Is This the Full-Frame 18-Megapixel Leica M9 and Mysterious Leica X1?

A supposed shot of Leica's M9—expected to be announced 9/9/09—complete with specs, was found on this Flickr page that's now locked, and it looks way interesting: a full-frame 18-megapixel CCD sensor. Oh, and what's this, the Leica X1? More »

Leica M9 Appears for Four Blurry Seconds in Promo Video

Hardcore photo geeks know that Leica's M9 is supposedly due out on 09/09/09 (exactly one 9 less cool than the Sega Dreamcast's release). Now the company's second digital offering has been captured in several blurry shots from a promo. More »

Leica A La Carte Cameras Offer 4000 Different Customization Options

As a consumer, there is nothing I like more than having the option to customize a product to fit my needs. Lecia is taking this concept to extreme levels with their new a la carte ordering system. More »

Leica's S2 Is What You Get When You Crossbreed a Tank With a 37-Megapixel Pro Camera

Sorry to already shatter your expectations. An exception to the mostly mainstream camera gear we're scoping today is this working prototype of Leica's super-high-end S2 DSLR, a spartan tank of a 37-megapixel camera. More »

We're Looking at Tomorrow's Cameras Today and...Tomorrow

Today and tomorrow at the PMA photo show, we're going to be checking out tomorrow's—well, next month's and the rest of the year's—cameras.

Canon FD Adapter Brings Even More Classic Lens Compatibility To Micro Four Thirds System

We've already seen the Leica M-Mount adapter; now, Canon FD lenses are compatible with Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds system and its Lumix DMC-G1. More »

Leica Adds to Compact Camera Range: C-Lux 3 and D-Lux 4 Now Official

Rather different to the high-end M8.2 rangefinder, Leica's two other new cameras are aimed more at the compact digital camera snapper. The C-Lux 3 is the simpler, but still has a 10-megapixel sensor, 25-125mm zoom, optical image stabilization, face recognition and auto scene mode detection. The C-Lux 4 is a slightly more specialized beast, since its lenses are designed to take adapters to adjust the zoom range, and it has a hot shoe for either an external flash or an optical viewfinder. The C-Lux 3's due out in October, while the D-Lux 4's out later in the year, pricing for both still to be announced is around $840 for the D, and $600 for the C. Press releases below. More »

Leica's $11,000 Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 Lens Is a Nightvision Owl Eye For Your Camera

Yeah, you read that right: f/ zero point nine five. As in less than f/1, which was where Leica's legendary Noctilux was positioned before and as low as Canon goes with their 50mm f/1.0L glass, making it the world's fastest major consumer lens on the market today (f-numbers are logarithmic, so that's over a full exposure stop lower for over double the light of an f/1.4 lens). The new Noctilux was leaked by a French magazine with details of a Photokina release later this month, and it looks like it'll use Leica's standard M mount, so it will work with your M8 digital or any other M-mount camera (Epson RD-1s owners, all five of you!) to let you take pictures like this: More »

Bisected Lenses Are Mechanically Intricate Yet Poetically Utilitarian

While it's not uncommon to get a glimpse into the intricate inner-workings of fine watches, it's rare that we get the same opportunity to see what's under the hood of classic cameras. Here's a bilateral slice of a Leitz lens that was part of a 1930s Leica camera—sitting over a plain red backdrop, its stoic mechanics border on high art. Taken from the Deutshes Technikmuseum Berlin, Wired has a whole gallery of gorgeous photography photography. Hit the link and enjoy. [Wired and DTMB]

Leica Ad Pixelates Man's Best Friend

In one of the cleverer advertisements we've seen of late, Leica is proposing that you "see it in more detail" with their D-Lux 3 by placing a pixelated dog in various real world scenes. It's a strangely effective technique, but we can't believe that someone would be so cruel to do that to a dog. Shame on you, Leica. Bad! Bad! More »

Leica M8 Getting Full-Frame Sensor at Photokina?

Even though a Leica rep explicitly told us at PMA that there would be no M9 or M10—Leica plans to perpetually upgrade the Inspector Gadget of digital cameras, the M8, instead—some customers received a letter from the big L that a full-frame M camera is on the way. More »

Leica M8: A Camera for Life

Leica fanatics are different than regular people, so it's no surprise Leica's taking an entirely different—but brilliant—approach with its M8: It's everlasting. Instead of dropping an M9 or M10, Leica is offering substantial upgrades to the M8 itself—mechanical and digital components, so it'll slowly evolve into a new camera. The first package is a sapphire LCD screen, which can only be scratched by a diamond, plus a new, quieter, less shaky shutter, at a cost of around $1,800. More »

Panasonic Intros Lumix DMC-FX33 and DMC-FX55, Two Smart Little Cameras

Today, Panasonic is launching the Lumix FX33 and FX55, two 8 megapixel cameras with 28mm wide-angle 3.6X optical zoom Leica lenses. The DMC-FX55, with a 3" LCD, will sell for $349 in silver, black and pink; the DMC-FX33, with 2.5" LCD, will go for $299 and come in silver, black, blue and brown. I know, you're sick of hearing about shiny, pocketsized cameras. I just have to say, I played around with these two, and they have something called "Intelligent Auto Mode" (no, don't think about Knight Rider) that might make them stand out. More »

