Leica's medium-format S shoots 4K video, 37.5-megapixel stills
Leica's ready to jump on the professional video bandwagon, releasing its 4K-capable S here at Photokina in Cologne, Germany. The 37.5-megapixel camera sports a medium-format sensor that's just a hair larger than full-frame, giving you a crop factor of 0.8x. It can snap 3.5 frames per second in a continuous-shooting mode, 1080/30p video and 4K clips at 24 fps. You can capture 42MB RAW files or 37.5, 9.3 or 2.3-megapixel JPGs, but if you're spending €20,230 ($25,400 in the US) on a camera (body only), you better be shooting RAW.
The bundled battery lets you snap up to 1,000 stills, so while many pros will be tethered to an external pack or an outlet, you can also use the cam away from another power source if you'd like. There's clean HDMI output, of course, for pushing 4K video to an external recorder, which you'll need to purchase separately. You'll also need to add on a lens, such as the €6,450 ($7,995 in the US) 100mm f/2 Summicron-S we were shooting with in the hands-on photos above. While most of us don't have nearly $35,000 to spend on a camera and one lens, there's no doubt that the latest S will make its way onto at least a few magazine cover/billboard/motion picture shoots in the months and years to come.
Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
