PANASONIC S1R : THE KEY FACTOR FOR THE CONSOLIDATION BEGINNING OF THE L-MOUNT ALLIANCE

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Please note: Considering the recent L-Mount Alliance between Leica, Panasonic and Sigma, I feel it is right to report on the other members of this alliance since their products will inevitably be part of Leica in some fashion.

By  José Manuel Serrano Esparza

During the recent Photokina 2018 held in Cologne (Germany) and coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the launching into market of the Panasonic G1, first Micro Four Thirds format mirrorles EVF digital camera in the world, Panasonic presented the 47 megapixel Panasonic Lumix S1R, its first 24 x 36 mm full frame format mirrorless EVF camera, along with the 24 megapixel Panasonic Lumix S1.

This was an utterly unexpected movement by a company that has been with Olympus the maximum advocate of the Micro Four Thirds System hitherto, having manufactured such flagships as the Panasonic GH5, Panasonic GH5S (optimized for 4K UHD 60 fps video recording) and the formidable 20 megapixel Panasonic G9, the pinnacle of them all, a camera designed for wildlife and sports photography, prodigy of ruggedness and reliability even under extreme climatic conditions and being able to shoot up to 20 fps with continuous AF and 60 fps with single AF using its electronic shutter, as well as featuring 4K UHD at 60 fps.

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And Panasonic has made the announcement of its S1R camera at a moment in which the photographic market had already been significantly convulsed by the presentation of the 45.7 megapixel Nikon Z7 mirrorless EVF full frame camera and the 30 megapixel Canon EOS R mirrorless full frame EVF camera, both of them also the first models of their respective brands within this scope.

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The bold gamble devised by Panasonic (one of the world leading firms in the scope of electronics and top quality video, as well as being the manufacturer of the aforementioned first-class Micro Four Thirds cameras) is likewise conspicuous, because the mirrorless full frame EVF segment of product has had two amazing benchmark cameras since early 2018 : the Sony A7RIII (presented on October 25, 2017 and delivering impressive image quality along with a commendable dynamic range only slightly beaten in RAW by the Nikon D850) and the Sony A9 (a camera optimized for action and sports photography, which has already been successfully put to its paces in such competitions as the Russia 2018 Football World Championship against the still reigning supreme in this field Nikon D4, Nikon D4s, Nikon D5, Canon EOS-1D X Mark II and Canon EOS 5D Mark IV superb reflex cameras with optical viewfinder).

Therefore, from now on there will be six actors in the photographic market of 24 x 36 mm format mirrorless EVF cameras : Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Sigma (which has stated it will make a full frame mirrorless EVF with Foveon sensor) and Leica.

The control layout of the Panasonic SR1 is similar to the Micro Four Thirds format Lumix G9, though there are some differences like a further switch on the back, alongside an easier to reach mini joystick. The AF ON button is probably an AF/AE lock button. In addition, near the shutter release button there are small buttons, visible on top right area of the image, to control the white balance, sensitivity and exposure compensation.
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In a context like this in which a fierce competence can be foreseen, it won´t be enough for Panasonic a very good or excellent performance and image quality in its new SR1 mirrorless EVF full frame camera.

It must be an extraordinary camera or it won´t work in terms of market possibilities, because the 42 megapixel Sony A7RIII and 24 megapixel Sony A9 are stellar performance products with state-of-the-art sensors stemming from an experience of six years in the mirrorles EVF 24 x 36 mm format cameras with interchangeable lenses, pioneered by its 24 megapixel Sony A7 and 36 megapixel A7R from 2013.

And the just appeared Nikon Z7 and Canon R mirrorless EVF 24 x 36 mm format cameras just introduced, though being products still to mature, have got a tremendous potential of future thanks to their very large mounts (55 mm and 54 mm respectively) and exceedingly short flange distances (16 mm and 20 mm respectively) optimized for the design of the new and superb Nikon S and Canon RF lenses, which have confirmed the turning point in the History of Photographic Lenses that meant the introduction in 2015 of the state-of-the-art autofocus SL lenses designed by Sigrun Kammans and Dietmar Stuible, under the global supervision of Peter Karbe, for the Leica SL mirrorless full frame EVF camera presented in October of 2015.

