[LRflex] Re: Next "R" Camera Survey - 20 Questions.
- From: "Gary Pinkerton" <gpinkcp@xxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 10:18:01 -0500
Hi David
You should have my official survey reply but I wanted to just throw this in
for fun:
The 'perfect' R camera [for me] would be based on the SL body [I like the
'trapezoidal' shape].
It would have a modern, smaller winder/motor;
the SL's viewfinder,
a R8/9 meter display/sensitivity/range;
and the SL's ruggedness.
That's about it; I really don't want much :)
GaryP
P.S.
Some of us may have discussed this before [Doug ?]
>From: David Young <telyt@xxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [LRflex] Next "R" Camera Survey - 20 Questions.
>Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:23:23 -0700
>
>All:
>
>Back in the late 1950's, most photojournalists used Leica cameras,
>though Nikon was making some very competitive cameras. Nikon decided
>to survey all the photojournalists it could find in Japan, asking
>them what they'd like to see in a camera. The result was based on
>the Nikon rangefinder bodies of the day, but incorporated a reflex
>finder. It was called the Nikon "F", and we all know where that lead
>the photographic world.
>
>Now, some 50 years later and for the first time, Leica are interested
>in user input as to what features we'd like to see in their next
>generation "R" camera.
>
>At Photokina, I (and 4 others) had the good fortune to attend a 2+
>hour long meeting with Leica's top brass on this very subject. :-) As
>you might expect, non-disclosure agreements were the order of the
>day, so I can tell you little of what was discussed. :-( However, I
>do know that more such meetings are planned.
>
>Without giving anything away, I thought that we could create a
>"virtual meeting", by taking a survey of what features are considered
>desirable by our members. I will correlate the answers and the
>results will be sent on to Leica. As well, I will report the results here.
>
>Please give your answers some serious thought. And remember, that
>every feature comes at a cost, either by eliminating the possibility
>of another feature, or by increasing price.
>
>I ask that each and every one of you respond. This is your chance to
>be heard by Leica's top management! :-)
>
>Please send your reply directly to me, at: telyt@xxxxxxxxxx Please
>edit your note so that your answers are after the words "Your Answer"
>that follows each question. There is a space for comments at the end
>of the survey.
>
>______________
>
>
>[1] A fine grained 35mm film is equivalent to about 22 million
>pixels. However, given the current state of the art, the more pixels
>packed onto a chip, the smaller each one will be. Thus, more
>application is needed resulting in more "noise". OTOH, each
>generation of chips improves things a bit. Assuming that noise can
>be held to the same levels as currently enjoyed by the DMR, how many
>pixels would you like to see in the next "R" camera? [A]
>10mp? [B] 12mp? [C] 14mp? [D] 16mp? [E] 18mp? [F]
>20mp? [G] Don't care.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[2] Full frame sensors create their own problems with vignetting, due
>to the angle the light rays hit the outer pixels. This problem is
>less pronounced in reflex cameras than in rangefinder ones, due to
>the need to keep the rear lens elements out of the way of the mirror.
>And, they allow wide angle lenses to work as they were
>intended. APS-C sized sensors (as in the current DMR) are lower in
>cost, have virtually no vignetting problems and give an advantage to
>tele lens users. Your preference for sensor size would be... [A]
>Full Frame, [B] APS-C or [C] somewhere in between?
>
>Your answer:
>
>[3] Sensor format: Many small "Point & Pray" digi-cameras use the
>16:9 aspect ratio of the new wide screen TV's. 35mm (and the M8, DMR
>and nearly all other dSLR's) uses the classic 3:2 format. Should
>the next "R" camera use [A] the classic 3:2 (35mm) format or [B] the
>new 16:9 "wide screen" format?
>
>Your answer:
>
>[4] Many have criticized the R8 and R9 for their size.... yet praised
>them for their ergonomics. Would you prefer the mythical "R10" to be
>[A] similar in size to the R8 & R9, [B] similar to the R8 or R9 with
>DMR (or motor drive) attached, [C] smaller, like the R4 through 7
>models, [D] somewhere in between the R7 and R9 or [E} even larger
>than the R9 w/DMR?
