[LRflex] Re: Kaufmann Interview
- From: David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:22:39 -0700
At 03/04/2008, you wrote:
David Young wrote:
For those who get the Leica newsletter, this you may already know.
For those of you, who do not, an LFI interview with Andreas
Kaufmann, owner and now CEO of Leica, is available as a pdf file,
via a link at the bottom of the page.:
http://www.lfi-online.de/ceemes/base.php?page/show/575
David,
It seems to slam the door on the R10, and predict more 4/3 developments.
but he didn't rule out a full frame M.
Good Evenin' Charlie!
It would seem so... though as recently as the LHSA's Rochester meet,
last fall, Kaufmann was hinting at the coming R10, possibly with a
"larger than full frame sensor". Did this mean a shift towards a
6x4.5 format? Or as Xavier suggested, a 4:3 ratio format (similar to
4/3rds format, but larger) which would put them closer to the
so-called "ideal format". Such a format would fulfill the "larger
than full frame sensor" idea, while still fitting the sensor within
the image circle of current R lenses.
Giving credence to the theory that the R10 will not be abandoned, was
the fact that Hr. Kaufmann told us (again, in Rochester) that Leica
had 20+ lenses under development. As the M line only adds 1 to 3 new
lenses a year, that leaves a lot of lenses for the PanaLeica (4/3rs)
line, or room for a whole new fleet of AF lenses for the mythical
R10. Perhaps both!
No matter what it was/is to be, the R10 was widely expected to be
shown at Photokina, '08, and introduced shortly thereafter. Now, it
seems that whatever form it takes, they may only show a "concept
camera" at Photokina, and that the R10 is much further down the pipe.
Of course, with Leica being part of the FourThirds consortium, it is
always possible that they will now concentrate on a 4/3rds format
SLR, made in Germany! Who knows? Not me!
Frankly, having used the Oly E3 for a month (with adapters for my
Leica glass) it seems that might be a very viable way to go. The E3
is very close (though not quite there) to the R8 in both viewfinder
and handling. I, for one, would not be unhappy to see such a
development. Others, of course, may not agree.
The only thing we do know, is that Hr. Kaufmann is committed to
assembling cameras in Germany, not the far east... though components
from the far east (Japanese shutters in the R9 and M8, for example)
are already in Leica cameras.
Time will tell... we can second guess Leica for a long time, but
until they do something....
Rose and I had originally planned to be in Cologne for Photokina,
this fall, in order to see the R10 introduced. However, we decided
so spend our money, instead, on a kitchen reno, and travel to Europe
later. Now, with the R-10 apparently in limbo, perhaps that was a
wise decision.
Cheers!
---
David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA
Limited Edition Prints at: www.furnfeather.net
Personal Web-site at: www.main.furnfeather.net
Stock Photography at: http://tinyurl.com/2amll4
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