Phototrend always has one of the best interviews in the business – always to the point, without any influencers’ BS. They recently published their interview from the 2024 Paris Photo Show with Laurent Pidancet (head of the Leica Akademie in France). Here is a quick recap:
- 2023 was an exceptional year for Leica, and 2024 looks just as promising
- Leica M is no longer the best-selling line after the announcement of the Leica Q3: “The Q3 is clearly emerging”
- Leica has less than 2% of the photo market
- “Our main markets, whether the United States, Japan, France, or Germany, are quite balanced in terms of sales. The Japanese are particularly attached to the artisanal and mythical aspect of the brand, while Chinese customers, with a sharply increasing purchasing power, are increasingly fond of our products.”
- Leica Q3 Monochrom: “A monochrom model could well be in the pipeline. Even if it is not officially confirmed, it is common to see this evolution in the Leica product roadmap.”
- Even if Panasonic holds the patent for the 43mm f/2 APO lens in the Q3 43, Leica adds the “special sauce”: “While Panasonic might hold patents, they lack certain specificities like apochromatic lenses, which make all the difference in image quality, especially in terms of correcting chromatic aberrations and color rendering.”
