New Leica digital back info....

Ted Azito wrote:

TP snip

All this hostility towards Leica products, all because you cannot
afford to buy them.

How does the logic go?

If you cannot afford them, they cannot be any good?




I could afford to buy them, just not as many: I could swap my 200mm
Medical Nikkor even up for any of several R Leica lenses. Because of
the cam issues, which is even nuttier than the AI Nikkor situation, R
Leica lenses used can be very reasonable. Although you might make a
case for one or two of the pieces on a piece basis, in general,
Nikkors-pro Nikkors-are technically better optics than Leitz glass.
Leitz and Zeiss, as another poster succinctly summarized, use a few
different tradeoffs for subjectively more pleasing results in some
people's opinion. It's not mine. If Leica wanted to "cut heads" they'd
offer their lenses in other mounts, they don't. They're selling
mystique and bull**** to a great extent.

Panavision can very definitely afford German lenses. That they choose
(usually) otherwise speaks volumes.

What's this big deal about Panavision; since when is it THE measure of
quality?
Kubricks "Barry Lyndon" was shot with Zeiss lenses, using only natural
light (often just candlelight for interiors).
I also read that Zeiss lenses were used for the making of "The Lord of
The Rings".
Perhaps Panavison is important mainly in the US context.

Chris

(Ted Azito) wrote in message . com...
I think that answers that.



(Michael Scarpitti) wrote in message . com...
(Ted Azito) wrote in message . com...
The Leica SLRs are still mutants. R Leica optics are not sufficiently
differentiable from pro Japanese glass anyone would buy them except
for-what's the fancy word-size queen entertainment?

You're a moron.

You're still a moron.

(Ted Azito) wrote in message . com...
TP snip
All this hostility towards Leica products, all because you cannot
afford to buy them.

How does the logic go?

If you cannot afford them, they cannot be any good?



I could afford to buy them, just not as many: I could swap my 200mm
Medical Nikkor even up for any of several R Leica lenses. Because of
the cam issues, which is even nuttier than the AI Nikkor situation, R
Leica lenses used can be very reasonable. Although you might make a
case for one or two of the pieces on a piece basis, in general,
Nikkors-pro Nikkors-are technically better optics than Leitz glass.

This is completely asinine. Leitz makes the best lenses on the planet, generally.

Leitz and Zeiss, as another poster succinctly summarized, use a few
different tradeoffs for subjectively more pleasing results in some
people's opinion. It's not mine. If Leica wanted to "cut heads" they'd
offer their lenses in other mounts, they don't. They're selling
mystique and bull**** to a great extent.

The other companies have told them 'no'.


Panavision can very definitely afford German lenses. That they choose
(usually) otherwise speaks volumes.

Lourens Smak wrote in news:smak-683EEA.20471127062004
@news.wanadoo.nl:

If you hear any new info make sure to post it here... ;-)
I will be visiting the Photokina, so I can probably see it for myself in
a few months. (and probably a whole lot of other new stuff this year...)

I have it now though it needs an Adobe reader to open it. In fact I have
two Adobe files and a doc file. If there is photo newsgroup where I can
post these files, please let me know.

I'll post the text of two of the files, however the Adobe file has several
pictures.

Thanks,

Barney

PS, My sales person had first hand contact with it in the last 24 hours.

