photokina - Your Questions To Leica

[farnz]

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Amazon are listing these, and $30 doesn't seem too expensive.

 

Amazon.com: Adorama Canon FD Lens/EOS Body Adapter: Camera & Photo

With the greatest respect, Nicole, I think Simon might be referring to this one, which is the original adaptor that Canon sold only to pros at the time and is offered for 1600 Euro.

 

Pete.

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[giordano]

Canon did have a solution to allow you use the FD lenses on EOS bodies, now the adapter has become real collector item - try find one in pristine condition. :-)

 

At best a half-baked solution. It's actually a 1.26x teleconverter. So: you lose two thirds of a stop, auto aperture and focus confirmation, and four extra optical elements cost you contrast and resolution. It's designed only for lenses 200mm and up, and most lenses shorter than that won't physically fit.

 

The reason it's a teleconverter is that the EOS body is thicker than its predecessors, so without the extender optics FD lenses would not focus to infinity on an EOS body. They also made an adapter without optics for close-up use.

 

Added: The $30 adapters seem to include optics of some sort, but probably just a simple negative element. Certainly not up to the quality of the FD lenses, some of which were excellent in their day.

[Nicoleica]

With the greatest respect, Nicole, I think Simon might be referring to this one, which is the original adaptor that Canon sold only to pros at the time and is offered for 1600 Euro.

 

Pete.

 

Thanks Pete, I did wonder. $30 is OK, but €1600 definitely deserves a or two!

[UliWer]

 

- The deep knowledge of Mr Schopf regarding technical details and the Leica products - give that he is CEO for four week

- How open they talked to us - and listened.

 

Regards

Andreas

I agree with Andreas:

 

Either Mr. Schopf is an extremely good actor, or he takes his job really passionately with serious devotion to details.

[pop]

It's so nice the could spare two hours to talk to their customers every two years. May we remind them of the number of hours of labor it takes us to just buy one of their products? But I hate to be a burden on their time. Or even expect them to answer their customers burning questions at all.

 

Please name the vendors of at least five other expensive brands for whose products you spent a significant amount of money, along with the number of hours each year the top management has spent with representatives of an internet forum for Q&A sessions.

[Bo_Lorentzen]

Looking forward to the transcript, but am sticking to my current theory that the 2011 Sony NEX-? FF will be the first meaningful R solution.

 

Rumors of a X2 with removable lenses, lovely.

 

.

[wlaidlaw]

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Not five but Porsche make huge efforts to keep their clientele happy, ranging from a 6 times a year free magazine (Christophorus), monthly email updates, invitations to meet Porsche executives at your local dealer, loan offers of demo new vehicles and offers of discount obsolete parts for people who race and rally their classic models.

 

Wilson

[dkCambridgeshire]

.... and it's good to hear that Dr. Kaufmann has a lot of R lenses - that me makes a bit more confident that he truly understands R user 'pains' in waiting for some type of digital R solution ...

.

 

I recall reading that Dr Kaufman has a Leica S1 in which case he might be using 'R' lenses with same ... and also 'M' lenses ... and any other decent lenses usable with the camera via the various adaptors originally available eg Hasselblad and Nikon.

 

dunk

[Paolo.Battista]

We talked about the R-solution (it was the first topic as I know about the importance).

Stefan Daniel said "We are working on a solution" - so I hope I'm able to answer your questions with this.

 

The Leica management didn't say anything regarding time lines, Mr. Schopf several times pointed out that quality and keeping promises they give is most important for Leica.

 

 

First of all, thanks for all the efforts you did for all of us during these days AND in the months before in order to organize this meeting. This is the best forum I found on the net and your work has been real exceptional.

 

But, as far as the R solution is concearned, it seems clear that it is no more a priority for Leica (I'm not blaming them for this, I fully understand the business reasons EVEN if I think that maybe they didn't have really understood the potential of a Leica DSLR solution at 4-5 k€).. Leica's Management has choosen for S and M product lines as the future of Leica. Full stop about this matter. R users must look in other places in order to find a suitable solution. We are working at a solution means nothing in absence of a strategy.

 

My best regards.

 

Paolo

[Posto 6]

Having resigned in disgust from the forum last year as a direct result of the R-issue, I have decided to give Leica another chance before I sell any further R-glass (sold 6 so far). I stilll have a 15/3.5,19/2.8mk2,28/2.8,35/1.4,50/1.4,80/1.4,70-180/2.8,280/2.8and two converters (1.4and2X), and am still very interested in the promises of a workable solution for R-users.

