OT: New Konica Digital RF?

[didjiman]

www.dpreview.com mentions that there's a teaser ad on Konica's site:

http://www.konica.jp/personal/newproduct/index.html

 

The interesting thing is that if you click on the Sample2 image, there's a f1.2 lens (what focal length?) and the camera seems to have a thing that looks like the M6/M7 (all Ms?) rangefinder window.

 

Of course the kicker would be that if it is a digital RF w/ M mount!

 

Ahhh...... 2 more days...

 

// richard

[cabophoto]

Richard,

 

the camera in the second picture is a Konica Hexar RF Limited. The way I understand the teaser this is just a picture taken with the soon-to-be-announced camera; it´s not the camera itself.

 

Carsten

 

http://www.cabophoto.com/

[kristian dowling]

Carsten is right. Sample 1 is definately a digital portrait, so the hint seems to be quite solid. If this is to be the case, what Leica is saying about the difficulty of designing a digital body to fit their lenses to, won't be a strong case anymore. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

Thanks for the heads up Richard

[dave_cheney]

From the samples, IMHO, I think we are looking at a KD-5 type pocket point and shoot. It's big claim to fame might be that it has a foven x3 type sensor as the first picture seams to be clear of baeyer errors but the second one displays horrible abberations which makes me think its another tiny sensor requiring a <10mm lens.

 

Dave

[h._p.]

That first sample is rather unflattering - even on ADSL it takes a long time to download and you're left looking at the poor girl's spots and pimples...

[dave_cheney]

What's one mans unflattering is sometimes another "OHMYGODTHATSAMAZINGRESOLUTION!"

 

Dave

[andrew_lee2]

It looks to be just another digital point-and-shoot with a "Zoom Hexanon Lens."

[steve_chan5]

You know, when I saw that picture, the the girl's beautiful eyes caught my attention more than any "pimples and blemishes"!

 

A digital Konica RF would be great. Leica's statements on the problems with a digital rangefinder strike me as a little dubious: the lenses on almost all of the high end prosumer digital cameras are very, very wide (like 7mm) and they seem to be very close to the film plane, given how flat most of those cameras are. But somehow, they manage to take very nice pictures.

 

Steve

[andrew_hall1]

No need to hold your breath - it's just another camera in the Digital Revio series.

 

Because of the small frame size of such digital models, a 7mm lens has about the angle of view of a 35mm in 24x36 format, hardly "very, very wide" at all.

[cabophoto]

Steve,<br><br>

>>the lenses on almost all of the high end prosumer <br>

>>digital cameras are very, very wide (like 7mm) <br><br>

you have to compare the angle of view, not the focal length. The angle of view of a 7mm lens on most digicams is equivalent to that of a 35mm lens on a Leica.<br><br>

Carsten<br><br>

http://www.cabophoto.com/

[chris_henry1]

I doubt this is a digital rangefinder for use with the Konica RF lens range. As

the poster said above, this is probably a new prosumer zoom digital.

(Probably a good one). My expectation is that any interchangable-lens digital

body developed by Konica will be designed to interface with the lenses and

flash systems of their new merger partner, Minolta.

[steve_chan5]

My point isn't that 7mm has a wide angle of view (I've played with my share of digital cameras), but to question the claim that the CCD sensors can't handle short focal length lenses without an unacceptable drop in quality.

 

Steve

[cabophoto]

Steve,<br><br>

 

>>but to question the claim that the CCD sensors can't <br>

>>handle short focal length lenses without an <br>

>>unacceptable drop in quality. <br><br>

 

again, nobody claims that CCD cannot handle short focal lengths. The claim (and with current technology it is true) is that they cannot handle light falling onto them at an oblique angle.

<br><br>

Carsten

[andrew_hall1]

"to question the claim that the CCD sensors can't handle short focal length lenses without an unacceptable drop in quality."

 

Steve, have you noticed that the cameras you mentioned generally do not have lenses covering wider than the equivalent of 35mm in 24x36 format? Also keep in mind that all digital cameras with a "full frame" sensor have lenses designed to clear a mirror chamber, unlike the Leica M.

[patricks]

Digital M mount from Konica/Minolta?! That will never happen. Sure, Konica will continue to concentrate on digital, but I don't see them compete on the very high end prosumer cams w/ Canon, Leica and Nikon. But they can become a contender in the affordable mass market nische.

[patricks]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0306/03060301konicakd510z.asp

 

Here is the answer. Another 5MP Revo.