Thoughts on the secret new Leica and current range.

[peterv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi,

 

Wow, 2008, that long  ago LOL. I really don't remember what exactly I said at the time but I think I was 'pro' the new system. What has failed it has been the lengthy delay in Leica releasing new lenses (the CS lenses took several years to appear from launch) and the lack of necessary back up for a pro system. 

 

I'm sure it's a great camera, looked at in isolation, but I suspect the latest Canon 5D will offer the pro market much more. 

 

The S was a good idea, at the time. Things have moved on, there is no sign of Leica committing to a pro level of service, and I suspect most S users would be more than happy with a Leica FF DSLR if one existed.

 

The forthcoming camera won't be a DSLR, but an AF FF system will certainly fill a much needed gap in the line up. What that means for the future of the S is anyone's guess of course. 

 

- S pro service is excellent

- The Canon 5D crowd is mostly a different target market

- MF gets more and more competition from 'FF' but the MF market was and is going to be small, compared to 'Kleinbild', nothing new.

- It took Leica longer than expected to develop the CS in-house but they made it very durable and even one stop faster than originally anticipated (1/1000 instead of 1/500) You can read all about it in the S-League Magazine No 2

[SanDiegoMike]

Sometimes I feel a bit foolish because I've been seduced into every generation of Leica compact p/s camera for the past 5+ years, and I have observed the following: The market lifespan before a new model

is bumped from the market is very short, sometimes not even a year. Although highly touted, the improvements are incremental and often come with new liabilities like slower lenses, lack of zoom, astronomically high cost,

etc. So after owning a V-Lux 30, D-Lux5, D-lux 6, X2, T and D-lux I can make two conclusions: None of these are a Leica in the sense of the M-cameras that attracted me 30 years ago, and all will produce quite nice images.

So what is my preference? Well for travel I like to carry the D-Lux 6 with it's fast, sharp lens, compact size and outstanding color. I find the X2 and the D-Lux to be too restrictive, and the T to be too fussy, and too damn expensive to expect me to carry a suite of lenses (FYI I sold off the T after a few months because I found it to be more Jewelry than camera). The V-lux-30 and the D-lux 5 were excellent little cameras in their own right, but the D-Lux 6 is better in my hands.  What is my conclusion? 1) Leica is evolving so rapidly that one can't expect to keep up with all the new digitals, and 2) rather than jump to the digital-M cameras and mortgage my future, when I feel the urge to have a Leica moment, I'll load a roll of film into my M6 or my M3 and shoot like a Leica-fan. I'm off the digital carousel at least for now.

Edited August 25, 2015 by SanDiegoMike

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Herr Barnack]

With the rumours of a new FF Leica AF system on the way, is the Leica range a little 'unfocussed' now ?

 

Let's look at it;

 

C - small P&S compact (Panasonic model)

D - P&S with a 4/3 sensor (Panasonic model)

V - Hybrid style camera, small sensor, long zoom range (Panasonic model)

X - fixed 35mm lens, APSC sensor

X-E - fixed 35mm lens, APSC sensor

X Vario - mid range zoom, APSC sensor

T - APSC sensor again but with interchangeable AF lenses

Q - Full Frame sensor, fixed 28mm lens

M-E - M mount rangefinder body, FF sensor

M/MP - M mount rangefinder body, FF sensor, but offering live view & movies

S - medium format sensor, SLR system with AF lenses

Film M bodies, MP, M-A and M7

Perhaps the goal is to have 26 product lines, one for each letter of the English alphabet... 

[guido pasquali]

Cari amici,

 

la nuova strada diversa dalla M è la Q. Immaginatevi una Q con obbiettivi intercambiabili M. Non uccide la M ma la affianca.

 

Io utilizzo una M type 240 della quale amo il telemetro e la semplicità ed uso per fotografia street e paesaggi.

 

Però posso affiancare la M con una Q più piccola, più leggera  e adatta anch'essa alla STREET (meno precisa).

 

Quello che non capisco nel marketing Leica è il prezzo di vendita della Q in svizzera.

 

5000 franchi svizzeri invece di 4000 euro (  italia e germania ).

 

Infatti volevo comprarla ma per il momento aspetto.

 

Saluti, Guido