Leica’s sales up 17 % thanks to the M9

Leica's own equipment used in one of the M9 classes in the Leica SIS - over $100k on the table!

Leica's own equipment getting ready for a M9 class - over $100k on the table!

Today Leica announced their Q3 results for fiscal year 2009/2010:

“Sales growth of 17 % compared to the previous year – positive result for the quarter confirms the course adopted at the beginning of the fiscal year

Leica Camera Group closed the third quarter with sales in the amount of € 48.1 million (previous year: € 41.1 million). The sales increase mainly results from the doubling of sales of the Leica M system, on the strength of the Leica M9 rangefinder camera presented in September 2009. The period under review also saw the start of delivery of the professional camera system Leica S2. In addition, products of the Leica sports optics range also contributed to the increase in sales.

For the third quarter the Company therefore achieved a positive result in the amount of € 4.8 million. This corresponds to an improvement of € 5.4 million vis-à- vis the comparable prior year period. The improved result is due to the increase in sales, higher contribution margins, as well as the success of cost cutting measures relating to other operating expenses. Currently, Leica Camera Group still shows a net loss for the year of € 4.8 million, which will be further reduced during the fiscal year.”

The full report can be downloaded here.

Posted in Leica M9| 2 Comments

Leica Noctilux will no longer be the only f/0.95 lens in production today

See all details @ PhotoRumors.com. I wonder if Noktor will offer this lens with different mounts.

Posted in Other Leica Stuff| Tagged | 7 Comments

Digital Camera Raw Compatibility 3.0 released

Digital Camera Raw Compatibility update 3.0 was released with Leica D-Lux 4 support.

Posted in Leica D-Lux| 1 Comment

Another M8.2 in white

There has been few sightings of this rare white M8.2 – here is another one (the original white limited edition was a M8).

M8.2 in WHITE

M8.2 in WHITE
Originally uploaded by TK / SILLY THING™

Several white Leica M8 cameras are available on eBay.

Posted in Leica M| Tagged , | 3 Comments

Apple’s Aperture 3 released, now with Leica D-Lux 4 support

Today Apple released Aperture 3 with RAW support for Leica D-Lux 4. Leica M9 is not on the list of supported cameras.

Amazon is now taking Aperture 3 pre-orders.

Posted in Leica D-Lux| 2 Comments

Leica related news/links

  • Leica AG is hiring! According to the local newspaper Wetzlarer Neuen Zeitung Leica is looking to hire new employees due to the high demand for their new products. The new positions are:

Industrial Electrician
Industrial Mechanic
Mechatroniker
Industry Sales
IT Specialist
Media Designer
Graphic
Software Developer

“Lam revealed that the company is developing of a cloud-based digital camera that has strong portability and a selling price of less than US$200 and believes the device will create a threat for existing digital camera players such as Canon and Nikon.”

Posted in Leica M| 2 Comments

New Leica Lens Compendium book and a free Leica pocket guide

Erwin Puts announced on his website that there will be a new version of the Leica Lens Compendium book which should be available shortly (this explains why the old version goes for over $1000on on eBay and on Amazon).

Erwin Puts also published a 129 pages Leica Pocket Guide that can be downloaded for free here.

Posted in Other Leica Stuff| Tagged , | 3 Comments