Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/04/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Tom, This one had crossed my mind as well. In fact, in the months of rumors before last Photokina, I was convinced this was exactly what Leica would come out with. There are a few problems with this approach as far as Leica is concerned. They feel that the cloth focal plane shutter is the quietest and most reliable shutter on the market. This shutter is the essence of the Leica M camera. Also, supposedly, a vertically travelling shutter wouldn't fit in the classic M body. There is also the other problem that there is only one manufacturer of bladed shutters in the world today; Copal. Leica does not want to be held ransome to one shutter manufacturer. An interesting idea for a future M camera would be the bottom of a G2 Contax mated to the rangefinder of an M? But Leica would not be Leica if they abandoned the classic M camera. There would be nothing special about them (lenses aside) if they did not have the M. Bill Rosauer