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New M240 photos


Bazwell

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LCT's price list is also showing availability of the APO 50mm Summicron ASPH as June 2013. As discussed on another thread, Leica do seem to be in trouble with this one...

 

[interesting that even with Swiss VAT being 8% compared to our 20%, the Swiss tax inclusive prices are typically more than in the UK. The M240 is shown as CHF 7990 which is £5421; it costs £5100 here. Someone, somewhere is being greedy.]

 

Mark,

 

This is typical.

 

I buy my photo gear on my annual trips to Singapore. Here VAT is something like 9% - of which you get back 6 - 7% depending on the total bill when leaving the country ('tax free'). Still, the price is higher than the Norwegian price less the 20% VAT here. The same with Hong Kong, Abu Dabi etc. Typical for all the large camera brands is that they tend to 'subsidise' countries with a high VAT and keep higher prices in countries with low VAT. The cheapest way to buy a Leica M will be to buy it in Norway or UK and have a possibility to deduct the VAT, if you run a business.

 

But look out: - Possibly the cheapest place will be USA. Watch the dollar. It's falling.

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I just want to clarify that I never meant to call Dr. Rhode a bad photographer. He is certainly a careless editor though. I feel that if photos are released at this time, they should be released by multiple beta testers, so that you can see different photographer's shooting and processing style with the new camera. The fact that these and the samples at the low-light out of focus dinner are the only ones released is mind-boggling in my opinion. I hope that we see more samples by other photographers in the very near future. I'm sure there are quite a few people at the Magnum agency that wouldn't mind spending an afternoon with this camera. I've said this before, the photos I have seen from the camera so far, leave me a little worried.

 

Specifically, I think that they look very flat. The colors are muted and the contrast is very linear. It can certainly be due to processing but none of the samples I have seen look anything like what I'm used to from the M8 or M9.

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What advantage would a fully configured M240 have over any FF DSLR? Size is about the same as a D600 once you add the hand grip with flash support and the EVF. Weight is about the same and you can use R lenses with an adapter. However, you give up AF, you give up speed, you give up sensor cleaning and stabilized lenses and you have a lot more bits & pieces to carry around, misplace or lose. The main advantage of size and weight are given up and I would guess high ISO support won't be equal to the D600. The only plus is using M lenses if you already own them and if not you are giving up much greater flexibility on lens options. I suspect with hand grip and EVF you will be paying 5 times the price of the D600.

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What advantage would a fully configured M240 have over any FF DSLR? Size is about the same as a D600 once you add the hand grip with flash support and the EVF. Weight is about the same and you can use R lenses with an adapter. However, you give up AF, you give up speed, you give up sensor cleaning and stabilized lenses and you have a lot more bits & pieces to carry around, misplace or lose. The main advantage of size and weight are given up and I would guess high ISO support won't be equal to the D600. The only plus is using M lenses if you already own them and if not you are giving up much greater flexibility on lens options. I suspect with hand grip and EVF you will be paying 5 times the price of the D600.

 

"The only plus is using M lenses if you already own them"? But that is the whole point: it's a rangefinder and it uses M lenses. The D600 isn't and doesn't. All of the add-ons are optional, and the R adapter stuff is secondary, maybe a convenience if you happen to own R lenses.

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A rangefinder. Good answer?

 

The mechanical RF differentiates it from the masses. It's an advantage to some. Interesting to see how on the one hand FF DSLRs are slimmed down and even more compact FF Evils will be available soon and on the other hand the digital Ms adding features, bulk and weight to make them more appealing to a larger market segment.

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Actually Leica has already released sample photos from the new M officially - the Magnum Photographer Jean Gaumy had the privilege of shooting with one for the M ad campaign and his photos from France were shown at Photokina in the form of huge prints and the same prints were also at Leica store Ginza in Tokyo (I saw that personally, though I am not sure if it's the same print transported from Photokina)

 

On the Leica website, you can see sample photos and a video of Jean talking about the photos, with pics. True these are not original JPGs but from the huge print I have seen in Tokyo, I do not doubt Leica will do a stellar job on the new sensor.

 

I'm sorry but I do feel this beta tester has no business releasing these "samples", even if he is someone commissioned by Leica to beta test the electronics....

