I pulled this out from the MF Digest, courtesy of Marco Zwierenberg: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/galleries/essays/index.htm.

Medium Format Leica? Time to save up your pennies.

-- Erik (xx@xx.com), August 21, 2000

Answers

Make sure to delete that period at the end of the above URL,or you won't reach the article. Sounds like the possibility is in the earliest stages you can imagine, and is very far away from a Photokina show near you. My dream camera would be a compact Leica 645 rangefinder, with lines built in the finder for 45, 75, and 140. For me, all the lenses could be 3.5 apertures and sharp as a pin wide open. Then they wouldn't be any bigger than the 35mm Leica M lenses. Knowing Leica though, they'd figure out a way to get an f1.4 lens in there somehow. Someone at Leica is probably keeping tabs of the new Contax 645 sales.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), August 21, 2000.

FWIW Leica is "upset" at the Hasselblad 35mmm camera.While a medium format camera would be nice,it makes no economic sense.The market is saturated.Leica would be unable to deliver a FULL Working system.Unless they link up with one of the Japanese manufacturers.The only ones left links are Minolta and Nikon.Pentax has its own 67 and 645 systems.The possibilities are good though.Pentax is possibly planning a RF.There have been patents.I think that Leica has lost its way and mind contemplating this idea!

-- jason gold (jason1155234@webtv.net), August 22, 2000.

I completely agree with Andrew, My guess is either a Mamiya 6 type or RF 645 could be a real hit. I would certainly be interested, like the author of the article I think it would not be wise of Leica to take on Hasselblad/Mamiya/Bronica/Contax and Rollei with a reflex system. I am somewhat amused by the CEO pondering on electronic M-Leica's as if they have just thought of it! If they HAVE only just thought of it then that IS worrying! Their main fear I suspect is replacing the venerable Leica shutter with a modern electronically controlled version and this being rejected by the traditional Leica user as being unreliable etc. They should keep both M6s and the new M7s in production simultaneously in case they have another M4 - M5/CL debacle. For a small company this kind of change is very risky - it may break the company, or it could be a great success. To fail would be catastrophic (as was the M5 situation), so I hope they do their sums and get it right. Mind you the Hexar RF does pretty well what many would want an M7 to do with the exception of the absence of TTL flash. To go to MF is natural though as this is where so many "keen amateurs" are going these days.

-- Robin Smith (rsmith@springer-ny.com), August 22, 2000.

Mark my words, someone will come out with a very compact and simple 645 rangefinder system with interchangeable lenses, and it will be a huge success. It should be Leica in my mind, but it is more likely that Cosina will do it, ( the bessa 645?) as they seem to be willing to take chances more than Leica.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), August 22, 2000.

Leica was the cutting edge for half a century or so. I think they should license the Nikon FM2 shutter (proven), adding hybrid electronic control, and offering an M7 with swing open back, Aperture priority and manual, true Spot and matrix metering TTl, 3d TTL flash at 1/250th (distance info is already provided by the lens) , and a choice of 50/75/90/135 or 24/28/35/50 veiwfinders. Hell this is what Konica should have made with the RF. If they had, Leica would be history (again).

-- Mark Wrathall (Wrathall@laudaair.com), August 24, 2000.

The trouble with spot metering in an RF is that you never really know what it is metering - look at the somewhat confusing information given for the M5 and CL - you might know for one lens but once you change it you have to work it out again. Reflexes are much better at this sort of thing. So would a spot metering mode on an M7 really be that useful in practice? I suppose matrix might be good, if one believes that matrix metering really does work better than good old center weighting....

-- Robin Smith (rsmith@springer-ny.com), August 25, 2000.

You are all wrong. What I would save up for would be a Leica that uses the existing lenses and changes somewhat the format of the existing 35 mm film by removing one side of the sprokets. They could make then a square 30 by 30 mil. Leica that would beat enything on the market. Perhaps the film base could be made thinner.

That would be some camera. If 8 by 10 is your thing, you'vee got the same quality as of today. If square you'd have a Hasselblad quality, or better yet, small format camera. Leica could offer eventually such camera as a reflex and more lenses.

Leitz, give me a Leica M of that spec. with a single 30 to 50 to 75 mil lens with a max. f stop of 2.8 throughout and pinsharp and I'd save the $10,000.00 can. to buy it. This is not a contract, but a suggestion.

What a camera that would be! A SQUARE LEICA!!!!!!!!

Wlad

-- wladimir Schweigert (sgert@golden.net), August 25, 2000.

I had asked the MF question of Leica when I toured their plant outside Wetzlar last November. They said at that time, there were no plans to move into the MF world. Things could change but I am skeptical that they will. SR

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), August 27, 2000.

Wladimir, I had a camera, about 1952 or so, that used 35mm film guage, but with sprocket holes only on one side, as you suggest. I believe the film size was 626, if memory serves. I think it was a Kodak Pony.

Now, as long as we're all being amateur camera designers, how about this: 20th Century Fox once developed a deluxe version of Cinemascope (anamorphic widescreen process) which used 55mm film, supplied by Kodak. How about a Leica-type camera in this guage, using approximately a 44 x 54mm image size? Same idea as the Mamiya 6x7, but in a 645 format with horizontally travelling film so the camera would retain Leica-type ergonomics.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@juno.com), November 14, 2000.

Heyup guys. Just been gandering the not much used forum and noticed the Leica MF question. So far as I know, (Solms insiders) this isn't gonna happen. But they should have considered the concept and tried to get off the mark some years back. Now that we are all panicking digital, seems the boffins there are somewhat confused as to what to do next. Another 'O' camera ? Let's hope not, unless of course it is to keep them going. photokina 2002 will probably see digital back for M series, if not R. Big question about what is actually needed. Good shooting all of you. New book on way. details by e-m

-- Jonathan Eastland (ajaxpics@freezone.co.uk), March 01, 2001.

Not even Leica's current management could be that stupid! Er...could they?

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), March 01, 2001.

Robin, is there a M7 coming out? I thought I was keeping up. What's it about? Andrew, regarding a rangefinder 645, I saw one last weekend. It's a Fuji. I didn't ask to see it. It looked nice, but I think I'd have a problem holding a camera vertically to take a horizontal picture!

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), March 01, 2001.