The synergy between the 47 megapixel sensor of the Panasonic SR1 last generation sensor and the Leica SL lenses can be something truly impressive, delivering tremendous crisp rendering of details, contrast and sharpness, since those objectives were created to flawlessly work even with new state-of-the-art 50 megapixel and 100 megapixel digital sensors. Here we can see the autofocus Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90 mm f/2.8-4 ASPH zoom, whose optical formula comprises 18 elements in 15 groups (four of them aspherical and eleven anomalous partial dispersion), a versatile stellar performer delivering the image quality of best Leica primes in the focal lengths of 24, 35, 50, 75 and 90 mm. Designing it was en exceedingly difficult tour de force, since it beats the optical performance of the extraordinary 11 elements in 8 groups Vario-Elmarit-R 28-90 f/2.8-4.5 ASPH (two of them aspherical), manufactured between 2004 and 2009 and the benchmark standard zoom until the appearance in October 2015 of the Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90 mm f/2.8-4, which in addition, stretches the angular coverage to 24 mm.
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Lateral view of the autofocus 11 elements in 9 groups (two of them aspherical and four anomalous partial dispersion) Summilux-SL 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH, showing the gorgeous mechanical construction and machining of its mount. This truly stratospheric standard lens, boasting internal focusing, became a milestone design in the History of Photography since the very instant of its introduction in 2016, because it clearly outperforms the extraordinary 8 elements in 5 groups Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH from 2004, designed by Peter Karbe, which was the international yardstick in image quality for eleven years. It is by far the best AF 50 mm f/1.4 lens in the world, with an optomechanical performance on a par with the manual focusing 12 elements in 10 groups (one of them aspherical and six with anomalous partial dispersion) Zeiss Otus 55 mm f/1.4, whose wonderful bokeh is slightly better thanks to its very special optical formula with DNA medium format 6 x 6 cm Carl Zeiss Distagon wide angle featuring an entrance pupil much smaller than the exit one. Needless to say that the balance of the Leica SL aspherical lenses like this with the superb ergonomics of the mirrorless EVF 24 x 36 mm format Panasonic SR1 camera can work wonders, in the same way as the state-of-the-art anti reflective coatings it features enabling to shoot without hood in most of photographic contexts, as well as producing razor sharp results at f/1.4.
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The benchmark SL lenses are currently by far the best for 24 x 36 mm format, but the onslaught made by Nikon and Canon, following the same almost telecentric optical route as Leica with its SL lenses, fulfilling the shift from their Nikon F and Canon EOS mounts to their new much larger Z and R mounts with significantly shorter flange distances, means to practical effect that they are reducing distances in optomechanical performance with respect to the reference-class Leica SL lenses (which highly probably will keep on being the yardstick for years), something epitomized by some of the extraordinary new lenses they have already shown, like the Noct Nikkor 58 mm f/0.95 S and the Canon RF 50 mm f/1.2 and Canon RF 28-70 mm f/2.

Nevertheless, Sony, until now enjoying an overwhelming dominance over the mirrorless full frame EVF cameras segment, will certainly strive upon reacting as soon as possible launching into market a really awesome mirrorless EVF 24 x 36 mm format camera, perhaps before 2020, in addition to enhance its slew of native lenses, particularly in the very large f/0.95, f/1.2 and f/1.4 apertures.

Furthermore, there´s no doubt that Sony, the reference-class manufacturer of digital sensors in the world, will design and manufacture new 24 x 36 mm format sensors fostering the extraordinary image quality already delivered by its Sony A7RIII and Sony A9 cameras, whose price/performance ratio is not easy to beat.

And Sony has got wherewithal of its own and economical resources to spare, so it can afford to launch into market new cameras within shorter time than the rest of brands and steadily invests a lot of money on R & D.

If we add to this that Nikon and Panasonic have greatly focused a major percentage of their possibilities within the 24 x 36 mm format mirrorless EVF market on their new superb S and RF autofocus lenses, it seems apparent that Panasonic will have to do things very well if it wants to be successful with its new SR1 camera.

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TO BE A REALLY EXTRAORDINARY MIRRORLESS FULL FRAME EVF CAMERA AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE : THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY FOR THE PANASONIC SR1

A new age both in the photographic history of cameras and optics has just begun and Sony, Nikon and Canon will go the whole hog in this story, while the Leica SL and its lenses, being an inevitably expensive niche product, because of its second to none optomechanical performance and image quality, will go on being a reference-class photographic system with the operating concept of the Leica S camera and a significant percentage of its electronics, though its sensor (a sphere in which technological advancements and improvements are constant) isn´t class leading at the moment. The challenge for Panasonic with its new S1R mirrorless EVF full frame camera is immense.

