Michael Reichmann's Letter to Leica

[zlatkob]

Some interesting thoughts today on the M9 and the future of the M:
An Open Letter to Leica

[chrism]

Here it is.

Seems to be a plea for electronic focus confirmation and a CMOS sensor for live view.

Chris

[yanidel]

Originally Posted by chrism

Here it is.

Seems to be a plea for electronic focus confirmation and a CMOS sensor for live view.

Chris

I was going to write on it because this article pisses me off. I read his website daily but really I don't like people writing "what we need" in the name of others.

What he asks are mainly to fulfill the needs of a landscape photographer. The M9 is probably great tool for landscape work, yet the M tradition is more in the reportage, travel and street photography.

So really, his open letter and wish list should be written to Nikon or Canon to come up with a small body full frame camera and high quality lenses. Not ask Leica to become a main stream system.

[jaapv]

Sheesh - it reads just like some of the more wonky threads on this forum

[jaapv]

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-...ter-leica.html

[JMacD]

I will buy his M10. But I am a landscape photographer first.

I suspect they are already going in this direction.
What is new to me is some of the focus confirmation technology he is discussing.
I suspect we will see some of this announced in a year from Leica.
A fully agree with him on no auto focus, and glad he didn't ask for it.

From a business perspective, they may not want to call such a camera an M, even if it uses M lenses. They are inventing letters pretty fast, let's call it a U1 to avoid annoying yanidel

[zlatkob]

Um, did you want me to predict that a similar thread would be posted 5 minutes later ...

[RichC]

Put my name down too - and I'm not a landscape photographer!

That said, I can't say I'm keen on an EVF...

[Julian Thompson]

Maybe you won't care for my suggestions on exposure, focusing, or even viewing options. But regardless of the merits of these, I urge you to consider that the days of the traditional optical rangefinder camera may well have come to an end. Certainly there will be some potential digital rangefinder M series buyers for years to come, but will there be enough of them to sustain a profitable business?

mmmn.

Now lets see.

M9. Backorder - can't keep up with demand.
50 lux. Backorder - can't keep up with demand.
21 and 24 Lux - Backorder.
35 Lux - Err, Backorder, sir.
50 Nocti - err yes- that as well.

Forgive me but I believe that much as I enjoy reading Michael's writing he has got carried away here. The M niche is working out very nicely in 2010 from what I can see...

[nhabedi]

I stopped reading when I understood that he wanted to replace the built-in viewfinder with a detachable one. Yikes!

[delander]

Well I've got my M9s and lenses and I dont intend buying anything more for a few years so I dont have to worry that Leica would be foolish enough to listen to any of this stuff.

Jeff

[jonoslack]

Originally Posted by Julian Thompson

50 Nocti - err yes- that as well.

Forgive me but I believe that much as I enjoy reading Michael's writing he has got carried away here. The M niche is working out very nicely in 2010 from what I can see...

Hi Julian
I quite agree - reports of their death seem to be exaggerated! Two or three years ago it seemed like it . . .

However, although I'm not much enamoured of the things he says, I DO feel that with the M9 Leica have 'got there' with the digital M; of course it isn't perfect, but it seems to have really changed the attitude about Leica from a boutique relic to something dynamic.

When I visited last month I was surprised (and pleased) at how young everyone seemed.

I think it would be sad if the M10 was just an iteration of the M9 with a few additions (surely that's for an M9.2 and an M9.3 and perhaps even an M9.4). Perhaps a CMOS sensor is the way forward (I understand that you can still do it without an AA filter), Perhaps accurate electronic framelines, focus confirmation and a zooming rangefinder, together with optional live view and a body format which makes a nod towards more modern design would be a good thing (I think so!).

I think that the idea of framelines and the ability to use old leica lenses is a must for an M camera . . . but having .58, .72. .85 and 1 in the same camera with accurate electronic framelines would be fantastic (wouldn't it?)

[chrism]

Originally Posted by zlatkob

Um, did you want me to predict that a similar thread would be posted 5 minutes later ...

Sorry, zlatkob, you posted while I was still copying the link!

Chris

[jklotz]

I dunno. I personally think liveview would be a nice addition, however that would require going to a CMOS sensor, and I just don't know if the "look" would have to change to do so. I also think we get the benefit from a lot of sharpness from lack of a strong IR filter, and my guess is that would have to change as well. But it would sure help to focus in critical applications, focus shift be damned...

EVF - in it's current state, is, IMHO, good for wildlife. More specifically, for the birds (get it, it's for the birds? ).

I do agree, however, that the removable bottom plate, is cute and all, but it's just another thing to loose. I'd prefer to have battery and card ports in the bottom of the camera.

[Mike Rawcs]

Originally Posted by Julian Thompson

mmmn.

Now lets see.

M9. Backorder - can't keep up with demand.
50 lux. Backorder - can't keep up with demand.
21 and 24 Lux - Backorder.
35 Lux - Err, Backorder, sir.
50 Nocti - err yes- that as well.

Forgive me but I believe that much as I enjoy reading Michael's writing he has got carried away here. The M niche is working out very nicely in 2010 from what I can see...

Yes, yes, Leica have a new product in the M9 and everything is on backorder; but they are selling to a shrinking market. Once the backorders are catered for, the demand dries up!

I agree with Michael. I'm shooting Leica MP: not because I'm anti-digital or pro-film; but because I refuse to carry around a brick-of-a-DSLR (been there, done that) or a money monster digital M9 which has problems dead lines of pixels, cameras which die and require the battery to be removed and re-inserted (as shown in one of Michael's videos of M9 assembly during his visit to the Leica factory), cracked sensors etc. etc.

I would go further than Michael and advocate that Leica, instead of buying in components to build cameras, allow a camera manufacturer such as Sony, Nikon or Canon to build a camera platform which will allow photographers to enjoy Leica optics coupled to a 21st-century camera body. In this way leica could concentrate on what they do best: superlative optics!

because I, also, care.

Incidentally,
My first Leica camera was an M4 Mark 2. My film of choice for many years was Kodachrome, mainly in Nikon cameras. When I received my first roll of Kodachrome back from processing it looked like a different film stock! The colour - and the tonality of the results were astounding!

I'm now using a Leica MP and scanning the processed film. This evening I've put together two short web page of photographs taken in Manchester, England.

Some photographs are digital, some film and scanned. To my mind the photographs scanned from film still retain their analogue signature and I prefer them to digital! Surprisingly!

What do you think?

Manchester

Mike.

[jonoslack]

Originally Posted by jklotz

I do agree, however, that the removable bottom plate, is cute and all, but it's just another thing to loose. I'd prefer to have battery and card ports in the bottom of the camera.

Funny about that . . . I never used film M's first, so I don't have any baggage over this, but my bottom plate goes straight in the back pocket of my trousers . . .and there aren't any tricky dodgy doors to break off. Takes a couple of seconds to change a battery - I really don't see the problem and I rather like the oddity. On the other hand I suspect that live view would be a good additional feature (note the word additional).

[James R]

I agree with Michael's proposals and hope Leica will incorporate many of them in the M10.

[zlatkob]

Originally Posted by chrism

Sorry, zlatkob, you posted while I was still copying the link!

Chris

No problem at all. I was responding to Jaap's post (now #5).

[tdtaylor]

Interesting point of view- glad he can speak for all of us.

But he does have a point with the place for your thumb and the removable bottom- I am seriously looking at Luigi's baseplate with access for the battery and SD card.

[waileong]

Must disagree with michael. RF focusing was obsolete 30 years ago once autofocus became reliable. People buy rf's because they want to, and they enjoy manual focusing.