DxO has published a test of three very costly Leica digital rangefinder cameras, heirs to the legendary M-series of film cameras. The results of the objective test are not pretty: “these cameras offer the worst image quality DxOMark have tested on a full frame sensor, with the exception of the 10-year-old Canon EOS 1Ds.”
The CCD sensors in these Leicas turn in numbers that are more like those of a point-and-shoot Sony RX100 and far behind the disposably-priced-by-comparison Sony NEX cameras.
Either the objective tests are missing a lot of what is important to the human eye or humans who praise the results from these Leicas in non-blind tests are highly suggestible.
The Leicas today are about the user interface that some people love and the Kodak? CCD blue plus sensor has a signature subjective visual effect that none of the current CMOS sensors can replicate. I am not exactly sure what it is but I have never quite been able to reproduce that effect in an image other than in an Olympus E-1 (first gen 4/3 rd camera). I have not used the current series of digital Ms. This sensor will never test high on an objective resolution test, but those who love this sensor know what it is. FWIW, the current Pentax 645 Digital uses the same series of sensors albeit with higher resolution.
As the owner of a previous-generation M8 (which likely tests worse than the current digital M cameras) and a Nikon D800, which did very well on the DxO tests, I’d point out that the strength of the Leica M system isn’t in the imaging sensors, but the optics and the accuracy of rangefinder focusing under some situations, particularly in low light. Whenever I’ve shot with the Leica, I get a few images that are really surprisingly pleasing and many that I wouldn’t show anyone. I feel that shooting with the D800 is a lot more consistent but the high points don’t feel as interesting to me. And, interestingly enough, I feel more comfortable with the Nikon.
I wouldn’t say the DxO tests aren’t meaningful, but there’s a lot more to the question of what camera will give the photographer a better picture than what they’re testing. My iPhone has made some great pictures under optimal conditions and when it’s been what I had there at a good moment.
With wine and cameras, we humans seem to assess quality without actually using quality as a factor. I bring up wine, also, because it’s a hobby of mine to give my wine snob friends blind taste tests with their favorite expensive wine and the cheapest box wine I can find of the same varietal, and consistently, not only do not not prefer their expensive wine, but they can’t even select it based on taste.
Anyway, when the Canon 5D Mark III was new I did a review of it and hundreds of people got *mad* at me for saying the image quality wasn’t improved over the 5D Mark II. I tried putting a blind test on an online photography forum, and people who had already bought the 5D Mark III consistently refused to take the test, saying it was a trick. They’d participate in the discussion by saying the new camera was much better and refuting my test, but they wouldn’t take the test.
I did give my blind test to several photographer friends and photo editors, and they couldn’t detect a difference, and neither could DxO, so I feel good about my own results, but the *angry* responses I continue to get from 5D Mark III owners still fascinates me. They tell me I don’t know what i’m doing, that I’m a troll, or that I have a bad copy, but they have *no* data.
Anyway, cameras are a big purchase and people like to think they make smart buying choices, so cognitive dissonance will adjust people’s reality to make it consistent with their self image. Those Leicas are very specialized cameras, and the brand is built on a history and reputation that people think reflects on them when they merely make a purchase. So, to me, your findings in the Leica world are consistent with my findings in the Canon world.
RN: If those sensors are made by Kodak they could have used that fact to impress the bankruptcy judge when the managers wiped out the shareholders via the Chapter 11 filing! “We did such a great job that our sensors are in $10,000 Leica cameras!”