pico Posted January 19, 2019 Share #161 Posted January 19, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) 18 minutes ago, Dirk Mandeville said: I don’t think rangefinding as a means of focusing is necessarily outdated. For those inclined to ancient history, there have been a couple interesting efforts to improve the rangefinder. One clever thing was the Kalart Focuspot used primarily on large format press cameras. They shined a focused beam through the eyepiece of the standard rangefinder, causing two bright dots to appear on the subject, the photographer looked through the optical finder (or not) and turned the focusing knob until the dots merged on the subject. Google can find them. Another was Linhof's 'electronic rangefinder' for their Super Technika 4x5. It was a disaster. But that was long ago. Then there is my own for my viewfinder cameras (plain optical viewfinder) that uses a compact infrared beam distance meter. I can see the IR dot through the viewfinder, press a button for the readout and set the lens. If a standards organization saw my little clever device they might want to jail me - it's very unfriendly for portraits; even if one can pinpoint an eyelash he should not! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 19, 2019 Posted January 19, 2019 Hi pico, Take a look here They Say Future M Might Be Able To Switch Between RF and EVF. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Dirk Mandeville Posted January 19, 2019 Share #162 Posted January 19, 2019 Thanks for that, pico. Interesting stuff. More recently, there is also the development of the Konost camera with electronic rangefinder system. This startup company supposedly developed working prototypes of such a camera. But unfortunately, they seem to have failed as a company. The founder now appears to work for Samsung, according to LinkedIn. I suspect they failed for lack of ability to obtain vc funding to take it to mass production, but possibly due to patent issues, inability to make it cost effectively, or a host of other reasons. They weren’t very forthcoming with information to the general public. For those who who are interested, their web pages are still active and you can check out their camera here: Konost Rangefinder Who knows? Maybe Leica quietly purchased their technology for use in a future M camera? (One can dream, right?) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 19, 2019 Share #163 Posted January 19, 2019 8 minutes ago, Dirk Mandeville said: Who knows? Maybe Leica quietly purchased their technology for use in a future M camera? (One can dream, right?) My guess is that there isn’t much Leica hasn’t considered or isn’t at least open to exploring... https://www.google.com/amp/s/leicarumors.com/2015/10/14/leicas-patents-for-optoelectronic-rangefinder.aspx/amp/ Jeff 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted January 19, 2019 Share #164 Posted January 19, 2019 Since we are discussing 'outdated' technology let me interject this: The problem with the M is that it does have a fundamental outdatedness in that the lack of autofocus and data exchange between body and lens will always hamper its effectiveness and sales. Developing a EVF 'M' is only ever going to yield a camera with manual focus and one which is limited in what it can do in relation to the 'corrections' it can apply to the image files for each lens in use. So it is inevitably something of a dead end with inherent limited appeal. As such it might still be worth developing, but this will purely depend on whether sales will repay time and development costa and provide a profit too. No doubt Leica have looked into this so if they do produce such a body they will expect sufficient sales. As it happens I would really like to see a small EVF, 'dumb' body much like an EVF 'M', (perhaps with a wide lens throat adaptable to numerous mounts), but one which could be 'programmed' by users for specific lenses and which was priced as a technical/scientific tool. I can see lots of uses for such an instrument. I am less positive about the use for an EVF 'M' simply because I suspect its price would be too high to provide the level of sales such a camera might achieve if sufficiently 'cheap', and it would be viable only for M lenses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 19, 2019 Share #165 Posted January 19, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, jaapv said: This is silly. It doesn't take months and hundreds of dollars to calibrate a lens. The only problem might be the spare part supply, as these lenses - and their parts- are made in batches. The thing to do is contact Leica CS Wetzlar and have them call the lens in as soon as they can do it in a fast turnaround. The bill might surprise him. Sure, it does! Shipping alone from outside Europe easily hits the hundreds of dollar mark, and takes a minimum of a month to get into and out of Germany. Edited January 19, 2019 by IkarusJohn Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 20, 2019 Share #166 Posted January 20, 2019 Hmmm.. I know that goes for Australia and New Zealand, but it is certainly not the case for many other destinations.For instance, I have received parcels from China within a few days and the shipping costs, as far as I could make out the whatshallwecallums were quite low. It is not that bad here either: 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! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/293092-they-say-future-m-might-be-able-to-switch-between-rf-and-evf/?do=findComment&comment=3667891'>More sharing options...