Leica C-Lux 2: Elegant Point-Shooter, Quick on the Draw

We're big Leica fans around here, even if you're talking about the point-and-shoot C-Lux 2. An update of last year's C-Lux 1, it raises its megapixels to 7.2 but keeps that 2.5-inch viewscreen in the back. More »

PMA 07: Minox Leica M3 Replica of a Classic Updated

We're not sure who buys these Minox Leica M3 mini-replica cameras, but they sure are cute. They've updated the old one with an LCD on the back and a 3.2-megapixel sensor inside (though they advertise it as a 5MP through interpolation). More »

Leica Gun Camera Appeals to Trigger-happy Photographers

Though it looks like it could blow a hole through a steel door, what you're looking at is a 400mm picture camera from Leica. Dubbed the Leica Gun, it's part of a rare camera auction taking place on January 28th through Tamarkin Photographica and eBay Live Auctions. While it looks like it can scare the pants off of the meanest DSLR out there, I can't imagine you'd have much luck getting your subjects to sit still when shooting with it. – Louis Ramirez More »

Leica's Plans To Fix the Flawed M8 Flagship...Kinda

After recognizing that its Leica M8 camera had various problems like IR sensitivity and banding, the company's announced a plan to fix early adopter's cameras free of charge. More »

Leica M8 Having Issues Other Than Being Really Expensive

It looks like Leica's M8 has been giving early customers problems, with a recall likely. They released a statement on their message boards, check it: More »

Leica M8 Digital Rangefinder Cam Tour

You remember Leica's M8, their first rangefinder camera with a CCD inside its gut? The video obsessed editors at Camcorder Info dot com give it a decent look over at Photokina. Their verdict? Seems like a serious piece of kit, with a metal body and 10.3 megapixel eye. The surprises include an automated sensor cleaning mode, and the fact that the camera is, well, what they call big boned. Click through to see the video, dictated by some very serious european guy.–Brian Lam More »

Leica V-Lux Digicam Has 12x Zoom, Can't Swap Lenses

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Leica Digilux 3 SLR Interchanges Lenses

Interchangeability comes to the Leica Digilux line with the Digilux 3, the latest small-body SLR from the company that never seems to change its retro look. Equipped with the newly designed Leica D Vario-Elmarit F/2.8-3.5/14-50 lens, which can be swapped for other sizes (a Digilux first.) The camera is complemented by image stabilizing lenses that ensures crisp images in the harshest of situations — though heavy alcohol intake by the photographer is not listed as one of them on the company's Web site. This baby ups the resolution from 5 to 7.5 —megapixels over its predecessor, the Digilux 2, which retailed for $1850. Expect this one to blow the bank too when its October release rolls around. And know that this is the same camera as the Panasonic DMC-L1 that we saw earlier this year, but with Leica-specified image processing.–Brett Bull More »

Leica M8: Best of the Old and New

Leica goes a long way toward recapturing its glory days with the M8, which harkens to the time when the company's famed rangefinder, mirrored reflex system and fine lenses ruled the camera world. In fact, the M8 is the first digital iteration of Leica's M-series, and naturally, its combination of old-school metal body and digital technology takes advantage of every lens ever made by Leica since 1954. More »

Leica M Lens Encoding

For use with their upcoming digital M camera, Leica's announcing a 6-bit encoding scheme for all new M lenses. Each lens will have a unique 6-bit code that will be recognized by the M camera, which can be used to identify the lens and optimize image quality. The M camera will also store that information into image metadata for easy reference in image editing applications. More »

Leica Disto A5 Laser Distancemeter

Formerly the bastion of builders, landscapers and real estate agents, now laser measuring fun comes to the (well-heeled) masses with the Leica Disto A5. In a form factor that looks more like a cellphone than a measuring device, the A5 lets you point its laser beam at any object and its exact distance is read back to you. With its range of a few inches up to 600 feet, you can use it indoors or out, and its optical viewfinder helps you zero in on those faraway objects. Available now for $450. More »

Leica C-Lux 1

This is the latest in Leica's digital cameras. It comes in an elegant black metal exterior and measures 2-inches by 4-inches. This is a 6-megapixel camera that also features an ultra-short shutter delay, precise auto-focus measurement and a slew of other options. The ease of use, size, quality and large 2.5-inch screen would make this camera excellent for any situation. More »

Epson R-D1s Looks Like a Film Camera, Isnt

Epson has added a few software updates to its R-D1, and now the result is the R-D1s, a rangefinder camera that's trying as hard as it can to look like an old-school film camera. It's a 6.1-megapixel model whose main claim to fame is that it uses the Leica M and L lenses, known and loved by pro photogs the world over for their rugged constitution and unparalleled sharpness. Heck, it even looks kinda like a Leica. We like-a. Even though its film advance lever is used to navigate its digital menus, the fact that it's a digital camera is betrayed by its 2-inch viewfinder. This update to the groundbreaking R-D1 will be available on March 28, but pricing hasn't been announced. More »