Kaufman interview

[wildlightphoto]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

This suggests there are bound to be future non-rangefinder 'Leica R lens' compatible cameras ... not pure 'R' solutions but better solutions than using e.g. Canon DSLRs and other manufacturers' mirrorless ILCs. 'Better' because Leica Camera AG can 'tweak' their cameras, and specify CMOSIS sensors, to produce images with the Leica look.

 

And don't have mirror clearance problems or exposure metering problems. IMHO we won't have an R solution until these issues are things of the past and electronic viewfinders are as responsive as an optical viewfinder.

[Alberti]

I think this paragraph is interesting, and apparently says there will be no more reflex cameras? (Could be my French.) Including S line?

 

To me it means that all the gimmicks that DSLR's have like auto framing, auto-composing, even attractive scene identification, red eyes reduction, can also be available in a DRF.

It probably requires some evil somewhere to get a user to understand what's happening.

[jrp]

Interesting interview.

 

He still seems to be waiting for his M240.

 

The quality of the Japanese cameras me not be up to Leica standards, but (a) they are perfectly serviceable; ( they exist, in volume -- remember that the Japanese manufacturers recovered from tsunamis and floods in a matter of months; © the Japanese technology is years ahead; (d) Japanese prices are realistic, in comparison to cars, etc; (e) ...

 

I love my Leica gear, but it's not perfect (can't see the full frame, sensor quality good, but not outstanding, body weight/bulk, no autofocus, periodic recalibration required, ...).

 

So the tone of the interview is, ultimately, perhaps a little complacent.

[jaapv]

Interesting interview.

 

He still seems to be waiting for his M240.

 

The quality of the Japanese cameras me not be up to Leica standards, but (a) they are perfectly serviceable; ( they exist, in volume -- remember that the Japanese manufacturers recovered from tsunamis and floods in a matter of months; © the Japanese technology is years ahead; (d) Japanese prices are realistic, in comparison to cars, etc; (e) ...

 

I love my Leica gear, but it's not perfect (can't see the full frame, sensor quality good, but not outstanding, body weight/bulk, no autofocus, periodic recalibration required, ...).

 

So the tone of the interview is, ultimately, perhaps a little complacent.

I'm not so sure about that. If you look past electronic gimmicks most high-end Japanese cameras are rather conservative.

[IkarusJohn]

I'm not so sure about that. If you look past electronic gimmicks most high-end Japanese cameras are rather conservative.

 

Intriguing comment, Jaap. I take it you're comparing "the high-end Japanese offerings" with your new M(240), with its rangefinder and form factor dating back to 1954.

 

Unless, of course, you view the highest rated sensors (Sony D800), silent wave AF, improved coatings, image stabilisation as gimmickry. The only thing that is the same in my D800E as the FE I bought over 30 years ago is the F mount. Comparing the D800E with the M(240), I wouldn't call the Nikon conservative.

 

Looks like hubris, smells like hubris; I think you've been hitting the Koolaid a bit hard. We both love our Leicas, Jaap; and I love the fact that I can use any M mount lens regardless of age on my cameras (I probably could do the same with any F mount lens on my D800E, but there wouldn't be any point - it's not that sort of camera).

 

But at least give credit where it's due.

[Printmaker]

"Pure colour?" Not really.

 

Colo(u)r only exists in the mind - it is nothing BUT "perception".

 

In researching my previous post, I explored the question of "magenta" - which is a color (or range of colors) not represented in the spectrum. ... (in the case of magenta).

 

I'm really going to muddy up these waters... I remember those Japanese eyes/pearls ads and I also ran some obscure English machines called Crosfield Scanners. Once upon a time, I had two of them and a German scanner from Hell. The Crosfields always ran a percent or two towards magenta. (The German Hell was always perfect, of course.) I was always going in and manually subtracting the magenta in order to faithfully reproduce paintings. I was never sure if the English weather was to blame or if it was an English desire to look through rose colored glasses, but at that time I remembered those pearl ads and imagined the poor Crosfield rep trying to sell scanners in Japan.

[jaapv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Intriguing comment, Jaap. I take it you're comparing "the high-end Japanese offerings" with your new M(240), with its rangefinder and form factor dating back to 1954.

 

Unless, of course, you view the highest rated sensors (Sony D800), silent wave AF, improved coatings, image stabilisation as gimmickry. The only thing that is the same in my D800E as the FE I bought over 30 years ago is the F mount. Comparing the D800E with the M(240), I wouldn't call the Nikon conservative.

 

Looks like hubris, smells like hubris; I think you've been hitting the Koolaid a bit hard. We both love our Leicas, Jaap; and I love the fact that I can use any M mount lens regardless of age on my cameras (I probably could do the same with any F mount lens on my D800E, but there wouldn't be any point - it's not that sort of camera).

 

But at least give credit where it's due.

I am looking past the ephemeral specs. There is not much to choose between a Canon 1V and 1Dx as a camera imo.

Now if you want something that was years ahead of its time, that was the Olympus OM1. I do not think the Japanese camera industry is anything near that level of innovation at present. I do not see where Leica hubris comes in, they are on an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary path as well.

As or your points, yes, I view silent wave AF as rather uninteresting and AF itself as useful in a number of cases but no more than that. The same for image stabilization. I don't feel that those have brought photography much forward except to make it more accessible. And improved coatings, they still have a way to go to catch up with Zeiss, if ever. Sensors, well,like film, specifications are fine but not the final word. I would be hard pressed to say a Canon sensor will make a lesser image than a Sony one, or a Dalsa, or even maybe a CMOSIS. And the funny thing is that the manufacturing technology is by ASML, a European company.