 

Possibly now that there is more traction on the sales front this will be forthcoming?

 

Thanks to all, and it is good to be back on board!

[lct]

Hardly see anything new since last year but hope helps to live.

[howard_cummer]

Well, while waiting for the official report from Andress (thank you for doing that and making all the arrangements - and thank you to Leica management for taking the time to present and respond) I am beginning to surmise that the R solution is a long way off, if ever, - so I am going to convert my last R lens, the 21 - 35 Elmar, to Nikon Leitax mount and get on with taking pictures using my Nikon D700. I have previously converted 19mm, 28mm, 90mm 100mm, 180mm and 400mm lenses. They are not as convenient to use - stop down metering - but at least the glass is not languishing in a closet.

 

Some pictures with R glass on the N are here:

 

R lenses via Leitax bayonet on Nikon D700

 

Regards

 

Howard

[andybarton]

AFAIK, you can't convert zoom lenses. I don't know why.

[Posto 6]

AFAIK, you can't convert zoom lenses. I don't know why.

 

Actually, there are problems with the Japanese lenses in ROM format. The German lenses and the 3-cam Japanese pose no problem.

 

However, I sincerely hope that Leica will work something out permitting full use of their R-lenses in the not too distant future!

[mooky]

I will just keep using my R glass with film and wait - I certainly won't sell or convert them. Maybe consider an M9 with a WATE for a portable digital landscape tool in the meantime.

[rosuna]

 

My personal impression is that after so many disappointing years Leica has been totally surprised by the demand for products like the M9. And I can imagine that it is very difficult to estimate that demand. The success of the M9 (14.000 have been sold in 10months, an amount planned for 2 years, according to an article in the German business magazine, Brand eins, Oct issue) has led to unexpected demand for lenses. So this is the reason why Leica have a backlog there as well. This also means that the development of new lenses takes a lower priority. Quite sensible.

 

That is a very interesting quote.

 

The number comes from Harald Willenbrock's article "UPDATE FÜR EINE IKONE" (Brand Eins, 10/2010)?

[howard_cummer]

Actually most zoom lenses can be converted - please see the Leitax site - but ROM lenses can be a problem if you want to be able to reverse the conversion should Leica actually come up with a digital R solution someday. That is why I have to send my 21 - 35 R ROM to Leitax for the conversion - with all the other lenses I have done it myself with jeweller's screw drivers and a few minutes.

[Wolfgang Esslinger]

That is a very interesting quote.

 

The number comes from Harald Willenbrock's article "UPDATE FÜR EINE IKONE" (Brand Eins, 10/2010)?

 

Yes

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[veraikon]

Zitat von veraikon Beitrag anzeigen

 

[ PS: BTW the label " Contax" is falling back next January from Kyocera to Carl Zeiss ]

 

What ...

veraikon, do you have a source of this information ?

Or any links for more information on this ?

And please tell us more if you know some more.

Very interesting ...

 

Of course I have [more than one] sources - personnal communication .

But note that I am only speaking about the "label" Contax _not_ about products !!.

The label "Contax" allways was owned by the Carl Zeiss Group - but there was an agreement between Kyocera (as owner of Yashica) and Carl Zeiss in the use .

The agreement between Kyocera and Carl Zeiss about the use of the label "Contax" ends this year. From next year on the Carl Zeiss Group is able to use it .

[wlaidlaw]

Of course I have [more than one] sources - personnal communication .

But note that I am only speaking about the "label" Contax _not_ about products !!.

The label "Contax" allways was owned by the Carl Zeiss Group - but there was an agreement between Kyocera (as owner of Yashica) and Carl Zeiss in the use .

The agreement between Kyocera and Carl Zeiss about the use of the label "Contax" ends this year. From next year on the Carl Zeiss Group is able to use it .

 

There was some muttering that Kyocera in an effort to restore the very fractured relations with Zeiss, might release the Contax name back to them before the end of the contractual period. I will have to ask my Zeiss "deep throat" if anything came of this. After the disaster of the Zeiss Ikon (significant sales in Japan only), I think it would take a very big change in policy at Zeiss to get back into camera body manufacture, even as a joint venture with Cosina. Now whether there could a pimped up, badge engineered Contax version of a Sony just like Leica does with Panasonic is another matter. To sell basically the same camera at a 35% mark up, nearly all of which is net profit to be split between Sony and Zeiss, makes a lot of sense (for the companies, if not the buyers).

 

Wilson