Please Try to Remain Calm......
This was the slug used in a Nikon D3 advertsing campaign in the UK in the lead up to the new full frame FX availability toward the end of last year. I found it vaguely amusing, but nonetheless, right on the nail. Thousands had been waiting patiently to get well on the new kit, so in theory at least, Nikon should do well on it.
Nikon's ad campaign, coming so close to the end of 2007, also reminded me that 2008 is a photokina year, not to mention a PMA year; it is likely we shall soon see mock-ups and prototypes of products much speculated and rumoured these past few weeks.
As Nikon is at the top of the conversation pile for the moment, what truth is in the rumour the company will shortly be showing off a new digital S rangefinder camera using the new FX sensor? They have the technology and if Epson and Cosina could make it work, why not Nikon?
Internet forum views have expressed doubts that an S(D) rangefinder model would appear with the original Contax type lens mount; rather, more likely if it does, with a Leica M mount. This would be a great pity, as one of the best features of the original Nikon S series was its serrated wheel operated focus system linked by a simple mechanism to the internal camera lens mount. In operation, sharp subject focus is rapidly obtained, leaving the left hand fingers free to make diaphragm adjustments, but more usually to ensure the camera is properly cradled for a shake-free frame exposure. The mechanism also enabled designers to keep lenses compact.
The availability of a huge range of Leica type screw and M mount objectives - old and new - might have a pressing effect on Nikon designers to opt for the M mount in any new model they might be considering. But the engineering advantages of maintaining an old and proven system cannot be ignored and now that Carl Zeiss have begun production of a small run of Contax fit 50mm objectives, the possibility of expanding the focal length range in that mount exists. Cosina have also dabbled with the Contax/Nikon rangefinder lens mount and one assumes they have the capability to enter into larger scale production should the need arise.
The fact that Zeiss are pushing the boat out for their highly regarded lenses in a variety of different lens mounts is hardly surprising. But there are other connotations one might - if one was so inclined - read into the scenario.
When asked about the possibility of a digital version of the Zeiss Ikon camera, CZ has said it would not contemplate such a device without the benefit of full frame sensor technology. Others have it, but, it might now be argued, Nikon does it better. A tie-up between CZ and Nikon? From a marketing viewpoint, the strategy would benefit both companies.
And where would that leave Leica?
Rangefinder cameras serve a niche market and take up is very small compared to the professional and pro-sumer products on offer in the Dslr field. Leica M8 sales in the UK barely scraped past the 1,000 mark in 2007 and it doesn't need rocket science to come to a reasonable appraisal of world wide sales turnover for that model over the same period. Expectations of an M8 replacement coming any time soon should probably be treated with some scepticism. According to one Leica Camera top executive, an M8B or M9 is not on the cards 'today or tomorrow.'. A continued stream of firmware updates is about the best one could expect.
Will I be doing the M8 book?
During the summer months of last year, an M8 was a fairly constant companion on several assignments. It is, as colleague Anders Uschold said in a British Journal of Photography review, ' a demanding camera.', and I found it so.
This is probably the very least I could say about the M8. It works well for most of the purposes to which I would want to put it, but in my opinion, it is not the digital rangefinder camera I had expected (or wanted) from Leica and is not therefore, the one on which I will spend my hard earned sheckles. Some of the issues I have with this model are not curable with firmware updates, nor with add on IR filters or 6 bit lens coding. Again, in my humble opinion, it needs a fundamental make-over and this is not the basis on which to get started when endeavouring to enthuse on a product to others.
The possibility of Leica entering the world of medium format digital as has also been mooted seems remote, though perfectly possible with the co-operation and partnership of Jenoptik Gmbh and with whom Leica has a relationship in the production of the M8. At a meeting with CEO Dr.Michael Merten in the company's penthouse directors suite in September last year, a direct question concerning the Leica/Jenoptik technology partnership, medium format digital and the way forward was met with coy diversion to Sinar's CEO Wolfgang Keller, who expressed the view that 'anything was possible.' Of course.
My inside contact at Epson left the company in the Fall of last year and there has been no word from his replacement of that company picking up where it left off with the 'discontinued' RD1s. However, the optoelectronic technology which made the RD1 possible in the first place would probably be available to organisations with enough loose change to want to take it on. Cosina has always maintained it would not touch digital with a barge pole, let alone a plastic one, but I have visions it might be persuaded at some stage to revisit the Bessamatic with a view to reincarnation in digital form; an FM2D?. I don't see why we have to have lug around the club foot monsters currently being turned out.
