NEWS UPDATE: Leica mulls b&w compact camera launch

Some key points from interviews earlier today in a very humid Berlin, Germany


  • Leica
    may adopt a touchscreen on more cameras. ‘It is something to think about,’
    said a spokesman.
  • The
    £1,350 ‘Blad adapter for the S-system would have been cheaper if Hasselblad
    had co-operated on its development, admitted a Leica source. Firm considering adapters for other professional systems
  • Leica
    bosses tight-lipped on a CSC for Photokina but ‘M family’ is very high on the agenda.
    Leica chiefs see APS-C as industry standard on any future CSC. But AP got a strong feeling that any CSC from Leica will not appear by September. Leica chairman Dr Andreas Kaufmann refused to comment when asked if bosses have gone cold on the idea, stressing Leica already has a
    compact system.
  • Leica doesn’t see Fuji CSC as a threat. Separately, it
    considers large lenses on small camera bodies somewhat ridiculous
  • Olympics
    build-up and mayoral elections scuppered Leica’s plan for the Mono M launch to be held in
    Mayfair, London. Bosses reveal that they planned to use ‘mayfair’ as the launch tagline
  • Colour
    film will only be around for five more years, predicts Leica chairman. ‘B&w may
    last longer.’
  • Leica
    may extend b&w sensor idea to cameras outside M-range, if proves a
    hit, says Leica’s product management director Stefan Daniel. ‘Who knows?’, he says. Leica sees Mono M
    as ‘broadening market’, rather than niche product, adds Kaufmann
  • Leica
    will have a massive presence at Photokina, taking over whole of one hall, but this doesn’t mean the firm will launch ’50 M-cameras’, says
    Stefan Daniel
  • Leica
    commits to S-system but won’t say when next one coming. Company invests more in S
    than M systems. Its lips are sealed on the contents of the company’s ‘5-7 year roadmap’
  • Leica
    aims to be the market leader in digital medium format. Says whole global
    market is over 6,000 units per year
  • Leica
    considered a ‘sliding-door’ as a cover for the LCD on the Mono M, to make the camera look more traditional
  • Leica
    on X2: ‘It’s important to put grin on photographer’s face
  • Leica
    considering video but points to drawbacks such as overheating and battery
    life