Very interesting perspective . One of the challenges Leica has with the S2/S is coming up with a new camera . Personally I think the lenses are there ...exceptionally expensive but they have the lenses 24-180 . So whats next ...transition to CMOS and they will have a major R&D effort to amortize over a low volume camera . Stick with CCD and increase the MPs at the expensive of high ISO performance ?
How will the Sinar acquisition affect the S product line ???
Of course, everything we are all guessing about in this thread is for the most part, pure speculation. Leica themselves are somewhat cryptic at the best of times about their intentions :watch:
That said, at the launch of the original S system, the word from the product management and marketing folks was that there was to be several cameras in at least three different models that were to be derived from the S. Remember too though, at that time we were still keeping our R glass on the promise of the R10 that never showed up.
The truth is, times change, plans change, and so does the marketplace. What I do find interesting is that Leica buys Sinar right at the same time that Nikon corporate stock is trading down almost 24% for this year. Folks, the camera business is not all that healthy, so you can not expect to see any of these companies invest the R&D necessary to meet the new camera models of just a few years ago. The word I am hearing from pretty near everyone is most major new future projects have been delayed at best, and shelved indefinitely at the worst.
Save for one. Sony is absolutely on fire, looking to be a very popular camera seller this next year. Sony now have a pretty amazing lineup of products.
Leica also have now added to their high end camera offerings with the present Sinar line. These ail make fine additions to the new Leica corporate stores. I can already see in my head a fully optioned P3 sitting on wooden sticks right inside the entryway here in the Hollywood store. Right there where they had that big silver camera before… heck, maybe they will silver plate a limited edition?
But for me, I agree with Roger. Leica has done ok with the S system, but lets face facts. The 2,000 cameras produced per year are not that many in the face of the numbers of cameras a Nikon or Canon produce in a week. They aren't even that significant a number to bother Phase One/Leaf, or so they say. But those are exactly the kinds of numbers that a new effort behind the Hy6 could easily deliver with a Leica behind it. My bet though, is they continue to brand it a Sinar as well.
A new digital Hy6 would be a high dollar luxury item, using high dollar glass costing thousands of dollars per lens, a fanatical dedicated following of brave photographers already using a Hy6 (and loving it), and finally the type of modular system the Hy6 is would be very complementary to the present S setup. Phase One may say they aren't worried by Leica, but to my old eyes right about now they certainly should be. Since gobbling up Leaf, Phase has had that MF playground mostly to themselves. Leica now powered by that Private Equity group financing is far more formidable a competitor than stumbling Hasselblad flummoxing around with their Lunar thing.
S camera bodies are one thing, but those expensive $7k+ lenses are where Leica makes the real money. Those fancy lenses looked at as components are mostly metal ore and sand. Literally, cheap dirt! Leica still casts their own glass from scratch, so are manufacturing from raw metals & sand, clear to finished consumer goods. Offering a Hy6 derivative would I think be a very welcome addition to the Leica line for the lens profits alone.
I doubt it will be long before we see what ideas Leica has for Sinar, and whether or not there is any truth at all in my speculations about the Hy6 Phoenix. The Hy6 is an excellent camera design that died an ugly death due to owners who did not have sufficient funds to develop & promote it properly after Sinar's deep pocket majority owner Jenoptik decided to withdraw from the digital back market completely.
Given what it takes in financial resources to properly design a new Medium Format camera system, and given how good the Hy6 is, I fully expect that sooner or later another of the three who now own the rights to produce the Hy6/AFi eventually will once again.
What could be interesting is if Canon, who I understand now owns the rights and tooling to produce the Contax 645 Medium Format system, and are widely rumored to be readying a MF segment offering, does release an updated Contax just as Leica decides to relaunch a Hy6 derivative.
That should give us endless more threads just like this one to enjoy speculating about! :worthless:
Oh and I too would love to see a 60MP Dalsa CCD sensor with 13 stops of dynamic range in the next generation S. Please add my name to that list!