Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Or maybe a hybrid finder like the Fuji X100?
I can't remember the last time I used the optical finder on my 240 and if it had a built in EVF that didn't black out for a few seconds after exposure the way the clip on example does I'd be one happy camper! And surely the manufacturing costs of an EVF would be less than the current rangefinder mechanism.
No doubt some of you out there will think is total heresy!
I can't remember the last time I used the optical finder on my 240 and if it had a built in EVF that didn't black out for a few seconds after exposure the way the clip on example does I'd be one happy camper! And surely the manufacturing costs of an EVF would be less than the current rangefinder mechanism.
No doubt some of you out there will think is total heresy!
mfunnell
Shaken, so blurred
Yep. Total heresy, from my POV. The only point, to me, of a digital M is that it has the OVF/RF. But that's just me. Even if Leica never makes another, it's no skin off my nose because I'm sticking with the one I have (if only because I couldn't afford to buy another).No doubt some of you out there will think is total heresy!
...Mike
jaapv
RFF Sponsoring Member.
Leica will probably keep on making both. The Q has an excellent EVF, the M has a superb OVF. Enough for both groups of customers.
I can't imagine the M is going anywhere... not until it has no fans and no longer sells.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
To me, not using the optical rangefinder on an M is like sitting inside a Nissan GT-R and then play a car racing game on a tablet instead of driving the real thing.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
To me, not using the optical rangefinder on an M is like sitting inside a Nissan GT-R and then play a car racing game on a tablet instead of driving the real thing.
True I guess!
I haven't seen much of you around here of late ..... or maybe I just didn't notice!
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I use both, together, a good bit of the time. I'm pretty happy with the M-P just as it is.
I'm pretty sure Leica will continue making an optical viewfinder M for quite a while. I'm fairly certain that they'll also start making an EVF M at some point.
I don't know for sure that a suitable EVF represents much of a reduction in manufacturing cost.
G
I'm pretty sure Leica will continue making an optical viewfinder M for quite a while. I'm fairly certain that they'll also start making an EVF M at some point.
I don't know for sure that a suitable EVF represents much of a reduction in manufacturing cost.
G
kshapero
South Florida Man
Nicely put. No zoom zoom for me.To me, not using the optical rangefinder on an M is like sitting inside a Nissan GT-R and then play a car racing game on a tablet instead of driving the real thing.
jarski
Mentor
rangefinder didn't disappear with previous technical innovations, decades ago, enter the R-system for example.
willie_901
Mentor
Never.
Leica still makes new film cameras. So why wouldn't the optical RF will always be available as well? The price to own one will keep increasing (beyond inflationary normalization).
The economics of optical RF is interesting as it is both a value added feature and expensive to manufacture. And the demand is small yet constant. The final cost is not just due to the difference between EVF and RF production economics.
The Fujifilm solution works for me. Other find it completely unacceptable. Viva la difference!
Leica still makes new film cameras. So why wouldn't the optical RF will always be available as well? The price to own one will keep increasing (beyond inflationary normalization).
The economics of optical RF is interesting as it is both a value added feature and expensive to manufacture. And the demand is small yet constant. The final cost is not just due to the difference between EVF and RF production economics.
The Fujifilm solution works for me. Other find it completely unacceptable. Viva la difference!
Roma
Well-known
hope they integrate an EVF but definitely keep the RF. Plus, the battery life with just the RF will always be better.
ruby.monkey
Mentor
When enough people stop buying them, Leica will stop making them.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
True I guess!
I haven't seen much of you around here of late ..... or maybe I just didn't notice!
Yes, I haven't been here as often as I'd like to be in the past few months. Heck! I just developed my first roll of film in 2015 last Saturday
BillBingham2
Registered User
I'm not sure that they will give up on the optical ever, but I can see the time where they make a EVF with the same basic body (e.g. support M mount glass) as the film based bodies. A lot of the decision I think has to do with quality of the EVF compared to an optical (e.g. sharpness, responsiveness). My guess it will take another couple or three generations for engineering.
I think EVFs are SLRs without the hump (often, but not always). There is something about the window on the front of a camera. Perhaps the hybrid will be the way they go. I'd be OK with that as some times if feel like a nut (use SLRs for long glass) and some times I don't (wide glass on a optical viewfinder).
If I were pressed to put a date on when we might see one from Leica I'd say about 2020.
B2
I think EVFs are SLRs without the hump (often, but not always). There is something about the window on the front of a camera. Perhaps the hybrid will be the way they go. I'd be OK with that as some times if feel like a nut (use SLRs for long glass) and some times I don't (wide glass on a optical viewfinder).
If I were pressed to put a date on when we might see one from Leica I'd say about 2020.
B2
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Well, they've experience of them from the Digilux 2, so I guess we shall just have to wait and see. A pity they don't do a full frame (meaning 24 x 36 mm) dSLR so we could snatch up all those cheapo R series lenses and use them for what they do best on a Leica body...
Regards, David
Well, they've experience of them from the Digilux 2, so I guess we shall just have to wait and see. A pity they don't do a full frame (meaning 24 x 36 mm) dSLR so we could snatch up all those cheapo R series lenses and use them for what they do best on a Leica body...
Regards, David
rscheffler
Well-known
When an M-mount camera with only an EVF appears, it will be in addition to the current RF-based camera style. That's my expectation, though I would be very pleasantly surprised if Leica offers a hybrid solution in the near future.
I would think it will take at least a few product cycles for EVF to supplant the RF. I would ideally like a hybrid solution built into the camera, rather than as an add-on, to allow faster switching and eliminate the need to carry another accessory. My current technique when using live view is to focus wide angle lenses with the RF and compose with the LCD or EVF display. I'll use the EVF to double check critical focus with the 90, but will often focus it first with the RF, especially if it's a moving subject or I'm stopped down a fair ways and absolute focus is less critical. IMO, in many situations I photograph, RF remains much faster to use for precise focusing and I would be reluctant to lose its versatility.
I would think it will take at least a few product cycles for EVF to supplant the RF. I would ideally like a hybrid solution built into the camera, rather than as an add-on, to allow faster switching and eliminate the need to carry another accessory. My current technique when using live view is to focus wide angle lenses with the RF and compose with the LCD or EVF display. I'll use the EVF to double check critical focus with the 90, but will often focus it first with the RF, especially if it's a moving subject or I'm stopped down a fair ways and absolute focus is less critical. IMO, in many situations I photograph, RF remains much faster to use for precise focusing and I would be reluctant to lose its versatility.
We can certainly say the Q may be a test to see if people want an EVF-only Leica. If it succeeds, it could turn into a M mount camera. I would agree that it would be in addition to a rangefinder M.
taemo
eat sleep shoot
if Leica decides to move to EVF, they'll be just one of the many mirrorless cameras out there.
I shoot Leica because it's a rangefinder, otherwise I would just get a Sony
I shoot Leica because it's a rangefinder, otherwise I would just get a Sony
Agreed. I think the M is its main reason for existing as a company.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
That's not much of an endorsement. I tossed the Sony A7 because I didn't like the clumsy controls, chaotic menus, poor workflow, and mediocre ergonomics. Good sensor, however, and a decent viewfinder ... But working those two against all the other negatives produced nowhere near as nice a camera to work with as the Olympus E-M1 or Leica M-P.
I do expect Leica to make an interchangeable lens EVF camera at some point soon. Whether it's labeled M or not is mostly a matter of branding and product differentiation. But I'm sure they'll be producing M rangefinder cameras for some time to come as well.
G