Leica „lens-less“ lens rumor confirmed!

[Ecar]

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When the MTF charts are replaced with the WTF charts.

 

They are already many available: http://viz.wtf/

Some are rather impressive...

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[JohnnySeven]

When does the camera-less version appear?

   

Photokina?

Will Leica make a platinum version limited edition as well?

Albert     

As part of the minimalist less is more philosophy there will be no official release of this model.  There is also no MSRP as Leica will accept the deeds of property ownership from potential buyers. Upon completion of the paperwork Leica will ship the Leica camera-less logo and you can start imagining visual images, this includes motion picture functions.   Leica's reasoning for this type of transaction is that as the owners transition into a more cerebral existence they will not have any need for physical property.  The Leica overloards will take over all of the physical possessions of the customers. This is a logical development of the Leica pricing trend.  Instead of taking our net worth at $8000 at a time they will free us of it all in one graceful streamlined transaction leaving the buyer free from  the prison of cumbersome ownership.  Less is more, yes is no, simplicity at its most complex elegance. No camera is all the camera's, free your mind.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNZO5v7ZWDo

Edited April 9, 2018 by JohnnySeven

[schattenundlicht]

Update on the Leica Refractomar-M line of lenses (Part 1 of 4)

We all know that Leica IS listening to their customer base, don’t we!

- Some early adopters rightfully pointed out that, although delighted by the unique rendering of the Refractomar-M, they felt somewhat limited in their artistic expression by the unusual focal length.
 
- Another point of note is, that the Refractomar’s field of view is not represented accurately by any of the customary rangefinder framelines, making the lack of a dedicated accessory viewfinder all the more painful.

- Since 50 mm really is THE classic M focal length, it was clear from day one that a ‚normal‘ Refractomar would follow soon.

During my last trip to Wetzlar, I got the unique opportunity to visit the top secret lens development department, where I was met with unexpected openness and shown some prototypes of the upcoming 50 mm lens that, sadly, had to be discarded for various reasons. I am proud to have been given exclusive permission to share some of the details with you!

Shown below is the „0-Series“ prototype of the Refractomar-M 50 mm which includes some remarkeable features. At that time, my suspense was growing day by day with regard to which of these unique properties would make it into the final serial production. Spoiler: Now I know!

Fig. 1: ‚En face‘ image shows the harmonious design of the nifty fifty prototype

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- The red rim gives hommage to the red anodized APO 50 f/2 that we all coveted initially, but got bored with quickly after purchase, because of its clinical and rather sterile rendering. The drawbacks of this Refractomar prototype design will be disclosed in part 2 of this update.

- The aperture has been moved foreward to accomodate the longer focal length. It is made of the same well-tried alloy that already has been so succesfully employed in the original Refractomar-M and it sports the same 18 µm thickness.

Fig. 2: An oblique view shows the somewhat larger, but still ultra-pocketable form factor


- One of the best kept secrets at Leica (that is, until today) was the development of the black polymer suspension mechanism behind the aperture. This is quite flexible and dampens most common tremor frequencies known to man. Finally, in-lens image stabilization has been brought to the M System! Edited April 9, 2018 by schattenundlicht

[schattenundlicht]

Update on the Leica Refractomar-M line of lenses (Part 2 of 4)

We are still concerened here with the abandoned „0-Series“ prototype which, on further testing, exhibited a minor optical flaw that was unacceptable to the Leica perfectionists.

Fig. 3: Capturing the ‚moment décisif‘ comes natural with this lens

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- This Refractomar-M 50 mm prototype ressurrects a dearly-missed feature from days gone by: it has dual range capability (distant OOF / close OOF) reminiscent of the legendary Summicron from 1956. This in itself is enough to craze any M enthusiast!

- The lens will be ideally suited for classic rangefinder photography genres like Street and Reportage.

