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Photo Forum / Digital Photography / DSLR Cameras / September 2006

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Rangefinders versus DSLRs.

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RichA - 08 Sep 2006 12:10 GMT
http://keppler.popphoto.com/blog/2006/09/speaking_frankl.html#more
Randall Ainsworth - 08 Sep 2006 13:29 GMT
There you go. Popular Photography is right up your alley.
RichA - 08 Sep 2006 17:50 GMT
> There you go. Popular Photography is right up your alley.

Did they tell the Zeiss people what to say too?
bmoag - 08 Sep 2006 16:24 GMT
I love rangefinder cameras but this interview is a self serving
rationalization for a bad business decsion.
If you have extensively used Leica M type cameras you see that you can only
shoot in the way the camera allows you to. This is not an inherently bad
thing but is an inherent feature of using this type of camera, which is not
the most flexible way to use a camera under changing conditions.
The rangefinder/SLR debate died in about 1959 although the interviewee does
not seem to realize it.
Mirror slap. Imagine that.
The world market for this class of camera at this price point does not
adequately support Leica (now Leicasonic) any longer and can not support the
new Zeiss in numbers that approach profitability.
Which is a shame because the Zeiss and its lenses are technically superb for
what they are: M3 redux. I hope there are enough acolytes of bokeh to make
the venture pay off.
jeremy - 08 Sep 2006 16:50 GMT
> If you have extensively used Leica M type cameras you see that you can
> only shoot in the way the camera allows you to.

The interview does address that point.  It underscores the fact that
different types of cameras each have their own spheres of competence.  SLRs
are better for macro and tele work, while rangefinders have an edge with
landscapes.

I got the impression from the article that Zeiss had no inflated expectation
that the Ikon would replace any serious photographer's SLR, but that it
would represent an adjunct to his existing kit.

While I have no intention of buying it, I am grateful for the existence of a
new choice in a shrinking film market, and I hope that the new line is
successful.  Choice is good.
zeitgeist - 09 Sep 2006 08:15 GMT
> The rangefinder/SLR debate died in about 1959 although the interviewee does
> not seem to realize it.

They beat that dead horse well into the 60's with the 35mm crowd and the
medium format shooters were dealing with it up until digital made them
irrelevent.
jeremy - 09 Sep 2006 18:57 GMT
>> The rangefinder/SLR debate died in about 1959 although the interviewee
> does
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> medium format shooters were dealing with it up until digital made them
> irrelevent.

If you are referring to the broad consumer market, I won't argue that point.

BUT . . .

Some of us march to a different drummer, and do not follow the crowd just
because everyone else seems to be doing the same.

In the mid-60s, lots of uninformed people predicted that LF and MF were
dead.  Time has proven that was not the case.  Photographers are still
shooting in larger formats, often using lenses that are 80 or more years
old, and producing fantastic results.

Despite digital's numerous advantages it is not always the best choice,
every time.  There is no "one-size-fits-all" in photography.  What I most
dislike about digital is that there is a sameness about so many of the
images.  As one noted photographer was quoted last year in a NY Times
article, all the pros seem to be using the same two or three lenses.

Zeiss Ikon may not be a runaway best seller, but it WILL command a
following, and it will also serve to offer new venues to those that want to
work in film.  That hurts no one.  But the one point I want to stress is
that Zeiss NEVER claimed that their new camera line was going to take the
world of photography by storm, and it is inappropriate to dismiss them
simply because they don't achieve a commanding lead over digital.
Bill K - 10 Sep 2006 03:46 GMT
> >> The rangefinder/SLR debate died in about 1959 although the interviewee
> > does
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> world of photography by storm, and it is inappropriate to dismiss them
> simply because they don't achieve a commanding lead over digital.

Well-stated, Jeremy.
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Bill in Lake Charles

 
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