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Digital M


highlander

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Well, over on the old English forum, we've been talking about the Digital M for a while.

 

Where to begin? Key things we "think" we know:

 

- 1.33 crop factor, similar size to M7, a little thicker, motor wound metal shutter

- A "real" Leica

- 10Mp Kodak sensor

- Virtually all M lenses usable

- 2.5" LCD display

- 6 bit "zebra" code on the back of lenses is read by the camera for image optimisation

- $4995 + tax, €3995 including tax, £3250 including tax expected pricing (more or less)

- Launched at Photokina 2006. I'll be in Cologne on 26 September!

 

Can't wait...

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Well, over on the old English forum, we've been talking about the Digital M for a while.

 

Where to begin? Key things we "think" we know:

 

- 1.33 crop factor, similar size to M7, a little thicker, motor wound metal shutter

- A "real" Leica

- 10Mp Kodak sensor

- Virtually all M lenses usable

- 2.5" LCD display

- 6 bit "zebra" code on the back of lenses is read by the camera for image optimisation

- $4995 + tax, €3995 including tax, £3250 including tax expected pricing (more or less)

- Launched at Photokina 2006. I'll be in Cologne on 26 September!

 

Can't wait...

 

And I've heard it will be named M8.

 

Wim

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Because of the 1.33 crop factor, a 21mm lens will have the same angle of view as a 28mm lens on 35mm, so we expect a super-wide lens from Leica. Seems likely to be a 15mm f2.8 but the Zeiss equivalent is huge and expensive, so they could reduce the aperture to f3.5 or f4. Leica have said any new lenses will be usable with the Digital M and film cameras so it's likely a 15mm lens would be usable for film cameras as well, even though there appears to be little demand for such a short focal length. Bound to be expensive, minimum €3500. The R equivalent is made by Schneider and costs a whopping €6500.

 

We also expect to see another 28mm; the need to have an "economical" range of lenses suggests an Elmarit 28mm ASPH; there could be a Summilux (f1.4) 28mm ASPH although this would be expensive too.

 

And, it looks like the 135mm f3.4 will not work on the M8 - it may just be a focussing issue, there might be more to it than that.

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I have been away for some time (Not in Jail !!!)

 

Are you sure? Your denial makes me suspicious ;)

 

As for the DM...I am having to watch from a distance. I have just got an R-D1 which I think willmake me lust after a DM even more. However, purchasing would I think put me in the market for a new wife too!

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Just read in a french mag the cropping factor might be less than 1.3 as the sensor supplier isn't Imacon anymore but should be Kodak... but could be (dream ?) a full frame Dalsa. Speculation of course. Anyway it has to be at least 20x30mm to be considered seriously by the professionnal market.

If the DM is just a telemetric DMR it will be a failure for sure.

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hi there,

 

i love Epson R-D1.

 

i have shot about 6,000 images so far. it is a delight. i love the ability to set the "film", the Leica feel, the use of my leica lens' and have been using the Voightlander lens' to good effect.

 

it has caused me to give up film due to the ASA's that are available for low light. specifically my M cameras.

 

there are times that i cannot use the epson due to the noisy shutter. i will use a Digilux II because it is quiet. however, it that gives terrible shadow noise in jpeg form. (i shoot too much to wait for raw form (why didn't they build a good buffer in that camera))

 

i await the digital M. i am concerned, though, that the suggested metal shutter will not be "leica quiet"

 

if it is quiet, i will be in line to purchase the digital M

 

peter williams

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Guest guy_mancuso
Just read in a french mag the cropping factor might be less than 1.3 as the sensor supplier isn't Imacon anymore but should be Kodak... but could be (dream ?) a full frame Dalsa. Speculation of course. Anyway it has to be at least 20x30mm to be considered seriously by the professionnal market.

If the DM is just a telemetric DMR it will be a failure for sure.

 

 

I certainly like to know why the DMR is a failure , I have 2 of them

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Peter, like you, I'm concerned about the shutter noise. The R-D1 metal shutter is more noticeable than an M cloth shutter and the (presumed) motor wind will just make it noiser unless they have provided the ability to cock the shutter separately from taking the picture. Personally, I would have preferred a lever wind to keep the noise and power consumption down with perhaps the option to use the M7 Motor if required.

 

Michel, if they're using a Kodak sensor, the KAF 10010 is the most likely candidate which is a 10Mp APS+ sensor. If instead they've been working with Dalsa and will surprise us all with an FF camera, I will be amazed.

 

Wouldn't it be good for Leica to go right to the top of the tree by doing so?

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Not going to happen. If you have a zoom lens, you have to be able to have a viewfinder which tracks the focal length of the lens. The Tri-Elmar has 3 fixed focal lengths which couple with the viewfinder but there's no way it could support a continuously variable focal length.

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Why would it be a failure. I think the DMR provides great files.

 

I assume that the Digital M will be at least as good, probably better since they have had a few additional years for the firmware and electronics.

 

Best,

 

Ray

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1.33x crop (27mm x 18mm) is pretty definite. Kodak sensor is pretty definite (as was the DMR's sensor). Imacon will have no role - replaced by a German company not yet named. Shutter noise I would not worry about - pick up an R9, set it to mirror-pre-release, release the mirror, and then release the shutter. VERY muffled sound even compared to the Epson. Not M7 quiet, but at least as quiet as my early M6.

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Hmm - good point, Mark. But having used some of the other motorized RFs (Konica, Contax) as well as the DMR - and accounting for the fact that a digital camera can use a much lower torque motor since there's no film to drag along - I suspect the shutter sound will still be well-muffled, well within the "norm" for focal-plane RF cameras.

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