The world-renowned Magnum photographer is the first awardee of the prize sponsored by Leica Camera AG
Solms, Germany/St. Moritz, Switzerland (September 7, 2011) – Magnum photographer Steve McCurry is the winner of the inaugural Leica Hall of Fame Award. During the “Tribute to Photography” night on September 1st, an event within the framework of the St. Moritz Art Masters in Switzerland, Steve McCurry was awarded the prize donated by Leica Camera AG: a Leica M9-P with the engraved name of the award and Steve McCurry’s hand-written signature.
More than 250 Leica, Rollei, Nikon rangefinder, and other unusual photographic items will be sold to camera collectors around the world in the Tamarkin’s October auction.
After my yesterday’s post about the rumor that Leica M10 will have live view capabilities, I got some interesting comments from readers about the possibilities of adding new technologies in the next M camera. Here is John’s comment:
It’s quite possible that the next digital Leica M (M10?) will include “live view”. IMHO, the hint can be found in the latest top of the line CCD from Kodak: the KAI-29050. This new 24x36mm 29 megapixel (!) sensor is an “interline transfer” sensor (i.e. not the traditional “full frame” technology used by Leica so far). A product summary pdf file has recently been added. See the bottom of the page: http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Image_Sensor_Solutions/Products/Interline_CCD.htm (direct link to the PDF file of the Kodak KAI-29050 sensor).
While I agree that the “video” factor might not be that appealing to most Leica M users (myself included), I believe that there is another key advantage to using this new (to Leica) interline transfer technology: by using the KAI-29050’s built-in electronic shutter (which does not exist in a “full-frame” sensor), Leica would be able to carry out essential calculations to achieve vastly improved (more accurate) exposure and white balance, milliseconds before the actual exposure.
In such case, the use of the Leica S2’s MAESTRO “ASIC” chip would be of considerable help to do the number crinching. There’s another rumor for you: the Leica M10 will use the MAESTRO chip! 😉
