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NEW M.. This year.. This Fall...


EdwardM

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Fully agree. But Leica will have to drag the M further into the digital age to keep selling it to more than a handful loyal old - and getting older- loyal customers with Luddite tastes, present company included.

 

I think the resources needed cannot be supplied by a company of Leica's size any more, it needs a large company that builds washing machines, toasters, cell phones, televisions and shavers beside cameras to deploy the R&D resources needed.

Personally I couldn't care less what is under the skin of my M, as long as it produces the philosophy, feel and results I expect of Leica.(which is exactly the thing that sells Panaleicas, despite the price premium. Leica changes the right aspects when rebadging)

 

The M 240 and 246 are a good example of that change, and despite being just a step along the road, I cannot wait to see how far the next iteration will come.

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I don't disagree, Adam - to a point.

 

It is unrealistic to think that every component of a Leica is made by elves slaving over a bench in Wetzlar, any more than it is to think that Panasonic actually makes all its components.

 

But, the differences between the X, Q, T, M & S and the PanaLeicas is a lot more than marketing.

 

Sorry for referring to a camera that still has an enthusiastic following in a camera forum... :rolleyes:

You may not have noticed, but the cooperation between Leica and Panasonic seems to have intensified of late, culminating up to now in the Q, making the connection between the two more than relevant. It may well be that, like the Q, the vast majority of the internals of the new camera will be stamped Panasonic.

 

Not a bad thing at all, IMO, as it gives Leica access to technology that they would never be able to develop themselves, but it puts a bit of a perspective on the disdain sometimes expressed for Panaleicas here. And guess which camera expressed the cooperation first?

Your answering a point I didn't make, Jaap. But go ahead if it pleases you.

 

It doesn't matter what supplier's name is stamped on the components. The T is not a Sony any more than the Q is a Panasonic (or did I miss the LUMIX Q?)

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I know more than one  Leica Guru who regards the Q as a Panasonic camera with a Leica skin. The percentage of Panasonic internals is that high. I disagree with them, as the resulting camera has the Leica feeling.

In the end, I agree with Adam. The question is whether there are other-branded clones, and not  who cloned what.

And it does not matter who produced what, but it may be a factor who designed what, or, at least, who set the specifications.

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I know more than one Leica Guru who regards the Q as a Panasonic camera with a Leica skin. The percentage of Panasonic internals is that high. I disagree with them, as the resulting camera has the Leica feeling.

In the end, I agree with Adam. The question is whether there are other-branded clones, and not who cloned what.

And it does not matter who produced what, but it may be a factor who designed what, or, at least, who set the specifications.

There speaks a Mondeo owner, with Jaguar badges :-)

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I think what makes Leica special is purely cosmetic. Minimalist design, metal construction and feel, analog controls.

 

Any serious camera designed by Leica will have these qualities. I'm sure the SL is no exception.

Er, I think the only analog control on the M 240 is the focusing ring.
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So my question now is:

 

Assuming the leaked specifications are true, who wants to buy the SL?

 

I know I want to buy it. At the least, I'm very interested in it, since this is what I asked and wished Leica would do, as long as it doesn't have any major unforeseen issues of course.

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[...] Assuming the leaked specifications are true, who wants to buy the SL? [...]

 

My only criterium will be the results of the "SL" with M and R lenses. It if does not perform significantly better than a Sony with them i will buy a Sony.

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My only criterium will be the results of the "SL" with M and R lenses. It if does not perform significantly better than a Sony with them i will buy a Sony.

I would call that a "major unforeseen issue", lct :D

 

But definitely, I would like it to work well with my M mount lenses, if not that would be a big disappointment.

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I would call that a "major unforeseen issue", lct :D [...]

 

Well, the T does not perform significantly better than a Fuji with M lenses so i bought a Fuji. With no rangefinder to make the difference, Leica put themselves on an equal footing with Sony and others. Reminds me of something but i don't wish to give Leica bad luck...

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Well, the T does not perform significantly better than a Fuji with M lenses so i bought a Fuji. With no rangefinder to make the difference, Leica put themselves on an equal footing with Sony and others. Reminds me of something but i don't wish to give Leica bad luck...

 

The T has a thick cover glass, very much like the Fujis and the Sonys. If the SL has it too, indeed, the performance with M lenses will not be any better than on any of the A7 variants. I hope Leica will have the wisdom to avoid this issue.

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My only criterium will be the results of the "SL" with M and R lenses. It if does not perform significantly better than a Sony with them i will buy a Sony.

This will be a key point for me as well, if it doesn't take M-lenses or do it with a performance degradation then it will be a whole new system to invest in and I already have one Leica M and one Nikon system.

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I'm not sure how much would be the 50 cron AF worth, but I would think around 3K?

Assuming there was an actual 50 mm Summicron AF … As far as I can tell this lens only enjoys a less than tangible existence on certain rumour sites.

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In this thread we have all been speculating on the next iteration of the M and getting round the limitations of the M lens mount and optical viewfinder .......

 

.... perhaps we have all been deluding ourselves and maybe Leica has come to the conclusion that any dramatic evolutionary changes are impractical without losing the 'iconic' status of the system ...... and that any replacement will just have performance gains without losing the basic design. 

 

..... in which case the proposed 'professional' SL may incorporate most of what we have been discussing, but based on a shrunken S which is mirrorless and capable of using AF lenses and multiple other system lenses via an appropriate adapter ...... and cropped output if required.

 

Avoids ruining the original M ethos and provides a cheaper alternative than the current S ....... 

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