Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/03/17

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Subject: [Leica] Leica DSLR
From: Johnny Deadman <lists@johnbrownlow.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 21:01:35 -0500

I do so hate to burst the bubble BUT...

...there is not the remotest possibility that Leica can make a camera 
which is competitive with the Canon D-series digital cameras. They do 
not have access to the chips or the platforms, both of which are mature 
in the Canon series (and to a somewhat lesser extent the Nikon series, 
only lesser because of the reliance on the Kodak chip technology rather 
than their own stuff).

One interesting result from 1Ds owners (including me) is that even the 
excellent L-series Canon lenses start to show their flaws (mainly 
chromatic aberration, barrel distortion in the wide zooms, and 
resolution falloff at the edge of frame) when used in this platform. If 
there ever was a platform which could do justice to Leitz lenses, this 
is it.

My 1Ds has effectively replaced ALL of my cameras except the Leica 
M-series, pinhole, and Holga. The only thing that is not quite up to 
snuff is the optics, and that is only because their flaws were 
generally not as evident when used as designed on a 35mm platform. They 
are great lenses, but not (yet) great enough.

JB

On Monday, March 17, 2003, at 06:49  PM, Edward Caliguri wrote:

> I would tend to agree - buy a used D60 to experiment. Or a D30 (I use 
> a D30
> to fun around with, and it's great -- you should see it using the 560 
> Apo
> Modular!
>     But -- Don't think that a Leica digital SLR is THAT far off ... 
> rumors
> abound, but a few are, at least in my mind and from whence they came, 
> You
> won't have to wait that long. And when it does show up, because of all 
> that
> has gone on before it, it will be a beauty. Until then - film (and film
> camera batteries!) can hold their own against all comers. I do 
> wildlife -
> Ever recharge your batteries in the field - in your truck? Nice and 
> loud.
> That's why I need to carry SIX charged R8/9 motor batteries for three
> cameras for a day's shoot at times. A royal pain in the rear.

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