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What do you want in the next digital M?


IkarusJohn

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Yah, yah. Binning CMOS is just swell if your subject is not moving, and you are making very long (astronomic) images where software and tracking and lots on black space separates the subject and you have active cooling.

 

But that is about today. Gosh only knows about tomorrow. In a strange way I am happy to be a at end-of-life. Have fun unless you have other plans.

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Said it before, but I would love electronic connections to the lens for registering true aperture instead of a guess. It should be possible to introduce that functionality in both the lenses and bodies while maintaining backwards compatibility...

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  • 2 weeks later...

And really how hard is it to switch the ISO on the M240 that we need an dedicated wheel for this

 

I disagree but I see your point. For me, currently the thumb wheel is not dedicated to ISO, it performs various functions. It must be used in conjunction with the ISO button and the screen to determine and set the current setting. I would much prefer a dedicated wheel on the top deck from which I can instantly read off the current ISO value and pre-set without needing to access the screen. Since ISO is so critical to controlling exposure, along with aperture and shutter speed, I do feel it rightfully deserves a spot up there and a dedicated wheel. However I can live without and still love my M240!

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I'm surprised that Pixel Binning has been employed by more camera makers ... it's used a lot in other imaging applications. Imagine 36 meg for certain applications, then switch over to 18 meg for street work at higher ISOs and a faster capture rate.

 

Pixel binning from 36MP would give you 9MP.

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One thing Marc mentions is an .85 viewfinder. I'm 100% behind that. My M6TTL .85 was wonderful. I never did understand why Leica offered only one viewfinder for the M digital line - it didn't seen to be a problem offering three different choices for the film M's.

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Simplicity by design.

 

...

 

- Marc

 

Sorry, but from my point of view you have just proved that a simplistic design is not the same as simplicity ;). Any design that removes the fundamental photographic controls is a step backwards, as most modern camera design has proved with a few exceptions (among them the M series). So, please try again but return exposure wheel and add ISO wheel and you might be on to something.

 

The SA plate is a very good idea, in particular on the M where the bottom plate is really connected to the camera (as opposed to the M9).

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Said it before, but I would love electronic connections to the lens for registering true aperture instead of a guess. It should be possible to introduce that functionality in both the lenses and bodies while maintaining backwards compatibility...

 

no thanks...adding electronic connections to the lense will reduce the life-time rapidly, in other words: maintenance will increase drastically.

 

Keep it free of that chunk and they'll last a lifetime.

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I would love to see electronic frame lines that grow or shrink as well as shift depending on the distance focused upon. This would forever end the problem where the frame lines are either too tight close up or too loose at distances. No, Leica can never solve parallax between objects at different distances in the rangefinder view, but they could make the frame lines accurate at the distance focused upon. That would mean doing away with the mechanical masks in the finder and replacing it with an LCD. The M is already partway there since the framelines are LED-illuminated rather than using the flare-prone illumination window. (This may be the reason why people report the M RF is significantly better than the older models).

 

I'd also love to see a built-in variable diopter adjustment in the viewfinder.

 

Beyond that, I really don't care much. I'm fine with the form factor. I shoot Leica because I love the optics and the rangefinder experience. As long as they don't mess that up, I'll probably be happy regardless of what bells and whistles they add, or don't.

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Said it before, but I would love electronic connections to the lens for registering true aperture instead of a guess. It should be possible to introduce that functionality in both the lenses and bodies while maintaining backwards compatibility...

 

Don't you have Leica lenses, because none of them will work with your electronic body! New lenses plus a new body? Sounds expensive!

 

I moved to Leica from Canon to get away from the complexity and associated risk of lens motors, bulk and weight, multiple setting options and menus. Does anyone want to buy my two faulty canon lenses. Both have electrical connection faults. Now I work within the limitations of the Leica and don't envy anyone with any feature rich camera. On the contrary, I find that I rarely go anywhere without non-Leica owners approaching me!

My Nex hasn't seen the light of day since 2012 and despite being touted as a supercamera not so long ago, it has managed to dive in value and is being replaced. I wonder if anyone really mastered its overly complex features during its lifetime.

If I considered it important to have cutting edge technology in my Leica body I would have jumped ship by now.

That's how I feel. Happy and content! I love Leica digital M’s and I applaud their idiosyncrasies.

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How about putting an electro motor inside of the camera that's capable rotating the lens' focus ring. Keep the rangefinder, but add some more electronics that could detect the contrast between the patch and what comes thorugh the rangefinder window. Oh, the dot for the AF should be movable around the patch. :D

 

Happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrate!!!

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no thanks...adding electronic connections to the lense will reduce the life-time rapidly, in other words: maintenance will increase drastically.

 

Keep it free of that chunk and they'll last a lifetime.

 

It's possible to make extremely rugged electronic couplings. When was the last time you wore out a USB port? How about the chip on your VISA card?

 

Don't you have Leica lenses, because none of them will work with your electronic body! New lenses plus a new body? Sounds expensive!

 

Read my suggestion more carefully. If you build the coupling such that it's as close to or actually a passive coupling (i.e.: no "chip" in the lens), there is no issue with forward or backwards compatibility. If the camera has no way to read the information, then it falls back to the traditional guess mode, otherwise it would read the set aperture.

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What I'd like to see:

1. Instant startup;

2. 24-36MP sensor with IQ (ISO, DR) comparable to a D800;

3. Illumination of only the frameline describing the the area covered by the lens;

4. Larger RF focusing square;

5. Hybrid VF (maybe);

6. Reprogram M button to toggle either ISO or exposure compensation;

7. Allow auto ISO in manual shutter speed modes;

8. If EVF remains external, allow lateral rotation as well as vertical;

9. Variable detents on the shutter speed dial to signal move from A to manual modes;

10. Instant startup;

11. No more crashing. State of the art electronics, please;

12. Faster image review;

13. 2x mode in LV with focus peaking;

14. Smaller if possible;

15. Vibrating sensor clean mode;

16. No red dot. Make it black;

17. A more convenient battery and card access solution;

18. Even better battery life:

19. Instant startup.

 

That about covers it for me. This is a camera I love to use, but that is also very frustrating in some very mundane but important respects. Stability and startup time are simply unacceptable in a camera of this price level and vintage. I hate losing images to crashes or startup delays.

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