Leica Announces SL Type 601 Mirrorless Camera

brad-man

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Jun 6, 2012
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3kramd5 said:
scyrene said:
3kramd5 said:
Xyclopx said:
the mirror someday will not offer any advantage

It's hard to envision a future in which a mirror doesn't offer a power advantage over an electronic viewfinder.

Well, moving the mirror out the way must take a *teensy* bit of power, right? Could even out eventually?

I expect displays to become more power hungry. Even if they go to OLED, with increases in resolution and brightness, the power consumption of an EVF will be greater than that of moving a flimsy mirror.

That's OK. The space savings from eliminating the mirror box, pentaprism, etc. will ultimately allow for larger, more powerful (and more expensive) batteries.
 
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Mar 2, 2012
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brad-man said:
3kramd5 said:
scyrene said:
3kramd5 said:
Xyclopx said:
the mirror someday will not offer any advantage

It's hard to envision a future in which a mirror doesn't offer a power advantage over an electronic viewfinder.

Well, moving the mirror out the way must take a *teensy* bit of power, right? Could even out eventually?

I expect displays to become more power hungry. Even if they go to OLED, with increases in resolution and brightness, the power consumption of an EVF will be greater than that of moving a flimsy mirror.

That's OK. The space savings from eliminating the mirror box, pentaprism, etc. will ultimately allow for larger, more powerful (and more expensive) batteries.

Agreed, manufacturers could fill in the space with batteries and thermal management. I wish Sony did something like that with the alpha series (A7R2 owner), even if the additional battery isn't removable due to location (plug in and get additional charge).

However, the point stands: a mirror and OVF will always hold a power advantage over an EVF.
 
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Mar 18, 2015
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I don't think that EVF power is a limiting factor. They can just use a bigger battery.

The problem is that Canon's optical viewfinders have been getting worse. The 5Ds is fuzzy, and it's overlaid with useless information. The unique selling point for an SLR is the great real-time view it affords, but that selling point is lost if you make a camera with a poor viewfinder.
Trouble is, good viewfinders aren't cheap. You basically need the optics from a high quality telescope, a super-fine and bright screen, and you need to assemble it with extraordinary precision. The mirror box has to be within a few microns of its optimal location, and it has to stay that way through years of abuse.

I really hope that Canon will finally decide to tackle this engineering issue. The path they chose for the 5Ds hasn't worked out; you've got 50 megapixels, but you can only see a fraction of that information in the viewfinder. It may as well be mirrorless because you need to use live-view if you want to nail focus.
 
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Sporgon said:
scyrene said:
3kramd5 said:
Xyclopx said:
the mirror someday will not offer any advantage

It's hard to envision a future in which a mirror doesn't offer a power advantage over an electronic viewfinder.

Well, moving the mirror out the way must take a *teensy* bit of power, right? Could even out eventually?

Not if its done by mechanical springs.

Springs! Clever. Lucky I'm not an engineer.
 
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Bernard said:
The path they chose for the 5Ds hasn't worked out; you've got 50 megapixels, but you can only see a fraction of that information in the viewfinder. It may as well be mirrorless because you need to use live-view if you want to nail focus.
I disagree. I have no problem with the 5DSR viewfinder. The lack of alternative focusing screens is annoying though. However, if that is your main concern, you can buy a custom made focusing screen and then the problem is gone. I have had an S-screen made by www.focusingscreens.com installed for the last couple of weeks and, with a little bit of practice, I nail focus on f1.4 lenses (@f1.4), like the Otus 55 and 85. I did the same with the 5DIII and I use a standard Canon Ec-S on my 1DX.
 
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Mar 18, 2015
139
2
Eldar,

I think that Canon should do even better than that. They need to offer an optical viewfinder that blows EVFs into the weeds: more magnification, better brightness, better contrast. Something like an Arriflex (film) VF, or a Hasselblad finder.

I know they can do it. They're an optics company, and this is an optics problem. There was no reason to improve when their main competition was Nikon, which also offers poor viewfinders. The market has changed, they can either step-up or face long-term irrelevance.
 
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