It will have to compete with the leading and very powerful firms in this product realm, so the new camera still to be launched into market will have to be superb virtually in every significant side to have real market chances.

Anyway, there have already been some clues that invite to optimism regarding the performance of the Panasonic SR1 camera in a raft of aspects, including the image quality, which aren´t still known.

Above all, the appearance of the camera is highly meaningful and a statement of intents.

Detail of the hefty mode dial on the left of the top plate. Under it is the drive mode dial, and next to both of them, on the lower left area of the image, can be seen the sturdy metallic strap lug. On top right background, slightly out of focus, the eyepiece of the very large electronic viewfinder can be glimpsed.
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The Panasonic SR1 camera, as could be seen in Photokina, is a riveting sight. Every detail seems to have painstakingly been cared and planned with a lot of foresight.

As a matter of fact, the design and development of the camera has needed roughly 3 years since early 2016.

To begin with, it is a big camera, larger than the Nikon Z7 and Canon EOS R also mirrorless EVF full frame, and straightforwardly departing in dimensions and weight from the concept of great compactness and lightness inherent to the very small Micro Four Thirds outstanding cameras made until now by this Japanese brand.

Anyway, it is not excessively large at all for the 24 x 36 mm format sphere of digital cameras.

But at first sight, the most conspicuous and meaningful trait of this camera is its evident resemblance to the Panasonic G9 Micro Four Thirds camera, the flagship of the firm until now.

And this is highly revealing, because if Panasonic has upscaled concepts of the extraordinary G9 to introduce them into the full frame SR1 as evidence seems to suggest, we could be speaking about a true benchmark 24 x 36 mm format mirrorless EVF camera, not only as a photographic tool, but also in the sphere of videography.

But from now on, mirrorless EVF full frame sector will be overcrowded with top-notch models of cameras and lenses, so Panasonic is bound to painstakingly study the subject of price for its SR1 and objectives, because it is foreseeable an all-out effort in this regard by other brands, particularly Sony, which taking advantage of its vast economical resources, will highly probably try to launch into market before 2020 new mirrorless EVF full format cameras with great price/quality ratio and beating the performance of the Sony ARIII and A9.

Therefore, however good the SR1 may be, Panasonic will have to make a strenuous effort to offer the camera body at a pretty competitive price from the very instant of its introduction in 2019.

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MAIN FEATURES OF THE PANASONIC SR1 REVEALED UNTIL NOW

Aside from its large mount of 51 mm and its exceedingly short flange distance of 20 mm, both of them shared with the Leica SL within the L-Mount Alliance, some further features have been unveiled :

- Built-in Dual I.S stabilization system, both in camera body and lenses, first mirrorless EVF full frame having it.

- A large and high resolution EVF.

- A triaxial tilt LCD.

- The highest flash synchronization speeds in the market.

- Double slots for SD and XQD cards for the first time in a Panasonic camera.

- A contrast-based AF system, probably similar to the one sported by the Leica SL and TL mirrorless cameras.

- A top LCD showing useful information and similar to the ones featured by the Nikon Z7 and Canon R mirrorless EVF full frame cameras.

- A 47 megapixel sensor designed and manufactured by Panasonic.

- A new very powerful and fast Venus Engine dsp, also designed and manufactured by the Japanese firm.

- 4K UHD 60 fps video recording, first ever in a mirrorless EVF full frame camera.

- L Mount contacts enabling communication between electronic components in camera and lenses, making possible the updating of objectives through firmware releases.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PANASONIC SR1 ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER

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Panasonic does know that this is an utterly fundamental aspect in which it is bound to excel, because there are already three top-notch EVFs in the scope of 24 x 36 mm format mirrorless EVF cameras, namely:

- The electronic viewfinder of the Leica SL, the best in the world, featuring a 0.8 x magnification and 4.4 million dots. It yields an impressive image quality, being exceedingly bright and sharp, with great viewing comfort for photographers.

