Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/12/16

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Digilux 2
From: "Howard L Ritter, Jr" <hlritter@mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 13:27:35 -0500

You hint at a good point here, Frank. The Oly has a sensor that is 2.5 times
the linear size of that in the D2 (which at 8.8 x 6.6 mm is pretty
microscopic these days and may not be optimal in terms of noise and
resolution--the absolute resolution of optics, that is) and should allow the
use of lenses that are similarly smaller in linear dimension. So a 28-90
equivalent for the D2 should be 40% the length and diameter, and only 6% of
the mass, (all this is to some degree exaggerated by the fact that there are
minimums for thickness etc in the interest of structural strength) of an
equivalent lens for a chip the size of the Oly's. That's simple geometry.
And clearly the Vario-Summicron on the D2 is far larger than that! Compare
to the 3:1 zoom on my Canon Digital Elph S400, tiny by comparison, even if
you take into account the lower pixel count and the slower speed. I think
the size of a lens needed to cover the D2's sensor at f/2-2.4 with equiv FL
of 28-90 is a good deal smaller than the Vario-Summicron. I wonder why the
lens is so big. Maybe I'm underestimating what it takes to produce a lens
this fast across the whole FL range. But when I think of the Summicron 90,
and that it covers a frame 4 TIMES the linear size of the D2's, I don't
think so. Maybe they're saving space for a larger chip, and equiv FL of,
say, 42-135 for the "D3" without having to re-engineer everything. Just pop
a 13.2 x 9.9 chip in the same body!

- --howard

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Frank
Dernie
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 12:46 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Digilux 2


The Olympus has a sensor with over 4x the area of the Digilux 2
(22.5x18 compared to 8.8x6.6). OTOH if the D2 can produce results as
good as we saw at Leica GB from the D1 and is as ergonomic to use as it
looks I am getting one even if the E1 and Canon 10D are better in
extremis.
Frank

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