(High credibility rumor):
Image on top shows the Leica SL with 24-90mm zoom lens.
Yep, our source was right and Leica is indeed going to announce their completely new SL Full Frame mirrorless and autofocus system on October 20! And Leica will announce three new SL lenses with the following specs:
– Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 1: 2.8-4 / 24-90 mm ASPH.
– Leica Apo-Vario-Elmarit-SL 1: 2.8-4 / 90-280 mm
– Leica Summilux-SL 1: 1.4 / 50 mm ASPH.
I have been told this is an extremely expensive cameras. I don’t think this can be a real Sony FE system competitor. It will remain a luxury product for the niche and rich photographers market.
–
Lens info via Digicameinfo!
17 Responses
Now, the million dollar question is, are these “SL” lenses also LS?
THAT is what I have been asking! If so the “extremely expensive” part is less important.
Also, What do they mean by “extremely expensive”? Non-Leica-philes scream at any number over $1000.
You misspelled ‘idiots’ in your last sentence.
So wonderful that every person with a keyboard can get on the web and have the opportunity to look stupid.
Pot, meet kettle.
Pretty good. In few years you may get the hang of really average trolling.
Guess we’ll see what happens first. Me obtaining the glorious ‘average troll’ award, or your balls dropping.
I think you never tried a Leica.
I think you’re the comedic relief at parties and must get invited to them all the time.
Back in its days, the Leica R was an excellent camera, and the lenses were excellent, too. The question always was, what is there to warrant the huge price difference to other SLRs. Lens tests reliably found Leica lenses to be the absolutely best, but the best Japanese lenses often were similarly good. When the Leica R3 was still out there, I used to shoot with what was its technical base, the Minolta XE-1, and I didn’t miss much except spot metering. Stopped down, even a cheap Hanimex 28mm lens which I used in my early days didn’t show significant disadvantages in landscape photography when compared to a 28mm Elmarit on Kodachrome 64, and we already used to do some serious pixel-peeping back then…
Now the few pieces of information regarding the new SL seem to promise a very interesting camera, and those lens specs seem very reasonable. If I was in for a full-frame camera and if I could somehow come up with the money, I very probably would be very interested. Fortunately, as the former is not the case, for I do much supertele and macro stuff, I don’t have to worry over the latter. But I see how this may become a very attractive camera for many. If it will be three of four times as expensive as a Sony, though, which is not really cheap in the first place, it would have to justify that with at least a little more than just offering a similar camera with similar Image quality and a similar feature set.
Splat splat… The sound of beaten Sony managers seeking honorable death
We’ll see who laughs in 5 years.
Before Leica sold niche products, and since Sony FF, Leica has become the niche of a niche.
If it’s really priced around 8000$, Sony has nothing to worry about, it will be a totally different world. But I have to admit that a 24-90 2.8-4 seems pretty cool… This camera is even in some way more dangerous for Leica itself than for Sony… As long as Leica was just releasing rangefinder, everybody could say “it’s a very different camera, different purpose, niche product, etc, etc” Now that they are joining the mirrorless race with a probably more conventional camera, every comparison with Sony will probably end in a “is it worth the extra 5000$”?
At that price point, get a prior gen Leica S if you want Leica, or even better, get a 645Z
Sony get yo @ss beat buy Leicapana – Samsung alliance!
As a long-time R fan (a minority, for sure) I am planning to buy the SL and all three lenses.
When I win the lottery.
If those zooms are real they look very interesting. 90-280mm? And f/4.0 at the long end? I’ll never be willing to pay what Leica is going to ask though…