I would love it if...

K

Kyle

Guest
The M8 stayed as close to the previous analog Ms as possible in terms of the design. I know they won't be doing this, but it would be great if they kept the advance lever for cocking the shutter. Also, it would be neat if they continued to use removable base plates, but instead of loading your film, this is where the memory card slot, battery, and other plugs go. I'd also like to see them keep the flip up back door to act as an LCD cover, but change it so that you don't need to remove the base plate to open it.

What do you guys think? I know they won't do any of that stuff, and I'm not a Leica "purist" by any means, but I think it would be really neat if they kept some of these Leica "traits" with the M8.
 
They WON"T BE DOING THIS?

I hope they don't do something foolish like change the design. That would be suicide.
 
shutterflower said:
They WON"T BE DOING THIS?

I hope they don't do something foolish like change the design. That would be suicide.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm almost positive I read that there will not be a shutter advance lever. Also, there are probably better ways to incorporate the battery/memory card slots than having a completely removeable base plate like the film Ms. I don't think they're going to change the overall design, but I'm sure some little things will be lost/changed.
 
At the LHSA convention last October, Stephan Daniel of Leica told us that the digital M would look pretty much like a traditional M, but a little thicker to accomodate the LCD. As to the details of doors, who knows?

--Peter
 
i hope the info in the viewfinder display is like the M7. i would like it to just flash the ISO when you turn on the camera and then display the shutter speeds.

i really don't want the viewfinder cluttered up with extra info about white balance presets or whatever. keep it simple.

a matter of fact i hope they can implement the aperture priority mode similar to how it is on the M7, with just a half-press of the shutter for exposure lock.

i really just want a digital version of the M7. that camera is nearly perfect.
 
What would the flip-up back door do? On the analog Ms, the door only opens when the bottom plate is out. So you want a door that flips up to reveal the LCD but pokes you in the face when you use it?

The removable bottom plate suits the slower pace of shooting with film, but not so in the fast instant-feedback world of digital.

Get rid of tha bottom plate!
 
humanized_form said:
i hope the info in the viewfinder display is like the M7. i would like it to just flash the ISO when you turn on the camera and then display the shutter speeds.

i really don't want the viewfinder cluttered up with extra info about white balance presets or whatever. keep it simple.

a matter of fact i hope they can implement the aperture priority mode similar to how it is on the M7, with just a half-press of the shutter for exposure lock.

i really just want a digital version of the M7. that camera is nearly perfect.
Click to expand...
The M7 is about as refined as to M form as I like. I wouldn't be surprised if the put the shutter release and shutter speed dial together as on the M5 and the R bodies. Two refinements that would be nice would be a diopter adjustment on the viewfinder and a centered tripod mount, though either of those would surprise me.
 
One thing that's always overlooked is that there are some essential items of information you need when shooting digital which you don't need with film:

- Battery state
- ISO
- White Balance
- Quality/Image Size
- Memory Capacity

How this will be displayed is unknown; a secondary LCD panel on the back or top of the camera? Dials like the R-D1?
 
i think it would be neat to have an ISO dial on top of the camera, maybe located around where the current film rewind is. this could also have an adjustment dial for ev comepnsation.

perhaps the biggest drag of the M7 for me is the rear dials for ISO and ev compensation. requires two hands to manually adjust ISO.

and if they could have a small lcd located where the current film counter area is it could indicate the remaining images available for the file format being, and have icons for white balance setting and remaining battery life, that would be great.
 
I hope it has a dial for "film replication", with choices like Tri-X, Acros, Tech Pan, etc... now that would be a good trick. :)

Todd
 
Just a pipe dream but...

An M7 rewind style crank used to charge up the battery for say... the next 36 exposures. That and an advance lever to cock the shutter like the R-D1 would be exceedingly cool.

I'd take either of those over a chimping screen.

Lock image quality on maximum the chip can handle. Afterall, why would a Leica M even offer lower resolutions.

Leave white balance to post processing. I can snap an extra shot at a white wall, piece of paper or a hankerchief if I'm dubious.

