If the M9 will do not LCD screen?

[adanfueyo]

Well if you ask me about what I'd like that the future M9 have?
Probably I will say that I would like a M9 like my M4-P, or any M that I know. ... that has no buttons or rear LCD screen, that retains the rear wheel to control the ISO and ... lever and having to take the picture had to operate .....
This is too much, but the screen would give more space to put FF without having to increase the thickness of the camera and add a touch of analog and no photos to look after "develop" digital .. ..

What do you think?

[sfokevin]

Were you bored with the Auto Focus thread?...

[scaryink]

Originally Posted by sfokevin

Were you bored with the Auto Focus thread?...

Ouch!!

I was thinking of having a body modification on my forehead that will accept all M mount lenses. This way I could have full frame without the need for a screen or any other electronic interface.

Now I know some of you will say this can't be done, but at least in my head, there truly is plenty of space for autofocus in this system. Heck you could fit a small car in between my ears.

[earleygallery]

So you want to do away with one of the most useful features of a digital camera, i.e. instand feedback of your images, and expect that to be seen as a 'feature' ?

It would be rather like doing away with the LCD on your mobile phone, after all you only need the numbers to press to make a call.

[john_newell]

Originally Posted by earleygallery

So you want to do away with one of the most useful features of a digital camera, i.e. instand feedback of your images, and expect that to be seen as a 'feature' ?

It would be rather like doing away with the LCD on your mobile phone, after all you only need the numbers to press to make a call.

Interesting (and useful) comment. I came to digital only a couple of years ago and had this mental block about "chimping." (Wonder why, with an epithet, I mean name, like that? ) I've decided it is periodically useful, since both my Nikons and my M8 seems to occasionally suffer unintended changes of settings when handled in a rush. So, I'm with you - though I am still sort of more in the "necessary evil" camp than in the "advantage" camp. I should be thinking "built-in Polaroid back" rather than "chimp"!

[scaryink]

Really the most important part for me on smaller format cameras is the histogram. For larger, the issue of focus becomes quite the concern.

[zlatkob]

The LCD screen is one of the most useful features ever created in the history of photography. It would be difficult to sell a digital camera without one today. It would be a bit like selling a car without any gauges on the dashboard.

[redbaron]

I seem to get along fine without one, but then I shoot film.

[earleygallery]

Originally Posted by john_newell

I should be thinking "built-in Polaroid back" rather than "chimp"!

That's pretty much how I think of it, although its also the viewfinder on my Clux! I used to use Polaroids with my Bronica, more for checking composition and lighting than exposure, or to show your subject how a shot will look. You don't have to chimp, just turn it off!

I mainly use film, so I'm not so used to needing to chimp, but the facility is a definate advantage on a digital camera (and essential for most to control the functions). I also often use the Clux as the 'Polaroid back' now.

[Fotomiguel]

Originally Posted by adanfueyo

Well if you ask me about what I'd like that the future M9 have?
Probably I will say that I would like a M9 like my M4-P, or any M that I know. ... that has no buttons or rear LCD screen, that retains the rear wheel to control the ISO and ... lever and having to take the picture had to operate .....
This is too much, but the screen would give more space to put FF without having to increase the thickness of the camera and add a touch of analog and no photos to look after "develop" digital .. ..

What do you think?

That's not going to happen. LCD will be in the M9. Even when your idea is away from reality, there are some things to improve. The M cameras are made for photographer who likes simplicity and uses photography skills to shoot. I don't like to have to operate buttons looking at the LCD to set the options prepering a shot. Too slow and unpractice. I will ask for a Iso external wheel control. These is the most annoying thing of the M8. I'm crazy for the M8 and every time I do a large size print, I become more crazy. But is possible to improve it a bit.

