Leica was originally formed in 1913 and is now comprised of three divisions - Leica Camera AG, Leica Geosystems AG and Leica Microsystems. Leica Camera AG produces all the world famous Leica rangefinder cameras such as the Leica M6 and the legendary Leica lenses. Over recent years, Leica has collaborated with Panasonic to produce a wide range of sophisticated digital compact cameras such as the D-Lux 3 as well as the M8 digital rangefinder camera.
Together with Panasonic, Leica produced its first digital SLR camera - the Leica Digilux 3. This digital SLR was released late in 2006 and is fitted with a bayonet lens mount conforming to the Four Thirds standard. The Leica Digilux 3 is basically the same as the Panasonic DMC-L1 but with a Leica image processing engine. All recent Leica digital slr cameras are listed below.
Leica Digital SLR Cameras 2007 - 2010
Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder Camera
- New Kodak 18 megapixel full frame 36x24mm CCD sensor.
- Available from September 2009 for approx. $6,995.
- Leica M9 is NOT a digital SLR but a digital rangefinder with interchangeable lenses and quality which equals or exceeds most digital slr cameras.
- Leica M-mount lenses supporting 16 to 135mm. 2.5" LCD.
- Full manual controls. RAW & Jpeg. ISO from 80 to 2500.
- Shutter speeds 32 secs to 1/4000 plus bulb. Hotshoe.
- Styled in the classic Leica tradition with ultra strong body.
- Available in black or steel gray body. SD/SDHC cards.
- No anti-aliasing filter which leads to extremely sharp images.
- Flash sync. 1/180 sec. Shoots at upto 8 fps. Lithium-Ion battery.
- Size 139 x 80 x 37mm. Body including battery weighs 589g. Buy from Amazon
Leica S2 Professional Digital SLR Camera
- New Kodak 37.5 megapixel CCD sensor - 30 x 45mm.
- Sensor is 56% larger than 35mm full frame sensors.
- Dual shutter. In body focal plane shutter & leaf shutter.
- Weatherproof body. Hotshoe. Full manual controls.
- Maestro image processing. Faster than medium format backs.
- 9 new lenses including 24mm, 30mm tilt & shift, 35mm, 70mm standard, 30-90mm zoom, 100mm, 120mm macro, 180mm & 350mm telephoto. All lenses have leaf shutters.
- Leica S2 body is similar size to full frame digital SLR. Buy from Amazon
Leica Digilux 3 Digital SLR Camera
- Available September 2006. Four Thirds Standard D-SLR.
- Based on Panasonic DMC-L1 & Olympus E-330.
- 7.5 megapixel live MOS sensor.
-
Shutter speed 60 - 1/4000. X-sync 1/160.
- Hotshoe. Full manual controls. Jpeg shooting 3 fps. RAW.
- 2.5" LCD with 207k pixels and live view.
-
Weight 606 g inc. batteries. Size 146 x 87 x 77mm. Buy from Amazon