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Sony NEX: Is a Leica M killer on the horizon?

fotografz

Well-known member
Lots of "premature deaths" being reported lately ... maybe we need an obit section on GetDpi :ROTFL:

There has always been some "M killer" real or imagined. Yet, they are gone and the M lives on.

The only company that is capable of killing off the M ... is Leica itself :eek:

-Marc
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
Don't care if it is anything compared to anything but if it comes out you would have to work very very hard to stop me buying one!

Just finally got a Leica split screen viewfinder for my 5D (the R8/9 viewfinder, you have to snip off just a tiny tab and it fits perfectly) but it has to be shimmed to get accuracy (I'll get round to it I suppose, not my idea of fun) and with the AF squares still visible it's not that much fun to use. With canon at least, if you want a split screen you need a 1 series to do it properly and to be honest I'd rather not have to deal with the brick!

I think I'd kill for a FF EVF camera with peaking. All I want is a normal sized and affordable FF camera with the ability to use ALT lenses and accurate focus without having to rely on a tripod and live view. I know that an M9 with a 50mm lux pre-asph would do me perfectly both for size, usability and the look I want but I haven't robbed any banks recently :(
 

jfirneno

Member
I'm trying to contain my enthusiasm, but this is exactly what I and many other Sony users have been hoping for (which is why I keep thinking it's too good to be true). If it can let me use my full-frame legacy and A-mount glass then it's gonna fun. Basically this will replace my A-850 and probably the NEX-5N at once. But we'll probably have to wait many months to really know for sure.

Regards,
John
 

jfirneno

Member
I was under the impression that the NEX mount is not big enough for a FF sensor.
The inner diameter (ID) of the e-mount is wider than the ID of my a-mount camera which is a full-frame. I think it is wide enough. Real question is can they make lenses that work well with such a short focal distance? Can they at least make a sensor that works well with RF lenses? I hope the answer is yes.

Regards,
John
 

pophoto

New member
I have recently been trying to curb my buying (GAS), despite an equal amount of selling occurs and consolidate to just two systems: Canon FF and Olympus OMD-EM5 systems.

While other manufacturers have gone the APS-C direction, obviously any commitment leaves the door wide open for whoever goes FF first, now if one goes FF, it maybe the case if Sony is successful, then the others will follow. That's how Market research is done! They look at the success and failures of other companies too.

I really dislike any mirrorless coming out having the headline as Leica Killer. Other camera have always existed alongside Leica, and Leica have done fine! You are either into Leica or you're not, or just indifferent about it. I personally love their glass, period!

Problem is with Sony, I have to see what glass they are releasing with it and what the menu system is like, the Nintendo system gets tiresome really quickly. I've gone through too many systems in the past, that these are the real deal breakers, unfortunately the sensor isn't everything: handling, ergonomics, lenses, flash system all go hand in hand. Despite having said all this; kudos and support IF Sony does release their first mirror-less system, they can at least say they are the first out the door, if Leica doesn't offer some sort of EVF with the M10 before them! Either way this is great news if true.
 

monza

Active member
Real question is can they make lenses that work well with such a short focal distance? Can they at least make a sensor that works well with RF lenses? I hope the answer is yes.
The answer to the first is 'yes' as lenses can be designed to support the sensor. The follow up to the second question is, what would be Sony's interest in supporting RF lenses?
 
V

Vivek

Guest
With liveview, fast lenses can be focused more accurately than just a center patch RF. No need to worry about mechanical couplings, aperture induced focus shifts and the whole works.

Samsung, despite their impressive number of lenses, have not made much of an impact. Camera registry is a big impediment.
 

kuau

Workshop Member
FF= WA and better high ISO and maybe a littler better DR. I don't see how Sony can create a FF NEX body and expect to have good WA performance, especially since it almost impossible with the current NEX 7, of course unless you have a lecia tri-elmar.
What all of us NEX 7 owners are waiting for are better LENSES...
and I'm not talking about a 16-50mm pancake zoom or 11-18wa zoom.
 

Pingang

New member
it is a highly diversed world, and Leica just needed a small fraction of it will then claimed victory, it is more of a status, mechanical excellence. I would use a Leica M when feel using it as any one who has a medium format digital back can also shoot with a SONY RX100, it is part of the fun.
Leica is not a Wal-Mart camera, it will be there.

BR,
Pingang
 

4season

Well-known member
No.

Leica M will continue to have a place in this world as long as enough people are willing to pay a premium for what it has to offer: The essence of luxury isn't necessarily about offering the best possible performance, but it has everything to do with how a product makes you feel when you pick it up, work the controls, look through the finder, etc. And if this makes the user feel somehow more thoughtful or engaged in the process, more power to them.

In terms of pure photographic performance, even the original NEX-5 and kit lenses were an indication that high-quality imaging in a small package were quickly becoming commodities.
 

Arne Hvaring

Well-known member
Who makes the sensor in the upcoming M-10? My guess would be Sony. If so then Sony has already developed a highly modified FF sensor that can accomodate RF lenses.
Seems reasonable they might use this sensor, perhaps tweaked a bit, in one of their own cameras, i.e. the NEX.
 

pegelli

Well-known member
Certainly an interesting camera, the only thing I worry about is the native lenses:
- Current E-mount lenses are all for a crop sensor
- If they make it A-mount the registration distance becomes too large for rangefinder lenses

And a Leica M killer, don't think so. Zorki, Canon, Nikon, Voigtlander, Zeiss and others have all produced bodies that could take Leica rangefinder lenses which didn't kill Leica M, so I don't see why a Sony body would suddenly achieve that.
 

philber

Member
Who makes the sensor in the upcoming M-10? My guess would be Sony. If so then Sony has already developed a highly modified FF sensor that can accomodate RF lenses.
Seems reasonable they might use this sensor, perhaps tweaked a bit, in one of their own cameras, i.e. the NEX.
Excellent point, Arne! Although one could also say that whoever wants to make a compact FF camera that takes RF lenses can use the Kodak CCD that Leica use...:p
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Who makes the sensor in the upcoming M-10? My guess would be Sony. If so then Sony has already developed a highly modified FF sensor that can accomodate RF lenses.
Seems reasonable they might use this sensor, perhaps tweaked a bit, in one of their own cameras, i.e. the NEX.
Who knows?

It has been strongly suggested that Leica will source CMOS sensors for the M10 and upcoming S3 from a European company. Which is about as reliable as the existence of this FF Sony rumor.

Also rumored that the M10 will have live view and an aux EFV.

The M10 price is also rumored to be high enough to give detractors, complainers, and comparative addicts plenty of fodder to work with ... as usual ;)

So, I'm sure a Sony FF NEX type camera will be successful. Now, if only Sony had Zeiss make some tiny AF lenses for it ... that would be more interesting.

It seems that Sony doesn't get the fact that they were successful with their ALPHA DSLRs because there are nice Zeiss AF lenses for it.

Lenses are what interest me, not yet another digital body without any optimized AF lenses made for it.

We'll see.

-Marc
 

philber

Member
With respect, Marc, I am not sure that Sony's numbers tally with your comment. All interchangeable-lens cameras except semi-pro and pro models are used overwhelmingly with kit zooms. That does not contradict your lust for an optimized FF NEX+Zeiss, mirroring on a different level the excellent Sony RX 100, combining a very good Sony Exmor sensor with an also excellent Zeiss zoom. Just, that alone will not be enough to make a FF NEX a success...
 
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