As soon as the Leica M was introduced,
the question was, “what’s next?” Besides
the usual criticism, one point that was made over and over again was in regard
to autofocus. Of course, many questioned
the need for autofocus on a rangefinder camera.
That opinion was especially strong among the so called Leica
purists. However, the Leica M has to be
looked upon as a lot more than just a rangefinder camera. It is definitely a complete system camera
that also incorporates a rangefinder. The
Leica M is also the answer to previous Leica R owners who
for years have been looking at a viable digital solution to make use of their
lenses. With the new R adapter, the
Leica M is capable to utilize any of the previous R lenses and it is also
capable to do unlimited close up photography.
The only thing lacking is autofocus capability.
Could autofocus be incorporated
in the Leica M camera? Prior to the introduction
of the camera I consulted my crystal ball.
As it turned out, my predictions were virtually spot on. So I hope I was not too far off with my
previous claim that autofocus might be the next big step with the Leica M
camera.
How could this be achieved? As I see it, autofocus offerings will be
initially with the M lenses, not the ones that are currently offered by
Leica Camera, but the same optics with an autofocus mount. That would require the removal of the
standard focusing mount and the rangefinder coupling. These would be replaced with an autofocus
mount with built-in servo motors to make the autofocus movements independent
of the camera body. The lenses would
receive the focus information via electronic contacts from the camera.
Just today Leica News &
Rumors reported of the Chinese company Camera
MX (deo-tech.com) that modified a Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron for autofocus. They removed the focus mount of the Summicron
and fitted it into the body of a Contax Biogon 28mm f/2.8 body. This configuration will work with the ContaxG
– NEZ AF adapter on the Sony NEX cameras.
For the complete article go
to:
In principle this is very
much the same as I have suggested, an autofocus mount for the optics of the
standard Leica M lenses. Adding this to
the line of Leica M cameras, the new camera (Leica M AF?) would leave little on
a wish list of additional capabilities.
Of course, not everyone needs all of these features. For those there are always the Leica M
Monochrom and the Leica ME.
Of course the next question
is regarding the Leica R lenses. It is
doubtful that Leitz will reissue these with autofocus capabilities, although it
is conceivable that a few of the longer lenses and macro lenses might find
their way into the lineup of autofocus lenses.
But there is another possible
solution. At the 1980 annual LHSA meeting
in Minneapolis, Leica showed a prototype Leica R camera with autofocus. The unit utilized a standard R lens, a 50mm f
1.4 Summilux R. Autofocus was achieved
via a servo motor which was attached to the lens and which moved the actual
focusing ring of the lens via a small gear.
A similar servo motor is available for the Leica cine lenses to offer
motorized focusing.
Such a servo motor could be
used to convert current R lenses to autofocus use on a Leica M camera. It would receive its focusing information via
the same electronic contacts in the camera as the autofocus M lenses
would. Will this ever happen? This is where my crystal ball gets very
cloudy. Time will tell.
Wouldn't a moving sensor plane or a moving lens mount be a better approach to add autofocus to the M camera? This way all lenses would automatically offer autofocus.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point, and I have thought of your very suggestion as another solution. However, there are several arguments against it. As the same approach by Contax showed several years ago, the moving sensor plane (or film plane in the case of the Contax) added considerably to the thickness of the camera body. I doubt that Leica M users would welcome this because it would certainly alter the feel of the camera to quite an extend. A moving lens mount would not alter the feel of the camera very much, but to be rugged enough to withstand lens changes without alignment problems as well as the much greater weight of long lenses, it would have to be quite heavy duty which, if nothing else, would add considerable weight to the camera. In addition, both of these solutions would only be practical with lenses up to short telephoto lenses. Anything longer would be severely limited in its focusing range because there wouldn't be enough movement in the focusing system to allow close enough focusing with longer lenses unless you prefocus the lens for shorter focusing distances and then use the autofocus for automatic fine focusing.
DeleteIs it really necessary for Leica to have all those different features?
ReplyDeleteThe short answer is "yes." These features might be of little interest to the Leica traditionalists, but of those there are only a limited number. Leica cannot rely only on sales to that group of consumers. It is important that they seek new customers and that can only be done with a camera that has a wider market appeal than what was the case with the M8 and the M9. This is where the Leica M comes into play. The increased sales have certainly proven that philosophy to be correct. For the traditional Leica owner there is always the Leica M-E and the Leica M Monochrom. Nobody is forced to buy the new features of the Leica M if they are not wanted or needed.
DeleteWouldn't a DSLR design be preferable rather than trying to make something out of the Leica M that it was not intended to be?
ReplyDeleteI don't like to answer a question with another question, but what was the Leica intended to be?
ReplyDeleteA DSLR with full frame sensor most likely will always be bigger than the current Leica M, one reason being the extra bulk of the mirror housing and the added prism. Even with the electronic Visoflex added to the Leica M, the camera is still smaller than any of its DSLR competition. In addition the Leica has the advantage that the Visoflex can be taken off. I cannot think of a single advantage that a DSLR has over the Leica M.
Why is the Leica M always referred to as the Leica M type 240? I thought Leica Camera wanted to do away with the alpha numerical designations of their cameras.
ReplyDeleteI have been wondering about the same thing. There is only one Leica M besides the M-E. All others have had an alpha numerical designation, starting with the Leica M3. As you may have noticed, I have not succumbed to the M (240) craze. It is unnecessary and serves no purpose.
Delete