[brill64]

i think this is a valid and interesting remark on the design of future m's. the epson rd-1 after all was designed with a folding screen which users like although it is not a "live-view" camera. to open it you fold out the rear panel to 90 degrees, rotate it 180 degrees counter-clockwise then fold it neatly back in to reveal the monitor. like the m8, it does marginally increase the thickness of the camera a little bit. the original post is valid because not all photographers use the screen to constantly check image exposure, composition or sharpness but maybe occasionally to check histograms, settings or to format the sd-card. reviewing an image at such a small size on the back of the camera can often be misleading and nowhere near as accurate or useful as viewing at full size on a computer monitor after download.

auto-review on my m8 has permanently been set to "off" since purchase to save battery life mostly but also because i find it very distracting each time a captured image flashes up on the monitor. this is just my own opinion but constant checking is time consuming as well as a distraction from subject and shooting. whilst i agree that it is useful to see the images on the back of the camera sometimes, my standpoint is that it is indispensable for some users but not all. a folding screen may or may not prove more discrete. removing it altogether would prove to be inconvenient so i stand somewhere in between. luigi's leather half-cases are designed with a folding or removable back flap mainly for protection of the m8's vulnerable plastic screen but it also serves to make the camera less obvious and visible as a digital model

[stnami]

No LCD is a bit like eating from a plate with your eyes closed............... a stupid thing to do for one that has sight

[adli]

Originally Posted by zlatkob

The LCD screen is one of the most useful features ever created in the history of photography. It would be difficult to sell a digital camera without one today. It would be a bit like selling a car without any gauges on the dashboard.

I often find myself trying to look at the backplate of my M6 after taking pictures with it. To my disapointment it doesn't tell me anything other than the ISO-setting which I sat myself.

Guess I have been digital to long :-)

[luigi bertolotti]

I can understand that some "hyper purist" could like a Digital Camera with no LCD, but, frankly speaking, I think it's simply impossible to market a camera without one. Be it for visual feedback or for histogram, is a facility that has entered the attitudes of almost anyone.

[RichC]

From time to time, you see posts like this ...

Much as I would like a few commonly accessed things removed from the menu - white balance and ISO spring to mind - you need an LCD to use a digital camera. Otherwise (and let's assume for the sake of argument that Leica removes ISO and white balance from the menu), how would you access essential features like turning on/off lens detection, JPG options, card formatting, sensor cleaning, auto power off, normal/discrete shutter advance, shot numbering ... Plaster plaster the camera with buttons? (I can see that going down well here! )

And I've not even mentioned the usefulness of evaluating images, with or without the histogram, which others have already highlighted.

Personally, I have auto-review off, and don't look at the histogram much, and often use the M8 without looking at the images until I download them to my PC at home - nonetheless, a digital camera without an LCD for accessing settings and evaluating images is a ridiculous idea.

[noah_addis]

While I know it will never happen and it might be a bad business move (though I'm not TOTALLY convinced of that). I'd love to see a digital MP as the OP described.

With no LCD on the back it's possible that the camera could be marginally thinner. The thumb wind could help battery life. There would not be room for both a motor drive AND a thumb wind, so a motor would have to be an add-on option.

The camera should shoot RAW only, which does away with the need for most of the menu items. It would also reduce the strain on the processors somewhat. Also, if a camera has 6-bit reading ability, I'm not sure why it needs to be turned on or off. Shouldn't it have the ability to sense the presence of a code? Though if necessary a switch could be placed under the baseplate.

All you really need to set white balance is one button. Just press it and shoot a grey card. Though with an all-raw workflow it isn't as vital anyway.

ISO could be controlled by a dial where the MP rewind knob is. Just make it locking so you need to lift then turn to set it.

You would of course need a small LCD for frame number and battery indicator, and perhaps a small histogram.

I don't expect this camera to ever exist, but I'd buy a few if it did.

[Shootist]

Originally Posted by RichC

From time to time, you see posts like this ...

nonetheless, a digital camera without an LCD for accessing settings and evaluating images is a ridiculous idea.

Not only is it ridiculous it would never sell. And Leica thought the M5 was a bad idea.

[stnami]

I hear they are going to blindfold all the goalkeepers in the next world cup......

[M. Valdemar]

Just tape over your LCD screen with black tape, and you can indulge all your luddite fantasies with any digital camera.

[epand56]

I would like the M9 to have a default wooden tripod, a large black cover on the back and a long orange bellows shutter. The magnesium hand-held device for the flash light could even be a nice feature.