This is tempting.... But expensiiiiive!

If I could justify it I'd buy it; it's an outfit I'd love but, at the same time, I reckon I could buy just as good that was purely digital without the film aspects and I've enough film cameras. Also I know what the lenses cost and worry about buying just a basic four or five primes...

Not much help there, sorry.

Regards, David
 
David

I would love this for my R Glass but it may be cheaper and more sensible to go full frame Nikon or Canon and adapt my lenses.
But I've never been sensible as far as Leica is concerned... lol

Do you know?

Does Leica still service the DMR?
Or more specifically, If the sensor craps itself can they fix it?
 
What a coincidence as I just posted regarding my D700 and R glass. Personally I think the DMR is outdated now. As nice as the images are, you can achieve the same if not better results with Nikon or Canon with better high iso and IQ. DMR guys rave about the colour but post can sort that out if your not happy with standard Nikon.
I spoke to a guy who used one professionally and he said the skin tones were fantastic but then the Nikon D2X had great skin tone and you can load the pro nikons with the profile. If you have NX2 you can load the profile into the program for the other Nikon's.
 
You lose auto diaphragm with Leica glass on Nikon/Canon. I am not willing to revert back to 1950 slr technology.

The image quality is great for when you can use manual diaphragm.

There are already battery issues with DMR. Leica can only point you to someone who rebuilds old ones. This is a primary reason why I keep rejecting the M9. Over the years, I have learned not to buy propritary battery operated equipment. Can you imagine a $7000 camera that lacks a battery.

I have used Leica APO lenses, 400/560 telyts, 28 & 35 PC lenses, 135 tele elmar head. 90 2.8 elmarit, 65 3.5, and I can assure you the image is to die for. Why they could not make a digi slr is beyond me.
 
I agree completely with you, Ronald.
I've lusted after a Leica R system for years.
Now that I'm firmly wed to my digital M bodies, I want a digital SLR. I would love if someone stuck a KAF-18500 sensor into a dedicated Leica R body. The form factor of the R7 except without a winder would be perfect.
From a development standpoint, it's easier to make the R glass project onto a full frame without the red and cyan drift issues of the rangefinder cameras because the R series are mostly retrofocus lenses. It just makes sense and the fact that it wasn't developed is heartbreaking.

(When I have a few extra $10k to spend I'm going to hack a pro DSLR to talk to the Leica R cams so I can say that it can be done.)

Phil Forrest
 
Ronald M said:
You lose auto diaphragm with Leica glass on Nikon/Canon. I am not willing to revert back to 1950 slr technology.

The image quality is great for when you can use manual diaphragm.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you've probably tried it already and yes it's a pain on certain cameras but for the D700, D3 etc you can use A and M metering mode.
I use A and focus wide open. I've already decided which aperture to shoot at and just count the click stops. I went for full stop click adapters and it's easy. No slower than adjusting correct exposure on my M6 or F2's.
 
I think with the rapid advances in digital and potential battery availability problems the second hand price of the less than full frame DMR is set to drop rapidly. If they get cheap enough I might even buy one for my R9 but desirable as it looks it seems like a REALLY bad investment right now.
 
I've already had an R lens apart to see if it's possible to reverse the aperture with a cam arrangement. The problem is that nikkors close one way and Leica the other.
 
It's not entirely impossible to either transplant the Nikon aperture mechanism to the R lens or the R optical unit to the Nikon lens...
Definitely not for the faint of heart, but certainly not impossible.
(Here's where Brian Sweeney chimes in that he has a few sitting on his bookshelf...)

Phil Forrest
 
sorry to double/consecutive post but...

sorry to double/consecutive post but...

My R lens solution might be to "invest" in one of the old Kodak DCS SLR/n bodies.
They are CHEAP these days. A SLR/n body + a Leitax adapter is still under $1000 USD. Yeah, yeah, fully manual only, I know. If the dandelion chip is added to the adapter, then the lens can be metered on the body and the Kodak profiles individual lenses in-camera. Most Nikon and Canon DSLR bodies don't do anything more these days when using old manual lenses.
Actually, look at the cost of a full frame DLSR and weighing those capabilities against the old Kodak, then the older camera starts to look very attractive. Higher ISO's suck, yes but that sensor is still one of the sharpest on the market 6 years later.
I'm trying to rationalize the purchase of one of these FF Kodak bodies for the coverage that my digital M cameras don't give me (macro and telephoto.)

Phil Forrest
 
Sure, get the vanilla. But you know you really want Rocky Road!!!:):):)

If you don't, you will always wonder.... but you will also remember using nothing but the Nikon or the Canon and why would you want to do that?:rolleyes:

This is a one-of-a-kind Leica experience. Go for it!:D (where's my little devil smilie?)
 
I'm with nobbylon. I've been using the Leica R glass on Nikon film bodies for some time now, and the metering is on the money (great to have a choice of spot, center weighted or matrix too). Just focus wide open, stop the lens down and let the camera's A mode work out the shutter speed. Very fast to use, and mine always exposes perfectly. Unfortunately, now I will probably end up throwing away most of my earlier Nikon lens shots because compared to a Summicron, well......... they don't.
 
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