News tagged with "leica"

Leica has announced the Elmarit-S 45 mm f/2.8 ASPH lens for its medium format S system. With an angle of view equivalent to a 35mm lens on full frame, it offers a classic moderate wide-angle field of view. Like several of the other S lenses it'll be available in two versions, either with or without an in-lens 'Central Shutter' (that allows flash sync at shutter speeds up to 1/1000 sec). At the same time, Leica is offering firmware updates for its S, S2 and S2-P cameras to give 'optimum functionality' with the lens. The Elmarit-S 45 mm f/2.8 ASPH will be in dealers this month at a price of £4650, or £5500 for the CS model.

Leica has announced an enthusiast compact with a 12MP 1/1.7" MOS sensor, 28-200mm equivalent F2.0-5.9 zoom, and built-in 200k dot EVF, which it's calling simply the Leica C (Typ 112). If the specs look familiar, that's because this is essentially Leica's reworking of the Panasonic DMC-LF1.  It offers such goodies as Full HD movie recording, optical image stabilisation, built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, and RAW format recording. It'll be available in October with a choice of two rather fetching finishes, 'Dark Red' and 'Light Gold'.     

Anyone who's traveled by train has seen the landscape outside of their car moving by in a blur. While most of us turn our attention back to our reading material and mobile devices, artist Rolf Sachs' finds inspiration. His photo series, called 'Camera in Motion,' aims to capture the effect of the blurred landscapes outside of his train traveling between Switzerland and Italy. The resulting images walk a line between landscape photography and surrealist art. Click through to see some of his work.

New York Times writer Nick Bilton recently wrote an article about his experience with Leica cameras and lenses, and was surprised when this was met by an aggressive influx of 'vehement messages from all kinds of photographers and camera fans'. Not only did Canon and Nikon fans attack him for not writing a similar piece about their favorite brands, but according to Bilton many Leica fans were also critical of his article, as well as his selection of 'experts'. Click through for more on this surprising development.

Leica has announced a special edition of its D-lux 6 high-end compact camera, in collaboration with clothing manufacturer G-Star RAW. The special D-Lux 6 (itself arguably a 'special edition' Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7) will be available from Leica Stores and Boutiques worldwide, and is expected to cost around $1300. What do you get for your money? Well, 'a new dot structure on the leather body trim' and a leather case with 'exclusive carrying strap'. Excited? Click through for more details. 

Leica has officially announced its much-teased (and leaked) X Vario - the world's first compact camera with an APS-C sensor and fixed zoom lens. Its Vario Elmar 18-46mm 1:3.5-6.4 ASPH lens offers a 28-70mm equivalent range, and sits in front of a 16.1MP CMOS sensor. Viewing is via a 920k dot 3" LCD, or the same optional plug-in EVF as used by the M Typ 240 and X2. The camera has control dials on the top plate for shutter speed and aperture, and zoom and focus rings around the lens barrel. The price tag is a hefty $2850/£2250.

Leica has announced that it has a 'new family member' coming on June 11th and, as the German manufacturer continues to tease what it's calling the 'Mini M' on its website, a photo has emerged which may reveal more details about the forthcoming camera. A French iPad app has published what seems to be an advertisement for the new Mini M and, if genuine, it reveals that the Mini M will sport a 16MP APS-C sensor and an 28-70mm (equivalent) F3.5-6.4 zoom lens. Click through for more (alleged) details.

Leica has placed a teaser on its Facebook page for a new 'Mini M' camera to be launched on June 11th, that apparently will slot into its range between the M rangefinder and the X2 fixed-lens compact. It's given no other details, but we think it could make sense for the company to produce a full-time live view version of the M Typ 240, using the same sensor but with the expensive rangefinder assembly removed. This would result in a 24MP full frame mirrorless camera that would be able to use almost any manual focus SLR or rangefinder lens ever made, without a field-of-view crop. 

Stephan Schulz, the Head of Professional Photo at Leica Camera AG has given an interview to Forbes.com in which he explains the opportunities - and challenges - of moving into the professional digital medium-format marketplace. Traditionally identified with 35mm (film and latterly 'full frame' digital), Leica announced the creation of the S2 back in 2009, and followed it with the 37MP late last year. Click through for some extracts, and a link to the full interview at Forbes.com.

What is an ideal camera for today's smartphone generation? Designers Vincent Sall, Dae jin Ahn and Chun hyun Park have created designs to explore the question. Inspired by the Leica X2, Vincent Sall envisions a Leica X3 that is an extremely mobile version of the high-end compact that folds up and communicates with a smartphone to share its images. Korean designers Dae jin Ahn and Chun hyun Park have put together a modular camera design calling it the Equinox. Click through for pictures and more information about the concepts. 

