Now, DMR was (as far as I know) first and only digital back which are changeable by user, and allowed user to use film and digital on same camera when 35mm camera is in question. Something which was already normal and not big thing for MF camera when DMR arrived on market. Maybe that fact will help it a little to be more respected as digital or photographical historical item, but I couldn't say how much (well, I can't predict future, you know :))

 

Just my opinion.

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Guest jimmy pro

AFAIK it's closer to 5000. And as for the "outdated" nonsense, what's always ignored in order to make that ridiculous arguement is that the increases in digital IQ have gradually taipered off, and so in the future your not gonna look back on the Canon 5D or DMR files and see the kind of difference you did looking from them back to a Nikon D1.

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5000 made, 5000 sold according to my dealer.

 

I wonder if there will be any digtial cameras that will be seen as collectable in the same sense a black paint M3 is deemed collectable? It may simply be too early too tell. It's a much more disposable hobby now though.

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Being a collectible doesn't necessarily mean that it has to retain some value or be useful ... if you're a collector, you should get everything built by Leica, even when it's broken, you could tell people that once it worked like a charm.

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That's great news JAAP! Last time I enquired from Leica UK, a dealer had snapped up their whole stock of batteries and chargers! I find that the battery lasts for a 4gb card (201 RAW images) or more anyway.......but I have three batteries just in case!

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They couldn't have sold that many of them. Now that they stopped making them, have they become collectable? Please don't tell me they're old tech. and outdated. If they produce good files today, they'll produce good files indefinitely.

 

Collectable or not, I'm still using mine and will probably continue to do so as long as it continues to work and/or spares remain available.

 

If anyone is looking for one, Cambrian Photography in Colwyn Bay has a used R8+DMR outfit for sale at the moment. The asking price (IIRC) is around £1,850. Tel: 01492 532510

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why didn't Canon and/or Nikon use a square sensor?

 

Because it would have to have short sides - from memory 30mm, and since most photographs are rectangular this would mean that there'd be less surface area than with a 36x24 sensor.

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They couldn't have sold that many of them. Now that they stopped making them, have they become collectable? Please don't tell me they're old tech. and outdated. If they produce good files today, they'll produce good files indefinitely.

 

More to the point will files produced by digital images last. I think Kodak guaranteed Kodachrome for, I think 100 years and certainly there are monochrome images much older that. These images can be renewed because the original negs or plates still survive. I have friends who copy CD's with their computers making copies of music for their own collections but no one knows how long they will last because a burned image is totally different to the pressed image produced on the original. I personally do not like any image be it photographic or sound produced digitally. It has a synthetic rather characterless quality to it.

The scottish Hi Fi company Linn produce a CD player which retails at £12,000.00 but they openly admit that it cannot match their turntable, sonically or musically

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They couldn't have sold that many of them. Now that they stopped making them, have they become collectable?

 

No.

 

Leica never made a Hermes or LHSA version.

 

They just made x,000 decent ones.

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Afaik there are 10.000 out there. For me, it is an excellent workhorse.

 

Agree completely - can't wait for mine to come back to me from Solms

 

I think I might disagree with Haris slightly on this - whilst IQ will no doubt always improve, somthing which can take a good, visually pleasing photograph will take a good, visually pleasing photograph in 20 years time (just as a M3 can today) and that's before you get to new lens technology, replacement sensors and what a computer might do to improve the image...

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The DMR I purchased a few months ago was a real pleasure to have in Italy.

 

/Users/RSHManagement/Desktop/Italy/L1000442.jpg

/Users/RSHManagement/Desktop/Italy/L1000467.jpg

/Users/RSHManagement/Desktop/Italy/L1000590.jpg

/Users/RSHManagement/Desktop/Italy/L1000787.jpg

/Users/RSHManagement/Desktop/Italy/L1000816.jpg

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Kodak guaranteed Kodachrome for, I think 100 years

 

Kodak has never guaranteed that any color dyes would last. Their disclaimer on each box of slides reads:

 

"IMPORTANT: Since color dyes may in time change, this film will not be replaced for, or otherwise warranted against any changes in color"

 

(any typos are mine)

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