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New Mini M?

V

Vivek

Guest
This thread is about a vaporware and some teasers, keep that in mind. You are assuming too much to to think that I am taking jabs at other members. I am only talking about the rumor and the designation "Mini M".

If I see someone saying it as an "exciting product" , I would like to see why they would do that.

BTW, I have absolutely no qualms about resigning from a thread or excluding myself from a forum. ;)

Let me add here that if you have any complaints about me, the best thing to do would be to send a request to the Admins of this site. I respect their vision and abide by it. Taking personal potshots at me in a rumor thread is worth less.

Sorry but since the first page of this thread, I have yet to read one meaningful post from you. All what I read is sarcasm and taking jabs at other members. Sorry again for being blunt but I think you should calm down a bit.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
In that case I also see that he would get paid for doing so. :p

If few or no one in this forum would want this camera then those defending it by tooth and nail should calm down a bit (or get DiCaprio shooting his grand children posting here. :) )

Mini Mum. :D
Really?

Pro, con, for or against ... it's just a discussion. We are all free to discuss, speculate, etc as we see fit, not as you see fit.

The mods will slap the back of the head of anyone getting out of hand, not you.

Speak your mind anyway you wish, but don't tell me how to feel or think about anything ... I already have a wife that is an expert at doing that :ROTFL:

- Marc
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
I think there maybe more agreement in these posts than we are seeing . This group is serious about their photography and generally heavily vested in Leica equipment . We want Leica to be successful ..but also want them to continue creating unique and exceptional products . The S and MONO come to mind . While not every member will find them good fits for their applications ..most would agree..Leica seems to have gotten those two products right .

Even the X1/X2 products ..which I found unexciting ....fit a void for some photographers and are capable of producing noteworthy photographs . Image quality is fitting for a Leica and they make nice travel cameras often as a second camera to an S2 or MF system . They fit a niche .

The Panasonic rebrands ...I grown to accept as necessary supplements to Leicas product lines . Not for me but they have their place .

The concern thats beneath the surface ...is Leica becoming another luxury brand to be added to the streets with Guccu,Chanel and Louis Vuitton . It certainly seems headed in that direction . Will the products we have grown to love (some of us over a lifetime) become trinkets of the rich and famous .

Personally I applaud well designed products ...the Sony Rx1 ,the Olympus OM and the Fuji X Pro1 ..all have an appeal . None are perfect but each seems to a serious tool for serious photographers .

What is irritating (sorry it just is ) is the marketing trend ..someone else can label it . The new M has been a disappointment . The launch,the hype ,the same old excuses for Leica give me pause . The M has great improvements over the technology in the M9 but the hype is about a half assed EVF and video ? Nine months from introduction and no real answers to the color issues .

So when Leica puts out a campaign about a new product as being exciting ..who are they speaking to if not serious photographers . The rich and famous don t read the blogs or visit the Leica website ......so it seems fair that they are talking to us .

It also seems fair to have expectations that Leica will come up with a unique and high quality product ...for sure at a Leica price ...but it has to be an excellent camera . And I would hope somehow relevant to the serious photographers that take the time to read their blog .

So it is frustrating to see rumors of an X body with a fixed zoom ...I can t seem to see that as exciting in the same way the MONO was ...but I am surely expecting too much ?
 

D&A

Well-known member
Roger,

I agree with a great deal of what you expressed above and although I believe Leica markets cameras who's placement is well below the M and M9 differently that their flagship models, I still think its reasonable for those here on Leica related forums to expect something that represents a camera that adds something of value to their already existing line of cameras. It may not be as groundbreaking or noteworthy as a MM or S but nevertheless most do hope it's a camera that can be versatile enough with the appropriate amount of performance, to possibly consider adding it as a camera we'd use along side our M's or MF, or simply by itself, by virtue of what it can do both performance wise and often time ergonomically. If it's simply a "me too" type camera or something that already exists in Leica's lower end of offerings with a slight change or twist (such as adding a zoom lens), than I think many on the blogs/forums are going to be disappointed.

Marketing for Leica has certainly changed and if a company is going to go through the route of trying to generate excitement about a new potentially interesting product, then they are taking the risk of disappointing a lot of their user base if their hype doesn't match expectations for the product. That's a risk a company takes when they initiate a marketing campaign such as the one for this new camera.

What perplexes me somewhat is Leica has been so innovative with their higher end products and yet so run of the mill (and often times well below that) with their lower end. I realize often times they are marketed at a different set of users but even so, I sometimes feel these lower end products fail to excite, even with targeted users, except for having the red Leica badge (dot).

I think a company like Leica can succeed at satisfying both objectives with a little imagination and effort. Just look how the M9 eventually not only won approval with the vast majority of Leica users but also brought in a whole new cadre of purchasers simply by word of mouth how groundbreaking and noteworthy the M0 camera was. They can apply this same principal to a lower priced entry level M, if that is their objective with this new camera...or conversely, if it's part of the X series, also do something that many will stand up and take notice of. That's I believe has always been Leica's heritage in terms of success.

