Leica Rumors

Leica Camera AG records strong revenue growth for the 2016/2017 financial year and bucks the downward trend in the camera market

By LR admin | Published: November 30, 2017

Leica camera issued an official press release about strong revenue growth of more than 6% for the 2016/2017 financial year. The company claims to have bucked the downward trend in the camera market which declined by around 10% in the same period. Leica’s CEO Matthias Harsch expects a record-breaking result for the 2017/2018 financial year. Here is the full press release:

Posted in Leica Press Releases| Tagged financial results| 12 Comments

Leica LHSA special edition cameras and lenses

By LR admin | Published: November 30, 2017

This article on the LHSA special edition cameras and lenses is by Bill Rosauer and is republished with the permission of LHSA. For additional information on the new Leica APO-Summicron 50mm LHSA 50th anniversary lens check lhsa.org.

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the LHSA, and to commemorate this mile- stone, a new LHSA Special Edition model has been created. I have been working with Stefan Daniel and the team at Leica Camera AG for almost two years on this project. Originally, a Special Edition set consisting of a camera and lens was envisioned, but the introduction of the new Leica M10 last January changed that plan. Hopefully we will have something in the way of a Special Edition camera next year. We decided to continue on with the lens part of the project, and here is the result of the latest collaboration of the LHSA and Leica.

LHSA 50th Anniversary APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 in silver chrome

LHSA 50th Anniversary APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 in Silver Chrome pictured on an M10, and in Black Paint finish pictured on a Black Paint M2

Posted in Leica Lenses| Tagged Hammertone, Leica APO-Summicron 50mm LHSA 50th anniversary lens, Leica Hammerschlag, Leica Hammertone, LHSA| 2 Comments

Leica APO-Summicron 50mm LHSA 50th anniversary lens officially announced

By LR admin | Published: November 30, 2017

The previously rumored Leica APO-Summicron 50mm LHSA 50th anniversary lens is now officially announced. The lens will unite the classic look of the legacy Summicron 50mm f/2 from 1954 with modern technology to fully exploit the contrast and resolution offered by current digital cameras. Only 500 pieces will be produced (300 black and 200 silver chrome). The US price is $9,595. Shipping will start in January 2018. Pre-orders are now open at:

B&H: black version | silver version
Leica Store Miami: black version | silver version
PopFlash: black version | silver version

Additional information can be found on Leica’s website and on lhsa.org.

Press release:

Posted in Leica Lenses| Tagged Leica APO-Summicron 50mm LHSA 50th anniversary lens, LHSA| 12 Comments

New firmware for all Leica M cameras released, new Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH lens rumors

By LR admin | Published: November 29, 2017

Leica M-D Typ 262 camera

The first news is that Leica released a new firmware update for all of their Leica M cameras with added support for the latest two lenses:

Support for the new Thambar-M 90 f/2.2
Support for the new Noctilux-M 75 f/1.25 ASPH
A Bug, that lead to occasional underexposure when using a flash unit, was fixed (for some cameras only, not for the M10)

Here is the full list of new firmware updates released today:

Firmware update version 1.10.4.0 for Leica M10
Firmware update version 2.0.5.0 for Leica M/M-P (Typ 240)
Firmware update version 1.0.2.0 for Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246)
Firmware update version 1.0.0.7 for Leica M (Typ 262)
Firmware update version 1.0.0.5 for Leica M-D (Typ 262)
Firmware update version 1.216 for Leica M9/M9-P/M-E
Firmware update version 1.022 for Leica M Monochrom

With the help of a binary editor Nokishita discovered that a new, not yet released Leica Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH lens is listed in the new firmware update (binary editor address: 3DEEC3):

Posted in Leica Lenses, Leica M, Leica M Typ 262, Leica M-D Typ 262, Leica M-P Typ 240, Leica M10| Tagged Leica firmware, Leica Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 Asph, Noctilux| 26 Comments

Leica Noctilux-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH lens officially announced

By LR admin | Published: November 29, 2017

The previously rumored Leica Noctilux-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH lens is now officially announced. The US price is $12,795 (EU price: €11,900). Shipping is expected to start in early 2018. Pre-orders are now open:

The new lens has a shallower depth of focus than that of the Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 APSH with a close focusing distance of 0.85m and a reproduction ratio of 1:8.8:

“The optical design of the Leica Noctilux-M 75 mm f/1.25 ASPH. features nine elements in six groups. Two aspherical elements are included in the design to ensure optimum imaging performance across the entire frame. Thanks to a floating element, accurate and sharp focusing is maintained from the minimum focusing distance of 0.85m all the way to infinity.

This exceptionally short focusing distance for a fast lens, and a reproduction ratio of 1:8.8, underline the particular suitability of the lens for portraits and highly detailed close-ups.
The harmonious bokeh of the lens is the result of the round aperture created by the eleven blades of its iris. An integrated, lockable lens hood shades the lens from stray light and protects it from accidental impacts. Thanks to its enormous resolving power, the Leica 75 mm f/1.25 ASPH. is future-proof and delivers exceptional quality when capturing images onto high resolution sensors or cropping into the composition.”