Wednesday, September 26, 2018

LEICA AND ZENIT ANNOUNCE JOINT PRODUCTION OF A LEICA M MOUNT CAMERA





Probably one of the biggest surprises of Photokina so far is the announcement that Leica entered a joint production agreement with Zenit to produce a Leica M mount camera based on the Leica M240.

Here is the official announcement:

Krasnogorsky Zavod, manufacturer of the Russian brand Zenit, in cooperation with Leica Camera AG, German manufacturer of premium cameras and optics, designed a new digital rangefinder camera Zenit M. The Shvabe Holding, part of Rostec, has presented this product at Photokina 2018, the largest international trade fair for the photographic and imaging industries held in Cologne.

One of the participants of the project is Krasnogorsky Zavod (KMZ Zenit), a leading designer of photographic equipment in Russia, is now part of Shvabe. The Zenit M is technically based on the Leica M Type 240 platform, but was modified both in terms of hardware and software.

The camera is equipped with Zenitar 35 mm f/1.0 lens, completely designed and manufactured in Russia, 100% of its components and materials are Russian-made. The lens creates an image that doesn't require processing, has unique bokeh and soft focus effect.

The design of Zenit M copies designs of the legendary Zenit and Zorky cameras, it's a full-frame rangefinder camera made for shooting under various conditions.

The official presentation took place with participation of Andreas Kaufmann, major shareholder and chairman of Leica Camera AG supervisory board, Alexey Patrikeyev, CEO of Shvabe, Ivan Ozhgikhin, Deputy CEO of Shvabe, and Vadim Kaliugin, CEO of KMZ Zenit.

"Zenit and Leica cooperation forms a unique alliance between long-term experience in optics manufacturing and modern technologies of Russia and Germany. With this project we for the first time declare launch of world famous Russian brand Zenit into the new segment of photography equipment market," said Alexey Patrikeyev, CEO of Shvabe.

Zenit M will be available from December 2018 in Europe and from January 2019 in Russia at both Zenit's online store and selected photo shops.

"On purchasing the camera and the lens the users will get not only a high-quality device with elaborate ergonomic design and high optical characteristics, but a really smart camera which will provide high image quality," reported Vadim Kaliugin, CEO of KMZ Zenit.

At Photokina 2018 Shvabe also presents the whole line of Zenitar and Helios lenses manufactured by KMZ Zenit as well as historic models of SLR and rangefinder cameras. This exposition is also completed with products of another Shvabe enterprise, LZOS. Along with other showpieces the leading manufacturer of space and astronomy optics demonstrates mirror-meniscous telescopic photo lens MC Rubinar-10/1000 with high light transmission and image contrast.

 https://zenit.camera/


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Tuesday, September 25, 2018

THE NEWS CONTINUES: LEICA S (TYP 007) FIRMWARE 5.0.0.0 RELEASED - LEICA ADDS THREE MORE SL PRIME LENSES TO ROADMAP





By Josh Lehrer, Leica Store Miami

Today, Leica has introduced a major new firmware update for the S (Typ 007) medium format digital SLR camera: firmware 5.0.0.0. In addition to bringing compatibility via WiFi with the new Leica FOTOS iOS & Android app (learn more about that here), firmware 5.0.0.0 adds a number of new features and bug fixes. 

Read on for a detailed breakdown of the changes and improvements:

Improved Video Operation Start/Stop Video recording via Leica Cable Release S (order no. 16029) when Video Live View is active

This one is pretty simple, and nice to have. When the Leica S-Cable Release is attached to your camera, it can also be used to start and stop video recording in addition to firing the shutter for still photos.

Additional Photo Mask (3:1) for better composing. Supported by Adobe Lightroom

 
The 3:1 aspect ratio is clearly visible in live view and playback

 
The Photo Masks menu is where you choose the new 3:1 Pano setting

If you are looking to shoot a REALLY wide aspect ratio, now you can. Personally I prefer to do this kind of cropping in post production, but depending on your needs this may be a nice feature to have.

Maximum Exposure Time extended to 125 seconds

 
The top OLED showing 125 seconds at ISO100

Now we are getting into the good stuff! Previously, at ISO 100 the longest exposure available on the S007 was 60 seconds. Firmware 5.0.0.0 increases that to 125 seconds. Do keep in mind that as you increase ISO, your access to these longer speeds decreases. Here’s a handy chart that breaks it down:

ISO      Max Time
100     125 sec
200     90 sec
400     45 sec
800     24 sec
1600   12 sec
3200   9sec
6400   4 sec
12800 2 sec

Center Marking for Live View Autofocus field

 
The smaller crosshair in the center is new. It stays in the center. You can see to the upper right the larger crosshair that represents your autofocus point which you can move around freely.

When working in live view, the autofocus spot for the S007 is a small white crosshair. When you start moving it around the frame, it can be tricky to try and re-position it dead center again. An even smaller crosshair is added in the new firmware which is fixed to the center, making it easy to bring your focus point back there.

Customize Controls for Front Wheel Direction

 
Now you can reverse the direction of the top dial in the Customize Controls menu.

The “front wheel” in this case is the top dial on the camera, primarily used for adjusting your shutter speed. This new control allows you to reverse the direction of that dial, should you so choose.

Bug Fixes

In addition to the above listed new features, a few bug fixes are also listed:

  • Bug fix: GPS Tag was sometimes corrupt within a picture sequence
  • Bug fix: under some circumstances the mirror got stuck after a series of 200 to 400 exposures
  • Bug fix: under some circumstances the camera produced color patterns with the Leica Vario-Elmar-S 3.5-5.6 / 30-90mm ASPH

For complete information go here:




LEICA ADDS THREE MORE SL PRIME LENSES TO ROADMAP

By David Farkas

At the press event today, Leica announced three new SL lenses. Slated to be released in 2020, these new optics will add fast, wide-angle primes to the system. With focal lengths of 21, 24 and 28mm, all lenses feature an f/2 maximum aperture. Also, while unusual for wide angles, all three designs will be APO lenses, or Apochromatically corrected. Usually reserved for 50mm and longer, APO designations usually indicate the highest level of optical quality.

Additionally, and not really a surprise, all three rely on aspherical technology, or ASPH in Leica’s naming, to achieve maximum performance. Like all the Summicron-SL lenses, barrel size is consistent across the entire range, with a 67mm front filter thread. So, these wides will have the same measurements as the 75 and 90 APO-Summicron-SL.

 


If the other lenses in the SL line-up are any indication, this new range of wide angle Summicrons could set the standard for these focal lengths. I’m looking forward to discussing the upcoming optics tomorrow at the show. Stay tuned for more info.

For more information go here:


For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right

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__________________________________________________________________________


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Buy vintage Leica cameras from 
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