Dave (D&A)
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Problem is Dave as I see it . Leica is putting all there resources behind the M and S. These little cams are fill in the gaps revenue. Reason being they can use existing technology dont have to throw a lot of people at it or worse the space to do it. Leica was limited on space in Solms , now they have moved. But floor space, people, R&D for these cams takes a back seat to there money winners. I think any company would do that. My bet is a lot of the small cams are farmed out as well and its looked at as just ongoing revenue products to support there bigger guns. I think if anyone of us was in charge and faced space, R&D and work force we would make the same decisions. Also building these small cams bring in the branding and move these buyers up eventually as well. It's a important part of the revenue, branding train but looked at internally as low end neccasary product that's for the P&S buyers with just a little more luxury item than a Canon S90. We are back at squarely the luxury, cool market that I shoot a Leica type mentality. If you know what I mean. I'm much more stylish than my neighbor type thinking. I know maybe not the nicest thing to say but bottom line its vanity. It's like my wife's company everyone wants to be the next Katie Holmes or Ashton Kutcher. Which they both came from her model and talent conventions. If I can phrase the thinking here I wanna look like a star I wanna be like a star and I wanna show my neighbor I'm cooler than ****. This is exactly what Leica is banking on.

Otherwise it makes zero sense to spend 2k when a 600 dollar cam is actually better. It's the brand and what's behind that brand name. Do we all honestly think Louis Vuitton, Gucci, David Yurman (jewelry) products are really that much better functionally than a Kate Spade purse or Worse a Samsonite luggage bag. Hell even I have luxury brands that make zero sense and 99 percent of this forum does as well on any pick a product in your home and you will see what I mean. TVs are a great example
 

jonoslack

Active member
So it is frustrating to see rumors of an X body with a fixed zoom ...I can t seem to see that as exciting in the same way the MONO was ...but I am surely expecting too much ?
What perplexes me somewhat is Leica has been so innovative with their higher end products and yet so run of the mill (and often times well below that) with their lower end. I realize often times they are marketed at a different set of users but even so, I sometimes feel these lower end products fail to excite, even with targeted users, except for having the red Leica badge (dot).
HI Roger David - I agree that it's not exciting, but strangely enough it is unique. (APS-C camera with fixed zoom). It really isn't a me too camera - the nearest comparison is the (even more boring) Canon GX1 - which has a smaller sensor and a slow zoom lens.

I imagine there's enough of a market, even if it isn't for forum geeks (myself included): We can probably trust the ergonomics (at least, if you like the X ergonomics generally) - if the image quality is good, then it'll have a definite place in the world - without any really obvious competition. . . . Of course - you could have an XE1 or an OMD with a zoom - but I know plenty of people who are interested in photography, take good photos but really don't want an interchangeable lens camera. These people don't read forums, camera reviews, or specification sheets. . . . . . . but they do buy cameras, and some of them have money too!

all the best



all the best
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Well, we have a historical case of Leica making something closer to the M rangefinders--the CL. The CL was a nice little camera, but its run did not last. Minolta thought giving it some more electronics would help. The CLE did not last either.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Unique for Leica butttttttttttttt. Everyone else has at least one in there lineup. LOL
No they don't Guy
As far as I'm aware there isn't a single alternative fixed zoom camera with an APS-C sized sensor. Made by anyone. And as far as I'm aware there never has been (digital that is)
Or am I going mad!


Yea I'm a smart *** too. Lol
Not that smart then :p

. . . . . . . . . . .

Of course, there could be a good reason for this :)
 

4season

Well-known member
Such a furor over a little camera.

But Leica cameras are positioned as luxury items and have been for decades. And the essence of luxury is an intangible sense that the product is somehow different and better than what your peers are using. We willingly buy into the mythos because it seems fun to do so.

The biggest problem with this alleged new M Mini isn't the camera itself, but the sense that Leica has slipped and given us a glimpse of the man hiding behind the curtain. Either that, or we're simply not Leica's target audience for this product. Whatever! It's not worth losing sleep over.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
No they don't Guy
As far as I'm aware there isn't a single alternative fixed zoom camera with an APS-C sized sensor. Made by anyone. And as far as I'm aware there never has been (digital that is)
Or am I going mad!
All the other manufacturers are just too lazy to attach it at the factory. Some assembly required.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
And the essence of luxury is an intangible sense that the product is somehow different and better than what your peers are using. We willingly buy into the mythos because it seems fun to do so.
I am not one of them. The MM (the latest of the Leica that I own) was/is actually the cheapest monochrome camera anywhere (another reason why I was scratching my head)!

If there is a, say, a NEX monochrome or a Ricoh monochrome, I would buy it immediately and they may be far more versatile (if there is live view and such) than a mechanical RF camera.
 
Well, I for one won´t be standing in line for this one (if the leaked info turns out to be true).

But I am one of these ancient Digilux 2 lovers. And lots of people have been saying for years: "If only Leica updated the D 2 with a larger sensor, faster processor &c, &c, and kept the control layout and the incredible zoom lens".

Now, (if, again, this is indeed true), they seem to have done precisely that, as far as the laws of optics allow. A 28-90 (equiv) f/2-2.4 zoom for a large sensor isn´t realistic, either in size and weight or cost. So they had to give up speed (and some range) to get a working compromise.

They tried; maybe they failed. But don´t laugh them out of court for trying!
 
V

Vivek

Guest
J:worthless:

There is super glue
I have more important issues to deal with (if I had recorded the tirade that went on after this picture, most would appreciate how nice it is to be snapping dolls in remote lands). ;)


Untitled by Vivek Iyer, on Flickr
Leica MM, P.C-Nikkor 105/2.5, The Hague

In front of the Dutch Parliament! The handsome looking fellow, egged on by that woman...well, as always, i am careful to show my subjects in good light. :)
 
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