DxO Labs has released version 8.1.3 of its DxO Optics Pro software. The Elite edition extends support to the Leica M-E, M9, and M9-P rangefinders. Both the Elite and Standard versions gain Nikon D5200, Panasonic DMC-FZ200, and Canon SX50 HS support. The update also adds 260 lens and cameras combinations for Canon, Leica, Panasonic, Sigma, Sony, Tamron, Tokina, and Zeiss users. These modules join the existing list of over 10,000 combinations.

Just Posted: Our real world samples gallery from the Leica X2. Following the Sigma DP series, Leica was one of the first companies to offer a large sensor in a compact-bodied camera with its X1. The X2 retains its predecessor's 36mm equivalent F2.8 lens but adds a 16MP APS-C CMOS sensor. We've been shooting the X2 in a variety of lighting situations and at a range of apertures to give a taste for what the camera can do. The 49-image gallery includes a selection of Adobe Camera Raw conversions as well as out-of-camera JPEGs.

The medium format S system was 'the biggest risk Leica has ever taken,' says Stephan Schulz, the company's head of Professional Imaging. But, with the latest S 'our goal is to become market leader,' he says. We spoke to Schulz about his strategy to give professionals faith in the system and how the new Hasselblad adapter will help the company regain the professional market it lost in the 1980s. He also explains why only people with no experience of medium format see the Nikon D800 as a threat to the 37.5MP 'S.'

Leica has announced that it is in discussions with Sir Jonathan Ive - chief designer at Apple - about designing a unique, one-of-a-kind version of its new M rangefinder. In a statement to the British Journal of Photography, Leica has confirmed that the intention is for the resulting camera to be auctioned for charity in summer 2013. Sir Jonathan Ive is one of the most well-known industrial designers in the world, and is responsible for the design of some of Apple's most iconic products, including the iMac and iPhone.

Photokina 2012 is proving a busy show for Leica, with two new M models, the 'M', which succeeds the M9, and offers live view and movie mode, among other refinements, and the ME - a cut-down model, which offers the same functionality as the M9 at a more affordable price. Barnaby Britton caught up with M product manager Jesko von Oeynhausen at the Leica stand.

Photokina 2012: Leica has announced its latest M series rangefinder - the 24MP CMOS Leica M. The company says all future M models will also simply be called the 'M'. The latest model (referred to as 'Typ 240') becomes the first of its rangefinders to feature live view, and offers a choice of magnified view or focus peaking for precise through-the-lens focusing, allowing Leica to promise compatibilty with R-mount lenses. It also becomes the first M capable of movie shooting - capturing 1080p footage at 25 or 24 frames per second. It includes a 920k dot LCD with smartphone-style Gorilla Glass cover, and accepts the same plug-in EVF as used by the X2. Availability is scheduled for early 2013 with a retail price of $6,950 in the US and £5100 in the UK.

Photokina 2012: Leica has announced a more affordable rangefinder: the Leica M-E. Built around the familiar full-frame 18MP CCD, the company describes the M-E as being a stripped-back camera, offering just the basics required for photography. Its core specifications are essentially the same as the M9's, including an ISO range of 160-2500, 0.68x magnification viewfinder, and the same 230k dot 2.5" screen. It'll be available from Leica dealers later this month with a retail price of $5,450 in the US and £3900 in the UK.

Photokina 2012: Leica has announced its latest S series medium format camera body. The new model retains its predecessor's 37.5MP resolution but has improved image processing, a sensitivity  range of ISO 100-1600, a 2GB image buffer and 166MB/s transfer rate. A new predictive AF system and 920k dot resolution rear LCD panel round out the highlights, along with an internal GPS module. The camera will be available in December for a retail price of US $21,950. Three new lenses for the system have also been announced; the Super-Elmar-S 24 mm f/3.5 ASPH, Vario-Elmar-S 30-90 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH and TS-APO- Elmar-S 120 mm f/5.6 ASPH. tilt/shift lens.

Leica has announced the D-Lux 6 - a fast-lensed compact designed for enthusiast photographers. It's Leica's reworking of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, and shares that model's key features; a super-fast F1.4-2.3 24-90mm equivalent lens in front of a 10.1MP 1/1.7" CMOS sensor. It has an aperture ring around the lens, records FullHD movies at 60fps, and accepts a high resolution plug-in electronic viewfinder, the EVF3.

Photokina 2012: Leica has revealed the V-Lux 4 - a 24X superzoom with an impressive constant F2.8 lens and high-resolution electronic viewfinder. That fast lens means that it should be easier to capture high-quality images at the full extent of the zoom, without having to use high ISO settings. It also has a 1.3m dot equivalent electronic viewfinder and a 460k dot, 3" articulated screen. The V-Lux 4 can also shoot at 12 frames per second and can capture 1080p video at 60fps or 720p at up to 120fps.