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Leica's New Cameras


edmond_terakopian

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I've just read that the M is the same thickness as the M9 - another member placed his M9 against the M to check, so the 5mm IS the thumb rest.

 

That's correct, but as Rick says, older accessories will no longer fit. No biggie.

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The tripod mount is certainly an improvement.

 

Seriously, these guys have been through the whole thing and tried very hard indeed to move things on.

 

I'm a cynic. By nature it takes quite a lot to get me wondering whether I should spend 5,000 hard-earned on a hobby. That's a LOT of money to me. This product has me tempted. This is a neighbour's ass product.

 

Can ANYONE tell me what there is NOT to like about this camera? I'd love to know. Five grand is at stake.

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Andy, I'm solely a film photographer with a TTL and an M4, however the M is the first digital I would seriously consider based on the specs alone. I am reserving final decision until I've seen the image quality, however, because a requirement for me is that the sensor is able to render clean and as film-like images as possible out of the camera. If not, I would probably not be interested.

 

The ability to use R lenses interests me and I am happy that Leica offers some way to let these form part of the current digital ecosystem.

 

The video function is definitely something I would be very interested in. This is the one aspect of my 5D2 which I really miss currently, because it adds a lot to the recollection of any situation. Plus HD quality is very nice. I can only imagine what it must be like with Leica lenses (btw in my experience - and maybe I am just unsteady - using the various L zooms I have while shooting video results in a rather shaky image so I would much prefer only to use primes).

 

As for the various accessories and extra gadges, my though is "meh, not interested". I don't use flash, not since my Speedlight was stolen during a breakin in my Sarajevo apartment more than a decade ago. The EVF, hmm not sure I will like that but I'll wait and see.

 

So all-in-all the M seems veeeeery intriguing indeed and I look forward to playing with it on Saturday in Köln.

 

Cheers and thanks for the reports

Philip

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Yes. I would sell my D700 to go towards an M. The EVF is terrific, no matter what some purists here will tell you. Is not an SL viewfinder, nor even an R8, but it's bloody good and the focus peaking works very well indeed.

 

Thanks. All I needed to know. I'll sell a DSLR and a couple lenses + the M9 and I'll be close to the cost for the M. As you know I stock pilled a couple of the rarer R lenses in hopes that the M would provide an R solution and these lenses would increase in value. Between selling all of this gear + the R lenses I think I should be able to justify the cost for the new M.

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I have this suspicion that the new sensor and the new supplier and the Leica engineers have got something up their sleeves. They have conspicuously left out much talk about the sensor and they haven't provided any images or files. I know they are still working it all out and are working with Adobe etc., etc. But, I just think they are going to surprise everyone one more time near the release date with a stunning sensor. So far everything about this camera seems so well thought out. I can't imagine Leica will drop the ball on the sensor. We will have to wait and see...

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...

Can ANYONE tell me what there is NOT to like about this camera? I'd love to know. Five grand is at stake.

 

Just learned in the German section of the forum that the frames in the viewfinder only appear when you switch on the camera. I think that's not practical. When I look through the viewinder I want to know what my lens will cover without pushing buttons.

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Just learned in the German section of the forum that the frames in the viewfinder only appear when you switch on the camera. I think that's not practical. When I look through the viewinder I want to know what my lens will cover without pushing buttons.

 

Use your imagination.:cool:

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I plan on getting the M ASAP.

 

I am familiar with the EVF for NEX-5N and the built in one for the NEX-7.

Depending on the object being photographed, being very contrasty or not, focus peeking either works very well or not.

The focus peeking interprets areas of high contrast as being in focus. So, it's an indirect method, not direct as the RF.

I don't expect that to be different with the M.

 

It seems the M has as a fallback 10x magnification in any case. Sounds good to me.

Whenever possible I would prefer the RF focus method.

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I've just read that the M is the same thickness as the M9 - another member placed his M9 against the M to check, so the 5mm IS the thumb rest.

 

And Erwin Puts reports that the dimensions, including thickness, are identical. (But he didn't address the thumb rest as an issue.)

 

Given all the stuff inside the new M, including a bigger battery, that's a nice feat if all dimensions are essentially equal.

 

As I've said in another ongoing thread, I got all my top wishes for the M...weather sealing, 2m frame lines like the M8.2, Maestro processor, ability to use long lenses and (apparently) a quieter re-cocking mechanism.

 

I'll of course have to wait to test, especially for IQ, but if all holds, my thought to buy a supplementary 5DIII will likely be unnecessary.

 

Jeff

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Can ANYONE tell me what there is NOT to like about this camera? I'd love to know. Five grand is at stake.

 

I think it all relies on the sensor and I've no confidence in CMOSIS or ST Microelectronics whatever - has anyone seen one single picture taken at its base ISO?

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That's correct.

 

And to those who doubt the new sensor or question the image quality, consider whether Leica would move away from Truesense unless they had found a properly suitable alternative. Their commitment to the "image", manifest by their huge Hall 1 gallery, means that the output from the sensor is paramount in their minds.

 

I should have checked the firmware when I was playing with it but it must be very early, hence the current lack of examples. In July, the cameras in Solms were still in the "elastic band and tape" stage, now the hardware is finished. Firmware and tweaks come over next three months.

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I think it all relies on the sensor and I've no confidence in CMOSIS or ST Microelectronics whatever - has anyone seen one single picture taken at its base ISO?

 

I think it is very smart of Leica to have gone this route. Now the sensor can be judged on its own merits, instead of being compared with other brands offering the same sensor in their products, with all the errors that introduces.

Plus they keep control over the complete design-to-production process.

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