Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/25
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At 11:46 PM -0700 7/24/03, Jim Laurel wrote:
>Peter,
>It's a question of marketing. The pitch is simple: Here is a product that
>produces results of the highest order, exceeding what can be produced by the
>best DSLRs. The range of focal lengths is limited, as is the case with all
>RF systems, but you get high quality output in a compact space. The lenses
>are fast, so you can shoot in lower light without raising the ISO, which
>invites more noise. All things being equal in terms of sensor sensitivity
>vs noise, a faster lens is still a huge advantage.
>
>I can't understand why this is not an interesting market niche for any of
>the major manufacturers. Everyone wants quality results from a compact
>device. The point and shoots with slow fixed zoom lenses just don't fit the
>bill.
>
>If Konica produces a digital Hexar, the only products Leica will have that
>will be of any interest at all are the M lenses, and that's only if they can
>be adapted to focus accurately on the Hexar D.
>
>This all seems so obvious to me, and I can't imagine that smart people at
>Leica don't see it as well. The DMR seems to be a waste of time. What is
>the unique value proposition of such a device as compared to your garden
>variety CaNikon DSLR? An R9 with the DMR will not be able to do anything
>the D1s cannot do, and in 18-24 months the DMR's specs will likely be
>equaled by the current $1500 DSLR from Canon. No one is positioned to build
>the compact digital RF better than Leica. It would be a huge coup for them.
>There must be a way...
Again, the problem is with the lenses. Current lenses, especially
those below 50mm are not suitable for digital use.
The advantage that the current Leica camera design, with no mirror,
gives to lens designers would be all gone. High speed wide angle
lenses would be as large and as relatively poor in performance as
current SLR lenses, and would have to be designed from scratch.
As someone has suggested, sometime in the future sensors might be
designed that are able to work with steep angles of incidence. Until
that time, a full frame or even reasonably large sensor Leica M is
pointless to consider.
- --
* Henning J. Wulff
/|\ Wulff Photography & Design
/###\ mailto:henningw@archiphoto.com
|[ ]| http://www.archiphoto.com
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