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Modern version of Barnack


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While  I don't think any digital Leica will give the same film experience as a  Barnack . one of the early digitals, M8, M9 perhaps. I found my M8 (of fond memory) was easy to use.

very 'old school' in a way.

Cheers

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On 3/9/2024 at 9:22 PM, stvn66 said:

Hi,

What is the closest digital Leica with simple speed and aperture dials, close to the original I II III screw mount series?

Thank you

It's a bit like asking which Tesla is the closest to Ford Model T.
Any digital Leica will be the shape of an M3. And M gives you the M experience. I'm pretty sure you won't find any digital cameras with separate finders, no slow speeds and 30-500 fast speeds. 
Also aperture ring is usually on the lens (assuming you use manual lenses).
 

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1 hour ago, Pyrogallol said:

Get a Voigtlander Bessa L and scan the negatives. Or a Leica Standard.

He's asking for a DIGITAL camera which delivers the experience of a Barnack. But if you ignore the "digital" bit then I agree, Leica Standard is rather close to the I, II, III series 🤣

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Posted (edited)

The various M digitals (take your pick) are about as close as you'll get to something like the III in the sense that they are rangefinder cameras with 'simple speed and aperture dials'. The aperture dial is on the lens itself, of course, and you can use readily available lenses from the Barnack era (with simple adapters) or their modern counterparts.

But in another sense you might say that the now discontinued digital CL is closer to the spirit of the Barnack cameras, since it is a smaller camera (clearly inspired by Leica's early models) that you can easily stuff in a jacket pocket, while still having interchangeable lenses. The CL has its own mount, but you can fit M or Barnack lenses with adapters. The 1.5x sensor crop factor means your vintage 50mm lens will behave more like a 75mm would on full frame, though. And the CL, designed mainly as an AF camera, doesn't have a rangefinder.

Outside the Leica world, some Fuji cameras get fairly close - I use an X100T much as I used to use a IIIc, a small camera I can take anywhere with shutter speed and aperture dials and a clever hybrid viewfinder that gives you something of the experience of a rangefinder camera (but without an optical rangefinder or interchangeable lenses). There are other Fuji X series cameras with interchangeable lenses, but they are bigger.

Edited by Anbaric
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Posted (edited)

Digital? Well, the M-D Type 262 comes to mind. At any one moment in time, there may be one or two being offered on the “e” bay site. The M Edition 60 will be a rarer collectible, with a price that reflects its collectability. A new M-D Type 262 was on display at a nearby Leica dealer, for quite some time. I had started using the Leica M system, with a new M10 and a pre-owned Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, in April 2018. The black paint over brass, and the minimalism of M-D Type 262, was afflicting me with a serious case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, until a kind soul, presumably with a thick wallet, relieved me of the temptation.

The M10-D would be an M10-series continuation of the M-D concept, with a slimmer body, in the front-to-back dimension. If I recall correctly, a recent M10-D auction, on the “e” bay, finished at about $6K US.

The M Type 262 has an LCD screen, and is black chromed, rather than painted black, so, is less “retro” than the M-D Type 262 or M10-D, being a feature-deleted M Type 240, with a lighter weight due to the aluminum top plate, and with a minimalist “cool” factor of its own.

I have only briefly handled a friend’s digital CL, while it had a Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4 II, with an adapter, affixed to it. As Anbaric said, in the post before this one, the digital CL may be closer, in spirit, to the pre-M Leitz cameras. The AF and electronic aperture control are effectively nullified, if a threaded-mount or M-mount lens is affixed.

Edited by RexGig0
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On 3/9/2024 at 1:22 PM, stvn66 said:

Hi,

What is the closest digital Leica with simple speed and aperture dials, close to the original I II III screw mount series?

Thank you

Not pocketable in normal way but,

I use the LTM kit (even only 50mm Elmar for it's lightness&compactness) with M-D or Monochrom

 

 

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Am 11.3.2024 um 09:17 schrieb 250swb:

An Olympus Pen in size, look, and feel comes close. And you can use the Leica Panasonic lenses with it so you're able to post the results on the forum.

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... and together with the most analogue digital M camera

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31 minutes ago, Biotar said:

... and together with the most analogue digital M camera

I like the Olympus Pen's flip screen that can be turned inwards and completely hidden. If Leica had done the same with their digital M, and implemented it well so that it didn't protrude, it could have made the D series redundant.

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1 hour ago, evikne said:

I like the Olympus Pen's flip screen that can be turned inwards and completely hidden. If Leica had done the same with their digital M, and implemented it well so that it didn't protrude, it could have made the D series redundant.

But then they wouldn't have the higher priced and profit model to sell...

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Posted (edited)

A 'Barnack ?  available only as 'used', manual focus, manual shutter setting, manual aperture setting.  Near Leica equivalent might be Digilux 3. ticks the boxes.  You must not object to it being out of production. (another box ticked !).

Edited by Jerry Attrik
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Posted (edited)
On 3/9/2024 at 12:22 PM, stvn66 said:

...What is the closest digital Leica with simple speed and aperture dials, close to the original I II III screw mount series?...

If you are talking about the level of simplicity and fundamental concept in use then I'd second Evikne's suggestion (post #9) of the MD-Typ-262.

It has no screen which, obviously, means there are no menus so nothing 'special' to set nor any possibility whatsoever to be distracted by viewing previously exposed frames; you will only see what you have shot when you process-out the RAW / DNG files.

Variable ISO decisions apart the only on-camera adjustments you can make are the same as those available when shooting film; i.e. Shutter Speed, Aperture, Focus. It does, however, have a self-timer option so more like a IIIf D/A than a III / IIIa / IIIc...

Honestly; in the world of Digi-Photography it doesn't get more simplistic than that camera.

The earlier 'M Edition 60' (as mentioned in the same post) was the original limited-edition (600 examples) run of this screenless concept but, alas, nowadays these cameras tend to be priced pretty much in the domain of 'The Collector'. In comparison, however, there seem to be somewhere between twice to thrice that number of MD 262 cameras kicking around.

Philip.

Edited by pippy
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On 3/9/2024 at 7:22 AM, stvn66 said:

What is the closest digital Leica with simple speed and aperture dials, close to the original I II III screw mount series?

At the risk of committing heresy, the French-made Pixii might be the closest currently produced digital equivalent to Barnack cameras, for better or worse. It's smaller than an M, has simplified controls, is limited in terms of flash, and also in terms of the range of lenses that are viewable without an external finder.

It has a crop sensor (APS-C), like some other cameras mentioned above, so you need shorter focal lengths to cover the same angle of view.

 

I won't recommend it, or warn you away, because I haven't tried it. It has been discussed extensively in other sections of this web site.

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