Sven Sturm / Product management photo
Solms, April 15, 2004
To our agencies
Are Conventional Lenses Suited for Digital Photography?
Presently, no other subject concerning photography is being discussed
nearly as extensively and controversially.
Photographers are unsure whether they should replace their lenses by
“digitally suitable” ones, or if they can
take equally good pictures with their existing equipment.
As the following comments will show, the question cannot be answered by a
simple yes or no, instead other
questions must be answered first.
What are the Differences Between the Demands of Digital and Conventional
Photography?
As with photography on film, the aim of digital photography is to “catch”
and preserve fleeting moments, which
in turn are then reproduced as (printed) images. In order to so, the lens
refracts the light rays coming from the
subject in such a way that a two-dimensional image of it is created. This
image is then recorded by a light-
sensitive sensor (formerly the film’s role), and stored permanently (also
the film’s role in conventional
photography).
Whereas the viewer of digital images can simply and easily create any
degree of enlargement on her/his
monitor, the very expensive enlarged prints from film were only rarely
produced by specialist labs. In digital
photography this popular technique only takes a few seconds and mouse
clicks. This immediately reveals even
the slightest flaws in the rendition quality to the viewer. Even though
the digital photographer may only have the
same 4 by 5 print done in the end, for which an average quality lens and
an average quality film would have fully
sufficed, the demands on lenses in digital photography have risen
significantly - simply because every user can
create enlargements at random and free of charge.
This makes it obvious that lenses of average potential which are well-
suited for average-standard conventional
photography immediately reveal their shortcomings when used with high-
resolution digital sensors. It must be
stressed that these shortcomings have always become equally visible in
conventional photography with high-
resolution films and strong enlargements. At this point I wish to
underline the fact that high-quality images, be
they of digital or conventional origin, call for the same prerequisite:
High-performance lenses. So, one can
expect that a lens excellently suited for conventional photography will
not disappoint the digital photographer as
long as certain circumstances are ensured. These circumstances are
discussed in the section “Which
Particularities must be Considered in Digital Photography?”
What Distinguishes a Good Lens?
Every lens has a difficult task to perform. It must collect and refract
the light rays coming from the subject in
such a way that a sharp and exact reproduction is created on the sensor
or film. In order to do so, glass lens
elements are usually used. Each of these elements causes a number of
aberrations, and every one of these
aberrations is an obstacle on the way to creating a high-resolution and
true-to-nature image of the subject. With
the help of the most advanced software for simulation and optimizing, an
experienced optical designer can
succeed in selecting and positioning lens elements of different material,
radii, and refractive indices at differing
intervals so that the individual elements’ aberrations cancel each other
out. The higher the demands on the
image quality, the higher the challenge for the designer as well as the
necessary efforts and experience will be.
The optical system’s design is only one part of the way to a good lens,
though. Production of the lens elements
and the mechanics is the other decisive aspect. If the lens is expected
to resolve structures just a few µm in size
(1µm = 0.001mm), the individual elements must be produced and positioned
with the appropriate precision. At
Leica, e.g. the allowance of a maximum tilt deviation from the optical
axis of a mere 0.0033° is not an anusual
demand. The positioning tolerance for certain elements is less than 5µm =
0.005mm. Since these extremely
tight tolerances are difficult to achieve even for the experienced
precision mechanic, some lenses are corrected

piece by piece. In these cases, individual lens elements or groups are
displaced and then fixed so that the
tolerances within the system counter-balance each other.
To allow for this technique, the foreseeing designer must arrange the
lens system so that this displacement of
elements and groups does not lead to new aberrations.
Leica staff member “displacing” a lens element
When the lens system is finally assembled and secured by the mechanics so
that it meets all of the described
demands, it must be able to take the partly harsh everyday use. It must
withstand temperatures like those in a
desert or the arctic. It must withstand the jolts of being carried in a
rucksack or transported in an all-terrain-
vehicle as well as the occasional bump. And still, the elements must
remain exactly in place, otherwise the
outstanding image quality so many professional and amateur photographers
rely on in a Leica lens would be
jeopardized. It soon becomes completely clear that only the best of
materials such as aluminum and brass stand
up to the needs of the mechanical mount for a critical lens system.

