[LRflex] Re: OT: please, Leica marketing ears, open up!

  • From: Bille Xavier F. <hot_billexf@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:32:24 +0200


Thanks Richard
 
However, the last time I met a Leica represntative, it was at the Paris Photo 
fair, this gentleman explained that Leica AG was a "manufacture" rather than an 
industry. This word, manufacture, refers to the watchmaking world, it 
designates a small company able to craft master pieces in a small serie:
 
http://xavierf.b.free.fr/Temp/salon_photo/L1070869_dev.jpg
 
Indeed he was comparing Leica to IWC and Panasonic to SEIKO.
 
I'm not sure it is essential to keep the compatibility between the M lenses 
with anything that come up. It happens that the u4/3 format accomodate it. 
Good, now just add the "Leica filters" to the camera to give the best picture.
The R and M lenses were built to accomodate the traditinnal emulsionned film. 
It needs a slight adaptation of the parameters of say, a digilux 3 to 
accomodate.
 
On June 30th, Olympus will unveil a new camera, named EP3.  Here is a "mock up" 
of what it could be, this is a _Rumor_ :
 
http://www.chassimages.com/forum/index.php?topic?484.0
 
I like this set up, with the view finder put on a left side (that's mee Digilux 
3!). If the camera is as small as the EP2, it will be a great product. Add a 
few lenses like the 25mm Summilux, a 15mm Summicron and a pair of others and 
Voila, the concept of Leica CL has born again!
Small, yet efficient.
 
As the sensors and their devoted ASIC processor may need a few tweaks to take 
the best picture, it would be best to add a small file on the SD card that 
supplies the manufacturer parameters.
 
Or, reserve a flash area in the camera to store all these, when the camera 
reads the brand code + lens code, it will adapt. This memory is entirely left 
managed by the user, according to the lenses owned.
 
Mind you, compared with the IT industry, most devices are using the PCI 
standard in the PC, brand + device codes are supplied to the mother boards and 
then the drivers can program properly the devices according to the need of the 
operating system.....
We can imagine a protocol based on "registers", such as EV, pincushion, barrel, 
whatever. All the parameters could be protected by a CRC16 to assert the 
integrity of the whole...
 
There is an approach to that with the Olympus E5, if you read the manual, you 
will discover many parameters that can be used to tweak. Very interesting.
 
But we are far from the main subject: taking picture and enjoying the light!
 
In some weeks, my current contract will end, there is almost no chance I would 
join a company working on a new camera, but, hey, if you need a IT, 23Years 
Experience in Real Time Embedded, Safety designed systems, jost drop me a mail, 
I'll gladly send a resume
 
Sorry for the wasted bandwidth!
--------------------------------- 

Xavier F. BILLE 

Maisons-Alfort - France.

