Why Leica did what they did....

[georg]

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The M8 IS completely new (except for the rangefinder-principle) - the body, every part of it, the shutter - everything. It's not just a cost-cutting version by putting a sensor into a M7.

 

My question remains:

What would this entirely "new camera" (or system) look like? Compromising image quality by increasing the distance between film and sensor? Try the Digilux3 with the 14-50 and compare it to the M8 with any new M-lens, THEN tell me which system is a "fix-it-job".

I think there will be a new system when electronic-viewfinders and "live-"sensors make further improvements and reach professional quality (a "SLR" without mirror or optical viewfinder and M-style-lenses) - but this will take some time.

 

Leica is selling some of the most expensive 35mm-cameras and lenses available, they haven't made huge investments into other companies, big marketing-campaigns or great looking "super-stores". But nevertheless they rarely make money with their "overpriced" products. Canon probably makes more profit with a 500€-lens than Leica with a 3000€-lens. An ecnonomist has to be worried about these facts, but the customer actually gets what he pays for, not some "cost-optimized" crappy brand-victim-product!

And the Leica M8 (very different from the "Panasonic-Leicas") is made in this tradition of german "über-engineering" - the customers are lucky even when they don't notice it.

[ho_co]

BTW - You might want to tone down the preachy, "smarter-than-thou" attitude - a 50% track record (while not bad) doesn't support it.

Andy--

George Bush gets away with it, even with lower percentage success!

[adan]

Howard - I appreciate the support no end. But I wouldn't dream of lumping Joe W. with the - hmm - person you mention.

 

I'm just a bit more of a "Huxleyite" than Joe - you know: "Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion... or you shall learn nothing"; or "The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence"; or "The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact."

 

Someday perhaps there will be a way to hang beautiful theories on my walls, and sell them to travel editors. Until then, I'll stick with the beautiful pictures (the facts) the M8 has produced for me.

[MarkM6]

"The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact."

 

I laughed out so loud on that quote!!!! This forum at this moment is more entertaining than USC vs. Notre Dame football game.

 

P.S. I gotta read more of Joe W.'s posts...

[Guest stnami]

This forum at this moment is more entertaining than USC vs. Notre Dame football game.

so is just about everything in life

[rebride]

Quote from Pete: "I disagree. I am a Professional Design Engineer who has worked with a large number of Engineers over many years. I have no doubt that Engineers prefer to improve on a sound design rather than "create something new".

 

Fully agreed with Pete!

Let me remind everybody of the Sony's international contest some 15 years ago launched to go for a "design of cameras of the future". The winner, chosen by Sony, gave a fully futuristic proposal - "science fiction" like. Processing unit, Memory unit, etc were all separated from each other and the winning camera looked rather like a space ship. We are witnessing that modern cameras cannot neglect ergonomy, as well as other basic needs. Improvements are being brought in carefully and in rather small steps. The revolution consists of many small evoultion steps.

 

Dejan