Which Demands must the Camera meet?
In order to allow the capturing of high-resolution images on a film or
sensor, the receiving medium must be
mounted precisely plane, i.e. without any tilting, and at exactly the
right position. Even the slightest deviations
lead to reduced resolution. Since a camera consists of innumerous single
parts, this demand is nearly
impossible to fulfill. The individual parts’ tolerances can add up to
considerable amount compared to the defined
demands. This is where the Leica Camera AG turns to a special trick: The
film guides in the LEICA R9, which are
also the aligning plane for the sensor in the LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R, are
only finished at the end of the
assembling process. For this, the camera is mounted by its bayonet, the
exactly defined interface to the optical
system, and then the film guide surfaces are milled by a precision
machine. This compensates the individual
parts’ tolerances, the remaining being only those of the milling machine.
The LEICA R9’s film guide rails being milled
Which Particularities must be Considered in Digital Photography?
Like a film, a sensor needs a high-resolution lens if the highest of
image quality is expected. But there are also
specific aspects that must be considered in digital photograph
The Protective Filter:
For example, the sensor carries a protective glass filter which was not
taken into account while designing the
lenses. In the case of the LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R it is made as thin as
possible for two reasons: Firstly, the
sensor, which protrudes into the frame window in the LEICA R8/R9, must
not obstruct the shutter’s movements.
And second, this minimizes the adverse effects on the Leica R lenses’
performance.
The following diagrams show how minute the thin protective glass filter’s
effect is. Within the pairs, the left
diagrams represent the performance without -, those on the right with the
protective filter. In the lens cross-
sections, the filter position is immediately in front of the sensor. For
easier comparison the image height
(15.8mm - corresponds to half the frame diagonal) in all of the MTF-
diagrams represents the sensor size in the
Digital-Modul-R, while in the lens cross sections the ray paths
correspond to the respective formats, i.e. to the
35mm film format on the left and the sensor format on the

Or
LEICA ELMARIT-R 19mm f/2.8 LEICA SUMMILUX-R 50mm f/1.4
LEICA APO-MACRO-ELMARIT-R 100mm f/2.8 LEICA APO-TELYT-R 280mm f/4

LEICA VARIO-ELMAR-R 21-35mm f/3.5-4 ASPH. LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-R 28-90mm
f/2.8-4.5 ASPH.
General comments on the MTF diagrams (Modulation Transfer Function)
The MTF is indicated both at full aperture and at f/5.6 at long taking
distances (infinity). Shown is the contrast in percentage
for 5, 10, 20 and 40 lp/mm across the height of the 35mm film format, for
tangential (dotted line) and sagittal (solid line)
structures, in white light. The 5 and 10 lp/mm will give an indication
regarding the contrast ratio for large object structures.
The 20 and 40 lp/mm records the resolution of finer and finest object
structures.
Looking at the MTF-diagrams, the following becomes obvious:
• The addition of the thin protective filter influences the image quality
so minutely that it will not be
recognizable in the pictures.
• The lenses’ imaging characteristics are not changed by the protective
filter, i.e. especially powerful lenses
that deliver the best images in conventional will also do so together
with a sensor. Specifically the highly
corrected apochromatic telephoto lenses should be pointed out in this
respect.

Micro Lenses:
The so-called micro lenses are another of the particularities concerning
digital sensors. Since there are areas
between the individual pixels for the respective electronic connections
and controls, the pixels (the light-
sensitive elements) do not cover the complete sensor surface. Therefore,
the effective, i.e. net light gathering
area is relatively smaller than the comparable part of the film area.
This drawback in sensors can be compensated by the so-called micro
lenses. Tiny lenses are arranged in front of
every pixel to gather even those light rays that would otherwise only
reach the areas not sensitive to light
between the individual pixels. Nevertheless, light rays arriving at too
strong an angle cannot be handled by the
micro lenses.
Schematic drawing of a micro lens arranged in front of a pixel
The path of a lens’ light rays reveals that the rays at the edges hit the
sensor at an angle.
Ray Paths in the LEICA ELMARIT-R 19mm f/2.8
Note: Compared to a super wide angle lens’ angle of view, even the rays
at the edges arrive at the sensor at only
a moderate angle.