>
>Your answer:
>
>[5] Newer, polycarbonate bodied cameras are considerably lighter than
>the current 'R' cameras from Leica. How important is it to you that
>the next generation be lighter bodies? [A] Very important, [B] not
>important or [C] doesn't matter.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[6] Current R cameras offer a variety of exposure modes... Aperture
>Priority, Shutter Priority, Programme mode and Manual. Please
>indicate which mode (A, S, P, M) you use the most and give a
>percentage of use. (For instance, I use only Aperture Priority, so
>my answer would be A - 100%. Someone else might be A - 60%, P -
>40%) Please list all modes you use and the percentages you use each one.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[7] Current R cameras offer Spot, Center-weighted and Matrix
>metering. Please list the exposure modes (S,C,M) and the percentages
>of use for each, (as above).
>
>Your answer:
>
>[8] Current Autofocus cameras utilize plastic (polycarbonate) lens
>barrels. Their lower mass means that they can be focused more quickly
>with smaller motors (read lightweight and longer battery
>life). Would you want the next R to have autofocus if it meant
>going to such lenses? [A] Yes. or [B] No.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[9] If Leica were able to build autofocus lenses that maintained the
>traditional Leica build quality and materials (as well as decent
>battery life), would you want the next 'R" camera to have
>autofocus? [A] Yes or [B] No.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[10] If you prefer not to have autofocus, or if you would use
>existing Leica MF lenses on the new 'R' camera, how important is
>focus confirmation? [A] Very important, [B] Somewhat important or
>[C] Not important at all.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[11] If Leica were (able) to design autofocus lenses for the 'R'
>series... such a change might necessitate a different lens
>mount. How important is it that any newer lens mount be compatible
>with your existing R lenses? [A] Absolutely must be compatible, [B]
>it would be nice, but not absolutely necessary or [C] not important at all.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[12] If the lens mount were to be changed, it might be possible to
>make an adapter which would allow the use of existing lenses in
>Aperture Priority mode only. Would this route be [A] acceptable to
>you or [B] Not acceptable?
>
>Your answer:
>
>[13] How important is it to you to have a large LCD screen for
>menus/'chimping"? [A] Very important, [B] somewhat important, [C]
>not important.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[14] Bearing in mind that having "live view" in an SLR means
>siphoning some light from the finder to a second sensor, how
>important "live view" ... ie: the LCD screen constantly shows what
>the camera is "seeing"? [A] Very important, [B] somewhat important,
>[C] not important.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[15] The R8 & R9 finders are amongst the brightest and best anywhere,
>and probably second only to the finders in the Leica SL. How
>important is finder brightness to you? Should the next 'R' camera's
>finder be: [A] as bright as the SL's finder, [B] as bright as the
>R8/9, [C] as bright as the R7 finder or [D] acceptable at a lower
>level of brightness.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[16] How important is battery life? Remember the longer the life,
>the larger (and heavier) the battery. So, within the constraints of
>reasonable weight and size (and the number of shot you take in an
>average day) , how many shots would you like to see on a single
>charge. [A] 150 (the current DMR's level), [B] 190 (the current M8's
>level), [C] 250, [D] 400 or more?
>
>Your answer:
>
>[17] Speed is an issue. Do you use a winder or motor with your
>current camera. How fast should the next "R" be capable of
>shooting? [A] 2 fps, [B] 4 fps, [C] 6 fps, or [C] more.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[18] The other speed issue is that of writing to the memory
>cards. Faster writing means you can empty the buffer and shoot more
>rapidly, but faster processors consume more battery power. To you,
>is [A] battery life more important than speed, or [B] speed of
>writing to cards more important than battery life?
>
>Your answer:
>
>[19] Mechanical noise is always a factor in any camera. Recently I
>used a Nikon D-200 and was pleasantly surprised at it's lower noise
>level. How important is it to you that the new "R" be mechanically
>quieter than the current models? [A] very important, [B] not too
>important or [C] not important at all.
>
>Your answer:
>
>[20] Price is always a factor. Remembering that the new M8 is
>approximately US$5000 and the R9/DMR combo is around $7,500, what
>would you expect pay for a new Leica 'R' - assuming it has most of
>the features you want? [A] $4000, [B] $5000, [C] $6000, [D] $7000,
>[E] $8000, [F] More than $8000.
>
>Your answer:
>
>
>----
>IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON NEW FEATURES YOU'D LIKE TO SEE, OR ANY
>OTHER ITEM I'VE MISSED, PLEASE ADD A COMMENT AFTER THIS. THANKS.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Many thanks for taking the time to respond. It will be interesting
>to Leica and to us all!
>
>Cheers!
>
>
>
>Please
>---
>
>David Young,
>Logan Lake, CANADA
>
>Wildlife Photographs: http://www.telyt.com/
>Personal Web-pages: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt
>
>
>
>
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