Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/06/18

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Subject: RE:[Leica] New Nikon Lens Mount
From: "Felix Lopez de Maturana" <fmaturana@euskalnet.net>
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 23:37:22 +0200

>If you've seen or used Kodak's 14n, you would understand why Nikon has
not
>followed Kodak with the full-frame camera.
>
>I've read the magazine reviews on the Kodak 14n, funny how much the
mag's
>rave about this $5,000 piece of junk. Maybe they do not read the bad
<reviews all over the internet.

Cris

Yes I've seen and used this piece of "junk" that my family's
photographic shop chain have sold to a customer, in fact a dentist, and
I can comment with you that, no, I cannot understand why Nikon has not
followed Kodak in that way unless it has been a wrong R&D strategic
supplying politic. Or choosing a niche marketing space, photojournalism
and sport photographers, that advantages speed and easy of file handling
but  exclude the  photographic technical perfection. Only the sales
figures will tell if they were right or wrong. Personally I thing they
were wrong.

The really big problem is to develop the full frame sensor. Philips did
for the commercial unsuccessful Contax N (commercially as technically
speaking is a good camera excluding some battery life and noise above
100 ASA issues). Kodak asked a Belgian company, Fillfactory, modified by
other company from Israel, who didn't a perfect work as this camera has,
again, battery and noise issues but is a extraordinary tool for some
specialities. Go to www.dpreview.com and see the test. The DCS 14n is
able to take some excellent pictures. For sport and photojournalism
pictures there are better tools but it's not exactly my idea of "junk".

Finally or, last but not least, the champion of full format DSLR the EOS
1Ds, with his Canon own CMOS development, far better than Kodak, and my
preferred camera, is merely the best. For sure the chromatic wide lenses
aberrations is a problem that will force Canon to improve some of their
already excellent lenses but in my humble opinion is the today best
photographic tool. 

I understand that being a proud owner of Leica, as I'm too,  again IMHO,
the best photographic tools ever produced, drive us sometime to see
other equipment as inferior one, but though my English is very poor
"junk" is something like garbage or rubbish...isn't it? Rather
exaggerated. 

Kind regards

Felix


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