- The 3.6 million dots electronic viewfinder of the new 45.7 megapixels Nikon Z7, showing crystal clear images and in which both optical aberrations and visual fatigue have been reduced to negligible levels through an outstanding optical system boasting top-notch glass elements (particularly one of them being aspherical) in symbiosis with an eyepiece protection window, also sporting great quality and located beside the first element of the mentioned optical scheme, in which top priority has been to get as much sharpness as possible. It has a 0.8x magnification.

- The 3.69 million dots electronic viewfinder of the new 30 megapixel Canon EOS R, on a par with the Nikon Z7 one, being very bright and sharp even under direct sunlight, with loads of detail and great colours, in addition to lacking any delay and boasting a praiseworthy correction of distortion. Besides, it features a 0.77x magnification.

All of them have greatly optimized the three basic parameters defining observation quality through an electronic viewfinder (resolving power, first-class optical elements and refresh rate) with respect to all the EVFs in existence prior to them.

Therefore, the electronic viewfinder of the Panasonic SR1 must be state-of-the-art, minimum on a par with or approaching leaps and bounds to the yardstick one featured by the Leica SL.

Albeit there isn´t any information regarding this subject (in the same way as happens with many other sides), the back area of the mockups displayed in the recent Photokina 2018 hinted where Panasonic is headed in this aspect : it seems to be a very large viewfinder, highly probably better than the ones featured by the Nikon Z7 and the Canon EOS R.

As a matter of fact, the eyepiece of the EVF is huge and chances are that Panasonic has made use of all of its tremendous electronic know-how and prowess to create a really top-of-the-line electronic viewfinder.

ERGONOMICS

The Panasonic SR1 camera features an exceedingly ergonomic grip making it very comfortable to hold, even when large aperture lenses and long tele objectives and zooms are coupled.
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This will be another of the best features of the new Panasonic SR1. From scratch, it dawned on the Japanese brand that the big size of the S lenses for its 47 megapixel mirrorless EVF full frame camera made absolutely indispensable a great ergonomics to optimize handling with coupled objectives, whether highly luminous primes or zooms.

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And Panasonic has made a praiseworthy endeavour regarding it throughout three years, creating a number of different grips mockups,

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with a wide range of materials and textures, in search of the best feasible ergonomics, until finding the most adequate one.

A NEW BREED OF PANASONIC S LENSES

Along with the camera, Panasonic announced a roadmap of ten new S lenses for its new SR1 and scheduled to appear between 2019 and 2020.

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The Japanese brand displayed three of them during the recent Photokina 2018 : a 50 mm f/1.4, a standard 24-105 mm zoom and a 70-200 mm zoom.

There isn´t any information about the specifications of these lenses, numbers of elements and groups, AF speed, how the elements move to achieve focus, traits of the focus motors and inertia they need to overcome, widest apertures of the zooms, etc.

But bearing in mind the large size of the three aforementioned new Panasonic S lenses shown in Cologne (Germany) during the recent Photokina 2018, it seems apparent that the Japanese brand has been inspired by the Leica SL primes and zooms for their design and construction, in addition to following the same almost telecentric route to draw as much potential as possible of the big 51 mm L-Mount and the very short flange distance of 20 mm, which will enable the coupling through adapters of a myriad of manual and AF lenses from different brands, epochs and mounts.

On the other hand, there´s a high probability that these Panasonic S lenses feature very powerful and sturdy stepping motors inspired by the state-of-the-art ones sported by the Leica SL lenses boasting Dual Synchro Drive and making possible a complete travel of the whole focusing throw in approximately 250 milliseconds.

Needless to say that the possibility of coupling the Leica SL lenses to the Panasonic SR1 will be

