Technology Upgrades

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Like most gear in the the digital photographic world, Leica digital cameras become quickly (out) dated with every evolutionary advance in technology. Accordingly, the cameras lose significant value…perhaps not as much as the last Canon or Nikon, but compared to the classic “M” cameras, a big drop in value nonetheless. So, why can’t Leica (or other manufacturers) make a camera that allows for sensor updates? I had “M” cameras for years and generally what changed was the film…different ASAs or finer grain stock came along, but I never felt I had to get a new camera every couple of years.

$7,000 for a new M9 is a lot of money even for Leica owners. Wouldn’t you rather pay 2-3k every few years for the latest sensor…the heart of the camera? Thereby allowing you to let that beloved Leica wear-and-tear show through without forcing you to break the bank and /or lie to the wife so you can have the latest and greatest. I have to think sensors and processing engines can be designed as plug and play units giving us the latest technology without breaking the bank.

OK, how wrong am I?

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[MikeMyers]

If the only thing that changed was the sensor, this would make sense....

 

...but look at computers. As they get better and better, *everything* gets changed, the motherboard, the CPU, the memory... It would probably be impossible to do what you suggest, unless you knew in advance what the new technology would require in terms of hardware.

[ho_co]

Nice idea, but I don't see how you'd do it.

 

New sensor means new capabilities. How do you build a camera with the circuitry to accept a sensor that doesn't exist?

[giordano]

How do you build a camera with the circuitry to accept a sensor that doesn't exist?

 

Same way as you build a computer that can be upgraded: a casing with lots of empty space and a generous power supply, plus standardised hardware buses and software interfaces - grossly overspecified for current needs - so you can slot in new components on standardised circuit boards and sensor mounts. That'll give you a camera twice the size and four times the weight of a M9, costing two or three times as much, with five or six years of upgradability.

 

Somehow I'm not surprised Leica didn't choose to go that way.

[Paolo.Battista]

The Ricoh's GXR is an example of how you can do that. Olympus has submitted patents for a modular camera.

The DMR itself is another example (though an obsolete one) of how you can change sensor from a camera body.

 

It would be interesting even to have the chance of using B&W sensors.

[marknorton]

This is a bit like asking a PC manufacturer to develop a motherboard which can take at least a few of the next generations of Intel processors. How can you engineer for features which you don't even know will exist?

[jaapv]

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And concerning the price drop - I doubt it is as bad as you paint it, Mark.

Let's see what film Ms are doing - I bought a factory-new M6 a few weeks ago for 1000 Euro, I would put that at about 50% of the original price and about 30% of the value of an equivalent current model. I think that is rather typical. Let's put the depreciation of not too historical film Ms at 50%

 

Now let's have a look at real Leica (i.e. not badge-engineered) digital, ranked by age

 

DMR - you would be lucky to get one at 2750 Euro - 40%

Digilux2 (yes I think this is a real Leica) 700 Euro -50%

M8- 1850 Euro -60%

M8.2 2500 Euro -50%

 

I see no difference to film cameras there.

[luigi bertolotti]

It would be intriguing... but I think the only way to "imagine" it is to think of one of the current Digital Backs for MF SLR, just A LITTLE smaller/thinner, and "attaching" half a M body to it... ...not a fine gear. Indeed, DMR was in that direction... but there must be a reason for none of the big DSLR FF players hasn't gone this way.

 

I looked at the Ricoh GXR... a corageous tentative which, I think, has not proved so succesful.

[andybarton]

but there must be a reason for none of the big DSLR FF players hasn't gone this way.

 

 

Because they wouldn't make any money out it it, I expect.

[Dan States]

As a manufacturer why would anyone do this? They would be out of their minds to offer a bargain route around owning the latest and greatest. Its a business after all.

 

I don't think Leica needs much advice on how to sell cameras to rich people, they seem to be unable to keep up with what they are already doing.

[Despe]

This is what has been done by RED (WELCOME TO RED.COM) with success when they released the Mysterium-X new sensor for the RED ONE 4K cameras a while ago. The cameras had to be shipped back to the manufacturer to get this upgrade. It wasn't free but the difference was so huge in quality (especially in the low lights) that almost each of the thousands RED ONE owners did it.

Now RED is shipping the new EPIC, which has a larger sensor and is much more expensive (and currently in production on SpiderMan). Are the RED ONE owners unhappy ? No. Just because if they want to buy an EPIC, the price they paid their RED ONE will be substracted from the bill, which means they used their current camera for 2 years for free.

This is the type of deal which makes the camera owners happy!

[andybarton]

Doesn't sound like a long term sustainable policy, though.