[Leica] Photokina musings.

[don.dory at gmail.com (Don Dory)]

Jayanand,
Interesting, the price Stephen told me last week was higher.  Mr. Kobyashi
must have gotten better estimates from the factory floor after Stephen came
back.  Good news nonetheless.

Don
don.dory@gmail.com


On 10/8/06, Jayanand Govindaraj <jgovindaraj@eth.net> wrote:
>
> Don,
> According to Stephen Gandy - $649.
> Cheers
> Jayanand
>
> Don Dory wrote:
>
> > First, I think that the upcoming wide angle vewfinder Voigtlander is a
> > really big deal.  The usual wide angle lenses showing without an
> > accessory
> > viewfinder will get me out of the Leica fold.  Price will be around
> > $900 if
> > memory serves.
> >
> > Second, lets get real about the viewfinder for the new Tri-Elmar.  It
> > shows
> > a very clear, very low distortion image with parallax compensation.
> > It has
> > good eye relief.  It is smaller than a MR meter that a lot of folks
> used.
> > No, it doesn't affect the balance of the camera, especially with the
> > Tri-Elmar attached.  Please try before you complain.  The images I
> > took with
> > the pre-production Tri-Elmar at 16-18-21 looked pretty good to me wide
> > open
> > on my M6.  If it looks good full frame then it will look good on an M8.
> >
> > The folks at Leica were pretty sure that the shipping version of the
> > firmware would come out on October 15th giving the good folks in Solms
> > time
> > to check, verify, and upload to shipping cameras.  And, based on the
> many
> > boxes of demo cameras sitting at the factory, they have a pretty good
> > idea
> > of what needs to happen.
> >
> > I will echo others that the display of all the Leica goodies glued to
> > stands
> > was great fun, was full all the time, and had some young folk looking
> > very
> > interested.  Between halls Leica had a riser set up with a good
> > selection of
> > cameras, lenses, and sport optics designed with a enough light and
> > space so
> > that you could really come to terms with the equipment.
> >
> > Zeiss is doing some really nice things for the M mount.  I had a
> > chance to
> > shoot with the Sonnar 1.5, the Biogon 21, and the Biogon 25.  I prefer
> > the
> > 50 Summilux ASPH to the Sonnar 1.5, but the Sonnar does a really, really
> > good job of imaging with a pretty flat field, good rendition of fine
> > detail,
> > and good off center abilities.  I prefer the Summilux because it has
> > better
> > really fine detail capture, better contrast, and does better at really
> > close
> > distances; but you pay almost three times the price for that relatively
> > small improvement.  The Biogon 21 is a winner and will probably find
> > its way
> > into my bag as the 21 SA won't image well on a digital.
> >
> > I used the 25 Biogon extensively as a fellow LHSA member loaned me
> > his.  It
> > is a very nice lens with good detail capture and I loved the 1/3
> > stops.  But
> > just like the 50, the 24 ASPH has a little more contrast, better
> > capture of
> > really fine detail, and a flatter field.  Again, not loads better, but
> > noticeably better at a steep price.
> >
> > For the Pentax shooters out there, the new 10MP is a real winner.  Small
> > changes to the controls but an improved finder and a very nice vertical
> > grip.  With a price under $900 and acces to all those lovely lenses
> > including the new Zeiss offerings it is mighty tempting.
> >
> > The new 50mm F1.2 Canon is an extremely well built lens that focus
> > quickly.
> > Image quality through the viewfinder is very good and field flatness is
> > quite good.  Finally Canon has a good 50mm both optically and
> > mechanically.
> > Tina and Ted will love this lens as you can use 3200 ISO and 1.2.
> >
> > Sony is really building on the Alpha mount.  They were showing a good
> > 70-200
> > F2.8 and a 300 F2.8 both of which cover full frame images.  The 300
> > was at
> > least a re-design of the old Minolta lens.
> >
> > Olympus was showing an addition to their 4/3 system that was
> proportioned
> > more like a film camera than the other E series.  If memory serves it
> was
> > 10MP with a good viewfinder.  I am sorry to be so brief but the number
> of
> > cameras was small and the line was long, boisterous, and quite rude.
> >
> > Rollei offered a new IR film that did not need to be loaded in the dark.
> > Not as grainy as Kodak's but a similar response to filtration and a
> > similar
> > tendency to halate.
> >
> > The real fun of walking all ten halls was seeing all the wierdness.
> > Strange
> > ball heads, software to fix any ill, models dressed as space aliens
> > walking
> > to break, tripods of all shapes, leg number, material, lock mechanism,
> > half
> > a hall filled with telescopes, half a hall filled with inkjet paper
> > manufacturers and more to fill a book.  Unlike others, I will probably
> go
> > back for two days next time as the international efforts are a little
> > more
> > entertaining than at PMA.
> >
> > Don
> > don.dory@gmail.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
>
>
>
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