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End of March/ Early April


Snapper UK

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Guest WPalank

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Just luck. Not many photographers in the area know this is a Leica dealer, let alone news about the new M. They had one on order because they are a small outfit and they confirmed nobody has claimed it yet, so now that bad boy is mine. :D

Better be a Leica Store or Boutique as well as being a dealer.

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I think it's hard to use BH's date as we really haven't heard anything definitive. My Leica dealer is a Leica corporate store and they're still planning on a few weeks but who knows... I've already been asked if id like to purchase the accessories and add to my preorder. Guess we can just hope!

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Random thoughts while we reset our countdown counters -

 

Does the delay inspire people to put their names on more lists to improve the probability of getting a camera early on? I'm not talking about someone who is first or second on the list at their dealer, but folks beyond that. If not putting your name on additional lists, will you start the in-stock hunt as soon as they are released versus just waiting for your dealer?

 

Related question - does Leica prioritize deliveries to dealers for pre-paid, or cash-deposit-paid orders?

 

Just the ramblings of an idle mind. Maybe I'll go buy a new MacBook today.

 

Eric

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Does the delay inspire people to put their names on more lists to improve the probability of getting a camera early on? Just the ramblings of an idle mind. Maybe I'll go buy a new MacBook today.

 

Eric

 

Well, I'm just about to order an MM in the waiting time...

At least i'll have plenty of time to try it before my M gets available ;)

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However, there is some unhappiness about the 30fps live view readout as well as the inability to scroll the zoomed in live view image.

 

The 30fps limitation may be due to heat issues. Even DLSR cameras that have a lot more room inside had or still have a limit on the clip length that could be recorded, due to heat concerns. A full frame sensor makes a lot more heat than an APS-C or smaller.

 

30 fps@ 24MP is a huge amount of data to move and process. It's not a trivial thing.

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The 30fps limitation may be due to heat issues. Even DLSR cameras that have a lot more room inside had or still have a limit on the clip length that could be recorded, due to heat concerns. A full frame sensor makes a lot more heat than an APS-C or smaller.

 

30 fps@ 24MP is a huge amount of data to move and process. It's not a trivial thing.

 

I read somewhere it is due to the processor which is 5-6 years old, but cannot confirm it.

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I read somewhere it is due to the processor which is 5-6 years old, but cannot confirm it.

 

It's a ton of data to stream off that sensor and compress on the fly. The 5D mk III also won't go over 30fps at HD (1920 x 1080) and it has a current processor. The Maestro is pushing huge files through the S2, so it is quite capable. Again, I suspect that heat build up has a lot to do with it and by that I mean not only the sensor heating up, but also the processors, the bus etc.

 

Even my Sony PMW-F3 won't go over 30fps and it's a dedicated digital cinema camera the size of a shoebox. Granted the F3 is putting out uncompressed HD (slog 4:4:4), but still...

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Well the RX1 with a smaller body can shoot at 60P for 29 minutes at a time. Heat is the limiting factor not processor speed on the RX1. Understandable given its very small and thinner body.

 

Ok, so there is one. The RX1 also uses an EXMOR sensor, which is the same technology Sony has been using in their motion cameras for many years. There probably is more R&D money behind that sensor line than Leica is worth as a company.

 

My point is that 30fps is not so terrible for a 24MP FF still camera, Leica didn't drop the ball and isn't sticking it's customers with some old technology. They are delivering a max frame rate that is on par with 99% of the rest of the industry.

 

The M240 is also not a mirrorless camera. It's a optomechanical rangefinder. Live view was never intended to be the primary means of composing and focusing the camera, as is the case with the RX1.

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Thrid,

 

Actually there is still quite a difference in that the M240 can only achieve 30fps in VGA (640x480) mode and not in 1080P. (See Leica Specifications for M240) Since the sensor is capable of supplying enough pixels it would appear that the processor can't process the requisite data. The fact that it is a 24MP sensor is irrelevant in that 1080P is only 2MP and VGA is only 300KP. The Leica is only processing at a maximum rate of 9mp/s (640x480x30) and the Sony is processing at a rate of over 120mp/s (1920X108X60). To be fair, the Leica M240 can achieve a better data rate at 1080P by limiting frame rate to 25fps (1920x1080x25) or 50mp/s. It is not processing 24mp times 30fps as your post would imply.

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Thrid,

 

Actually there is still quite a difference in that the M240 can only achieve 30fps in VGA (640x480) mode and not in 1080P. (See Leica Specifications for M240) Since the sensor is capable of supplying enough pixels it would appear that the processor can't process the requisite data. The fact that it is a 24MP sensor is irrelevant in that 1080P is only 2MP and VGA is only 300KP. The Leica is only processing at a maximum rate of 9mp/s (640x480x30) and the Sony is processing at a rate of over 120mp/s (1920X108X60). To be fair, the Leica M240 can achieve a better data rate at 1080P by limiting frame rate to 25fps (1920x1080x25) or 50mp/s. It is not processing 24mp times 30fps as your post would imply.

This is clearly something that will need attention in the M241 as Maestro is based on Fujitsu's Milbeaut technology as of 2009 (shipped with S2) and probably does not have the refinement of the 6th generation one which is where they are today. http://www.fujitsu.com/global/services/microelectronics/product/assp/milbeaut/

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Well the RX1 with a smaller body can shoot at 60P for 29 minutes at a time. Heat is the limiting factor not processor speed on the RX1. Understandable given its very small and thinner body.

 

Isn't there also something to do with taxes and tariffs? If it shoots for longer than that, it counts as a video camera and attracts different taxes.

 

I expect battery life will be a concern too; if heat is an issue, it's got to come from somewhere and by definition cannot shoot longer than the battery will last unless it is tethered to an external supply which misses the point really.

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This is clearly something that will need attention in the M241 as Maestro is based on Fujitsu's Milbeaut technology as of 2009 (shipped with S2) and probably does not have the refinement of the 6th generation one which is where they are today.

 

It's unfortunate that the M240 is already old iron in using the Maestro chip set from the S2. It will still be a quantum leap over the general purpose DSP we have been used to and to some degree I agree with Leica in carrying something over they know and have experience of from the S2. New sensor and new body engineering will have stretched their resources enough. They are not Nikon or Canon...

 

It does point to a higher performance camera in quite a short time - certainly outliving the body design and I assume the sensor, especially if people take to Live View and Video in a big way and find the performance lacking.

 

Time to start a Photokina 2014 speculation thread?

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