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Novoflex has answered our wishes for the Micro Four Thirds system: a €150 ($US192) adaptor will now mate Leica M-mount lenses--some of the best glass ever made--with cameras like the Panasonic Lumix G1.
Companies that aren't Canon or Nikon have it rough in the digital camera market--particularly outside the cheap point-and-shoot area. Some band together for strength in numbers, creating cooperative standards like Panasonic, Olympus and Leica's new Micro Four Thirds system--a spec for smaller cameras with digital viewfinders like a compact, but interchangeable lenses, manual controls and higher performance like a DSLR. We tested Panasonic's 13-megapixel Lumix G1, paying close attention to the fact that it's the first contender in a totally new camera category and--like that other G1, the Android smartphone--it sets the stage for what's to come.
Leica's been busy lately, on the fetishistic high-end as always; their ultra-fast f/0.95 Noctilux lens wowed us a few weeks back, the new M8.2 digital rangefinder and C-Lux and D-Lux compacts also hit, and now they've expanded their digital range to include the S-series ultra high-res DSLR. Aimed at studio pros who would have been medium-format shooters in the film world (advertising, fashion, etc), the S2's specs as leaked in this page from Professional Photographer magazine are characteristically audacious for Leica.
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 stabilisation, face recognition and auto scene mode detection. The C-Lux 4 is a slightly more specialised 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 US$840 for the D, and US$600 for the C. Press releases below.
Leica have stumped up with a new digital version of the classic M8 rangefinder, after their original M8 upgrade program, and dubbed it the M8.2. The company obviously subscribes to the "don't mess with a classic" design philosophy, so there's not much to see in the way of changes here but they are there.
Blurring the line between single-lens reflex and standard point-and-shoot digitals, Panasonic introduces its first Micro Four Thirds-standard camera, the Lumix DMC-G1. At its unveiling, it's the world's smallest and lightest camera that takes interchangeable lenses. Here are the details on this incredibly cute not-quite-pro, not-quite-'sumer 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 consumer lenses 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:
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]
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!
According to the designers at Transparent House, the idea behind the Perspecktiva lamp was " to integrate an iconic object into modern day life while maintaining the qualities of art and function." In this case the "iconic object" was a vintage camera inspired by the classic Leica design. The result is a work of art that should appeal to just about anyone—especially Hollywood hopefuls that dream that they too will one day have to file a restraining order against a paparazzo. Too bad it is only a concept at this point. Video after the break.
