Dear Wetzlar, Leica Customers Really Don't Want the New Noctilux, M10 Reporter Edition, etc

So there’s been some hubbub on the street. Apparently, the folks at Wetzlar really did go ahead and released (or rather re-released) one of their greatest hits - the Leica 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux-M ASPH in homage to the Double Aspherical legend. Given my commitment to asceticism, you think I wouldn’t bat an eye about the news. And besides, why would I? I already have the original greatest hit. But being the conscientious blogger that I am, I suppose that duty would compel me to weigh-in on this most recent of announcements.

There’s also that new Leica M10 Reporter Edition. Yawn. For a moment, I thought it was a titanium version M10. Apparently, it isn’t. The leaked photos were all very enticing, misleading me with poor lighting that made the new rangefinder appear somewhat titanium in look. Instead, it’s just scratch proof paint. How scratch proof, I wonder? Scratch proof to the extent that an oaf like me can accidentally drop the camera from five to six feet onto concrete pavement without having it suffer everlasting scars of negligence? I really doubt it.

Maybe, that’s what the kevlar is for - for oafish bunglers prone to dropping their precious camera on the hard pavement. Now, if they made a titanium M10 with kevlar - or better yet - an analog titanium MP with kevlar! Oh, wouldn’t that be special. That would be the bees knees. Of course, something as epic as that would never see the light of day. Still we can dream. But in receiving the news on both the re-release and limited edition run, it makes me wonder how the folks at Wetzlar hatch up these uninspiring product ideas in the first place!

Fujifilm Provia 400X (expired 2014) @ 35mm. Cropped. First frame of the roll. — ISO 400 Film of Unknown Providence & Questionable Storage @ 35mm Focal Length. Cropped. First frame of the roll.

Fujifilm Provia 400X (expired 2014) @ 35mm — ISO 400 Film of Unknown Providence & Questionable Storage @ 35mm Focal Length

Fujifilm Provia 400X (expired unknown) @ 35mm and cropped for the impression of closer focusing — ISO 400 Film of Unknown Providence & Questionable Storage @ 35mm Focal Length and cropped for the impression of closer focusing

Nobody ever said it’s easy to come up with fresh new product ideas. And with a venerable marque like Leica, that observation cannot be more true. Like many of you, I believe the folks at Wetzlar have run out of rabbits to pull out of their hats. For the last two years, their new product offering hasn’t been especially innovative, given a reliance on greatest hit re-releases (like the Leica 90mm f/2.2 Thambar-M), special limited edition runs (like the Leica M10-P Ghost Edition), and impractical halo products (like the Leica 90mm f/1.5 Summilux-M ASPH).

If none of that gets us running to the checkout - in-store or online - then obviously the next course of action for the folks at Wetzlar is to go on the high resolution bandwagon. In other words, fit the current version M digital rangefinder with a mega-megapixel sensor and complement it with a line of new apochromatic lenses that can better retain detail definition under high magnification - because as we all know - who doesn’t want to see very fine details like skin blemishes and dental plaque at extreme magnification on a smartphone?

Of course, the folks at Wetzlar could also go on the high ISO and dynamic range kick. But seriously, how much more flexibility in low light do we really need? Moreover, what good would high ISO and dynamic range be on a manual focus rangefinder? Obviously, it would offer us increased flexibility in editing the exposure and color balance after the fact. But then, what use would any of that newfangled aid be if the photographer cannot see well enough in low light to actually hit focus through the optical viewfinder at the moment of documentation?

Fujifilm Provia 400X (expired 2014) @ 35mm + Fill Flash

In trying to figure out what new products to develop next, the folks at Wetzlar have forgotten about the needs of their most loyal customers base. Most of us want to use our gear. We do not want to leave so-called limited edition halo product re-releases in the dry box. We actually want to take photos with what we have. So, we do not need high resolution, improved light sensitivity, and increased dynamic range. Why would we? Most of our photos are intended for the small screen, taken under sufficient light, and not in need of extensive editing.

Believe it or not, most of us want to take photos as close as possible to what we saw through the viewfinder at the moment of capture. None of that disingenuous trickery of cropping photos from wide angle to telephoto focal lengths for just a smidgen of the frame. And as for the exposure and color balance of the photo, sure we want it to look as optimal as possible. But, we seriously do not need crafty intervention at many times multiple to tweak a photo that is only a little off in exposure and color balance. Most of us are capable photographers.

