Leica has long held a reputation for
providing camera models that cause users of other brands to be
jealous of the extreme quality that Leica products are known for.
These new Leica models are likely to
stir the same feelings, as they are premium products offering the
best quality you can expect get in a camera, and the move to Digital
has not deterred Lecia’s goal of offering cameras and lenses that
most other manufacturers would not dare to offer; given today’s
economy.
But, for photographers that want the
very best gear available, Leica products have a unique niche, where
second place is just not good enough.
So, getting to “brass tacks”, for
starters, Leica announced a new 24-Megapixel Model dubbed the Leica
M.
The Leica M is the first in a long line
of Leica rangefinder cameras to feature a completely new development
in sensor technology; featuring a 24MP full frame (35mm format)
sensor that was designed and constructed especially for this camera,
optimized for use with Lecia M and R lenses.
Read more about the new Leica M here.
Leica also announced a new rangefinder
model dubbed the Leica M-E, equipped with a high resolution 18MP CCD
sensor that is also full frame (35mm format), designed to get the
best out of existing Leica lenses with a special micro lens design
that makes it more tolerant of oblique light rays on its surface,
insuring uniform exposures and extreme sharpness from corner to
corner. This new sensor comes without a low pass filter for more
sharpness than you’d typically expect from a digital camera with its
specifications. Instead, the Licea M-E is using sophisticated
processing techniques to get the best image quality possible.
Read more about the new Leica M-E here.
To please photographers wanting even
more than full frame cameras using the latest 35mm format sensors
can provide, Leica also announced a new Leica S System Camera Body
equipped with a new 37-Megapixel Medium Format Sensor and three new
S System lenses to go with it; including the Leica Super-Elmar-S 24
mm f/3.5 ASPH. super-wide , the Leica Vario-Elmar-S 30-90 mm
f/3.5-5.6 ASPH. and the Leica TS-APO-Elmar-S 120 mm f/5.6 ASPH.
tilt/shift lens.
Read more about the new Leica S System
Camera Body and Lenses here.
Leica also announced a new model dubbed
the D-Lux 6, which has a freshly designed Leica Summilix lens offering
a 35mm equivalent zoom range of 24-90mm. The D-Lux 6 is designed to be a camera with
a more versatile focal length range for everything from landscape
photography to use by photojournalists. Leicas says the new lens
design is even faster than in previous models, providing more
suitability for available light photography, especially considering
the newly designed 1.7″ CMOS sensor that was developed for this
camera model. To provide even greater versatility, photographers
can set its sensitivity all the way to ISO 12,800 to allow image
capture in the most challenging lighting conditions.
Read more about the new Leica D-Lux 6
here.
Amazingly, Leica also announced the new
Leica V-Lux 4, a compact camera design using a high performance Leica
lens with a 35mm equivalent focal range of 25-600mm. So, it appears
that Leica wants to offer high quality cameras for virtually any
photographer’s needs, and wants to expand their presence in the very
crowded digital point-n-shoot market, with a variety of new models designed
to offer virtually anything a photographer would want.
Read more about the new Leica V-Lux 4
here.
