Leica AF system?

nowadays a lot of people switch to digital camera due to the

convenience and Leica also produce a digital back to enter the

digital SLR market. However, its non-AF system may be a disadvantage

to compete with other DSLR brands such as Nikon and Canon etc.

 

does anybody know the reason why leica(Leitz) doesnt make AF lenses

so far?

 

thanks you.

They don't know how.

Yes they do. Leica was one of the companies that pioneered A/F back in the early 70's, and for many years manufacturers of A/F cameras had to pay Leica a fee to use there technology. They decided (whether right or wrong) that the system was not accurate enough for their customers. More misinformation on the 'net, eh Saotome?!

I am not sure about that. Minolta introduced the first active AF system in an SLR camera. (They stole the technology but NOT from Leica)

Why would anybody want autofocus? How is the camera suposed to know where in the photo the most important center of interest lies?

Honeywell was the company that Minolta 'stole' its AF technology from. But it was the first AF SLR, stolen technology or not.

Al "what use is a wheel?" Kaplan, strikes again.

Leitz demonstrated the Correfot (sp?) electronic focus system at Photokina in 1970. It was housed partly in a modified Leicaflex SL, tethered to a computer IIRC. Leitz doesn't make AF lenses because the camera maker is now called Leica, not Leitz.

canon had (or still has?) a system where the camera follows your eye and focusses on what you're looking at. I thought that's cool, but apparently the consumers did not..

Al, how does a non AF camera know where the focus should be?

Cripes, Al. You can't be serious?

I'm never serious ;-)

<p>Why would anybody want autofocus? How is the camera suposed to know where in the photo the most important center of interest lies?</i>

<p>

Wild guess but I'd imagine the same way a manual focus camera knows where the center of interest is.

I thought Honeywell originated the autofocus sensors.

AF was supposed to be a boon to wildlife photographers and for some action sequences it is... it was also supposed to be great for photos of birds in flight but in practice many bird photographers turn off or override the AF systems because they want the bird's head in focus, not the near wingtip:

<P>

<CENTER>

<A HREF="http://www.wildlightphoto.com" target="_blank">

<IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/rynchopidae/blsk00.jpg">

</A><BR>

<B>Black Skimmer</B> - Everglades National Park, Florida<BR>

<I>Leicaflex SL, 400mm f/6.8 Telyt, Kodachrome 64</I>

</CENTER>

<P>

At Marin County's <A HREF="http://www.ggro.org" target="_blank">Hawk Hill</A> I spoke with a photographer who bought an AF camera to photograph birds in flight, who turns the AF system off because it isn't reliable and finds that his camera's viewfinder is optimized for AF so it's difficult to focus manually. I hand him the SL with 400mm f/6.8 Telyt - nominally a half-stop slower than his lens - and watch his eyes bug out when he first looks through the viewfinder and focusses the lens.

I doubt Leica Camera could muster the capital expense to develop an autofocus camera. They pretty well have had to "bet the bank" to do development of the digital M. Quite leveraged financing to do that...

 

They also have shown to have a better lens design team than they have electronics design team. Very different skill sets, to say the least...

This was answered by Leica years ago and the answer was it is not accurate enough for fast lenses.

 

How many photo did you miss because you did not have it? If a lot, sell and get a C or N. Personally I would rather have the better glass.

 

My personal opinion is those little motors are not reliable enough.

 

Please allow me a chance to get my armour on b/4 you slam me.

"Why would anybody want autofocus?"

 

Indeed! Why would anyone want auto-matic spark advance when the dashboard lever on my Stutz Bearcat works perfectly well!?

I have autofocus with my 35mm Summicron - well near enough. Your dead right Al.

My first AF camera was a Canon Powershot G1 in 2001, second a Contax G2 in June 2002 and a Canon D60 this march.

 

And yes, I often screw up with AF because the camera focuses on whatever is in the center, often a wall three meters behind my subjects :-)

 

But that's not the cameras fault! With both systems I have to focus and recompose or switch to manual and zone focus with a small enough aperture to cover my error with DOF.

On my Contax SLRs I know I have to focus and do it, with the AF cameras I get lazy and screw up from time to time.

 

One oberservation with my D60 and Canon EF lenses, the focusing ring throw is to small and not smooth enough for acurate adjustment and the viewfinder is to small and dark to judge focus. So I realy don't mind that the Contax G lenses don't have a focusing ring.

 

So I use focus lock a lot. With the G2 I use the thumb button on the rear to focus and on the D60 I set the * button to start AF.

 

After 20 years with splitimage, it took some shots to get used to AF, but now I can live with both.

 

If I realy need precise focus, I want at least a 6x6cm screen, 9x12 is better :-)

What is wrong with diversity within the 35mm DSLR camera market? Why is Leica

deemed by some as an inferior manufacturer simply because they have differing

design philosophies and make different products to Canon and Nikon? The world

really does not need a Leica made EOS clone.

 

Leicas cameras are optimised to be manually focused. Many of Leicas customers buy

the products because they don't want or need an AF system. For most of my work I

don't need AF. AF is great technology but as mentioned above not infallible. On the

odd occasions where I think AF would bring some advantage use an AF camera.

 

Some photographers with less than perfect eyesight find that AF systems allow them

to enjoy their photography. One could argue that an electronic focus conformation

would be an asset to Leica cameras. My eyes are still good so it is not an issue with

me personally....yet.

 

C.

Some people seem to like the Contax G system. Even some "Leica photographers" such as Elliott Erwitt and William Eggleston have used Contax G cameras. There's bragging rights with the Zeiss lenses for snob appeal. An AF Leica? Why not? It has more appeal to me than a digital Leica.

Why rationalize your shooting style based on brand loyalty? Sometimes the bright finder and quick manual focusing of an M are just the ticket. But for moving kids less than 3 feet from the lens, give me autofocus any day of the week. It misses far less often than I do...<div></div>

Jacky

 

Apart from the technical reasons already given, it should be accepted that Leica are not in competion with N & C. They do their own thing,which is manual focus, and those who appreciate that, buy, and those that don't, buy other cameras. No one camera can be best at everything.

 

Regards

 

Bruno

If you have autofocus, you can turn it off. If you don't have it, you can't get it.

Leica made a development decision, which, in hindsight was almost certainly

wrong. Have a look at some tests of autofocus cameras. Try the canon 20D

for a start. The focus accuracy was tested and it is, in actual practice, super

accurate. I doubt that very many people could focus any manual focus

camera any more accurately, and certainly not in a split second.

 

There are good reasons why some people prefer or need manual focus

(Doug Herr's example) and I agree that an autofocus Leica M camera is

unnecessary. However, as a previous user of a number of autofocus Nikons, I

can tell you that autofocus generally is just great. I can even get the camera

to autofocus on the most important part before I frame the shot. Wow, just like

a manual focus camera - only much faster.

 

Developing autofocus lenses is not rocket science, it just costs lots of money.

Leica does not have any money. Therefore autofocus Leica R lenses seem

most unlikely. How long will customers put up with Leica SLR bodies that

simply are inferior to almost everything else? Unfortunately, it looks like a

downward spiral for leica SLRs unless Leica can somehow partner with

Nikon/Canon for body and or lens development.