[LRflex] Re: IMPORTANT: Re: DMR Support, all together now. please read

  • From: David Young <telyt@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 04 Feb 2007 09:41:06 -0800

Elliot wrote:
>I'd be interested to hear from all of the very accomplished and 
>pleased DMR users.
>Now I wonder about the R10.
>
>As an aside, I am visiting family in Boston and I stopped in at 
>Newtonville Camera, one of my favorite
>"old time" photo stores.  Interesting to know that they are sold out 
>of M8 cameras, with no more
>expected until April.  Also, no DMR modules in stock, or on the horizon.
Hi Elliot!

As I mentioned to Mehrdad, the DMR is a fine picture making machine, 
even with it's existing firmware.  Just yesterday, while 
photographing the Polarthon (3km speed skate, 4 km run, 5km X-country 
ski) a photojournalism student, at nearby Three Rivers University, 
looked at the back panel of my DMR and exclaimed "Wow! I wish I could 
get colours like that with my Nikon ! "

And, as mentioned in my earlier post, the DMRs remain available. 
However, few dealers are keen to stock it, as sales are slow.  Still, 
they can order them.  (There have been stories about dealers who did 
not support Leica with the DMR finding themselves "low on the totem 
pole", for M8 deliveries.  While this is a common practice in 
business, I have no way of knowing if it is true.)

You need not wonder about the R10.  Leica's intention is to build 
both hardware and firmware for the R10 so that they avoid exactly the 
problems they are apparently having with Imacon.  No company can 
afford to be "held hostage" to another, as Leica are to Imacon, for the DMR.

As previously mentioned, Leica are building up their "in house" 
expertise, for firmware, and now write their own code for their 
PanaLeicas.  However, at this point, they do not have the expertise 
to write firmware for the M8 or DMR.  They plan on having this in 
place for the R10.

As an aside, rumours (and only rumours) have it that this is why the 
Sinar purchase fell through.  Leica thought they were getting 
Jenoptik's software group as part of the Sinar deal.  Jenoptik 
thought otherwise.  Had Leica got what they wanted, I'm pretty sure 
Leica would have offered lenses for Sinars - especially the Sinar-M 
and Sinar Hy6 (http://tinyurl.com/yp6pvo).  Purchasing Jenoptik's 
software group (who wrote the M8's firmware) would have quickly put 
them firmly in the digital game.  Alas; that, it seems, was not to be.

As for the M8 ... well, despite it's problems (banding - cured by a 
recall; IR sensitivity - cured by filters; and noise - more noise at 
high ISO's than the DMR, it seems) it's initial, sold-out shipment 
totaled more units than I understand they've sold DMRs to date!  The 
M8 will, it seems, save Leica.  However, to be "a player" in the 
camera business, they must have a dSLR which works - and works very, 
very well.  The R10 is intended to be that camera. Short of the 
financial collapse of Leica (now not too likely, with ACM's ownership 
and the success of the M8), I think the future of the R10 is assured.

In ACM, they have an owner with the deep pockets required to make it 
happen. In Steven Lee, they have a CEO capable of making it happen.

Will it happen?  Only time will tell.  But, I hope so.

Cheers!






---

David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA

Wildlife Photographs: http://www.telyt.com/
Personal Web-pages: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt





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