[IkarusJohn]

Not sure I'm interested in what that means. Hopefully, my post was clear - Leica may be evolutionary, but I would add that the conservative (and complacent) label fits them better than the Japanese manufacturers. Sure, the OM-1 was good; so was the Nikon F for a long time ...

 

No solution to this discussion - I was simply picking up your rather bland and somewhat dismissive statement.

[jaapv]

It was just a response to a rather sweeping and unfounded assertion.

[james.liam]

My guess: a monochrome S and mochrome-versions of every DLUX from now on. They're not going to mess around with the MM. Too soon in its product cycle and Kaufmann alluded to this.

[Jeff S]

They're not going to mess around with the MM. Too soon in its product cycle and Kaufmann alluded to this.

 

Not sure where you interpret this. He says that new products will keep coming, without specific reference to timing that I see regarding the MM.

 

But Stefan Daniel clearly alluded to an MM based on the new M platform in his October, 2012 Photokina interview, as follows...

 

Question: Will the M-Monochrom remain part of the M-System for the foreseeable future?

 

Stefan Daniel: We want to keep the series of that type. The Monochrom is very successful and we can imagine that there might be a Monochrom variant of the new model. The camera is addictive.

 

Seems like when, not if. But I don't see any statement clarifying timing.

 

Jeff

[digitalpowershot]

Interesting interview.

 

He still seems to be waiting for his M240.

.

He is always waiting for the newest Leica M product. Last year, he told me he did not receive his M9-P yet, too. I complained about the long waiting time. So... if the CEO is not getting the M9P/M/MM/etc, why should anyone else (=the mormal customer) complain not getting the M yet?!

[IWC Doppel]

I do hope they bring out a B&W M soon, perhaps an M240.2 Pro to lose the large red dot and a nice B&W CMOS wide dynamic range B&W then I can pick up n 'old' last and first of the B&W CCD cameras and live happily ever after

[jrp]

I'm not so sure about that. If you look past electronic gimmicks most high-end Japanese cameras are rather conservative.

 

I'd welcome a few more "gimmicks" on the M, such as diopter adjustment on the eyepiece, being able to move around the zoomed live view image, self-cleaning sensor, etc.

 

The anti-auto focus Luddites were out in force when AF was first introduced in the 1980s. The market, both pro and amateur has, however, spoken. Likewise film v digital.

 

To me, if any of these gimmicks improve my hit rate, I'll take them. I know people talk about the purity of the Leica shooting experience. To me it's a bit more of struggle, as I have to think rather too much about focus and exposure, at the expense of composition (which is hard when the frame lines are only approximate and more often than not the bottom right of the picture is obscured) and light. I enjoy the practice, but will take the Nikons when the result matters.

[giordano]

OM-1 years ahead of its time? It was beautifully designed and wonderfully compact, but apart from that it was a conventional early-70s SLR: cloth shutter with 1/60 synch and 1/1000 shortest exposure, centre-weighted TTL, manual film loading and so on.

[wildlightphoto]

OM-1 ... was beautifully designed and wonderfully compact...

 

Most camera makers seem to have forgotten that this, apart from decent lenses, was one of the OM-system's greatest strengths.

[pico]

OM-1 years ahead of its time? It was beautifully designed and wonderfully compact, but apart from that it was a conventional early-70s [..].

 

And it was fragile. A National Geographic photographer I knew who used Leica Ms exclusively was given an OM-1 system by Olympus and he broke two bodies in two weeks on assignment. Trash.

[Alberti]

I do hope they bring out a B&W M soon, perhaps an M240.2 Pro to lose the large red dot and a nice B&W CMOS wide dynamic range B&W then I can pick up n 'old' last and first of the B&W CCD cameras and live happily ever after

 

It would be interesting if professionals would want to have two or more bodies like in the old days of [b&W] film M-backs.

[Paul J]

"Pure colour?" Not really.

 

"By numbers and measurements" - how would you describe this situation? What is the "pure color" of that square - numerically?

 

 

Colour, in the 'visible spectrum' is indeed quantifiable as such. Wether ultimately perceived or not, and while I appreciate that brain "does the math" after receiving from cone cells in the Retina, there is a raw data to speak of. Colors can be identified numerically by their spectrum coordinates; thus by numbers and measurements.

 

Perhaps pure is not the word, but there is a base standard in the visible spectrum that is quantifiable. eg. Cyan at 490-520 nm can not be red, which is at around 620-740 nm.

 

I appreciate though, that the issue of selling cameras to a race which prefer different colours as they perceive them differently due to physiology and psychology makes it difficult though.

 

The fact that Fuji allegedly shifts colour to please all people tends to suggest they are shifting from a base standard...can we not entertain that there is also a certain amount of marketing mojo in:

 

"Can you see the difference in these pearls? Japanese eyes can!"

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[pop]

Colour, in the 'visible spectrum' is indeed quantifiable as such. Wether ultimately perceived or not, and while I appreciate that brain "does the math" after receiving from cone cells in the Retina, there is a raw data to speak of. Colors can be identified numerically by their spectrum coordinates; thus by numbers and measurements. (...)

 

But then, there are very few things which reflect colors of single wave lengths; practically everything reflects a rather wide spectrum of light, with some bumps and gaps. While it still might be possible to quantify that, it would not be as straightforward as you seem to imply.