Fuji and Sony are both hot candidates to launch the first Full Frame mirrorless system competing the expansive and luxury [shoplink 100116 ebay]Leica M series[/shoplink]. For months now I am working to collect info about their 2013 strategy and form what I got from trusted and also from new sources neither Fuji nor Sony will announce such a system within the next 8-10 months. At the same time I have been told that both are developing a FF system but there is a series of challenges that will have to be solved first. Both Fuji and Sony for example have to develop lenses for their current X and NEX systems. They cannot afford to launch a new system yet.
After all these years that Leica is cashing money on the [shoplink 100116 ebay]Leica M series[/shoplink] I am still surprised that nobody ever made a competitor!
17 Responses
“After all these years that Leica is cashing money on the Leica M series I am still surprised that nobody ever made a competitor!”
Truth. 🙂
Recently, the Sony RX-1 helped bridge that price tag gap!
Sony will come up with a FF NEX soon. Sooner than the rumors being spread with a view to push the RX1.
That’s fine for me.
A full frame sensor would mean more expensive cameras, more expensive and big lenses, a new lenses line to build. In my opinion the aps-c format gives more than adequate image quality
I really wish they can come up with a FF mirrorless system. FF is not just about more pixels, less noise and higher image quality (and expensive cameras and lenses). For me, and a lot of people, it’s the opportunity to have that awesome perspective and DOF that only 35mm can offer. Any serious shooting I do is with my two Canon 5D mk2 and despite also owning, and greatly enjoying, a tiny S100 with it’s tiny sensor I long for the day when I can carry around a compact, mirrorless, interchangeable lens, FF camera… (that I can actually afford)
Epson did try to compete with Leica, with the Epson R-D 1. This was a true rangefinder digital camera, not just “rangefinder-style,” and it beat Leica’s M8 digital camera to the market by several months. The sensor was APS-C size, but so was M8’s, and so were most DSLRs’ back then.
Although there were some rangefinder calibration problems with early batches, the R-D 1 was a really nice camera for rangefinder enthusiasts. No Leica digital camera has never matched its bright, crisp full-life-size viewfinder, which let you use the camera with both eyes open — no need to squint! And the picture quality was as good as anything of its time.
So why wasn’t it a big success? Leica snobs wouldn’t buy it because, well, it didn’t say “Leica” on it. And at nearly $3,000, it was too expensive for most non-Leica rangefinder aficionados.
Nobody else has dared test the waters since then.
It was a well built camera but the picture quality (if you overlook the IR bleed problems) of the M8 was simply stunning in comparison. Epson also had IR leak/color correction problems though it was masked or just overlooked (or just not recognized) by many users.
Leica did improve on the M8 with their M9 in terms of image sensor size and the IR leak problems.
“””After all these years that Leica is cashing money on the Leica M series I am still surprised that nobody ever made a competitor!”””
It means it is cashing very little.
And direct competition might prove to be lethal: already small market would be fractured and every of the vendors would get only a small share it. And the share might happen to be too small to justify presence in the market at all, rendering the whole venture a waste of money.
I’m no FF enthusiast, but I think Leica fans should watch closer the Sony RX1 and what successors it would get. Considering Leica’s lens prices, Sony RX1 with 35mm lens and another RX (RX2?) with 50mm lens might happen to cover more than 90% of the Leica market – and that at about half price. Only few focal lengths are actively used for FF RFs, and IMO likes of the Sony RX are pretty much the only way for FF to go forward (aka: stay relevant to consumer and enthusiast markets).
Well, the cool thing about rx1 is the fact that it’s a pocketable FF camer? This is possible because its (fixed) lens “sinks” deep inside the camera body, and it’s perfectly coupled with the sensor. A precision you can’t get using a lens that has to be attached to the camera. Having said so, I would immediatly buy a rx1 with electronic/optical/hybrid viewfinder, but I seriously doubt I would jump into a new sistem with new (really expensive?) lenses. A 35mm f2.0 (f1.8….) would be perfect. F1.4 would be too big. A 50mm fixed should be too big (at least for me) too.
im gonna get me an M. the new one sealed the deal for me. there is no point in settling for something else when i know leica m checks all the boxes. sure its really expensive but im tired of compromised cameras.
I don’t give a crap about Fuji or Sony NEX lenses. Just develop good, metal rangefinder body with modern, quality FF digital sensor, price undercutting Leica and take my money! 🙂
Too right. And decent usability please, no rubbish a la Nex.