Apo-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280 mm f/2.8-4, a stratospheric autofocus zoom in terms of optomechanical performance, getting reference-class image quality. Featuring 23 elements in 17 groups (seven of them anomalous partial dispersion), it meant to practical effects the fulfillment of a dream come true: to achieve with a long zoom covering the 90 mm, 105 mm, 120 mm, 150 mm, 180 mm, 200mm, 250 mm and 280 mm focal lengths the virtually unbeatable standard of image quality attained by the diffraction limited Apo-Telyt-R 280 mm f/4, which has been the benchmark in sharpness and color accuracy since it was introduced in 1993, as well as getting at its widest f/4 aperture more than 60 % of information transmission at 40 lines/mm over the whole image frame in center, borders and corners. Not in vain, the world-class expert in Optics Erwin Putts discovered that it is able to reach 150 lines/mm.
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Apo-Summicron-SL 35 mm f/2 ASPH. A lens whose image performance beats the extraordinary 7 elements in 5 groups (one of them aspherical) Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH from 1996. Generally speaking, the 35 mm focal length is the most versatile one for 24 x 36 mm photographic system, particularly in the scopes of travel photography, photojournalism, street photography and landscape. The MTF chart of this forthcoming stratospheric lens show values of approximately 90% contrast transfer at 40 lines/mm, roughly 97.5 % at 10 lines/mm and more than 95% contrast at 20 lines/mm, id est, it is a probably diffraction limited wide angle lens optimized for f/2, f/2.8 and f/4, with an optical potential able to generate incredible image quality in symbiosis with sensors between 40 and 120 megapixels.
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the best choice to get maximum feasible image quality and optomechanical performance, something probably boosted by the last generation 24 x 36 mm Panasonic sensor featured by the SR1.

Apo-Summicron-SL 90 mm f/2 ASPH, an outstanding lens for portraits. Featuring an optical formula of 11 elements (one of them aspherical) in 9 groups, and as happens with the rest of Leica SL fixed lenses and zooms, aside from delivering exceptional image quality, it boasts a state-of-the-art mechanical construction enabling photographers many decades of use even in the hardest climatic conditions. It´s a very compact lens that never feels front heavy and very comfortable to use. Its is the best 90 mm f/2 lens ever made for 24 x 36 mm format, something really impressive, because before beats the optomechanical performance of the 5 elements in 5 groups (one of them aspherical) Apo-Summicron-M 90 mm f/2 ASPH, which had been the reference-class lens in this focal length and luminosity between 1998 and 2016.
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But as the yardstick objectives ever made for 24 x 36 mm format, the production cost of SL lenses is huge and their price very high, between roughly 4,750 and 6,395 dollars, depending on the focal length and luminosity.

Panasonic needs to design and manufacture lenses for 24 x 36 mm format delivering extraordinary image quality, only second to the Leica SL primes and zooms in terms of optomechanical performance, and featuring much lower price tags.

This will be another pivotal factor for the consolidation of the L-Mount Alliance, and though there have been some voices suggesting that Leica and Panasonic will be the firms mostly taking advantage of the consortium, I do believe that Sigma will also play a fundamental role in it.

Sigma has gleaned an outstanding know-how and experience with its famous Art Series lenses which meant a defining moment in the History of Photographic Optics, because though not reaching the stratospheric levels of the best Leica and Zeiss aspherical lenses, the excellent optomechanical performance of Sigma Art lenses for such a competitive price is something truly commendable, such as proved, to name only an example, by the amazing thirteen elements in eight groups

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Sigma Art 50 mm f/1.4 (very sharp in the center wide open and optimized for maximum optical performance at f/4, reaching very good values in corners from f/5.6). with a price of around 950 dollars that can bluntly be defined as an almost bargain.

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What´s more, during the recent Photokina 2018 in Cologne (Germany) Kazuto Yamaki (CEO of Sigma) announced that Sigma will launch 14 new lenses in L-Mount during 2019 : a 16 mm f/1.4, a 30 mm f1.4, a 56 mm f/1.4, a 14 mm f/1.8, a 20 mm f/1.4, a 24 mm f/1,4, a 28 mm f/1.4, a 35 mm f/1.4, a 40 mm f/1.4, a 50 mm f/1.4, a 70 mm f/2.8 Macro, a 85 mm f/1.4, a 105 mm f/1.4 and a 135 mm f/1.8.

If as rumors seem to suggest Sigma is designing and manufacturing L-Mount lenses with an optomechanical performance beyond its excellent Sigma Art series and likewise at affordable prices, it could be something highly profitable for the Japanese company and fundamental for the L-Mount Alliance success, something which would be even more enhanced with the launching into market of its mirrorless full frame EVF camera with Foveon sensor.

