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Hands-on with Leica's super-rare $19,400 M Edition 60
As of this writing, 15,000 Euro is the equivalent of $19,400 -- a very reasonable exchange rate indeed, and a fair price to pay for a mid-range car or a year of college. Only a select few can justify handing over that sum for a digital camera, however, regardless of the exclusivity that comes in tow. Leica's counting on at least a few die-hard fans to fork over the cash, though, for the M Edition 60, a very special model created to celebrate the M system's 60th anniversary. Only 600 have been made, and each is numbered between 001 and 600. Most peculiar is what this camera doesn't include -- a display, menu system, electronic viewfinder or any indicators at all, besides a tiny red light that flashes when the SD card is in use.
Leica M-E is a $5,450 M9 with new color scheme, minor feature exclusions (hands-on video)
Don't have the $6,500 to spare to pick up a Leica M9? You might consider the freshly announced M-E, which carries a similar feature set and a slightly more palatable $5,450 price tag. The camera includes the same 18-megapixel sensor as the M9, but drops relatively minor features like a built-in USB port (you'll need to pop out your SD card to download pics). It's nearly identical to the pricier model, with a low-res (230k-dot) 2.5-inch LCD and an ISO range of 160-2500. Unlike the "new M," announced alongside the M-E, the latter model does not offer live-view functionality, so you'll only be using the LCD to make settings adjustments and for reviewing images, anyway. Shot framing will be handled with the 0.68x viewfinder, positioned at the top left of the camera. Aesthetically, you might find the M-E to be a bit more pleasing, with a muted gray/black color scheme -- we found it to be quite nice during out hands-on at Photokina. The camera itself looks like an M9 with a hint of Michael Graves-esque simplicity -- there's a silver shutter speed dial up top, with soft numbering and positions that range from bulb to 1/4000 second. There's also a matching power toggle/shutter release, along with the standard suite of playback and ISO controls on the rear. As we mentioned, the 2.5-inch display offers a bit lower resolution than what we'd like to see, making it less than ideal for verifying image sharpness, for example, so if the LCD marks high on your list of priorities, you'll probably do best to wait for the "new M" (M10) to hit early next year. Otherwise, the M-E appears to be a capable camera, but M9 owners should hang tight -- there's not much to see here. The M-E is available for purchase now, for about $5,450 (or €4,800 in Europe), and you can sneak a peek in our gallery below, and the hands-on video after the break.%Gallery-165706%
New Leica M camera has live-view and 1080p video capture, we go hands-on (video)
Yesterday, Canon stole the show, but today's darling of Photokina appears to be the just-announced Leica M camera. Show attendees flocked to the "new M" demo counter this morning, nudging through the crowd for a chance to check out Leica's first live-view equipped M. This new feature is powered by a new 24-megapixel CMOS sensor, and also enables 1080p video capture at 24 and 25 frames-per-second -- another first for Leica. Live-view and HD video shooting may not seem like banner features for a €6,200 (about $8,100) camera, but considering they've never been offered before, these additions seem to be highlights for hopeful M10 owners. The camera itself is quite beastly, in typical M fashion, and appears to have just as much heft as the M9. There's a new Gorilla Glass-equipped 3-inch, 920k-dot display, that's plenty sharp and quite responsive in live-view mode. Adjacent to the display, you'll find a new LV button, which, as you may have guessed, launches the new realtime display mode. There's also a playback button, along with direct access to ISO, image deletion and menu settings. Up top, there's the Leica trademark shutter speed dial (aperture control is on the lens), letting you select from bulb all the way through 1/4000 second. There's a full-size hot shoe up top with an accessory connector for the EVF 2 attachment, and a second proprietary connector on the bottom to interface with the accessory grip, which adds USB connectivity and built-in GPS. We can't comment on image quality just yet, but there's no question that the "new M" marks Leica's commitment to finally bring otherwise commonplace features to its popular (and pricey) rangefinder line. Look for this latest model to hit stores in early 2013, but you can take a closer look today in our hands-on gallery below and video demo after the break. Update: This post originally stated that the new Leica M had yet to be named, however the company has confirmed that the new camera will simply be named, "The Leica M," without numbers. "The Leica M also marks the beginning of a new era in the Leica product naming policy. In [the] future, Leica M and S model names will omit the number suffix to emphasize the enduring and long-term significance of the respective systems."
Leica Monochrom test turns up the ISO, doesn't bring the noise
In the case of "why would you pay $8k for a black and white camera," exhibit 'A' would surely be the lack of a color filter array corrupting the image. Without one, the Leica Monochrom -- with a similar CCD to its M9 stablemate -- should have less noise. Tests comparing the two cameras on Red Dot Forum confirm it, with the Monochrom cleaner in glorious black & white at all ISO's up to the M9's maximum of 2500. Past that, a touch of NR gave the Monochrom a pleasing film-grain look to our eyes at ISO 5000, but at ISO 10,000 images started to sparkle and approach the "barely usable" range. Still, combined with the increased sharpness and resolution, very well-heeled purists might be tempted.
Leica M Monochrom captures exclusively in black and white, costs far more than your color-abled shooter
Wildly colorful photos got you down? There's an 18-megapixel full-frame sensor for that. The Leica M Monochom may seem an unlikely proposition, with its monochrome-only sensor and $8,000 price tag (not to mention the added financial burden that comes along with investing in a Leica M-mount), but the camera offers some unique benefits that, for some, may justify the cost. Because the sensor is capable of outputting one pixel of data for each pixel captured -- there's no hint of color mucking about -- the resulting images are incredibly sharp. There are low-light benefits as well, with the Monochrom offering a top ISO setting of 10,000, compared to 2500 with the aging M9. Other features include a 2.5-inch 230k-dot color LCD, a rangefinder-type optical viewfinder and a 14-bit uncompressed RAW mode that yields 36MB DNGs. The camera itself offers an appearance consistent with other Leica snappers, and includes a magnesium alloy construction with hints of brass and chrome. Naturally, there's no video features to speak of, so no 1080p black-and-white shoots for you. We do have pricing and availability, however, though we don't exactly have the funds to match. The body-only M Monochrom is expected to retail for $7,970 when it hits stores (beginning with Leica's Washington DC showroom) in July. A new Leica APO-Summicron-M 50 mm f/2 ASPH prime lens will be available around the same time, for the modest sum of $7,195. There's a full PR just past the break. Update: DPReview has posted a gallery of sample images. Don't be so quick to dismiss this camera -- plenty of deep-pocketed photographers have likely been waiting for something just like it. Hit up the source link after the break for the shots.