If the micro lenses for the pixels at the sensor edges would be placed
exactly centrally in front of the pixels, this
would lead to light fall off towards the edges caused by the stronger
angle that the rays reaching the micro
lenses arrive at.
Withthe LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R though, this effect is comparatively minor
for two reasons:
• All too strongly angled light rays do not come into effect in the first
place, because the sensor is smaller
than the film format the lenses were designed for.
• The Leica R bayonet’s flange focal distance (the distance between the
bayonet flange and the film plane) is
relatively long. Since the Leica SL-/R-bayonet was designed in 1965 the
then prevailing system necessities
had to be taken into account. For example, the mechanics for the swing-
back mirror needed more space
than those in the more recent bayonets. This in turn calls for lenses
with a longer back focal distance (the
first element cannot be positioned closer to the film). This aspect,
which presents a major challenge to the
optical designers, is on the other hand a blessing for the Leica R
digital photography. Thanks to the greater
distance the rays at the edges arrive at the sensor at less of an angle.
In order to minimize the already lower light fall off towards the edges
in the Leica R system, micro lens shifting is
employed, i.e. the micro lenses near the sensor edges are positioned
slightly off-center of their respective pixels.
Schematic drawing of a shifted micro lens in front of a pixel near the
sensor’s edges
The micro lenses’ off-center position for pixels near the sensors’ edges
allows the angle of acceptance to be
tailored to the rays paths typical for Leica R lenses. Therefore the
degree of vignetting in digital photography
equals that of conventional photography. Since the sensor area is smaller
than the 35mm film format, vignetting
is in fact even less with the LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R than with
conventional photography.
In normal sensors, complete lines or columns on the imaging chip, the so-
called transport registers, are used to
read out the image data. This reduces the effective surface, as these
lines and columns that are not sensitive to
light cannot be used for the initial purpose. This loss can be
compensated by strongly refractive micro lenses
that collect the light rays of a larger area and direct them to the
pixels. But, the stronger the micro lenses’
refractive power, the more limited their angle of acceptance becomes.
This results in strongly refractive micro
lenses working only with the nearly perpendicular light rays.
The LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R employs a sensor without transport registers,
allowing a larger effective light-
sensitive area and in turn less refractive micro lenses with a larger
angle of acceptance that can direct even the
light rays arriving at a very strong angle to the pixel. On the other
hand, sensors without transport registers are
read out using different algorithms and therefore cannot supply the
“live” image that is customarily used for the
viewfinder image in many compact digital cameras. Since this is not
possible in SLR-cameras due to technical
reasons anyway, it does not lead to any disadvantage for the LEICA
DIGITAL-MODUL-R.

Summary
The top priority while designing the LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R was
unrestricted compatibility with the existing
Leica R system.
In digital as well as conventional photography, a lens with excellent
optical performance is mandatory for
achieving excellent pictures. The strong point of Leica lenses is their
more than ample resolution. Thanks to this
they display their outstanding image quality in digital photography even
with the popular technique of zooming
up while replaying.
The particularities of digital photography such as the protective filter
and the micro lenses’ limited angle of
acceptance were specifically taken into account while developing the
LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R. The protective
filter was made as thin as possible, the micro lenses are positioned off-
center of the pixels towards the edges
(micro lens shifting), and the critical peripheral areas do not come to
bear due to the somewhat smaller sensor
size compared to the 35mm film format. Even so, the extension factor of
1.37x is comparatively low.
We at Leica are therefore convinced that the high-performance Leica R
lenses represent a perfect match for the
LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R.

LFI LEICA FOTOGRAFIE INTERNATIONAL
4 /2004
MAY
LEICA FOTOGRAFIE INTERNATIONAL
4 194043 106501 04
ENGLISH EDITION 4 /2004
IN UNIFORM
BONDAGE,
FETISHISM OR
FANCY DRESS?
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
INSPECTION
CERTIFICATES
FOR USED
LEICA CAMERAS
DIGITAL MODULE R
IMACON FOUNDER
C. POULSEN AND
THE SECRET OF THE
LEICA SENSOR

30 LFI 4/2004
TECHNOLOGY DIGITAL MODULE R
Under normal circumstances, M and R
users get along well, but occasionally
a bit of jealousy cannot be avoided
when peeking into each others camp.
Only recently viewfinder fans got the
fortunate news that Leica intends to
present them with a digital M, without
failing to mention that, unfortunately,
they will have to hang in there another
two years. R users’ long wait is almost
FINISHING TOUCHES
Leica’s Digital Module R is nearly ready for the market. The digital back
prototypes
developed by Danish specialist Imacon are being thoroughly tested. We
paid them a visit
and got an idea of the present state of affairs.
BY HOLGER SPARR
The internal picture optimisation
program still lacks several routines,
but in front of the test chart the Digital
Module R gives off a good figure