And the presence of Sigma can definitely enhance the strength of the alliance, because the L-Mount shared by the three firms making it up, will allow photographers to have available three lines of lenses:

a) The inevitably very expensive Leica SL lenses with stratospheric optomechanical performance and delivering exceptional image quality, with impressive uniformity of resolving power, contrast and sharpness on center, borders and corners of the frame surface, at every diaphragm and focusing distance, even the nearest ones.

b) The Panasonic S lenses, not reaching the stellar performance of Leica SL lenses but being extraordinary and with significantly lower prices, between approximately 2,500 and 3,000 dollars.

c) The Sigma lenses with L-Mount and optomechanical performance even better than its remarkable Art Series lenses for Canon EOS, Nikon F and Sony E mount. These lenses could probably have a price between 1,700 and 2,100 dollars and get an excellent image quality for the price connected to the Panasonic SR1, opening the L-Mount System to new users.

I do believe that Sigma will have a much higher importance in the L-Mount Alliance than some people can believe, something that will be fostered even more when it launches into market its mirrorless EVF full frame camera with Foveon sensor it announced during the recent Photokina 2018.

And if Sigma manages to launch into market lenses with L-Mount with an optomechanical standard equal to its Art Series objectives or even better, at competitive prices, it would boost the alliance even more, as well as opening a new path of business expansion for Sigma.

Not in vain, a seminal factor of the L-Mount Alliance between Leica, Panasonic and Sigma is that both Japanese brands can design and manufacture their own more affordable lenses without having to create a completely new mount, which can result in a decisive cost reduction.

VIDEOGRAPHY

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This will be beyond doubt one of the strongest points of the Panasonic SR1.

And it couldn´t be other way, because within the scope of professional digital mirrorless cameras in constant evolution, breakthrough technological advances and first-class image quality in the sphere of video, Panasonic has been by far the leading brand with its superb 4K UHD 60 fps featured by its Micro Four Third flagship cameras like the 12 megapixel Panasonic GH5 and the 20 megapixel Panasonic G9.

The upshot of it is that high expectation has been raised regarding the video quality that Panasonic will be able to introduce in its 47 megapixel SR1 camera.

And common opinion is clear : a reference-class one unseen hitherto in the field of professional mirrorless EVF 24 x 36 mm format cameras.

Panasonic has already announced that both the 24 megapixel S and the 47 megapixel SR1 will feature 4K UHD 60 fps, first ever in a mirrorless EVF full frame camera.

Though apparently the 24 megapixel Panasonic S would seem the most adequate camera for video recording, I do believe that Panasonic will make an all-out effort to get a top-notch 4K UHD 60 fps in its 47 megapixel SR1 camera and avoid both overheating and IBIS being compromise for video performance as much as possible.

This could be something fantastic and would have major advantages over the already excellent 4K UHD 60 fps video recording quality it has attained with its G5HS and G9 Micro Four Thirds cameras, particularly in regard to dynamic range and performance at high and very high ISOs.

THE 24 x 36 MM SENSOR MADE BY PANASONIC

This is a further fundamental factor. If Panasonic is able to design and manufacture a 24 x 36 mm format first-class sensor, superior to the one featured by the Leica SL and able to match the extraordinary optical level of the Leica SL lenses, its own L-Mount Panasonic S lenses and the likewise L-Mount objectives Sigma will launch into market in 2019, it will be decisive for the L-Mount Alliance, because it would significantly strengthen the manifold synergies among the three firms.

Panasonic is along with Sony the leading firm in electronics of the photographic industry.

And though Sony is the reference-class firm in the field of digital sensors, Panasonic is highly probably in a position to also make a world-class 24 x 36 mm format one, something that will enable for Leica SL, Panasonic and Sigma lenses with L-Mount a much greater control over depth of field than with Micro Four Thirds and APS-C format cameras, so the attainable shallow depth of field and amazing level of detail will be one of the boons of the new objectives

This way, there could be a highly efficient symbiosis between the huge optical proficiency of Leica and Sigma and the electronic and video recording benchmark abilities of Panasonic, without forgetting the significance of the exceedingly powerful and fast new Venus engine dsp for the SR1 camera.

The evolution of digital photography during the last decade has been truly incredible.

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Nobody on earth would have even imagined in 2004, when Leica Camera A.G was about to disappear until being saved by Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, that the German photographic firm would be able to up the ante making up an alliance with two great and very important firms of the digital photographic industry like Panasonic and Sigma, fourteen years later, as well as having entered into a partnership with the Chinese electronic giant Huawei, the world´s third largest smartphone maker.

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