We got info from a highly reliable source about a new Leica camera which is going to be announced on June 10:
1) It looks like a Leica monochrome but is smaller.
2) has a 28mm summilux 1.7 fixed lens.
3) full frame sensor (no info on Megapixel number yet)
4) has image stabilization.
5) Evf
Sounds a lot like a high end version of the current Sony RX1. As usual don’t expect this to be a low priced cam!
10 Responses
f/1.7 sounds an awful lot like Panasonic!
Right. My thought exactly. I was hoping for some special product, like an M camera with a fixed 28mm MANUAL lens (Elmarit, f2.8).
Considering how much the new f1.4 28mm summilux costs I doubt it will find a place on this camera.
At this point, I keep my fingers crossed and in the meanwhile I wait for some rumors about the next RicohGR.
Leica seems to be afraid or to be suffering to offer a normal FF IL product at a more competitive pricing than this far too expensive M.240. Say a credible ME replacement. It looks like a second attempt to fill a niche – that – does it really exists? How much money is being saved by a fixed lens concept like this… instead of offering a real ‘entry level’ M, rumored a few times? This is the kind of product that you buy to fulfull finaly your Leica dream, find out it isn’t really fitting your needs and when you want to sell it again after a few years – you’ll find out is just worth pocket-money on the second hands market. See Fuji X100. Praised in every review but try to sell one – even in a very good shape – on the second hands market and you’ll see what I mean. There are even shops selling second hands material that don’t want to take over this kind of stuff anymore since it never makes credible money anymore.
Doesn’t that apply to all digital cameras?
As we said, almost a month ago…
http://lavidaleica.com/content/leica-q-type-116-coming-next-month
You told no specs.
Sure we did. 😉
‘and you can have it for 6 low monthly payments of 1,999$’:)
Maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t get the 28mm focal length. OK, I grew up with crappy PnS digital cameras with zooms that start from 28mm (and I always used them without the zoom anyways). And nowadays most cameras on phones have roughly the same field of view as 28mm. So it ought to be the most familiar focal length. But maybe that’s the problem I’ve got with 28mm. For me it’s not wide enough to have any meaningful perspective distortion to make shots, such as landscape, stand out (I’d prefer <24mm). But it's also not narrow enough to avoid perspective distortion ruin things (like in portraits and close ups, in which case I'd prefer >35mm). Instead of an all-round focal length, I find 28mm a bit “neither here nor there”. My personal favourite is 40mm, which combines the attributes of both the 35mm and the 50mm. That’s more “best of both worlds” for me. If this Leica has a 40mm lens (I can take 35mm), I’d seriously consider it.
Just hope they don’t follow Sony and offer a camera without a builtin viewfinder.
The problem with this kind of camera is that we pay for a prime quality lens fixed to a body that will loose value too fast, and at Leica prices that will even be greater than with RX1.
The only solution would be to offer the impossible – the ultimate camera (a non existing thing) that could last as long as Leica M3.