- Thie above ooc jpeg underscores the M10’s extraordinary in-camera processing prowess, even with slightly flawed DNG captures (compare Fig. 4).

Fig. 4: Raw file of the same scene as depicted in Fig. 3


- The slight color imbalance, noticeable on close inspection on well-calibrated monitors, is introduced by minor light transmission through the otherwise outstandingly beautiful red rim design element.

- It would have been interesting to see, whether Leica product management would have given priority to that spectacular exterior design, or would have done everything to retain the flawless image quality that we all have come to expect from the Refractomar line of lenses.

- Sadly, further development of this prototype line was abandoned, because it was deemed to be a too complex design to be commercially viable in batch assembly.

  Edited April 9, 2018 by schattenundlicht

[schattenundlicht]

Update on the Leica Refractomar-M line of lenses (Part 3 of 4)

It is my honour to unveil on this privileged forum the final version of the dual range 50 mm Refractomar-M, exactly as it will go into live production on midnight, this very day!

Due to even tighter precision manufacturing (e.g. ultra precision aperture drilling), micro contrast and accutance could be improved dramatically, without sacrificing the famous signature bokeh. This could only be achieved with the proprietary Leica ‚beverage enhanced euthymia response‘, a.k.a. BEER. This enables the skilled craftsmen to surpass assembly tolerances of class leading industrial robots.


Fig. 5: In the end, modern manufacturing methods called for some design changes in the finalized 50 mm dual range Refractomar-M

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- The production version hides the ILIS unit behind a metal enclosure for obfuscation. It has significantly been improved upon the prototype and now features a symmetric dual damper array.

Fig. 6: Some packed action frozen for eternity, yet painterly rendered in harmonious grayscale transitions


- Although the improvement in clarity comes at the cost of a somewhat reduced maximum aperture, the M10’s high ISO capacities ensure that the 50 mm Refractomar-M is fully useable for medium-dynamic sports photography, e.g. chess tournaments. Edited April 9, 2018 by schattenundlicht

[schattenundlicht]

Update on the Leica Refractomar-M line of lenses (Part 4 of 4)

Nobody will be surprised by now that Leica is feverishly working on further extendig the Refractomar line of lenses. Their aim is nothing less than to give us a full line-up of focals for consistent image character throughout any assignment that will be thrown at us.

Before leaving Wetzlar, I got a fleeting glimpse of the next lens that we may expect. Although not announced officially yet, I will share with you what little I know about the upcoming 100 mm Tele-Refractomar, so that you may prepare yourself in time by shelling off some stocks or real estate.

The engineering team is still struggling somewhat with making this lens work on full frame while reigning in vignetting. Because the development budget for the entire line had skyrocketed, senior management was on the verge of ordering to develop the Tele-Refractomar as a TL lens only, as a cost-cutting measure. The lens design team would have none of this, and they continue to work on the project after hours and on weekends!

I am forever grateful to this dedicated yet fully laid back crew for allowing me a first hand outing with the current prototype in the flowerbed on the Leica premises (see Fig. 6).

In addition to the exacting quest for perfection in image quality, Leica in recent years has made a huge effort to minimize the environmental footprint of their products, which is reflected even in the early design phase, and is exemplified by the Tele-Refractomar below:

- Extremely long life cycle due to proverbial tank like build
- Because of consistent reduction of moving parts, no chemicals for CLA needed, ever!
- Eschewal of any rare earth elements
- Unfortunately, experiments with organic apertures had to be abandoned because of unfavourable shelf life
- Recycling of industry standard components (e.g. ultralight fibre lens barrel depicted below)

Fig. 5: Spy shot of the Tele-Refractomar-M under development in Wetzlar

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Fig. 6: Even flowers beyond their first bloom beg to have their image taken with this lens! To be honest, I think the days of the Thambar are numbered…



The Leica. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
 

Edited April 9, 2018 by schattenundlicht

[JohnnySeven]

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Is this lens-less lens a 6 bit encoded lens?

