jaapv Posted May 17, 2010 Share #21 Posted May 17, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Leica's business model is hard to figure out and their missteps are monumental. They canceled the R series,. Not so hard to figure that one out - it had been losing money for decades... It is a miracle it was not abandoned tears ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 17, 2010 Posted May 17, 2010 Hi jaapv, Take a look here Retrofit for Leica R Series - Film to Digital. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
bill Posted May 17, 2010 Share #22 Posted May 17, 2010 Please don't send me any diatribes as to why it can't be done, or shouldn't be done. That's not the question. We are just looking for your opinion on this a) No. I would not want or buy it. Who is "we"? Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angora Posted May 18, 2010 Share #23 Posted May 18, 2010 [...]1: EUR 3,000 2: 21 MP Same here, provided that current R-EOS pitfalls (stop-down metering & uncorrect exposures) are eliminated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted May 18, 2010 Share #24 Posted May 18, 2010 Well it looks as if the coming "R Solution" will be a non starter based on what I read. They are late again and people will have made other plans converting lenses to existing DSLR bodies or simply abandoning the system or continuing to use film. The solution will be so late in coming, few will buy and the Leica executives will sit in a board meeting and say see we told ya so, we sent the R to the cemetary for a good reason. I would liken this to a reinvention of a new buggy whip complete with an adjustable electric probe and sound effects. May be the best buggy whip ever made, but who cares. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 18, 2010 Share #25 Posted May 18, 2010 Leica would have been better served financially by working the R instead of tossing Heaps of cash into the extraordinary S series whose appeal is a small fraction of what an R-based full DSLR would have been. Is that just your opinion based on your opinion, or have you got facts and figures to back it up? I'm assuming Leica haven't shared their market research and long term sales projections with you, but if they have I'm sure we'd all be very interested in hearing more! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
journeyman Posted May 18, 2010 Share #26 Posted May 18, 2010 This dealer is encouraging people to buy R lenses whilst they are cheap in advance of a Leica fix. There is a report buried amongst the sales splurge. Hope this fuels speculation. (lol). http://www.stephensphotocentre.co.uk/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted May 18, 2010 Share #27 Posted May 18, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hardly. This "news" is so old it has grown whiskers. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuxBob Posted May 19, 2010 Share #28 Posted May 19, 2010 Is that just your opinion based on your opinion, or have you got facts and figures to back it up? I'm assuming Leica haven't shared their market research and long term sales projections with you, but if they have I'm sure we'd all be very interested in hearing more! James, I guess it is his opinion and it is certainly mine as I have said in other posts. How on earth can Leica, aa small company develop some of the best lenses in the world and then produce multiple mounts requiring different engineering for each? Not only that they announce new cameras almost simulataneously and have enormous problems with delivery. One manufacturing glitch could ruin them. The S2 is a marvellous set-up and i would love one but how could they produce such a model into a small, already overcrowded and limited market. Moreso when you consider that they had the excellent R chassis available and many loyal users, me included, who would loved to see progression along this path. I am pleased to hear that they are thinking of an R10 but as I already have a D700, it is a bit late. As much as I woudl love to re-use my R8 in digital format, I think it is too late. I put the occasional film through it mainly from nostalgia and that is it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted May 19, 2010 Share #29 Posted May 19, 2010 Sure we would buy a digital R but would we be many enough this is the question. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 19, 2010 Share #30 Posted May 19, 2010 Brief background: I had very little interest in the R line in film days. Tried a Leicaflex and kinda like it (except for the really long-throw unratcheted advance lever) - was not impressed by the handling of any other body except the R7 (brighter finder than previous Rs, the nicest size for my hands). Dumped the 'flex once it be came clear I was switching to digital. Recently I came across a cheap used Canon 5D(1) and R adapter, and have been experimenting with a couple of 80's-era R teles (250 and 180 APO f/3.4) - and I like what the R lenses do. They deliver a mellow richness of color and tone that even the modern IS Canon teles can't match (resolution is a wash, and both C and R lenses have chromatic aberrations - of different types). The 5D is not perfect - AA filter, "grid-like" CMOS noise pattern, no shutter dial, dim finder readout (apparently a function of the camera thinking a lens is not mounted without the appropriate contacts), requires a pricey third-party screen for split-image focusing, issues with fitting newer R lenses (24, 19 v.2). So, yes I'd be interested in a way of getting a DSLR that matches the M9's image quality and manual controls. Assuming I can find an R7 and reliable motor: 1. Price (conversion only) - $3000-$4000 2. 