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I'm sorry but I do feel this beta tester has no business releasing these "samples", even if he is someone commissioned by Leica to beta test the electronics....

 

Because it might upset some bobble hats on a forum somewhere? His "business" is between himself and Leica. Leica are driving in that relationship, they can demand NDA, non-publish clauses etc. They chose not to. Yet the Dr is to blame? He's supposed to hold himself to some LUF Hypocratic oath? To protect the sensitive nature of some over sensitive users?

 

Come on.

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Actually Leica has already released sample photos from the new M officially - the Magnum Photographer Jean Gaumy had the privilege of shooting with one for the M ad campaign and his photos from France were shown at Photokina in the form of huge prints and the same prints were also at Leica store Ginza in Tokyo (I saw that personally, though I am not sure if it's the same print transported from Photokina)

 

On the Leica website, you can see sample photos and a video of Jean talking about the photos, with pics. True these are not original JPGs but from the huge print I have seen in Tokyo, I do not doubt Leica will do a stellar job on the new sensor.

 

I'm sorry but I do feel this beta tester has no business releasing these "samples", even if he is someone commissioned by Leica to beta test the electronics....

 

So the shouts of "it should be given to a serious professional" seem a bit baseless huh? They'll be retracted no doubt.

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What advantage would a fully configured M240 have over any FF DSLR? Size is about the same as a D600 once you add the hand grip with flash support and the EVF. Weight is about the same and you can use R lenses with an adapter. However, you give up AF, you give up speed, you give up sensor cleaning and stabilized lenses and you have a lot more bits & pieces to carry around, misplace or lose. The main advantage of size and weight are given up and I would guess high ISO support won't be equal to the D600. The only plus is using M lenses if you already own them and if not you are giving up much greater flexibility on lens options. I suspect with hand grip and EVF you will be paying 5 times the price of the D600.

 

It's a good question. But I feel you framed it to narrowly. You're assuming R adapter and lenses. I have no interest in that aspect of the system, nor the video capabilities.

 

So for me at least, the advantages are carried over from the M9, but with added processor speed, better close up accuracy (this is when I will use the EVF) and better functionality in the high ISO, screen size, menus, buttons etc.

 

So those advantages would be size and weight combined with exceptional files. My M9P with table tripod, 35 50 & 75 plus Lee filters is so much smaller and more portable than the equivalent 5DII kit.

 

The "rangefinder advantage" I don't subscribe to. It's a lovely way of shooting but if I need to see outside the frame on a DSLR I'll open my left eye and look, zoom out a touch and crop in post or blast the action at 12fps (sport).

 

I've found more advantage in the system's perceived size, from the subjects point of view. It's a much more friendly, informal, personal way to shoot and the images reflect that. The contrary is also true, shooting CEO is easier with peli cases full of lights and DLR kit. It's horses for courses.

 

Other people will vary in their opinions, I'd be interested in the responses from those who shoot with the R adapter etc.

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What advantage would a fully configured M240 have over any FF DSLR?

 

Exactly the same advantage an M7 had over an F5 or EOS-1... it's a rangefinder.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

 

 

Sent from another Galaxy

Edited by bill
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Just waded through 5 pages of fuss about some guys holiday snaps.

 

So the M240 doesn't produce images that are startlingly different to any other CMOS 24 mp camera ....

 

Did you ever expect it would ????

 

This is an incremental improvement mostly responding to all the moans (from this forum) about the deficiencies in the mechanics and features in the M8/9. I suspect from an image point of view better high ISO performance will be the only noticeable difference in real world use......:rolleyes:

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Actually, the published images are not substantially different from pretty much any point-and-shoot you care to name.

 

I'm interested in how the camera behaves in more difficult photographic situations such as extreme contrast, low light, shadow detail, freedom from imaging artefacts and so on. This is what will hopefully make the M240 a stand-out camera and a few pictures of some chums on a boat don't show me that.

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Actually, the published images are not substantially different from pretty much any point-and-shoot you care to name.

 

I'm interested in how the camera behaves in more difficult photographic situations such as extreme contrast, low light, shadow detail, freedom from imaging artefacts and so on. This is what will hopefully make the M240 a stand-out camera and a few pictures of some chums on a boat don't show me that.

 

I'm told the shadow detail is unequalled. I'm waiting to see that for myself.

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