Some Leica news

Hope this hasn't been posted before, but I just talked to our local

Leica rep. He was involved in a phone conference from Leica HQ this

past week, with all the reps involved (isn't technology great). The

basics...Leica will definitely be shipping the Digital M by mid year

(2006). Leica expects to post profit increased of 50% or more for

next year (this may be dreaming). They will strive to ship all

special orders the same day they are received. They will be

introducing a number of new 'innovative' products. The bank involved

in their financial difficulties last year is keeping close tabs on

them and feels they are making very positive forward steps. Maybe

they aren't dead yet!!

Reports of leica's death appear to have been premature. :-)

If Leica dies (I hope that never happens), their gear would probably go for more in the used market.

I guess then I'll have no more excuses to avoid exposing pixels with my M lenses ;-) ...and Brad and his cohorts will have no more excuses to avoiding buying Leica cameras. Outa m'way, boys! Digital Al is gittin' closer!

Obviously they used some sales projections, but at current and ever-increasing prices I

wonder if this will hold up over time.

Hmm, Al, what about the price tag for an excuse... if Leica is planning to increase their profit by 50% or more? ;-)

...which, BTW, would be valid for both sides.

Well Grant, if "not full frame" is the major determinant than there aren't many worthwhile digital SLR's out there either. If the sensor will work OK using my 21/3.4 S.A. and 15/4.5 Heliar I can live with the reduced format. Full frame the 15 is a fun lens but the 21 is more all around useful optic. The 15's coverage on the reduced size sensor is pretty close to what the 21 puts on the film frame.

I feel the same way about the full frame. We'll see.

Would an MP3 player be built in or offered as an "a la carte" option?

This is interesting news, Bob. When I spoke to the Leica reps in Osaka a few weeks ago

they said that they were going to wait until Photokina 2006 to formally introduce the

digital M. That would be toward the end of the year. If they are aiming for summer, 2006

that is good news indeed.

 

What I got was that the digital M prototype already exists. As I write Leica is presumably

testing it.

 

The digital M is apparently going to sell for 4000 euros. That means around $5000 to

$6000 at the current overpriced euro rate.

 

Wonder if Leica gives educational discounts...

If they're targeting at sometime in mid 2006 then they should announce the product at PMA just around the corner in Feb ... I can live with a 1.33x cropping factor as rumoured - a 21 still covers a FOV of 28, which is good enough to me. But I agree, that could be a good excuse for both camps ... LOL

Oh...I didn't mention...it's DEFINITELY NOT full frame. Should boost sales of the 21mm.

Bob,

You're half right...It will boost sales of the CV 21 lens...:)

 

Regards,

 

Frank M.

Well, I've got a digital SLR with a crop factor, not "just to have it" but to put my manual primes to good use - as I would with a digital M. So, what am I, two markets? ;-)

Actually G4, it's not that senseless. The reason most camera companies have gone with the smaller sensors has nothing to do with cost (what many people assume) or difficulty making them, but with edge sharpness. To be 'sharp' a pixel well (where the pixel resides) needs the light to enter at a perpendicular angle. If the light enters at less than a perpendicular angle you have sharpness problems. So standard and telephoto lenses tend to be sharp, whereas wideangles, where the rear element is closer to the film/sensor plane (meaning the light exits the rear element and 'bends' to hit the film/sensor plane) have sharpness issues at the edges. Lens manufacturers have tried to get around this with new optical designs, but these cannot be used on full frame sensors, in effect using only the 'sweet spot' of the light exiting the rear element. I don't think Leica users would stand for soft corners, nor are they going to buy two different series of lenses, one for their film cameras, another for the digital. And before anyone gets on my case, these are very minor sharpness issues that probably only the camera/lens makers are really concerned about...so no snarky replies about how you've never noticed any unsharpness in your 20d...

Grant, of course I know that! Designing lenses for an SLR is easier because they sit way out from the plane of focus, with a relatively steep angle of incidence. I don't think that rangefinder traditionalists would be happy buying all new wide angle glass and putting up with the size of complete retrofocus designs.

Why do you need full frame ? I thought there had been experts on this forum to show it's not necessary. (Something about lenses needing to be too large and heavy to use it) What are the facts ? If a full size chip is essential why would like make use of a lesser size.

Sorry - Finger trouble - "why would Leica make "

I can't believe Al has to wait for Leica to make a digital rf before he tries digital. Actually, I can.

Some might, Grant. Some won't. A lot of pros working for the media today lose out on work if they're not digital. There's still a major difference in handling an M body with one of our crummy ol' wide angles compared to the typical pro digital SLR and it's oversized zoom.

Eric ~, I'm trying to retire, I'm still getting assignments, and I'm selling prints. Why should I go out and spend a fortune on a new system than I neither need nor want? A single camera body? Not such a big deal. Maybe I'll unload one or two of my other M bodies. Maybe not.

this isn't the first m lens accepting digital body.

Jeepers, Eric ~, you don't slack off, do you? I'm not trolling the digital forum. I can also afford to give photonet $25 but you keep avoiding that. Yup, I got me a Bessa L and I know there's a digital Bessa out there. I also know about build quality of my Leicas and of my Bessa. When somebody is paying me to shoot I want as close to 100% reliability as I can get. I have confidence in Leica's products. I'll take the Bessa body with me on a paid shoot but I always have an LTM/M adapter handy in case I need to stick the 15 on a Leica. Next time I reply to you will be when I see the "hand bearing gift" next to your name.

With any luck, Leica will do what Canon hasn't, and that's make fast, wide prime lenses for

whatever sensor crop the Digital M ends up using.

 

The 24mm Asph Elmarit would make for a slow, very expensive 35mm-ish lens, for example.

Kinda defeats the purpose of using the M system, to me.