 > Subject: [LRflex] Re: OT: please, Leica marketing ears, open up!
> From: ilovaussiesheps@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:25:27 -0400
> To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> Hi Xavier,
>    I agree with the concept you're presenting! A small camera with great 
> lenses that's simple to use are the concepts that Leica was built around from 
> the very beginning. I suspect that Leica Marketing is already closely 
> monitoring the situation because of some of the news items I've read here, on 
> L Camera Forum, and some speeches posted on the Net by Leica Executives. The 
> Shining star amongst the tidbits is that Leica says explicitly that they are 
> faced with the obstacle of their customers aging out of the market solely 
> based upon their eyes deteriorating and making RF focusing unreliable in wide 
> aperture situations. Leica wants a camera they can sell these folks to both 
> let them use their existing M lenses and sell them new af lenses. If I recall 
> it right, the designs for this new interchangeable lens af camera constitute 
> the long awaited and long lambasted 'r solution' which has been so often 
> theorized, designed, derided, cried out for, etc on this forum. 
>   As for this micro 4/3rds revolution underway which Zeiss and the Gang are 
> joining, don't forget that Leica already had a standard 4/3rds mount system 
> in their stable before their latest, greatest near death experience. They are 
> also still partnering with Panasonic on their m4/3rds offerings, so Leica 
> hasn't exactly stayed completely out of the market. If, like Zeiss, they jump 
> into m4/3 big, they can have their own designs built in japan by panasonic. 
>   I do wonder if Leica can meet the twin goals of giving a quality Leica 
> small camera experience using the 2x crop sensor sizes of the 4/3rds system 
> while also filling a stated aim of giving existing M owners and Users a nice 
> Leica route to have af with their existing lenses. Even the widest of Leica M 
> lenses is just an ordinary focal length on a 2x crop sensor and the most 
> common lens focal lengths the majority of M owners will have bought equate to 
> standard, short tele, and tele. I think Leica, as an aspirational retail 
> company, would like to avoid a me-to jump into 4/3rds and put out a more 
> aspirational 1.3x or better a full frame offering based around the digital 
> viewfinders and small cameras a'la the m4/3 paradigm. Pannasonic already can 
> cut em checks for selling 'leica' glass in the 4/3 market without the hassles 
> of designing their own camera system. A big sensored small af camera that 
> functionally uses M lenses well gives them leverage over in the M side of the 
> shop to
>   keep selling lenses to existing M owners while also giving those same 
> lenses a market of buyers who won't buy a manual camera or an RF camera. Slap 
> an 'r solution' sticker on it and they can check that box off.
>    
> Once again: +1 to your idea Xavier. 
> 
> I suspect and hope it's a more aspirational camera they come up with than a 
> Leica wrapper on the generic 4/3 sensor. 
>  
> Richard in Michigan 
> 
> 
> On Jun 21, 2011, at 3:26 AM, Bille Xavier F. wrote:
> 
> > Hi Richard, All Among the rumors from the same site, Komura, Zeiss and 
> > Sigma are joining the micro 4/3 club!
> > And even Olympus is going to offer lenses like the 12mm/f2... At this 
> > stage, although the lenses look good and nice, the u4/3 suffers from the 
> > lack of focals with great specs. It's My turn to launch a rumor: Let's 
> > imagine that the excellent Olympus EP2 view finder is attached to a G3 
> > electronics having the look  of a Leica S2 (but smaller, dwarfed) with a 
> > magnesium body, rugged and IP qualified.  We may retain the touch screen of 
> > the G3 module but with the corner buttons on the S2 (same look and feel).  
> > Let's imagine we can buy a u4/3 set of lens like a 10mm elmarit, a 16mm 
> > summicron, a 25 summilux (soon to come, me think) , a 33mm Macro Elmarit  
> > 40-100 vario elmar F4 constant, etcThe lenses are compatible with the specs 
> > of the u4/3 standard (in terms of focus by flywire, aperture, etc) Let's 
> > imagine we can mount the Panasonic Lenses on the body, especially those 
> > with mega OIS.... Let's imagine we can download "modes" from the website, 
> > each "mode" is  a set of optimised par
>  am
> > eters to use the "legacy" lenses, such a the R24 elmarit, the 100 APO 
> > Elmarit, etc, etcThe modes are to be written on the SD card in a directory, 
> > the camera offers to browse and select the mode. If the system keeps the 
> > "pocketable" aspect of the u4/3, it might be a nice R system I suggest we 
> > call it the Leica "uR" system, (micro R system or by reference to the very 
> > first Leica "Ur", camera) Rumor mode is off, now, the marketing team may 
> > run to the desk and draw their "profit margin" curves. When the "uR-10" 
> > model is presented to the Photokina?  I'm sure that this system is as 
> > profitable as the VLUX20 of their latest point and shoot with a 10x zoom. 
> > YMMV, etc...
> > --------------------------------- 
> > 
> > Xavier F. BILLE 
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> Great minds discuss ideas. 
> Average minds discuss events.
> Small minds discuss people.
>               Eleanor Roosevelt
> ________________________________
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