That view reminds me of one of the most pleasant dslr review experiences of last year which began in October 2006 on a mini-cruise around the Western Approaches on the liner QE2. Introphoto2020 and Pentax UK took the opportunity for a press launch of the Pentax K10D aboard the famous Cunarder. The camera's immediate appeal for me was simply one of ergonomics, though not many of the incarcerated company were too familiar with the old Pentax advertising slogan. 'Just Hold a Pentax.'
Nikon and Leica may have the names to which myth and legend have been attached over the decades, but Pentax has always had something special attaching to the quality of its glass and to the design of its camera bodies.
The K10D exudes a handling comfort factor of relatively small dimension encapsulated in a fibre reinforced polycarbonate shell while the innards are bolted to a stainless steel chassis and protected from the ingress of dust and moisture by multiple seals - nearly 80 in the case of the body alone.
I am not a great fan of polycarbonate; I like the history the patina of banged up brass cover plates can imply, but plastics have long been used for the purpose described here and in the case of the K10D, use of it may even add something to the feel. Either way, I buried my reservations and returned to the camera again more recently for a review with two new DA* SMC Pentax zoom lenses.
The 16-50mm and 50-135mm are both fast f2.8 maximum aperture objectives incorporating aspherical and ED glass elements (and very similar in design and construction to new products recently launched by Tokina.) incorporating dual supersonic micro auto focus motors. DA* identifies lenses designed for the digital aspect ratio , i.e. effecting similar angles of view for - in this case - the APS-C format sensor used in the K10D. Thus the new 16 - 50mm f/2.8 assimilates viewing angles of a 24 - 75mm, while the 50 - 135mm f/2.8 equates to the tighter angle restrictions of a 75 - 202mm objective used with full frame sensors or film. Physically, these lenses are almost one third smaller than their analogue cousins and thus when used in combination with the K10D, offer a compact package.
But the real benefit of this model is in the quality of images captured in high Jpeg mode and the comprehensive in-camera menu applications which can be used to further tweak files to user preference. RAW files can be captured at the press of a button on the exterior of the lens mount casing while a number of other press-button features on the back of the camera speed operations. Beware however, that when using the image sharpening control, the zero setting means just that. Anything with a negative prefix softens the image.
It has been difficult to find fault with the K10D. Indeed, I have been so enamoured with using it for several weeks in preference to a now somewhat dated Nikon D1X, a kit with the two lenses described above is gradually working its way up the wants list. The body price now seems so cheap as to be unavoidable and while 12mp may be the new minimum target for a professional Dslr, 10 is more than most will ever need for the vast majority of editorial requirements.
This observation notwithstanding, speculation concerning the whereabouts of the Pentax 645D coming with a 22 or 38mp sensor is as rife as ever, leading the 'should we, shouldn't we?' buy the old 645FA lenses 'just in case' chorus. Pentax has been mute on the subject, an indicator that it either does not know what it will do, cannot make a decision or is simply biding its time while watching the competition's hand wringing?
We are now only a few months short of being a decade into the age of popular digital photography and a very long way in image quality terms from the 1.2 or 1.3 mp standards that were around in the late 1990s. Then, the debate was all about analogue versus digital resolving ability, but like the clamour for medium format digital cameras, the corner from whence it came seems more subdued now.
I cannot say for sure, but I imagine medium format digital camera manufacturers, few as they are, are currently watching a sales slow down that if not already, will soon be mirroring the condition of the US housing market.
One problem is that if you purchased a medium format digital camera or back in the early part of this decade, there are not a whole lot of image quality reasons which would justify a casual investment in the latest model. Another is the current whopping price being asked for newer tools and now that we can have a full frame 12+mp for a considerably lower figure, one is tempted to ask 'who needs the larger format?'
Quite a few do; the demand for large scale reproductions on bill boards and other advertising media is greater than ever. If the technology is there to provide the quality, let's have it. An old Pentax 645 and decent film scanner will do a great job, but a compact digital version of that camera is what many seem to want. And that will be one of the keys to the success of a Pentax 645D; ergonomic comfort in a small package at a competetive price. They seem to have cracked it with the K10D; can they do it with medium format?
Visitors, users and viewers of the foregoing content may copy and re-use it in other internet content sites on condition the source of all material so used is acknowledged with the attachment of the following.
Copyright; Jonathan Eastland
www.ajaxnetphoto.blogspot.com 2008.
www.ajaxnetphoto.com 2008.
This original content may NOT be used in any print or electronic media made available for commercial resale.
