14 years ago, S1 was Leica’s first digital camera

By LR admin | Published: December 9, 2010
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leica s1 front 14 years ago, S1 was Leicas first digital camera

Gizmodo reminded us today that 20 years ago Leica introduced their first digital camera - the S1. For the record, Leica S1 was introduced 14 years ago, in 1996. The original B&H article is a nice read to give us an idea how much technology has progressed in the past 14 years.

Here are some of the Leica S1 specs:

  • 26MP 36×36 mm sensor
  • Designed for Leica R lenses but provided mounts for all other major lenses manufacturers
  • 11-stops dynamic range
  • only 160 cameras were produced

Few more pictures of the Leica S1 after the break (source: eBay).

leica s1 lens 14 years ago, S1 was Leicas first digital camera

leica s1 back 14 years ago, S1 was Leicas first digital camera

leica s1 side 14 years ago, S1 was Leicas first digital camera

leica s1 mount 14 years ago, S1 was Leicas first digital camera

Related posts:

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  3. Leica & Magnum: New York, ten years later by Chris Anderson (video)
  4. Celebrities and their Leicas (part 2)
  5. Celebrities and their Leicas (part 1)

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8 Comments

  1. Axel
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 3:49 am | Permalink

    Sounds like Leica should have stuck with it for a few more years. Nikon should be catching up any year now.

    • Discontinued
      Posted December 10, 2010 at 12:21 pm | Permalink

      Good one ! ! !

      How come Leica never managed to bring a good R-solution? All they ever managed was a crop-factor 1.3 back of 9MP for the last R if I recall correctly. I really liked the fact, that they made digital available for a really good non-AF-SLR-system and was considering the jump from Nikon to Leica. Luckily I didn’t.

      Still a shame. It worked well with the M-system at the end and I would love to buy a digital R of same or higher RES.

      Probably Nikon is catching up before that happens.

  2. Jorgen
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 3:54 am | Permalink

    Wow, that’s pretty amazing. Any sample pictures available that were made with it?

    • LR admin
      Posted December 10, 2010 at 11:44 pm | Permalink

      I could not find any – with only 160 cameras produced, samples will be hard to find.

  3. sporty883
    Posted December 10, 2010 at 4:43 am | Permalink

    The product manager for the S1 showed the camera and images to the agency I was working for in 1997ish. An image took 30 seconds to take (iirc) but the quality was unparalleled. He showed pictures from his hotel room in Lisbon and we were able to read the sign on a satellite dish a few hundred meters away.

    Also when shooting with Leica lenses, the images were razor-sharp (by 1990s definition), while Nikon or Canon lenses’ loss of sharpness was visible in at least one R/G/B channel in Photoshop.

    But these were dark days for Leica, when they did not know where to move and couldn’t get their products to market.

    • AB
      Posted December 13, 2010 at 11:20 am | Permalink

      “An image took 30 seconds to take but the quality was unparalleled”

      I find it ironic that it says “S1 High Speed” on the front of the camera.

  4. James
    Posted December 11, 2010 at 9:06 am | Permalink

    If you’re calling someone out for getting the anniversary wrong, you should at least get it right in the title of your post.

  5. Leiconian
    Posted December 11, 2010 at 11:20 am | Permalink

    The design is just great – a lifestyle product with high-tech inside.