Leicarumors posted some more buzz about the next Leica May 10 announcement. That’s the stuff you may will see:
- Leica X2 with 18Megapixel sensor.
- 50mm f/2 Summicron-M lens for $3,300.00.
- New M camera with Black and White sensor and LCD screen
I really like the idea of a Black and White M camera but I suspect Leica will (as usual) sell this camera as a sort of special edition charging some $$$ extra 🙁
28 Responses
My guess is that this is the same sensor as they have today, but with the colorfilter removed.
I doubt it be the same sensor – they are in very short supply with Kodak folding as it is, also removing the bayer filter would up the sensor resolution to 72 Mpixels (4 photosities per color pixel)and even Leica’s lenses are not that good. I would expect larger pixels that would jack the ISO way up and a higher bit depth 14,16 or 18 bit(wider dynamic range)- it could be really fun…..
why would you think that ?^^
the resolution stays the same, thats the main reason why you dont want the bayer sensor, because it interpolates the color of every pixel based on the surrounding pixels, so the pixel on the sensor may have a green filter but when you interpolate with the surrounding pixels you get the “actual” rgb values of that pixel.
now, when you get rid of the bayer filter, every pixel is the real luminance readout from the sensors pixel, thats what makes it so cool 🙂
the 72mpixel are just in theory, its like “if youre used to rgb color photography” you could say that because it doesnt interpolate, its LIKE a 72mpixel picture.
anyway, if it wont have an lcd i would consider buying a bw leica x2 or m9/10, with lcd : no way!
if you want to get puristic, than dont do it halfbaked 🙂 do it, or let it
I had an M6 for 2 years. Simply frustrating idiosincratic camera.
When I saw how thwy made the M digital (you have to remove the bottom to change card or battery)I completely loose any kind of interest in their overpriced crap. I’d add that my Zeiss Contax lenses, I still use on a 5D, behaved from equally to far better than the immensely expensive Leitz M. Nowdays Leicas are fashion accessories, that should not be disguised as photographic tools. They let go the incredibly well-done and (finally!) ergonomic R8-R9 coz they were not able to go digital. They are letting go the good S2 coz they can’t keep prices and they do not understand the niche of market they tried to enter (poooor, slooow tethering!!) If they were making cameras they would have been whiped out of the market ages ago. But luckily for them, they do produce luxus fashion accessories. 😉
Shame the B&W camera is going to the a $$$ extra collectors edition M9 derivative.
M = 1000 , 10 = x10 => $10K :the price is in the date -(
A popular minimalist body with manual wind and perhaps just a S2 like top plate LCD to display a histogram would be better at say $5K.
I love the removable base plate – not a hassle at all.
I’ve replaced mine with the RRS Arca base-plate.
sadly, very sadly, I have to agree…
Either you get it or you don’t. It don’t fit my type of photography or my wallet, but I can still understand the attraction of high quality lenses, excellent mechanical design, the rangefinder viewfinder and the simplicity of a camera that’s really designed for full manual use.
i like the idea of B&W camera…
however, since they’re going to be fitting this into an M body, my guess is the body will go for $9999 USD 🙂
yup. definitely low production specialty item. read premium pricing
Of course, the mechanical emotion is deep. Feeling is extraordinary, the 1/15sec sound made me cry of joy. But the design is stuck in the 30ies, and compells you to “think in shutter priority”. Mi English is too poor to explain you all how it goes. I’m an “all manual” freak, but I use to think in “aperture priority”
Not for my way of taking pictures!
Its not that I cant afford it, but I just get so freaking angry when its so extremely overpriced! Can you imagine the kind of volume Leica would get if the cut the cost of M9 to half?
Leica is a niche market, they don’t want to sell more, they haven’t capacity to produce more. Buying Leica is like buying Rolex or Ferrari, it’s a kind of social status.
If the M9 sold for $3,000.00 maybe they’d sell 10% more. There are not that many Rangefinder fans. And they would lose the Fashion Statement market, which thrives on exclusivity.
Leica sells a lot to China theese days and has an ambition to double it’s market share.
I can agree with much of the critics above, but there is a nich-in-niche here: Photo enthusiasts with emotional ties to the Leica brand due to the brands role in (art) photo history. To them Leica is not about social status, it is a way of life.
Admin: you tagged this news as vendor “Nikon 1″…it should be “Leica”.
My “dream of” camera : Sony Sensor, Oly jpeg engine, Leica lenses, Pana video mode, Sony Evf, Pentax design, Samsung wifi and price 🙂
Great, great, great, great, great… oh no, not Pentax design! Great!
Oh, no, NOT PENTAX design any more!!
I like Fuji colors / jpeg engine more. Besides this, e.g. on the X100 there is an excellent in-camera RAW processor. So, that’s better.
But AF may come from Oly, please.
Wish Olympus / Fuji would do this.
Phase One makes a B&W digital back http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/achromatic.shtml
It would be great if Nikon or Canon made a B&W DSLR. Or Sony a B&W NEX. But I have No Interest in a B&W rangefinder camera.
I love B&W, and shoot a lot of B&W film in my Nikon F100 SLR.
I dunno, with good BW software, and more tone control appearing in cameras I am not sure how many photographers would buy a dedicated BW cam, maybe the diehards and for novelty…
Ab
I know exactly what I want: a copy of the x100 made by Leica with manual focus. Yup thats it!
3679 Leicafanboys just wet themselves.