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Revisiting the Leica M9 vs the Leica M 262 at overgaard.dk


Overgaard

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Nah. The numbering system is fine now. There is not a Leica user nor a prospective one that after a few minutes doesn't know exactly what they are.

Yes, they're rangefinder cameras, made by Leica.

 

As I said above, we could cut the discussion short if only Leica built a display into the case where some of the bodies now bear an engraving showing the model number. That way, every owner could set the model to his own preference.

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I like change... I hate stupid, clumsy, short sighted change though... and this, to me, is stupid, clumsy and shortsighted... ;)

Well, maybe you should tell that to other German firms like Mercedes, Porsche and BMW that use similar systems... It has always been said that the German mind is more organized than the Anglosaxon one - maybe it is true... :lol:

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Well, maybe you should tell that to other German firms like Mercedes, Porsche and BMW that use similar systems... It has always been said that the German mind is more organized than the Anglosaxon one - maybe it is true... :lol:

 

 

Not entirely sure I agree with anyone there...!

 

'Organised' isn't the target... the target is the clear and simple communication of the various models from an existing range... and words are more 'art' than anything when it comes to real communication kept as simple as possible. This why the people who can do it really well, consistently, are far more rare and get paid a lot more than engineers... Its a rare gift, communication...

 

You can argue that joining several words together to make a phrase that describes one particular thing or action, makes sense in terms of organisation... but it makes for bloody long and complicated words!!! :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Edited by Bill Livingston
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I like change... I hate stupid, clumsy, short sighted change though... and this, to me, is stupid, clumsy and shortsighted... ;)

I don't like change for the sake of change.  Change for improvement, however is reasonable.  Change for increasing the profit in a product usually results in nothing good happening though. 

 

Mostly, change doesn't bother me at all either... especially when it just concerns something like this...  but if you look at the history of Leica and the folks who buy them, there was a HUGE debate about the M3 while it was being developed... so significant in fact that they produced the IIIg simutaneously, so they'd have income in case the M3 bombed.   Then, of course, there was the discontinuation of the M series, abandoning the rangefinder market for the R series... and the outcry created the re-genesis with the M4-2...  and the M5 debacle...  and the choice to leave off the preview lever on the M-E...   and then whether the CMOSIS sensor was the equal of the CCD...  the battery-operated framelines on the M...   and it goes on and on.   The arguments are silly, frankly...  and most often a tempest in a teapot;  but looking at history,  it's true that the Leica-buying public really doesn't like change. 

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Well, maybe you should tell that to other German firms like Mercedes, Porsche and BMW that use similar systems... It has always been said that the German mind is more organized than the Anglosaxon one - maybe it is true... :lol:

 

Well, Jaap, I would phrase your comparison differently  ;) , but as an American my comment would be met with a certain amount of antagonism. 

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You can argue that joining several words together to make a phrase that describes one particular thing or action, makes sense in terms of organisation... but it makes for bloody long and complicated words!!! :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

Leica M typ siebenhundertsiebenundsiebzigtausendsiebenhundertsiebenundsiebzig

 

We should be so lucky.

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Well, Jaap, I would phrase your comparison differently  ;) , but as an American my comment would be met with a certain amount of antagonism. 

:D:lol: My post was in jest, but I do think there may be a cultural dichotomy here.

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Borrowing from the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen-TX

 

"Thorsten, I've used the M9, I know the M9; the M9 is a friend of mine. Thorsten, the M262 is no M9!"

 

Failures of the M262:

 

- no frameline selector lever;

- no ambient light frameline illumination;

- no M9 color palette

 

It's a poseur.

_______

 

Good one, Pico! I meant to do the same, but couldn't decide on which was the best "long" germanicism. Always liked "hottentottenpotentatentantenattentat" ("attack on the aunt of the King of the Khoikhoi")

Edited by adan
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The idea with the new model type numbers was to allow for changes in models between models. So the M240 could get an upgrade of say the buffer and be M241. But Leica never utilized those possibilities for small changes in models (as they do with Apple computers where there can be an updated model in 6, 12 18 months without any actual design changes or feature changes). 
 

There was an idea to go Roman numbers, and it would have been cute with MX. But thankfully someone foresaw the problems with MXI and MXII, MXIII

 

.... not to mention model M XIV

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There was an idea to go Roman numbers, and it would have been cute with MX. But thankfully someone foresaw the problems with MXI and MXII, MXIII

 

.... not to mention model M XIV

 

In his sci-fi novel The Sands of Mars, (written in the era of the Leica screw-mount cameras) Arthur C. Clarke mentions a character using a Leica XXIII. Eventually, Leica would have gotten up to M18s and M25s - and perhaps that way madness lies.

 

(quoting myself from a previous "new Leica names" thread).

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But Leica never utilized those possibilities for small changes in models (as they do with Apple computers where there can be an updated model in 6, 12 18 months without any actual design changes or feature changes). 

I always end up searching the web to figure out which model of Apple computer I bought - their model designation is useless too. I rest my case ;) .

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Thanks Thorsten, I really enjoyed this article (plus all you others). I'm a big fan of the M8/9/ME colour palette, I've trialled the M240 for a limited time and although its a very nice camera i prefer the 8/9/ME colour for Caucasian skin tones (which is a large part of my main subject matter, i.e. family in shots) and sky highlights. I don't know if its CCD,CMOS or simple the colour array. I'd love to know how the CMOS would look if the exact shades/density of RBG from the CCD were placed over the CMOS. In reading the comments some seem a little confused by the article, to me it made perfect sense and was in the same same style as your other articles. So as said thank you. 

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Er, under Apple logo 'About This Mac > more info'…… as simple as that.

 

So why is it so difficult to determine which RAM to buy when upgrading it - so much so that Crucial offer a downloadable app to check.......?

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