Attempting to interpret activity in the Digital Forum

[lesh]

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It's interesting is it not, that the largest threads currently active in the forum relate to a defunct model (the D2 of course) and, the announcement of a forthcoming model from someone else.

Of course the current Leica lineup each has it's own individual forum, so maybe too much can't be read into it. But would it be a stretch to suggest that this might be indicative of a distinct lack of 'buzz' about said lineup from Solms?

 

Reaches for tin hat.......

[stunsworth]

Well, the M9 became available last year, as did the X1 and S2. What on earth were people expecting? If Photokina had been a year earlier we'd all be saying what a stunning line up Leica had.

[sfage]

Well, the M9 became available last year, as did the X1 and S2. What on earth were people expecting? If Photokina had been a year earlier we'd all be saying what a stunning line up Leica had.

 

That's true Steve, but if we recall, we were also talking about an R machine back then, too.

[andybarton]

The sooner people face up to the fact that the "R solution" is going to be a V E R Y long time coming, the better, IMHO.

[adan]

Well, the "buzz" - or perhaps it should be the "stings" - regarding the M9 Titanium all took place on the Customer Forum. Have you seen that 400+ post thread?

 

As to the other lines - not much to buzz about. New finishes, incremental update to the D-Lux, revival of the long-lens V-Lux (which doesn't get much respect, but quitely sold very well).

 

Take a couple of days off, and then come back (to the Customer Forum, most likely) to read the results of the Forum's leaders' Q&A with Leica on Saturday. Assuming Leica has some solid answers (and is still willing to talk to us after the razzing we gave the M9Ti ) - that will likely be the most interesting information for Leica photographers to come out of photokina 2010.

[Paolo.Battista]

The sooner people face up to the fact that the "R solution" is going to be a V E R Y long time coming, the better, IMHO.

 

Probably you're right, but more time elapses for the Leica solution, lower will be the customer base that will be still interested in the solution itself.

 

I think that in the Q&A session with this forum they should give a clear roadmap for this type of solution. Since they have remarked that they are working at this solution, there is no reason not the give at least the basic details.

[stunsworth]

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I agree Leica should clarify the situation at the weekend.

 

My concern if I was an R user would be that since the solution is being provided by some one else the 3rd party involved has either canned the idea or is dragging their feet.

 

There were some clear signs from Leica that the camera would be full frame and have an EVF. Since no such camera exists at the moment it's also possible that Leica silence is enforced by the other manufacturer since they would probably want to announce their version of such a 'groundbreaking' camera first. In fact if the deal hasn't fallen through I'd expect that to be the reason for Leica's rather curious silence on the matter.

[elansprint72]

I agree Leica should clarify the situation at the weekend.

 

My concern if I was an R user would be that since the solution is being provided by some one else the 3rd party involved has either canned the idea or is dragging their feet.

 

There were some clear signs from Leica that the camera would be full frame and have an EVF. Since no such camera exists at the moment it's also possible that Leica silence is enforced by the other manufacturer since they would probably want to announce their version of such a 'groundbreaking' camera first. In fact if the deal hasn't fallen through I'd expect that to be the reason for Leica's rather curious silence on the matter.

 

If I were a major camera manufacturer, why would I want to go through all the R&D and productionising for a camera which could only take lenses from a defunct product line from another (very small) manufacturer. How many units could they realistically expect to shift? The only way that I can see it working is if they could also sell it with their own lens mount, i.e. some sort of dual mount arrangement.

[stunsworth]

Pete, because as I've said elsewhere their version of the camera could use the same mount with their AF lenses.

[roguewave]

The sooner people face up to the fact that the "R solution" is going to be a V E R Y long time coming, the better, IMHO.

 

I'm not buying into that. There are several very promising developments with FF sensors & live view, even if they are CMOS. The future of the SLR maybe be limited, but not the use of R glass on increasing more sophisticated platforms, including Digital movie cameras. I was part of a film crew that shot with my 35 Summilux on an experimental camera, where the IQ was off the scale. I see live view as an increasingly popular & useful tool. The ability to preview the image in various scaled focal lengths, to check focus at various magnifications, to in essence "Preview" the image in it's rendered format are all the tangible benefits that film & Digital moviemakers use everyday. One can always enjoy the M3 experience in it's native form, but technological progress is moving ahead at a very fast pace.