Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/07

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Medium format and AF modes
From: Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>
Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 12:44:38 -0700

"Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter)" wrote:
> 
> Mark,
> Give it time.  Mamiya said they would not have AF as did Pentax and now you
> have Pentax, Contax, and Mamiya 645 AF SLRs.  Unfortunately, only Leica
> remains as the only 35mm camera manufacturer without an AF model.  snip Yet another company stuck in > the past, or as their slogan may read "pretending to make progress, so we can charge you more!"

> Peter K
snip
> >From what I've seen of the Hasselblad and Rollei E mail sites there is
> no movement to try to induce Autofocus on their respective camera companies.
> I'm trying to picture on a Linhof newsgroup site it's constituents
snip
> Mark :-) Rabiner

My first thought was Hasselblad and Linhof as classic modes of shooting
that will remain so. Sticking Rollei in (as I had just shot a roll with
my TLR and was still smiling from the experience) leaves my argument
wide open as they will of course follow the trail set my Contax in
medium format as you say. Some crazy company will someday come out with
a handheld 4by5 which we are seeing more of and with AF and it could
fly. Maybe get more people shooting sheet film and that would be good.
(Then they could sell it and get a Linhof)
A month ago the Contax was a 4 grand body and today its a 2 grand body.
The lenes look like something out of a cracker jack box. A shameful way
to package undoubtedly pristine optics!
But these are all larger than 35mm shooting styles and 35 has become a
primarily an AF experience for the world... which weakens my argument.
And I am talking "modes" of shooting.
Mark Rabiner