[LRflex] Re: Leica to abandon 4/3rds - how good will a Leica R AF system be??

Howard wrote in part:
The sun is shining in Vancouver this morning and all is right with the world. But, I haven't had my first coffee yet and that may make me more curmudgeonly than usual when I offer the following comment.
Howard, I've just delivered my better two thirds to the hospital to have her bust right wrist de-plastered at last, and now have my first good cup of coffee in front of me.
Basis my experience with the M8 (dead shutter after 4 months, pixel lines in the replacement 23 days after receiving it) I would not rush to buy the R10 no matter what its specs. Also, based on Leica's history of slow development and not being competitive with the latest and fastest technology - especially in the R line - I am very skeptical that their autofocus will be up to competing with the latest from Canon and Nikon.
I agree. A digital camera body these days is basically a purpose-built computer in a camera-shaped housing. And we all know that even the newest model of computer will be more or less obsolete in six months' time as the latest technological developments are incorporated. Which is not to say that older models cannot be perfectly satisfactory. This email's being typed on a Mac which is seven years old but runs the latest operating system; my Nikon D200 has long been superseded by more up to date models, but is still a fine digital camera for my purposes. It even accepts nearly all my old manual focus Nikkors.
But this does indeed contrast with Leica's previous style of organic development. Look at the longevity of the M series over 50 years and its constant refinement in small steps, though they chopped and changed a lot with SLRs out of economic necessity. Even the M8 could be defined as the M rangefinder system with a lot of computer hardware tacked on.
I, too, am very doubtful whether Leica by itself can go through the cycles of hardware development fast enough to be anything other than a niche player in the digital market. For this reason its current alliances with Japanese manufacturers seem to make a lot of sense in terms of maintaining sales volume and gaining hardware and software expertise.
Which leaves us with that holy of holies, the quality of Leica glass. This is still an article of faith for many of us here, though a lot of people are now using it on non-Leica bodies. But with AF now more or less a given market requirement for new cameras, it's not only about the quality of the optics but also about the sophistication of all other computer hardware which has to be built-in to the lens assembly.
So, like Howard, I wouldn't rush out and buy an R10 even if I had enough in my piggy bank to do so. Leica's history of bugs with the M8 does not inspire confidence. OTOH, I might be sorely tempted by the full-frame successor to the semi-pro Nikon D200, which must be in the pipeline for some time next year as the pro version has already been launched. And it'll be around a quarter of the price of an R10......pity I can't use it with my Leica SLR glass. 

Best

Alex in rather damp and gloomy Cork.






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Alex & Carmel Hurst
Waterfall
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Ireland

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