Leica has announced the 2014 Leica Oskar Barnack Award international photography competition will be open for entries starting December 15, 2013. The winner of the main category of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award will win a cash prize of €10,000 (~ $ 13,500) in addition to a Leica M camera and lens, valued at an additional €10,000. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Just in time for the holiday season, Leica has announced a ‘Silver Edition’ of its D-Lux 6 premium compact camera, with a high-gloss black body and silver lens barrel. The camera also gets a new accessory: the Leica Soft Pouch in lambskin nappa leather, which the company says features a ‘fascinating wrap-around design’. The camera is otherwise the same as the standard D-Lux 6 (and by extension, very similar to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7).
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Panasonic quietly announced the development of a Leica DG SUMMILUX 15mm F1.7 lens, which the company says will be an ideal companion to the DMC-GM1 also released today. Details are scarce at this point, but the lens (equivalent to 30mm on a Micro Four Thirds body) will have a manual aperture ring and will ship sometime next year. Also coming in 2014 are a Leica DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm F1.2 lens, as well as a budget-friendly Lumix G 35-100mm.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Jony Ive, design mastermind at Apple, and Marc Newson, the creative force behind the thoroughly unconventional Pentax K-01, have collaborated with Leica to design a special edition Leica M for a good cause. The unique M will be sold at auction, at an event raising money for The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The one-of-a-kind camera is the product of 85 days’ work and no less than 1000 prototype parts. Click through for the full details.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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 all shutter speeds). 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.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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 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’.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Every now and then a new lens comes along, that while necessarily expensive, sets photographer’s hearts a-flutter with its potential for extreemly high image quality.
Such a lens of the new Leica 50mm f/2 APO Summicron ASPH. Our contributor Mark Dubovoy has been using one for a few weeks on his Leica M as well as on a Monocrom. Find out what Mark thinks of the new 50mm APO.
"Having been to Antarctica with Michael and Kevin, I would say after having traveled the world and shot nearly my entire life as an exhibiting photographer, it was one of my highlights in my life and I talk about it, all the time. The images and experience of seeing something visionary and nearly extinct from the world, to see and experience the wildlife and scenery that does not fear humans is amazing. The images I shot there won me two Smithsonian awards and nearly 18 other international awards". – Tim Wolcott
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These Expeditions Will Sell Out Quickly. They Always Do
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
Alongside the enthusiast-oriented DMC-GX7, Panasonic has announced the Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm F1.2 – the fastest autofocus lens ever created for the Micro Four Thirds system. If you’re getting a sense of deja vu that’s because Panasonic actually announced this lens already (sort of) at last year’s Photokina tradeshow in Cologne, Germany. But what was then a dummy lens behind glass now appears to be a real product, albeit one without any firm availability date or pricing information.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Many people are finding the Leica Vario X intriguing. It isn’t the Mini-M that "marketing" teased it would be, as discussed in our earlier report by Sean Reid, but the new diminuative Leica seems to be capturing a lot of people’s attention. Nick Rain’s new report tells us more.
"Michael’s and Jeff’s tutorial videos are absolutely awesome, not only because of the information transmitted but also because of the casual, conversational style which somehow really makes things stick in your memory."
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
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.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)