The real news about the Leica Sofort! [merged thread]

[earleygallery]

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All the info you need on the new Leica is here http://www.fujifilm.com/products/instant_photo/cameras/instax_mini_90/#features

 

It's interesting that Fuji styled it to look like a retro camera - dare I say a Leica M - and Leica have given it 'modern' styling, modern being like something from the 70's modern.

[J12]

I haven't looked at the camera in detail, but I think the general idea of making an instant camera is a great move. Could also be a good marketing tool for the brand if executed well. Affordable for many and fun to share prints.

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

[gyoung]

I didn't think Leica could descend even further than rebadged Panasonic p&s with a redot....

Once a symbol of fine engineering, the wonderful optics are becoming submerged in a sea of ludicrous marketing, IMHO of course.

The only lot more laughable are Hasselblad with their wood grain nex cameras.

 

Gerry

[jaapv]

I haven't looked at the camera in detail, but I think the general idea of making an instant camera is a great move. Could also be a good marketing tool for the brand if executed well. Affordable for many and fun to share prints.

Well, they could af least have cloned the Instax Wide. I am not sure the world is waiting for credit-card sized photographs from expensive filmpacks.  A novelty toy system IMO.

[250swb]

Well, they could af least have cloned theInstax Wide. I am not sure the world is waiting for credit-card sized photographs from expensive filmpacks. A novelty toy system IMO.

 

When I started to read your first link I thought you must be referring to the titanium M240 set, but scrolling down saw that this pointless piece of marketing hype is no more ludicrous than a Leica version of the Instax.

[earleygallery]

Some of us may scoff at the idea of a Leica badged Fuji instant camera, but it's interesting that Leica and Fuji are in partnership again (the very first Leica digital cameras were rebadged Fuji's).

 

I wonder what other current Leica products have elements of Fuji within them, and what new products are they potentially working on together?

 

 

[rjans]

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I still use instant camera's since I was 14. It's fun and the Instax films are good quality, I find them better than Polaroid ever was. Next to the first digital rebranded cameras also the Leica C11 (APS) was made by Fuji. It was my first Leica. I still have these and also film in the freezer.

I've read somwhere that the T lenses are made by Fuji. I'm not aware of any current projects.

 

Best

Edited September 15, 2016 by rjans

[Kyros Moutsouris]

Officially a joke:

 

https://uk.leica-camera.com/Photography/Leica-Sofort

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rjans]

Instant photography is booming business for Fuji with their Instax mini and wide line. They even opened a new factory for it in 2015 for the Instax films. I have seen sales figures on the German Photoscala website some time agoo. Looking at the specifications of the Leica Sofort it is based on the Instax mini 90 Neo Classic. The Instax sells for half the price. I have one and it's for fun taking pictures.

There are some strange movements at Leica, first the cooperation with Huawei for a smartphone, now with Fuji for an instant camera. Can we now expect a subsection in the Photo Forum for instant pictures taken with the Sofort?

Perhaps this explains why Fuji will release a black & white Instax mini film.

I have a collection of instant cameras, recently made a pledge on kickstarter for the Lomo'Instant Automat. Perhaps, one day, I might add the Leica Sofort to the collection, but not now.

But one thing is sure, it is the cheapest new Leica camera you can buy.

 

Best

Edited September 15, 2016 by rjans

[IWC Doppel]

If there isn't something substantively Leica in the build then they done just as much damage to the brand as Porsche would rebranding a Toyota Yaris

[bernie.lcf]

To be honest, I think their product management is loosing it.

[earleygallery]

Maybe not. Consumer (lower end P&S) cameras are dead. The future is a smaller high end enthusiast & pro market, and novelty imaging products such as Lomo. The rest is all catered for by smartphones.

 

It could be a smart move if Leica choose to expand on it.

[A miller]

A designer instant camera to take to discos and parties... Brilliant

Key will be cost of film and whether good exposures are a snap to obtain.

I use polaroids on my linhof all the time with the fuji 3000B, which i bought B&H's entire stock of before it was discontinued and, as i predicted, am now selling on Ebay for nearly 3 times my cost.

 

The hidden secret about these instant films is that the back emulsion piece that people typically throw away is a medium format negative just waiting to be cleaned up. With a little extra effort, that special moment can be seen, felt and shared immediately, and then scanned, edited and printed huge later on. Brilliant!!! Be will Leica be smart enough to share this secret and make it easier tp accomplish....? Doubtful

Edited September 15, 2016 by A miller

[@McLeica]

The hidden secret about these instant films is that the back emulsion piece that people typically throw away is a medium format negative just waiting to be cleaned up. With a little extra effort, that special moment can be seen, felt and shared immediately, and then scanned, edited and printed huge later on. Brilliant!!! 

 

How does that work Adam?

[pico]

Some of us may scoff at the idea of a Leica badged Fuji instant camera, but it's interesting that Leica and Fuji are in partnership again (the very first Leica digital cameras were rebadged Fuji's).

 

I wonder what other current Leica products have elements of Fuji within them, and what new products are they potentially working on together?

 

Fuji is a hugely diversified company, highly successful. It can be a very good association as long as Leica does not become critically dependent upon Fuji.

[A miller]

How does that work Adam?

There are lots of sites dedicated to this: just google "make a negative out of instant film"

Here is one link:

http://jakehicksphotography.com/latest/2014/10/4/making-a-negative-from-your-polaroid

[pico]

If there isn't something substantively Leica in the build then they done just as much damage to the brand as Porsche would rebranding a Toyota Yaris

 

I disagree. The difference between the two is so great that the divide is clear. It does not commingle Leica's image.

[@McLeica]

Okaaaayyy....so basically it's a Fuji. Same lens, some software and mode tweaks, slightly different body and the omission of a 'selfie' mirror.

 

I say go for it!   

 

Put a Leica into the hands of the hip, cool and relatively poor and get more film out there.

 

Good move Leica! 

[Tonkerdog]

My kids will love it, and Leica will have just got three lifelong customers.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[treeplanter]

The hidden secret about these instant films is that the back emulsion piece that people typically throw away is a medium format negative just waiting to be cleaned up. With a little extra effort, that special moment can be seen, felt and shared immediately, and then scanned, edited and printed huge later on. Brilliant!!! Be will Leica be smart enough to share this secret and make it easier tp accomplish....? Doubtful

This only works for peel-apart instant film, like the recently discontinued Fuji FP-100C.  It will not work for integral-type instant film, like Instax or Impossible Project films.

 

Jim B.