[JohnnySeven]

The image quality of these sample pics is undisputed.  The universal quantum bokeh gives each image a feeling of Rum like inebriation.

[schattenundlicht]

Is this lens-less lens a 6 bit encoded lens?

No, as posted in the initial description, Leica is set to use their innovative zero bit encoding for the entire range of Refractomar lenses. It will become a new industry standard, I presume.

Edited April 9, 2018 by schattenundlicht

[onasj]

I think physics dictates that the thinner your ummm lens-less lens, the better the image quality.  Is your 50 mm version a thin membrane with the "lens"?  You've inspired me to order ultra thin steel shims to try to reproduce this outstanding new product line.

[schattenundlicht]

The answer is a definite maybe

Edited April 9, 2018 by schattenundlicht

[schattenundlicht]

With a little effort, the pertinent Leica patent documents can be researched at the DEPATIS German patent database system online.

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Edited April 9, 2018 by schattenundlicht

[jmahto]

Is this lens-less lens a 6 bit encoded lens?

DAG can do that. Don't send it to Leica. They may confiscate it.

[chris_livsey]

I am now released from my NDA and can show that this imaging device has been under development for years.

This is my developers model, constructed to allow rapid change of the central imaging unit, without the use of sticky tape 

 

The imaging orifice is just off centre here which has no detriment to the image produced which in assembly will greatly reduce the tolerance required and the manufacturing costs but the actual orifice, some have erroneously called it a hole, is actually in this example laser cut which is why the retail cost will make the Thambar seen reasonable, still, the price of progress.

 

 

The later production prototypes posted are of course made down to price unlike this developers only version. 

 

Here are some experimental results I am able to share on the M8 with LHS a 0.2mm imaging orifice and on the RHS 0.3mm demonstrating how critical the laser will be, in fact I am told the CERN Large Hadron Collider may have to be used to fully realise the potential of this revolutionary system.

 

 

Finally I thought this image would be of interest showing clearly the imaging orifice yet produced using that antique method of 6x 4.5 film (GP3) to show this most advanced system in detail.

 

[jmahto]

I am now released from my NDA and can show that this imaging device has been under development for years.

This is my developers model, constructed to allow rapid change of the central imaging unit, without the use of sticky tape 

 

The imaging orifice is just off centre here which has no detriment to the image produced which in assembly will greatly reduce the tolerance required and the manufacturing costs but the actual orifice, some have erroneously called it a hole, is actually in this example laser cut which is why the retail cost will make the Thambar seen reasonable, still, the price of progress.

 

 

The later production prototypes posted are of course made down to price unlike this developers only version. 

 

Here are some experimental results I am able to share on the M8 with LHS a 0.2mm imaging orifice and on the RHS 0.3mm demonstrating how critical the laser will be, in fact I am told the CERN Large Hadron Collider may have to be used to fully realise the potential of this revolutionary system.

 

 

Finally I thought this image would be of interest showing clearly the imaging orifice yet produced using that antique method of 6x 4.5 film (GP3) to show this most advanced system in detail.

 

 

Love the Bokeh and the glow. 3D POP is missing but I guess 3D is so 2017. The appeal of one dimensional character is the in-thing in today's fast and superficial snap chat age.

 

Having said that, I am afraid it will not be popular unless you can take a selfie with it.

[RayD28]

[ Hope I will not be banned from the forum for this   ]

 

 

You had me going for a second.  Slap a $6,000 price tag and let the pre-orders begin!

[Stonewall Brigade]

Your soft images here are better than a new Thambar.

[Aperture 2]

What about the filters sizes ? Could the UV filters decrease the image quality ?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Tailwagger]

I could be a candidate for the 50mm version, but that red knurled focusing ring isn't my style ergonomically.  Any chance the final version gets a more traditional focusing tab? 

[Simon]

We need a new sensor to match the resolving power of this lens!