Desmolicious wrote:
I know it’s just Monday and the start of the week but…. Having a marketing dood w no photo experience running Leica means he’s going to try to spin film scratching M6s:
“zee vonderful sing about zee ehm6 is each vun haz its own unique signature viz ze vay it autographs zee film emulsion. Vot vee haff created here iz somefink like ay Kabbage Patch Doll. But viz a kamera.
Each von iz zee same but different. No zwei ehm6 kameras vill haff der same markings on der film.”
I heard his number one priority is to stop Desmolicious from talking about film scratching...either by stopping production of all film cameras or by firing the entire scratch team.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I heard his number one priority is to stop Desmolicious from talking about film scratching...either by stopping production of all film cameras or by firing the entire scratch team.
Excellent. That’s exciting news. But maybe, just maybe, perhaps there’s a third option ….
Or perhaps they need a whole new approach. Surely a company as ingenious as Leica could start from scratch, so to speak.
(I’m resisting the temptation to say that when I were a lad, we dreamt of having film to scratch ….)
PS. I hear that Leica have some really, really good golfers (with zero handicaps).
Fred Miranda wrote:
I heard his number one priority is to stop Desmolicious from talking about film scratching...either by stopping production of all film cameras or by firing the entire scratch team.
I heard differently: like the last time Leica hired a boss coming from a traditional luxury industry, he would fire the entire digital team (again) because they have been able to design a sensor that scratches images.
theHUN wrote:
I would have thought a camera company would have a bit more competence in portrait photography.
It's not anymore. It's a luxury brand company. So they will increase the prices.
It looks like the chief Millenial dude is wearing a fancy mechanical watch, probably does not do half as much as an Apple Watch.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I heard his number one priority is to stop Desmolicious from talking about film scratching...either by stopping production of all film cameras or by firing the entire scratch team.
LBJ2 wrote:
I suspected the Leica designed sensor might be for the new Leica Medium Frame mirrorless camera. But there have been some unconfirmed forum chatter the MF project might be in trouble. Also, I think I read somewhere but don't know, the Leica designed sensor has already been in development for a few years now.
Although not officially confirmed by Leica yet, the rumors have been confirmed by 3-4 people with good Leica connections, so it is probably safe at this point to assume the project is dead. That being said, the S4 project might have been far enough along to derive the M12 sensor from (just like the M10-R sensor was derived from the S3).
SlowDriver wrote:
Although not officially confirmed by Leica yet, the rumors have been confirmed by 3-4 people with good Leica connections, so it is probably safe at this point to assume the project is dead. That being said, the S4 project might have been far enough along to derive the M12 sensor from (just like the M10-R sensor was derived from the S3).
Doesn't take much to think why the project is likely dead - the smaller the cameras, the better they sell for Leica. M- and Q-series sell best. The larger SL with bulkier AF-based L lenses - not so well. The risk is too high that a larger digital medium format camera won't sell so well either. Plus, there are already quite competitive options on the market from Hasselblad and Fuji. Too risky for Leica to go this route - I would agree.
LBJ2 wrote:
It's an intentional and stylized lighting approach for sure by Oliver Vogler. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill executive headshot--this is Leica after all. The overall composition seems to be in line with other/previous Leica leadership portraits.
I like it and I am fairly confident it went through several experienced hands before being selected for publication. Likewise there are several what appear to be carefully placed cues in the frame as well. BTW, that watch worn by the new CEO is an important signal IMO.
The lighting in this portrait reminds me of a branding package a client developed for staff portraiture to make it look like direct sunlight coming through a window. The branding photos were really, really well done, but they were all twenty-something models with amazing (probably retouched) complexions - not 'real' people who work at a typical corporate desk job. And the photographer probably had as much time as s/he wanted to perfect the 'sun-kissed' lighting effect. Meanwhile, I was given 15 minutes with the sixty-something CEO, lol. Actually the location we had could have worked very well for the sunlight effect look, with real sunlight, had the CEO been able to arrive one hour earlier while I was setting up. Instead, by the time he arrived, the sun had shifted and the effect was greatly diminished... Anyway, the Leica portrait is probably supposed to look a bit like 'spotlight' or sunlight. I just think the light is not far enough off-camera to avoid it looking like a handheld off-camera speedlite flash, or a video spotlight. I would have at least raised the light, if it couldn't be laterally more off-axis, so that it would have put his mild double-chin into full shadow.
But I agree with the point that imperfections make it feel more real. Too perfect a photo has its own issues.
I'm not going to be too critical because having been in these situations, behind the camera, we don't know what challenges the photographer faced.
