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M10: A Vital Part


lars_bergquist

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Saw this from the September issue of fotomagazin today ... time for another thread to guess the prices of M9/S2 in 2 weeks?

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Have a good look: The M10 is projected against the contour of an M9, slightly smaller and rounder with offset corners. It will be interesting to see if that matches reality. :)

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We think we are beginning to have a reasonable idea of the line of development followed by the 'M10' or 'M9 successor', which surely already exists in prototype form. But I want to draw attention to one feature, the presence or absence of which will be a deal maker or breaker for me and probably for some other people.

 

Present speculations say that the camera will have live view and a push-on EVF in the accessory shoe. (Hopefully, with a focus assist feature.) This would open up the two areas that have by tradition been closed to the rangefinder camera (and yes, I have worked extensively with the Visoflex II and III, but these have been clumsy stopgaps): long tele lenses and macro. Especially the latter area is important to me.

 

But – with an EVF in the shoe, all use of flash is impossible, because this is the only flash connection that the M8/M9 has. Strange to say!

 

In order to fully open up the macro range – and also the use of flash with lenses shorter than 28mm – the 'M10' will have to have a second flash connector, and preferably one with full TTL capability with the 'system' flashes. Something like the five-pole screw-in one that my old OM-4 had. Leica (well, Metz) will have to offer a coiled flash cord for it too. This feature is now so old that even Leica should be able to seriously contemplate its use … And by the way, even some studio photogs would want it.

 

Whatever Leica makes will sell, of course. Even a camera that you have to use standing on one leg and with a focusing cloth over your head, will sell. But this second flash connector can sell an extra number of units. If Leica are going to conquer a one percent or even a tenth of a percent share of the global camera market, then they have to start somewhere. And increased functionality might be a good place to start.

 

Gnomes of Solms – Ghosts of Wetzlar – listen to me!

 

The old man from the Age of Photography

 

Would it be possible to include a flash or hotshoe on top of the push on EVF? That would allow flash use with the EVF.

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I can't imagine a new M camera will not provide a conventional flash shoe with some sort of interface to the finder. You have to hope that interface is extendible to be able to work with better finders in the future. Otherwise, the M10 will be hobbled by the current "state of the art" with nowhere to go in the future, a bit like cars with early sat-nav now looking hopelessly outdated. Stand up Mercedes SL55 AMG!

 

If there is a new finder development in the future which the M10 cannot use, that camera will turn out to be spectacularly bad from the value retention point of view.

 

As for stacking the flash on top of the finder, the flash shoe is securely attached to the top of the camera (though Jaap managed to break his) and I doubt any EVF would have the strength of carry a heavy flash on the top.

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I disagree, Mark, as the EVF will only be an auxiliary finder,and will be seen as "non-Leica" anyway, I doubt that users will be very impressed by it becoming "obsolete".

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Looks like we'll have to agree to differ. If I spend £7k on an M10 + EVF, say, and at some point a revised and improved EVF comes out which only fits the M11, I will not be pleased.

 

Don't mean to ruin your day, but you paid $7 grand for an M9 and now an EVF comes out which only fits the M10 ;)

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Maybe the dark patch in a blurred picture of what is thought to be an M10 prototype is not the socket for an external electronic viewfinder. Maybe it's the socket for an external microphone ... :p

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I am not sure I know what live view and EVF are but I assume they are what you have onnthe D2 and Vlux3, both of which I have and use. I can't see why anyone would wish to have them on an M. It is an entirely different system with its own special virtues. To me, the great thing about the M9 is that it is essentially the same camera as the M3,M2, M4, and M6 and M7, all of which I have used with great satisfaction over many years.

Alwyn

Parallax

Polarizing .. .for the love of god why would someone "NOT" want live view for that very reason.

Focusing long lenses... Have you ever used manual focus on a live view camera? They have features to zoom in so you can get critical focus.. which is very hard with my 135 elmar.

Wide angle lenses... do you like to carry and spend money on an external finder?

I just came back from a landscape photo trip and do not have the Leica Franken polarizer any more. So I've just been using a regular CPL ..I hold it up to the camera and it does the job but a pain in the butt. I don't like that huge monstrosity called the Universal Polarizer.

 

So for the anti live view people.. if it's there just don't use it.

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Parallax

Polarizing

Focusing long lenses

Wide angle lenses... do you like to carry and spend money on an external finder?

I just came back from a landscape photo trip and do not have the Leica Franken polarizer any more. So I've just been using a regular CPL ..I hold it up to the camera and it does the job but a pain in the butt. I don't like that huge monstrosity called the Universal Polarizer.

 

So for the anti live view people.. if it's there just don't use it.

Just out of curiosity, why are you using a rangefinder given your comments above?

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