The products and companies named in this website content are trademarks , registered trademarks or servicemarks of their respective owners or licensed user.
Nikon's ad campaign, coming so close to the end of 2007, also reminded me that 2008 is a photokina year, not to mention a PMA year; it is likely we shall soon see mock-ups and prototypes of products much speculated and rumoured these past few weeks.
As Nikon is at the top of the conversation pile for the moment, what truth is in the rumour the company will shortly be showing off a new digital S rangefinder camera using the new FX sensor? They have the technology and if Epson and Cosina could make it work, why not Nikon?
Internet forum views have expressed doubts that an S(D) rangefinder model would appear with the original Contax type lens mount; rather, more likely if it does, with a Leica M mount. This would be a great pity, as one of the best features of the original Nikon S series was its serrated wheel operated focus system linked by a simple mechanism to the internal camera lens mount. In operation, sharp subject focus is rapidly obtained, leaving the left hand fingers free to make diaphragm adjustments, but more usually to ensure the camera is properly cradled for a shake-free frame exposure. The mechanism also enabled designers to keep lenses compact.
The availability of a huge range of Leica type screw and M mount objectives - old and new - might have a pressing effect on Nikon designers to opt for the M mount in any new model they might be considering. But the engineering advantages of maintaining an old and proven system cannot be ignored and now that Carl Zeiss have begun production of a small run of Contax fit 50mm objectives, the possibility of expanding the focal length range in that mount exists. Cosina have also dabbled with the Contax/Nikon rangefinder lens mount and one assumes they have the capability to enter into larger scale production should the need arise.
The fact that Zeiss are pushing the boat out for their highly regarded lenses in a variety of different lens mounts is hardly surprising. But there are other connotations one might - if one was so inclined - read into the scenario.
When asked about the possibility of a digital version of the Zeiss Ikon camera, CZ has said it would not contemplate such a device without the benefit of full frame sensor technology. Others have it, but, it might now be argued, Nikon does it better. A tie-up between CZ and Nikon? From a marketing viewpoint, the strategy would benefit both companies.
And where would that leave Leica?
Rangefinder cameras serve a niche market and take up is very small compared to the professional and pro-sumer products on offer in the Dslr field. Leica M8 sales in the UK barely scraped past the 1,000 mark in 2007 and it doesn't need rocket science to come to a reasonable appraisal of world wide sales turnover for that model over the same period. Expectations of an M8 replacement coming any time soon should probably be treated with some scepticism. According to one Leica Camera top executive, an M8B or M9 is not on the cards 'today or tomorrow.'. A continued stream of firmware updates is about the best one could expect.
Will I be doing the M8 book?
During the summer months of last year, an M8 was a fairly constant companion on several assignments. It is, as colleague Anders Uschold said in a British Journal of Photography review, ' a demanding camera.', and I found it so.
This is probably the very least I could say about the M8. It works well for most of the purposes to which I would want to put it, but in my opinion, it is not the digital rangefinder camera I had expected (or wanted) from Leica and is not therefore, the one on which I will spend my hard earned sheckles. Some of the issues I have with this model are not curable with firmware updates, nor with add on IR filters or 6 bit lens coding. Again, in my humble opinion, it needs a fundamental make-over and this is not the basis on which to get started when endeavouring to enthuse on a product to others.
The possibility of Leica entering the world of medium format digital as has also been mooted seems remote, though perfectly possible with the co-operation and partnership of Jenoptik Gmbh and with whom Leica has a relationship in the production of the M8. At a meeting with CEO Dr.Michael Merten in the company's penthouse directors suite in September last year, a direct question concerning the Leica/Jenoptik technology partnership, medium format digital and the way forward was met with coy diversion to Sinar's CEO Wolfgang Keller, who expressed the view that 'anything was possible.' Of course.
My inside contact at Epson left the company in the Fall of last year and there has been no word from his replacement of that company picking up where it left off with the 'discontinued' RD1s. However, the optoelectronic technology which made the RD1 possible in the first place would probably be available to organisations with enough loose change to want to take it on. Cosina has always maintained it would not touch digital with a barge pole, let alone a plastic one, but I have visions it might be persuaded at some stage to revisit the Bessamatic with a view to reincarnation in digital form; an FM2D?. I don't see why we have to have lug around the club foot monsters currently being turned out.
That view reminds me of one of the most pleasant dslr review experiences of last year which began in October 2006 on a mini-cruise around the Western Approaches on the liner QE2. Introphoto2020 and Pentax UK took the opportunity for a press launch of the Pentax K10D aboard the famous Cunarder. The camera's immediate appeal for me was simply one of ergonomics, though not many of the incarcerated company were too familiar with the old Pentax advertising slogan. 'Just Hold a Pentax.'
