Leica raised a lot of false hopes when they ran teaser ads for a Mini-M. Instead, we got an X with a slow zoom lens.
Our regular contributor Sean Reid comments on this new camera in an essay titled Waiting for Monroe.
Phase One is now running a special at 50% off for Capture One Express 7 and 20% off Capture One Pro.
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
I’m giving a plug here for my friend Sean Reid and his subscription web site, Reidreviews.
Sean has just published the first review of the new Leica X Vario, which was announced this morning. This is bound to be a somewhat controversial camera (which new Leica isn’t), and if you are interested in what it might havw to offer you then Sean’s write-ups are always a great place to find out what’s what.
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
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. As we’d expect from Leica the camera has a full set of traditional analogue controls for shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation, along with a hefty price tag of £2250.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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, and we don’t yet know what’s coming, 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 rangerfinder assembly removed. This would result in a 24MP full frame mirrorless camera that would able to use almost any manual focus SLR or rangefinder lens ever made, without a field of view crop. What kind of camera would you like Leica to make? Let us know in the comments.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
DxO Labs has released version 8.1.6 of its DxO Optics Pro software. Both the Elite and Standard versions gain support for the Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i, Nikon Coolpix A and Coolpix P330, Pentax MX-1, and Sony NEX-3N. The Elite version also gains support for the Leica M. The update also adds 267 lens and cameras combinations to its library, with a list of over 12,000 combinations now available. Click through for the download link.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Last week I had an opportunity to shoot with the new Leica M for the first time along with with Sean Reid of Reidreviews and our own Mark Dubovoy. We did photography, talked equipment and did a lengthly video round table discussions about the current state of Leica M cameras and the whole non-reflex camera environment.
The video will appear soon, but today I am publishing my Leica M First Impressions Report and Sean’s write-up on our get-together.
"Every time I go back to a module I had already seen, I learn additional things. I have never seen tutorials that have the excellent mix of what the features are,
how to use them, enough of the under-the-hood information
and concepts so that I can utilize the features creatively and efficiently,
and just enough humor to keep the motivation level high. Wow!"
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
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. It reminds us of the Ricoh’s GXR modular system. The ‘core’ consists of the sensor and lens mount that can be attached to various kinds of camera body shells to step it up from a compact interchangeable lens camera to a large DSLR. (via Yanko Design & Petapixel)
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
What’s a Leica M lens user to do while waiting for the new Leica M (240)? Put his lenses on a NEX-7, of course, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past few months while living and shooting in Mexico this winter.
How has that worked out for me? Read Waiting For The New M and find out.
You may also wish to check our Sean Reid’s subscription web site Reid Reviews. He has just published today a review of the Sony RX-1, my favourite new camera of the past six months. He also has
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New