13.5 Mpixels or more - but must have clean (unbanded) ISO 6400 (for using f/4 teles in the same light as my f/2.8-f/2 M lenses) 3. full-frame 24 x 36 sensor - prefer CCD, or CMOS more advanced than generally available now 4. no AA filter 5. DNG file format 6. SD card storage (optional second slot for CF is OK, but I wouldn't use it) 7. Compatible with R motor drive, or come with built-in drive (a la DMR) 8. Compatible with extra height of R7 body In short, a DMR for pre-R8 bodies that has a full-frame sensor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted May 19, 2010 Share #31 Posted May 19, 2010 A very basic problem is that as with the R8-9/DMR the film rails would prevent a full frame sensor from being fitted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 19, 2010 Share #32 Posted May 19, 2010 Oh, I know, but since the original poster requested "Please don't send me any diatribes as to why it can't be done," - I didn't go there. Presumably, judicious use of a hacksaw is an option... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted May 19, 2010 Share #33 Posted May 19, 2010 Oh, I know, but since the original poster requested "Please don't send me any diatribes as to why it can't be done," - I didn't go there. Indeed, but if it's impossible to make one why waste electrons on discussing the matter? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted May 19, 2010 Share #34 Posted May 19, 2010 ...issues with fitting newer R lenses (24, 19 v.2)... You mean 28 i guess. For those interested i have no problem with the Elmarit-R 28/2.8 # 11259. Almost identical as the latest # 11333 but does not hit the mirror of my 5D. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 19, 2010 Share #35 Posted May 19, 2010 No. I mean the Elmarit-R 24 - which gets in the way of the 5D mirror. The 28, as you say, works OK (in fact, any lens that worked on the original Leicaflex SL also clears the FF Canon mirrors) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted May 19, 2010 Share #36 Posted May 19, 2010 Ah yes i forgot the latest 24. No experience of it. Does it fit with the 5D? Mine is the 1rst version and does not fit at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 19, 2010 Share #37 Posted May 19, 2010 Indeed, but if it's impossible to make one why waste electrons on discussing the matter? Steve, I think this is what's referred to as blue sky thinking. Whether something is actually possible or not is irrelevant! I've seen so many threads like this here and elsewhere, people proposing to convert film cameras/backs to digital. One guy was actually some way down the road of fitting a sensor to an M2, but like all the other threads that one just petered out too. I predict that our OP's venture will go the same way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 19, 2010 Share #38 Posted May 19, 2010 Speaking of hack-saw engineering and digital retrofits (one that made it): http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-forum/126138-how-convert-lsm-into-digital-camera.html lct - I believe all 24mm R lenses have trouble on the 5D - the optics are the same in all versions and it is the rear element that sticks back too far. Same for the second version 19, the various 15mm R lenses, the 35 f/1.4 and the fisheye 16 (and maybe the 28-90?). Some people grind down the front edge of the 5D mirror to make it shorter, for those lenses. The 21 f/4 Super-Angulon (retrofocus) and the first version 19mm, designed with the Leicaflex SL mirror still in mind, will work on an unmodified 5D. Generally any prime 28mm or longer (except the 35 f/1.4) will fit the 5D also. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 20, 2010 Share #39 Posted May 20, 2010 Don't get me wrong, it's great that there are people who try - where would we be without them! But this particular 'challenge' has been discussed so many times. Leica did it themselves with the DMR. If demand was great enough Im sure they or a third party wouldve found a way to continue production. Why doesn't the OP just remake it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted May 20, 2010 Share #40 Posted May 20, 2010 Um. Guys. Our friend the OP has posted twice in two years and not logged in since he started this thread. I think we are wasting our time here... Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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