Nikon and Leica may have the names to which myth and legend have been attached over the decades, but Pentax has always had something special attaching to the quality of its glass and to the design of its camera bodies.
The K10D exudes a handling comfort factor of relatively small dimension encapsulated in a fibre reinforced polycarbonate shell while the innards are bolted to a stainless steel chassis and protected from the ingress of dust and moisture by multiple seals - nearly 80 in the case of the body alone.
I am not a great fan of polycarbonate; I like the history the patina of banged up brass cover plates can imply, but plastics have long been used for the purpose described here and in the case of the K10D, use of it may even add something to the feel. Either way, I buried my reservations and returned to the camera again more recently for a review with two new DA* SMC Pentax zoom lenses.
The 16-50mm and 50-135mm are both fast f2.8 maximum aperture objectives incorporating aspherical and ED glass elements (and very similar in design and construction to new products recently launched by Tokina.) incorporating dual supersonic micro auto focus motors. DA* identifies lenses designed for the digital aspect ratio , i.e. effecting similar angles of view for - in this case - the APS-C format sensor used in the K10D. Thus the new 16 - 50mm f/2.8 assimilates viewing angles of a 24 - 75mm, while the 50 - 135mm f/2.8 equates to the tighter angle restrictions of a 75 - 202mm objective used with full frame sensors or film. Physically, these lenses are almost one third smaller than their analogue cousins and thus when used in combination with the K10D, offer a compact package.
But the real benefit of this model is in the quality of images captured in high Jpeg mode and the comprehensive in-camera menu applications which can be used to further tweak files to user preference. RAW files can be captured at the press of a button on the exterior of the lens mount casing while a number of other press-button features on the back of the camera speed operations. Beware however, that when using the image sharpening control, the zero setting means just that. Anything with a negative prefix softens the image.
It has been difficult to find fault with the K10D. Indeed, I have been so enamoured with using it for several weeks in preference to a now somewhat dated Nikon D1X, a kit with the two lenses described above is gradually working its way up the wants list. The body price now seems so cheap as to be unavoidable and while 12mp may be the new minimum target for a professional Dslr, 10 is more than most will ever need for the vast majority of editorial requirements.
This observation notwithstanding, speculation concerning the whereabouts of the Pentax 645D coming with a 22 or 38mp sensor is as rife as ever, leading the 'should we, shouldn't we?' buy the old 645FA lenses 'just in case' chorus. Pentax has been mute on the subject, an indicator that it either does not know what it will do, cannot make a decision or is simply biding its time while watching the competition's hand wringing?
We are now only a few months short of being a decade into the age of popular digital photography and a very long way in image quality terms from the 1.2 or 1.3 mp standards that were around in the late 1990s. Then, the debate was all about analogue versus digital resolving ability, but like the clamour for medium format digital cameras, the corner from whence it came seems more subdued now.
I cannot say for sure, but I imagine medium format digital camera manufacturers, few as they are, are currently watching a sales slow down that if not already, will soon be mirroring the condition of the US housing market.
One problem is that if you purchased a medium format digital camera or back in the early part of this decade, there are not a whole lot of image quality reasons which would justify a casual investment in the latest model. Another is the current whopping price being asked for newer tools and now that we can have a full frame 12+mp for a considerably lower figure, one is tempted to ask 'who needs the larger format?'
Quite a few do; the demand for large scale reproductions on bill boards and other advertising media is greater than ever. If the technology is there to provide the quality, let's have it. An old Pentax 645 and decent film scanner will do a great job, but a compact digital version of that camera is what many seem to want. And that will be one of the keys to the success of a Pentax 645D; ergonomic comfort in a small package at a competetive price. They seem to have cracked it with the K10D; can they do it with medium format?
Visitors, users and viewers of the foregoing content may copy and re-use it in other internet content sites on condition the source of all material so used is acknowledged with the attachment of the following.
Copyright; Jonathan Eastland
www.ajaxnetphoto.blogspot.com 2008.
www.ajaxnetphoto.com 2008.
This original content may NOT be used in any print or electronic media made available for commercial resale.
The products and companies named in this website content are trademarks , registered trademarks or servicemarks of their respective owners or licensed user.
Labels: Camera, Canon, dslr, Epson, Ikon, Leica, Nikon, Pentax, Photographer, Photography, Rangefinder, RD1, Zeiss
posted by Ajax at 3.1.08
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