A Prediction - The Leica SL-2 is Coming Soon

Klaus, I’m glad you mentioned the typical constituency of these river cruises. My mother and her sister did the same Rhine cruise a few years back, though not Ichiban Class, and they were both already in their eighties at the time. My mother has mobility issues too.
 
I agree. You would need to make very large prints to see a difference.
I have a 44" x 30" framed print hanging on my wall produced from my M-P 240. I think that's plenty big enough!
18570491-orig.jpg
 
Your own hair probably.

Take some lederhosen for your walking frame and join in the thigh slapping fun!

Charles,

Pretty much I have a confused identity, and I identify as being a white boy trapped in an Asian body.

I wear knickers all the time. At work my boss kinda wrote me up, oddly after the summer was nearly over, for my wearing of knickers all summer.

One of my personality flaws is that I annoy people it seems.

Another great talent is that I seem to draw out the crazies and somehow photograph them. My friend Christian says I should riff off the book "Humans of New York" and promote a book called "Crazies of New York."

Cal
 
Bring your tux so you can hit up the casino in Baden Baden.

Huss,

My grandfather was a gambler. He was executed in China for murdering a loan shark who destroyed and burned down his business. So I'm a grandson of a murderer.

My mom was an educated woman from Hong Kong. Back in her day this was remarkable, and she likely came from a very afluent family.

Meanwhile my dad was illiterate and an illegal immigrant who jumped ship in New York Harbor in the late 20's or early-early 30's.

I made a killing gaming the markets and sold all my oil stocks when oil first hit $135.00 a barrel, and I closed my account in 2007.

Later that very same day oil peaked at $147.00 a barrel and collapsed to mark the beginning of the Great Recession. If I didn't sell when I did I would have been ruined. The timing was the difference between lunchtime and early afternoon.

I did this in a margin account, so the only difference between me and a full blown hedge fund is I utilized three-to-one margin and hedge funds used up to 30-1 leverage. Pretty much the only difference was a zero.

During the credit crisis, when people needed cash and were selling their treasures, is when I started buying used Leicas as "hard assets." Previously I only owned a Nikon F3P as my only camera.

I'm pretty convinced that I have "Bankster" blood in me from my mother's side. Part of me is also gangster and criminal. I'm an interesting hybrid. How American. LOL.

Cal
 
Klaus, I’m glad you mentioned the typical constituency of these river cruises. My mother and her sister did the same Rhine cruise a few years back, though not Ichiban Class, and they were both already in their eighties at the time. My mother has mobility issues too.

Pete,

Jeff from the NYC Meet-Up mentioned he did a few River Cruises, and made no mention of the geriatric factor.

At the Gaia where we are staying in Basel we are booked for a full blown apartment.

So at this point not only am I confused, but also excited. LOL. Life has been a bit of an adventure for me, pretty much I never really fit in, and lots of crazy stuff you can't make up just seems to happen to me.

Oh-well.

Cal
 
Huss,

My grandfather was a gambler. He was executed in China for murdering a loan shark who destroyed and burned down his business. So I'm a grandson of a murderer.

My mom was an educated woman from Hong Kong. Back in her day this was remarkable, and she likely came from a very affluent family.

Meanwhile my dad was illiterate and an illegal immigrant who jumped ship in New York Harbor in the late 20's or early-early 30's.

I made a killing gaming the markets and sold all my oil stocks when oil first hit $135.00 a barrel, and I closed my account in 2007.

Later that very same day oil peaked at $147.00 a barrel and collapsed to mark the beginning of the Great Recession. If I didn't sell when I did I would have been ruined. The timing was the difference between lunchtime and early afternoon.

I did this in a margin account, so the only difference between me and a full blown hedge fund is I utilized three-to-one margin and hedge funds used up to 30-1 leverage. Pretty much the only difference was a zero.

During the credit crisis, when people needed cash and were selling their treasures, is when I started buying used Leicas as "hard assets." Previously I only owned a Nikon F3P as my only camera.

I'm pretty convinced that I have "Bankster" blood in me from my mother's side. Part of me is also gangster and criminal. I'm an interesting hybrid. How American. LOL.

Cal
Cal,

Half the reason I love RFF are your stories. The other half is Ko.Fe's realpolitik comments.
Thanks for sharing!

Best,

Michael.
 
I have a 44" x 30" framed print hanging on my wall produced from my M-P 240. I think that's plenty big enough!
18570491-orig.jpg

Bill,

I have a special fondness of large prints. Not easy to do and do well.

"Big prints don't lie," I say. Any imperfection, noise, or too much processing shows artifacts.

Very cool.

Cal

POSTSCRIPT: Was a tripod used?
 
Last edited:
Cal,

Half the reason I love RFF are your stories. The other half is Ko.Fe's realpolitik comments.
Thanks for sharing!

Best,

Michael.

Michael,

Many thanks.

If you notice the above post while off topic is also photo related.

Cal
 
Bring your tux so you can hit up the casino in Baden Baden.

I once was invited to the Casino in Baden Baden. I was instructed to wear a suit. Unlike US casinos, they let you calculate odds while playing. They even give you a calculator and a note pad with pencil!
 
Cal, the funny thing about those European river cruises, which are spruiked heavily here in Australia (ageing demographic, I venture) is that I find some of them very attractive sounding. I think that says more about my stage in life, which is nearing the same demographic group as my mother.
Your uber-class venture though, would be miles different from what I would undertake, and I say lap up the luxury. Wonderful opportunity.
 
Cal, the funny thing about those European river cruises, which are spruiked heavily here in Australia (ageing demographic, I venture) is that I find some of them very attractive sounding. I think that says more about my stage in life, which is nearing the same demographic group as my mother.
Your uber-class venture though, would be miles different from what I would undertake, and I say lap up the luxury. Wonderful opportunity.


Decades ago, my grandparents went on a cruise, and met a young couple on their honeymoon. That young couple were about my parent's age, and they've been family friends ever since. I grew up playing with their kids, hahaha.
 
So here is a thought. If I can get Leica to add to their menus "framelines" as an overlay then there could be "Q" Factor that is basically borrowed from the "Q" and Q2.

So if I use my 50 Lux-L with a 75mm frameline overlay on both the VF and rear display pretty much I could use my 50 Lux as a 50-75 zoom. Because the SL2 has 47 MP the loss of pixel count is pretty much not much of an issue, I gain a benefit of F1.4 in a zoom, sweet spot an already highly corrected lens, use what I already own, and pretty much eliminate the need for an APO 75 Cron.

I did a lot of research on the 50 Lux-L verses the APO 50 Cron. The best info was from the SL Forums where most of them were either very serious landscape shooters or working pro's.

Some chose the APO 50 Cron. It has a faster focus, is more compact, weighs less, is sharp across the frame at F2.0, and some for the rendering.

Others chose the 50 Lux-L. It has better bokeh, smoother OOF, and of course F1.4.

But one shooter, a pro said he has to keep both because his clients basically voted with their dollars. For landscape the APO 50 Cron is best, but for shooting people the 50 Lux makes for a better portrait lens.

Understand that the 50 Lux at F1.4 is soft in the corners and near the edges, but at F2.0 it is "almost" sharp across the frame.

So now I can see how a SL with an APO 35 Cron and a SL2 with a 50 Lux-L is a two camera kit where I don't really need more glass. Pretty much don't need an APO 75 Lux.

The extra resolution from the high count MP sensor won't be wasted due to "Q" factor. The 50 Lux could easily serve as a 50-75 zoom. If Leica is smart they should add "Q" Factor selectable frameline overlays to their menus. This would make the SL more rangefinder like and promote their brand.

Cal
 
Back
Top