Another very interesting report from ZenitCamera.com (see also previous related posts) – the new Zenit D1 mirrorless full-frame digital camera could be a limited edition version based on the Leica M9. The Zenit D1 could launch with several new Zenitar lenses for Leica M-mount.
My understanding is that another Zenit D11 model will also be released, but the details are not clear.
The price of the new Zenit digital cameras are expected to be 30% lower than the corresponding Leica products.
It makes sense for Zenit to launch a new M-mount digital camera and lenses – after all, they have been producing fake Leica rangefinders for decades (Zorki and FED cameras were also produced in the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Factory KMZ, which also produced the Zenit single lens reflex camera):
Here is the full Google translation of the article:
Another “Renaissance of the Legend”
In the April issue of the Patriot factory newspaper, the article “Revival of the Legend” * published a very confused (or specially confused) report about the visit of the Leica Camera AG company to the delegation of the managing company of the majority shareholder of PJSC KMZ led by S. Popov, Deputy General Director of the management company. “For carrying out negotiations on the digital camera ZENIT D1 project” . In connection with the fact that the text is full of strange statements, we did not dare to publish even individual extracts for a long time, in order not to confuse the situation even more …
To begin with, the report mentions projects of different names: the one already mentioned above, and also: “Development and creation of serial production of digital cameras in PAO KMZ” and “ZENIT – the revival of the legend” . As these projects relate to each other – it is unclear. Although, most likely, it is still about one project, which, in fact, has no title yet.
The article says that during the visit technical and organizational issues related to the creation and organization of the production of the camera “limited series based on the Leica M9 – ZENIT D1 model and the new (popular) ZENIT D11 camera, taking into account the concept of Leica Camera AG” were discussed during the visit . The mention of the Leica M9 rangefinder camera in the context of what was referred to as the ” mirrorless camera segment ” is somewhat incomprehensible and most likely erroneous, since in combination of a frame size of 24 × 36 mm with interchangeable optics, it can only be a model Leica SL ** . About the “new people’s” camera D11 was mentioned only in the proposed proposal of the Russian side”On the possibility of the annual withdrawal of the ZENIT D1 Limited Edition camera in the volume of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 pieces, respectively, which will help to support the sale of ZENIT D11 cameras. ” What was discussed here – we are powerless to decipher …
When mentioning the price, it was stressed that the Russian side expects that “The ZENIT product should have a price for the end consumer 30% lower compared to the original product from Leica Camera AG. ” The reaction of the German side to such expectations in the article is not described. In general, the whole article, which is natural, describes the view of only one side.
From the German side, the designer of Leica Camera AG, Christophe Gredler, was mentioned who told “about the importance of creating an original interface in the development, which distinguishes the camera from the analogues on the market, and that three new postulates will be based on the design of the new camera: , clarity, originality . ” Why Christophe Gredler told all this, what he had in mind – the article is not explained.
In addition to the designer, Manfred Born, the head of the department for production planning and technological support, also participated in the meeting, who “demonstrated the camera on the basis of the” M “platform – it consists of 591 parts. For the assembly and production of the camera series “M”, 129 units of equipment are used. The final assembling operations on the basis of production in Wetzlar on the camera of the “M” series are 6 hours (without taking into account the standard hours for the manufacture of parts in production in Portugal). For example, the time of manufacturing the “top cover” is 19 minutes. ” – For some reason, the article emphasizes.
Based on the results of the negotiations, it was decided “to prepare a technical task for the development of an original design project for the camera” , and financially and economically “to present the initial data on the investment budget of the project in Leica Camera AG” (in fact, if you do not ask questions about which camera and the project is just talking – everything seems to be clear). For its part, Leica, says the article, “will consider the possibility of completing the ZENIT D1 camera with interchangeable lenses Zenitar-3, Zenitar-12, Zenitar-MP2, Zenitar-1/35 produced by KMZ for fixing M-mount. ” Those. production of cameras is not planned at least somehow to be transferred to Krasnogorsk, but at the same time the manager of the QMS service Sergey Vochmin noted that:”To position the product, it is important to note that ZENIT photographic equipment will be manufactured under the control of Leica Camera AG with strict compliance with all QMS requirements . ” Here, the QMS is a quality management system – ISO 9000 is the mandatory catechism inherent in modern Russian management, which, judging by what has been said, believes that product positioning is somehow connected with this series of international standards containing terms and definitions, basic principles and requirements to the QMS system, which are not the quality standards of the product itself and do not directly guarantee the high quality of the products.
In addition to photographic cases, issues related to the observation technology and film lenses Optar – at the meeting, the article notes, was attended by the director of the company CW Sonderoptic (partner Leica Camera AG in the direction of film technology) Gerhard Bayer.
After the negotiations, the parties agreed on the organization of a working meeting on the development of a design project on the basis of PAO KMZ on April 5-6, 2017. (see the next news of May 15, 2017 )
Based on the materials of the factory newspaper Patriot (April 12).
*) – On the previous article with almost the same title – “The Return of the Legend” – see the news of October 10, 2013 . It should be noted that the term “legend” is used here not in direct dictionary meaning: a poetic legend about a historical event , and not even a figurative meaning of fiction, something incredible , and in a third, dictionaries not fixed, but we hope that not in the sense of a fictitious biography, history or other narrative intended to hide the truth .
On the visit of the German side to KMZ see the news of October 31, 2016 .
**) – Or the author of the published material relates the range-measuring camera Leica M9 to the mentioned “segment of mirror-free cameras”. To this type of camera it is possible to include the words quoted above by Christophe Gredler “about the importance of creating an original interface …” , but, alas, not to long-range cameras whose interface – i.e. the way of interaction between a person and a camera is traditional and does not need any changes for the sake of difference from others. But as we warned in the beginning: the text is full of strange statements. It is possible that this happened by itself, and perhaps – it is confused specially.
