This won’t happen: A Leica branded Panasonic MFT camera 馃檪
The.me confirmed to us that the new Leica system camera will have an APS-C sensor. The camera will be made by Panasonic and Leica will stick their logo on it 馃檪
I can add via my sources that price will be in between $1,500 and $2,000!
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17 Responses
Wait a minute, if it’s REALLY made to compete in the APS-C market even in price and Leica manages to put Panasonic’s video on it, this is tempting, VERY tempting.
Well at least they have a market. Much will depend from the sensor, how good it is not only at low ISO but also at high.
If it has the same or better performance than the M series, then the dice will be thrown, because then it will challenge both Fuji and Olympus, with the additional advantage of the brand, but I am dreaming.
Read the reviews of the X-Vario, to have an idea.
Unless you have to use Panasonic lenses.
M mount?!
With panasonic’s af, this would put fuji xt1 in a hard time!
Its hard to imagine Leica doing anything wildly different than the X-Vario … but what might be more interesting is how much the lenses will cost. Fuji seems to get away with selling primes for 1000, and there are even more expensive Leica branded panasonic 4/3 lenses, so could a single 50mm Leica fast prime cost north of 1500? Or even more?
That would be a lot of beans for an APS-C camera. But then its a Leica and they have different ideas about things 馃檪
Interesting to speculate what Panasonic might get out of this. If Panasonic are also making the lenses, this is a springboard to a Panasonic move into the mirrorless APS-C ground – kind of a reversal of Leica rebadging Pany cameras and doubling the price. Who knows, it may leave Panasonic clear to bring out a cut-price Leica clone. Copping out of m4/3 gracefully? – hmm, place your bets now.
I would guess Panasonic is just happy to be an OEM partner and get some extra revenue. It’s not uncommon, same with sensors.
Indeed. I’m quite sure Olympus will be getting it’s own A7/R-style camera out of the deal with Sony at some point in the future. Fuji also has a full frame X camera in the works.
Panasonic might be betting on a second horse with APS-C because it’s a great format for video.
I find it an incredibly dumb move as it diminishes the brand value of micro four thirds. The difference in sensor performance between a 1.9x crop and 1.5x crop is microscopic, and having Leica as a brand聽ambassador on micro four thirds would have been great for everyone. Now, instead, they make it look like micro four thirds is not good enough for Leica standards, yet they expect you to pay $1600 for a Leica-branded micro four thirds lens. Poor marketing.
So my thinking is a Lumix GX7 with an APS-C seize sensor and a red Leica dot – why not ? it can take a larger mount – the GM1 is a prove of that –
The GX7 is an awesome camera and the body shape fits right in line with Leica’s style –
They might take out some of the features and make the body a bit more plain –
So why not – Panasonic have a great image processor in the GX7 – LCD etc etc –
This will give Leica a chance to sell high priced lenses – the GX7 sensor is also very good – so all they had to do is make it larger –
I think they are following the Sony A7/r model – price the body reasonably and make the money on lenses –
( Sony putting out more Zeiss lenses then G lenses for the A7/r )
I am glad that it is not a FF – as it makes no sense to have FF sensor in such small bodies – the focus should be on improving the sensor – (like Sony with their Exmor R sensor – made it back-lit etc) – Full frame lenses are huge – like the Sony FE 70-200mm F4.0 – huge and heavy and looks stupid on the A7/r and it is not even a F2.8 – So APS-C is better – it would also give Panasonic an option to venture into APS-C to compete with Fuji X adn Sony axxxxx series – although I think with the new Organic sensor next year Panasonic will be fully competitive with low light performance of the M43 vs the APS-C sensors from Fuji and Sony –
Anyway that is my thinking 馃檪
We were all wishing for a GX7 with red dot. But instead, it will be a Vario X with interchangeable lens.
Your comment that full frame makes no sense in small bodies is moot. Roughly equivalent lenses will always be roughly the same size regardless of format. Here are some examples:
35mm prime: http://camerasize.com/compact/#487.394,289.383,ha,t
fast zoom: http://camerasize.com/compact/#487.393,289.412,ha,t
50mm prime: http://camerasize.com/compact/#213.278,289.411,ha,t
And of course a 70-200 f/4 will be big, how big is the equivalent Olympus 35-100 f/2 ?
And inb4 the light gathering fanboys begin: I shoot the FE 35/2.8 and the Olympus 17/1.8 side by side day in day out. These lenses are almost equivalent in the images they produce, and the “light gathering” advantage of the f/1.8 on MFT is non-existent: the FE captures infinitely more detail on the full frame sensor with far better noise performance.
First step to get away from the M4/3 system, Panasonic wants to diversify in order not to be an also run like Samsung. Promising!
What is the point of this camera. A panasonic with APSC sensor. So what?
Leica fills a gap in its lineup for an “affordable” system with Auto lenses…… Panasonic hedges its bets against M43 hitting its IQ limits (which has already happened)
Hmm…so, APS-C at 24MP must have hit its IQ limits also, since it’s at a similar pixel density. How interesting.
Frankly, would have loved to hear that Lecia teamed up with Olympus on this…. A Leica camera with a 24mp APS-C size sensor from Sony and Oly’s 5 axis IS, the WR build quality and EVF of the EM1 …. with Leica and Oly making the lenses that with the excellent in-body IS the lenses could be smaller and lighter… Oh well….
A Panasonic camera made in China, a Sony sensor made in Japan and an optional, priced like gold, viewfinder made in Thailand. All put together elsewhere with a red dot made in Portugal and a price made in Germany.