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

  • From: "Tim Bedsted" <Tim.Bedsted@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 07:22:14 +0100

Bill,
I think the DMR was a great product, although a little pricy, that is also why 
I am disappointed that they dropped it so quickly before I could save enough 
money to buy one!

Tim Bedsted
Senior Principal Consultant, Ph.D
Risk Intelligence

T: +45 70282857, M: +45 27212857
E: Tim.Bedsted@xxxxxxxxxxx

SAS Institute A/S 
Koebmagergade 7-9 
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www.sas.com/dk 

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SAS...  The Power to Know
 

-----Original Message-----
From: leicareflex-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:leicareflex-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of William Abbott
Sent: 8. februar 2007 23:44
To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [LRflex] Re: IMPORTANT: Re: DMR Support, all together now. please read

Eliot,

Yes, I'm very confident that "an R10 prototype" literally is in  
testing, somewhere, but I know not where.

Forgive me, I was speaking metaphorically, because to me, for all  
practical purposes, the DMR/R8 & R9 combos were always a clever kluge  
(to use a technical term), using the available end-point of Leica's  
film reflex camera development, as a purely stopgap product and as a  
prototype of a new, "from the ground-up," digital reflex camera, the  
fabled R10. Or will it be RX?

Buying a DMR was simply a bet on my part on what was to come. And it  
still is just a bet, but getting to be a bit better as we go along.

The ante was pretty high, but it was roughly comparable to an entire  
swap out to a different line of camera and lenses, and I was able to  
retain the familiarity and experience with the Leica user interface  
that I had become accustomed to, not an inconsequential item to me.

All of those "other" lines had unknown futures at the time as well.  
Let's just say it was one of those times when I said to myself,  
"Self, you never spent a dime on golf in your life. Considering the  
money you've saved, what are you waiting for now?"

I don't know how Leica internally regarded its DMR... but I cannot  
imagine it was ever regarded by them as a block-buster product  
destined to achieve universal acclaim and reach the status of the M3.

Frankly, I bought my DMR in contrast to buying a competitive digital  
camera because of my 30 years of pleasure with an R4, an R7, and my R  
lenses, and as my best alternative to gain experience in high-end  
digital photography, just as I bought my first Apple II+ 64 K RAM  
computer in 1980. I learned a lot from both of them and have no  
regrets. Onward and upward,

With all best wishes,

Bill


On Feb 8, 2007, at 1:01 PM, Dr. Elliot Puritz wrote:

Do I understand Bill that an R10 prototype is already in the testing  
stages?

Elliot
----- Original Message -----
From: "William Abbott" <wbabbott3@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 12:58 PM
Subject: [LRflex] Re: IMPORTANT: Re: DMR Support, all together now.  
please
read


> Dear Mehrdad,
>
> Thanks. When a door closes behind you, another door opens in front of
> you.
>
> I believe I have just been inducted into the Ancient and Honorable
> Society of Leica R10 Prototype Testers, with all the rights, duties,
> and privileges pertaining thereto.
>
> As ever,
>
> Bill
>
>
> On Feb 8, 2007, at 9:10 AM, mehrdad wrote:
>
> ok here is a link to rob galbraith's site
>
> http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-8736-8825
>
> looks like DMR is done.i still want the 1.3
>
> On 2/4/07, drpuritz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <drpuritz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> As always, thanks for the detailed and informative reply David.
>>
>> Elliot
>>>
>>> From: David Young <telyt@xxxxxxxxx>
>>> Date: 2007/02/04 Sun PM 12:41:06 EST
>>> To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [LRflex] Re: IMPORTANT: Re: DMR Support, all together now.
>>>   please read
>>>
>>> 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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>
>
> -- 
>   -------------------------------------
>   regards, mehrdad
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