mdemeyer Posted January 20, 2019 Share #167 Posted January 20, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) 5 hours ago, jaapv said: Hmmm.. I know that goes for Australia and New Zealand, but it is certainly not the case for many other destinations.For instance, I have received parcels from China within a few days and the shipping costs, as far as I could make out the whatshallwecallums were quite low. It is not that bad here either: 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! It’s the insurance that kills you on the shipping costs. And it’s needed. I’ve had a few things lost over the years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 20, 2019 Share #168 Posted January 20, 2019 The last line: "pakket met verzekerservice" is an insured parcel - the insurance is 5000 Euro without burden of proof for the content. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cirke Posted January 20, 2019 Share #169 Posted January 20, 2019 18 hours ago, jaapv said: Well, they didn't... 🙄 but they will Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 20, 2019 Share #170 Posted January 20, 2019 3 hours ago, siangue said: but they will You mean an L-mount version? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 20, 2019 Share #171 Posted January 20, 2019 43 minutes ago, jaapv said: You mean an L-mount version? Yes so proud of the L mount that they plan to put it on all manual bodies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 20, 2019 Share #172 Posted January 20, 2019 could be Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 20, 2019 Share #173 Posted January 20, 2019 9 hours ago, mdemeyer said: It’s the insurance that kills you on the shipping costs. And it’s needed. I’ve had a few things lost over the years. My camera insurance policy would cover any loss, just as my auto insurance covers rental car damage; no need to double insure. Of course individual policies differ. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdemeyer Posted January 20, 2019 Share #174 Posted January 20, 2019 2 minutes ago, Jeff S said: My camera insurance policy would cover any loss, just as my auto insurance covers rental car damage; no need to double insure. Of course individual policies differ. Jeff Great to know. Need to look into that. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 20, 2019 Share #175 Posted January 20, 2019 1 hour ago, jaapv said: could be I'm expecting the worst Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 21, 2019 Share #176 Posted January 21, 2019 Jaap, not sure what Dutch “pakkey” rates to NZ have to do with it. Last time we had this discussion, I outlined the actual time and cost of shipping from NZ to Wetzlar. That message doesn’t seem to have sunk in. From memory, shipping NZ to the clearing house in Köln was only a day or so. It then took 3 weeks to get the item to Wetzlar and into the system at Leica CS. Once the work was completed, a simialar time to get out of Germany and back to NZ. Cost? Well above your rates. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 21, 2019 Share #177 Posted January 21, 2019 Quote I know that goes for Australia and New Zealand, German customs must be highly suspicious of mail coming from your part of the world... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 21, 2019 Share #178 Posted January 21, 2019 Not at all. We’re hust outside the EU, so any package needs to be cleared on entry and on oeaving. It then takes longer to get from Köln to Wetzlar than it does from Auckland to Köln. Anyway, back on tooic, for those of us luving outside the EU, and not withing driving distance of the mothership, sending a lens in for calibration is neither quick nor cheap. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMAL Posted January 21, 2019 Share #179 Posted January 21, 2019 vor 6 Minuten schrieb IkarusJohn: Not at all. We’re hust outside the EU, so any package needs to be cleared on entry and on oeaving. It then takes longer to get from Köln to Wetzlar than it does from Auckland to Köln. Anyway, back on tooic, for those of us luving outside the EU, and not withing driving distance of the mothership, sending a lens in for calibration is neither quick nor cheap. This all depends on which parcel service you use and how the parcel is declared. All this can speed up the process tremendously. I‘ve received parcels from all over the world within 2-3 business days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 21, 2019 Share #180 Posted January 21, 2019 And it depends where you live ... I've been sending lenses and cameras to Leica both in Solms and Wetzlar for 10 years - I've tried most options, short of getting on a plane (that has been tempting). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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