As for our lenses, we don’t want fast lenses if it means more bulk. We just want the sweet spot between giving ourselves that edge in low light and not breaking our back in extended lugging. In other words, we just want a lens that we want to use all the time… that is a joy to carry around… that can execute ninety-nine percent of all our documentary needs. For that reason, we don’t need super-fast halo products that does not make sense in the real world. What we need is a lens that can offer us a useful capability that we can use most of the time.

So, what is it that true Leica M-mount rangefinder enthusiasts want from the folks at Wetzlar? Frankly, we want to be able to photograph closer than 2.3 ft (or 0.7m). More to the point, we want to be able to document all our dining-out experience without needing to crop our photos after the fact. We want to be able to shoot closer to our food so that our gastronomic delights fill the frame with just a minimum of surrounding negative space. In addition, we might also want to photograph all matter of nature - animal, vegetable, or mineral - closer up.

There are many occasions when we need to photograph fine details closer up. However, we can’t because of the pesky limitations presented by the rangefinder’s focus coupling. But with the advent of electronic viewing standard on today’s digital cameras, which negates the need for focus coupling, the prospect of native closer focusing is at long last within reach. That means we can finally fit in frame our appetizing proof of gastronomic keepsakes. For that reason, wouldn’t it make sense for the folks of Wetzlar to develop these lenses?

I mean, just imagine the potential sales windfall from such a new product line! Overnight, no one will want any older lens handicapped by a 2.3 ft minimum focusing distance limit. And with every lens they currently have in production, Leica can offer us the same lens with the tiniest modification of a slightly longer focusing throw to accommodate a closer minimum focusing distance. With that one simple change, every self described foodie or naturalist or fine detail connoisseur will clamor for the upgrade given what closer shooting can offer.

We know it can be done. The Leica 21mm f/4 Super Angulon-M and the Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron-M “Dual Range” are both examples of M-mount lenses that can shoot at much closer focusing distance. But somehow, the folks at Wetzlar decided to make 2.3 ft as their knee-jerk minimum focusing distance. In any event, what use would a closer focusing lens be for film photographers like me? It’s not as if Leica film cameras come with electronic viewing. Well, the hope is for Leica to accommodate us with optical viewing adapters (or goggles).

It really is a crying shame that Leica hasn’t demonstrated more interest in closer focusing. All throughout this photowalk, I would have killed for a 35mm lens that could photograph closer than 2.3 ft. Had I had such a lens, I would have had the appropriate tool to provide better subject isolation for my customary hand or shoe shots - being the placeholders I include in every photoset to break up the monotony of environmental portraitures taken at routine shooting distances. As a result, there are no properly isolated close up shots in this photoset.

Anyway, food for thought from foodies who want to document their food indulgences at the appropriate close shooting distance in order to optimize framing without the fuss of after-the-fact cropping in post. And if you’re taking notes over there at Wetzlar, a next generation M-mount digital rangefinder with a native hybrid electric viewfinder would be what the doctor ordered. Or at the very least, it’s what the doctor would prescribe for the failing eyesights of your aging core customers. If anything, native electronic viewing is what they really want.

Besides, such an imagined M-mount camera would pair nicely with lenses that can focus closer than allowed by a rangefinder’s focus coupling. Plus it will rid that pesky parallax issue, especially at close focusing range.

Mind you, this doesn’t mean the new re-release of the Leica 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux-M ASPH or the Leica M10-P Reporter Edition will not find takers. However, I just feel that the folks at Wetzlar are not seeing the forest from the collectable tree. Thing is this, the Leica marque was founded on substantive reasons like quality cameras and lenses. And if they fail to add to their illustrious history by riding on their branded coattails, I fear that the brand will lose its meaning. Real photographers need real gear. Not just gear for show!

Re-releases, limited edition runs, and halo products are all fine, as long as substantive new products are also made. So does this mean I will skip this greatest hit re-release? Well, to be fair to the beancounters at Wetzlar, something about the lens did catch my eye. It’s one of those features that one only notices if one actually uses the lens.

Fujifilm Provia 400X (expired 2014) @ 35mm - What 35mm at 2.3 ft (or 0.7m) looks like… give or take.

Again, special thanks to Melissa for filling in a second time. And last, I am not a foodie. I know many of you are, so I’m just speaking on your behalf.

Disclaimer

Feb 7 Dear Wetzlar, Leica Customers Really Don't Want the New Noctilux, M10 Reporter Edition, etc

Disclaimer

Feb 7 Dear Wetzlar, Leica Customers Really Don't Want the New Noctilux, M10 Reporter Edition, etc

Feb 27 The Obsession of Online Searches for Gear

Jan 12 The Fallacy of Too Much Gear