[Leica] PMA and Leica

[dorysrus at mindspring.com (Don Dory)]

Well, I hit the Leica booth shortly after the hall opened and the Leica
booth was manned and ready for the crowds.  They had a working DMR that
seemed just fine to me.  As an aside the DIMA folks thought that the
images coming off the Minolta 7D looked better at 16X20 than the DMR
although the vote was within 5/100ths.  No new product shown to the
masses although I got the impression that they were going to announce a
lens but decided not to.  Also, I got the distinct impression that the
orders for the DMR would occupy the company for more than the next year.

That fact seemed odd as theoretically they have been building modules
for months, just waiting for firmware.  Hopefully, they will ship
hundreds at 4K and the cash will roll in.

I did visit with the 50 ASPH and expressed my frustration that no one
could tell me about when mine would ship.  I friendly voice later told
me that perhaps mine was more than sand.

WARNING: Rumor, not fact.  One person told me that there might be a
rather large order for the 50 ASPH that was causing a large delay.  Many
more than the 50 titanium lenses built in November.  The demo I saw was
very attractive.

The mood of the industry was somewhat somber.  The show was much smaller
than last year with smaller crowds.  The Kodak booth was a mere shadow
of their former glory.  Two of the Nikon D2X's shown did not work
properly; one of the reps told me that they just got their camera just
before the show.

I will say that the new Canon Rebel XT is mighty fine.  They have really
worked on the viewfinder to make manual focus work; it was much easier
than the D20.  I didn't even have a problem with the kit lens.  Tactile
feel was much improved over the predecessor.

The folks at the Olympus booth were pretty defensive about their
cameras.  Hmmm, maybe sales aren't too brisk.  Walking around the show,
there were a lot of D70's and 20D's over the shoulder of attendee's.  I
only saw one Olympus DSLR. The new F2 lenses are about the same size of
the equivalent 2.8 versions brand N and C sell.

Fuji was showing their new films (Velvia 100, NPS, NHG), it is nice to
see some new emulsions hitting the street.  Kodak was showing improved
Portra that was designed for less light scatter in scanning.

That is all for now.  Once I absorb some of the propaganda there might
be more.

Don
dorysrus@mindspring.com