4/2004 LFI 31
over, as Leica will be introducing the
Digital Module R in time for photokina
this September. The prototype was
almost complete in February when we
last visited the Danes at Imacon, who are
developing the digital back for Leica. In
the meanwhile, Solms is busy producing
picture samples. To date the prototypes
were anything but fully functional digital
cameras, as several internal image
optimisation functions were still lacking.
Furthermore, the moiré correction and
the automatic white balance were not
working. The many photographers dying
to get their hands on the new camera
will have to continue practicing their
patience, as the prototypes are simply
not ready – alas, this issue will not
present pictures taken with an R Digital.
Instead, the combination camera and
back unit has to continue proving its
performance by means of test charts and
climate chambers.
However, we are already convinced
by the way it handles. The digital R8 or
R9 feels like its analogue counterpart
with mounted motor drive, and the
digital control elements are intuitive. You
pick up the modified Leica R, take a few
pictures, and it feels like you have never
done anything else in your life. This is
due to careful and well thought-out
planning, not forgetting the successful
interplay between development partners
Kodak and Imacon. Kodak’s CCD chip
was the base for all further procedures
and had to be completed at an early stage
(see LFI 8/2003). Then Imacon went to
work – not only developing but also
manufacturing the Digital Module R.
EXACT COLOURS
The Danes are renowned for developing
and producing the high-quality FlexTight
scanners, which, with their internal
CCD sensors, rank them among drum
scanners. Furthermore, they build the
Ixpress digital back units for mediumformat
cameras. Just like the Digital
Module R, they run on Kodak’s expert
CCD chips. Imacon head and founder,
Christian Poulsen, relies on years of
experience with CCD technology, and
the company itself holds several patents
for its efficient usage.
How could Leica miss out on such vast
knowledge for their digital R unit?
During our visit in February, Poulsen
elaborated on the special challenges for
the development of the Digital Module R
(see our interview on the next page).
Imacon had a large influence on the
construction of the CCD converter, like
when it came to choosing the excellent
colour and infrared band elimination
filters. According to Christian Poulsen,
they have a major effect on the
sensor’s capacity to tell colours apart.
This makes the exclusive Leica sensor
relatively expensive, but it brings along
the capability of recognising colours
much more accurately than many other
digital cameras.
COOL SENSORS
The experiences with medium format
back units and their customers, who are
hard to please in terms of sharpness,
pushed Imacon to exclude an anti
aliasing filter against moiré and to
‘fake it’ by means of software. This
concept, perfected throughout the years,
now compliments the digital module for
the Leica R – with the advantage over
Imacon’s Ixpress back units that the
moiré filtering takes place directly on its
digital signal processor. According to
Christian Poulsen, it is the fastest
and best of its kind for an acceptable
price. Furthermore, it is the only one
capable of storing a complete picture –
colour corrected and moiré-free – within
fractions of a second on the memory card.
Above all the Danes are absolute leaders
when it comes to avoiding picture noise.
Their trick is to keep the sensors cool:
“Noise doubles every 7
to 10 degrees of increased sensor
temperature,” says Christian Poulsen.
“There are two ways of reducing this
problem: the chip is either actively
cooled, which is next to impossible in a
portable camera, or one ensures that it
doesn’t get hot in the first place, which
we achieve by means of intelligent
current regulation.” The recipe for this
sounds easy, but technically the
procedure is highly complex: the sensor
uses as little electricity as possible,
and this only imminently before the
exposure. The Danes own further
patented techniques for interpreting the
picture signals, in order to shrink the
chip’s appetite for energy and to keep it
cool. According to Christian Poulsen,
even Kodak is impressed with their
methods and results. Together with the
Digital Module R, this technology enters
the realm of 35 mm photography for the
first time ever.
THE FINISHING STAGES
Ever-improving prototypes are currently
travelling from Copenhagen to Leica in
Solms at ever-shorter intervals, and the
devices are being methodically checked
and optimised. The quality assurance
phase takes a lot of time, as the Digital
Module R needs to be fully functional
and achieving the ideal quality expected
from Leica, market-ready for December
of this year.
The present prototypes prove that
things are going as planned, since Leica
is already extremely satisfied with the
sharpness and resolution of the first test
samples. The only thing lacking is plenty
of fine-tuning. Without a shadow of a
doubt, Leica and its Digital Module R
will enrich the scene with an extremely
powerful digital camera.