Though I'll need an exposure counter on the top right hand side, preferably a numbered dial but will settle for LCD, if I have to.
 
It should leap high buildings, run faster than an in-a-vacuum-bullet, be decisive in all its moments, and be a togetherer, not a divider.

Or perhaps I'll wait until it comes out to find out :p
 
Mark Norton said:
One thing that's always overlooked is that there are some essential items of information you need when shooting digital which you don't need with film:

- Battery state
- ISO
- White Balance
- Quality/Image Size
- Memory Capacity

How this will be displayed is unknown; a secondary LCD panel on the back or top of the camera? Dials like the R-D1?
Click to expand...
There seems to be two approaches to this in current DSLRs, the full LCD display and the mono LCD panel. I have cameras with both and I hope the go for the mono LCD panel on the top deck. Using the full LCD display makes the camera like a neon advertisement, especially in low light. An easy custom WB and EV adjust hopefully come out of beta testing and maybe the rewind knob will be the comand dial. It will be the back of the camera that changes the most.
 
I'm a chimper, so I hope they have a good LCD screen.

I would also like to see ISO displayed both on top and through the viewfinder. Unlike with film, ISO on a digital becomes another shot-by-shot elective, like shutter speed and aperture. (So that if you need a certain aperture, and you're getting pushed on the low end for shutter speed, for example, you can opt for a higher ISO and perhaps a bit more noise.) So that reading and control should be handy, and not buried somewhere in a menu.

As far as picture quality goes, I'd be happy with, say, 2 jpg settings and Raw. Actually, I'd be happy with Raw-only, but that might be a hard sell, and I hope it sells well.

The R-D1 does all of this stuff pretty well. I hope the Leica people took a long look at it.

JC
 
Jason Sprenger said:
An M7 rewind style crank used to charge up the battery for say... the next 36 exposures. That and an advance lever to cock the shutter like the R-D1 would be exceedingly cool.

Leave white balance to post processing. I can snap an extra shot at a white wall, piece of paper or a hankerchief if I'm dubious.
Click to expand...

36 exposures? why get stuck in the old way of thinking?

I'd rather have the camera do an approximate white balance so I can chimp meaningfully on site. And if I shoot raw, all white balance is applied in post anyways.
 
Mark Norton said:
One thing that's always overlooked is that there are some essential items of information you need when shooting digital which you don't need with film:

- Battery state
- ISO
- White Balance
- Quality/Image Size
- Memory Capacity

How this will be displayed is unknown; a secondary LCD panel on the back or top of the camera? Dials like the R-D1?
Click to expand...

I vote for DIALS.! I think the dials are the most intuitive feature of any digital camera in existence. I absolutely love them, especially the "frame" counter. Because it is a logrithmic display, you get the essential information at a glance i.e. I have a lot of pictures left vs I'm down to the last dozen. The battery "gas" gauge is also very effective. The white balance & raw-jpeg needle is nice but I don't really care how they are implemented.
Unfortunately, the chance of Leica using stepper motor gauges is remote. We were very lucky to see them in the Epson and only because of Epson's long history in manufacturing watches. Remember Epson is actually Seiko/Epson, the watch people. Even with probably the best opportunity to manufacture watch-like gauges, it has been reported that it cost Seiko $600 to implement this truly elegant design. I don't think we will ever see anything like it again.
I'm starting to get all misty-eyed about my little R-D1. God protect her from harm.

Rex
 
I thought about the baseplate thingy too.
In some respects a digital M7 would be cool. If it had the exact same everything and the only difference was the lack of film and a memory card slot and a battery tucked away somewhere.
I'm thinking it may have a more modern design instead.
You could get bogged down in throwing features at it or you go make it hardcore and stripped down. Trouble is if you do that folk will complain that it's a $4000 camera with less features than a $400 one. Leica badge on it or not.
 
I really hope there is NO advance lever to cock the shutter.
I still miss a lot of decisive moments after using the R-D1 for 1,5 years as my only camera because i forgot to do this and the camera was not ready.

What i really hope for is a fulll black and white mode in raw similar and with the same quality as the R-D1.
 
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