LEICA DIGITAL-MODULE-R: Images of the first Working-Sample
Opened Digital Back with view of sensor, power unit in background
Large lighted LC display with multifunctional setting element

The LEICA DIGITAL-MODULE-R in play mode
On the frontside of the set, the only way of recognizing it as a digital
product is through the engraving
“DIGITAL-MODUL-R”

New Product Announcement

To: All Photographic Division Sales Representatives / Dealers

From: Marketing Department

Memo #: 2005-11

Date: April 22, 2004

Digital-Modul-R


We are very pleased to tell you that the Digital-Modul-R for the R8/R9
can now be ordered. The progress continues as the first working samples
of the Digital-Modul-R were sent to Solms during the month of March. We
expect to show the Digital-Modul-R at the Photokina Trade Show in Germany
in September. We expect to ship the Digital-Modul-R to dealers in
December. We are accepting orders for the Digital-Modul-R now, so be one
of the first to place your order for this exciting new product.

The pricing information and product number will help you and your dealers
as you begin the pre-selling process.
Cat# Description List MAP
14439 Digital-Modul-R $5,495 $4,995







Earn $$$ towards your LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R now

For every purchase of a new Leica R8/R9 and or a new Leica lens, from May
1, 2004 through November 31, 2004, your customer will receive a voucher
up to $300 towards the purchase of a Leica Digital-Modul-R.

Each voucher presented for the purchase of a Leica R8/R9 is worth $300,
and each voucher for the purchase of a Leica R lens is worth $200.
Vouchers will be sent to the customer upon registration of the R products
and are strictly personal and non- transferable.

Once registration is completed on the Digital-Modul-R and vouchers
received, the customer will receive a refund check for the total amount
of vouchers, not exceeding 5 vouchers.

Flyers and counter cards will be mailed to dealers as soon as available.

Barney wrote in
:

PS, My sales person had first hand contact with it in the last 24
hours.

Correction....The Sales Representative from Leica has already seen it
(about a day ago).


Barney

(Michael Scarpitti) wrote in message . com...

You're still a moron.


Your mother did a poor job of raising you, obviously, if you can't do
better than that.

The deficiently mothered Michael Scarpitti let out:

This is completely asinine. Leitz makes the best lenses on the
planet, generally.

Says who? What objective test results can you cite?

Leitz and Zeiss, as another poster succinctly summarized, use a few
different tradeoffs for subjectively more pleasing results in some
people's opinion. It's not mine. If Leica wanted to "cut heads" they'd
offer their lenses in other mounts, they don't. They're selling
mystique and bull**** to a great extent.

The other companies have told them 'no'.

The other companies generally have no say in the matter. Leica was
able to keep the M Leica mount off the open market for a long time
because they extensively patented (aspects of) it in various world
markets. In the US, patents are for a maximum of 34 years-17 years and
then one renewal for another 17. Other countries have longer terms and
manufacturers waited that length of time because they wanted market
access across those markets. If other manufacturers did that they
could-assuming their lens mounts have patentable aspects-keep third
party products off the market for their cameras as well, which they
would generally like to do. If the market is perceived to be lucrative
enough they may choose to challenge the patent, and in fact if you are
diligent enough most patents will be vulnerable to some extent.
Neither Nikon, Canon, or Pentax had any patents on their lens mount
when the Leicaflex came out and although the manual focus Canon mount
is defunct, the Nikon mount is not. The first F came out in '59 (the
Barris Monroe book is largely shot with them) and the AI has been
around a long while as well.

Both Canon and Nikon were established on the strength of their lenses
on Leica and Contax mount cameras. So Leitz had every reason to
reciprocate if they thought they could. Sorry, Leica worshippers,
Leica glass is not decisively superior (although the gift of a
Noctilux wouldn't be begrudged.)