THE LEICA T – A USER REPORT

By Rick Bronks

The much anticipated arrival of a compact interchangeable autofocus lens camera from Leica has finally happened, and I got my hands on one for a few weeks. Did I like it? Was it any good? Read on to find out. Gallery of images at the bottom of this post. 

Make no mistake - this is a beautiful looking piece of kit. It's solid. Really solid and it feels amazing to hold. It's the camera I want to dearly love, and it seems like an ideal partner for someone who has a larger DSLR kit and wants a smaller kit as a backup, or indeed as a second camera if you are already a Leica M shooter (like me). I thought I'd give my opinions on using it in a 'real life' situation, on a recent trip I took.

 

There's a LOT of choice out there at the moment if you're in the market for a compact system camera- there are some outstanding models and lenses to be had. So is there space in this crowded marketplace for the sexy Leica T?

Leica has always been about high quality- and exacting standards. I am a massive fan of their M rangefinder and their lenses are some of the best in the world. With this experience it should only be good news for the new Leica T.

I travelled with the Leica T and the 18 to 56 f3.5-5.6 ASPH Vario-Elmar lens. I wasn't able to check out the faster 23mm f2 ASPH but I quite liked the idea of carrying one camera with a nice zoom range on the lens and seeing how I got on. I also had the Viewfinder attachment and an adapter to use my existing M series lenses.

  

The camera is carved from a single piece of aluminium - very much like the unibody Apple laptops. Leica caused a viral stir with their 'most boring ad ever' which features a person hand polishing the case for 45 minutes. That's Leica. Handmade excellence. Audi have also had a hand in the design of the camera - and if you were to pick one up you'd feel how amazing it is.

 

It has a 16.3 megapixel APS-C sensor (same as in most consumer DSLR cameras) and the ability to shoot up to 1/4000 of a second.

It also has 16Gb of internal memory- which is a great idea if you are prone to leave your memory card at home - or as an emergency 'reserve' if you fill your own card on a shoot. The ISO is from 100 to 12,500 but it was totally unusable at this setting.. I rarely used it at 6400.

I love the fact the camera comes with a battery charger - but can also be charged via micro USB. I did find it takes longer via USB but it means that you can keep a cable handy and top up the battery from pretty much anywhere there is a computer or even a phone charger. I left it charging overnight and it was fine.

 

The camera is operated via a very large rear touch-screen and also a couple of dials that can be assigned to various functions. There's the usual shutter button and a cute but averagely powerful pop-up flash. Leica have developed a clever way of attaching a shoulder strap - there's no traditional lugs but these little posts that clip into the body, and can be removed using a little tool - the result is that it keeps the clean lines of the camera when you don't want a strap attached. They also do a few different and very vibrant colours and snap on cases to match too. Like this one. In yellow.

 

There is also Wi-Fi and an associated app which lets you control the camera from an iPhone or iPad. Nice idea but the problem I had was that the camera AND your iDevice need to be on the same physical wireless network to talk to each other - so while I was travelling I couldn't get the images onto my iPhone because there was no wifi network, which seemed to defeat the point in having wifi. Other devices use each other to create the network so it doesn't matter where you are. I think this needs looking into - because its a nice idea to be able to pull images off the camera and send them via the phone, but you're more likely to need this feature when you're travelling. A solution is to use the Apple SD card adapter and just import the card  and images into your device, but thats not as cool.

The battery pops in underneath and is quite cool in the way that it forms the base of the camera so there's no flaps to fiddle with, but the battery slots right into the bottom of the camera much like pro-DSLR bodies or indeed Leica's own medium format S-system.

 

I found the screen pretty good in most light apart from really bright sunlight - but this is common to all cameras with an LCD. I also had the clip on viewfinder which I used when the sun was too bright. The electronic viewfinder which also has a built in GPS (that does drain the battery quite a lot)

The resolution of the viewfinder is excellent and the refresh rate is good too - so you can frame and shoot with decent accuracy.

I did get used to the touch screen after a while - the problem is that we're all used to using iPads and other touch screens so there's the inevitable comparisons. This screen and the usability of the interface will never compete with those of Apple - purely because Leica don't have the massive resources of Apple or Microsoft. They're a small company who have to pretty much develop from the ground up and not with huge teams.

You can customise the 'home' screen with the features you commonly use and re-order them.

The lens is also solidly built. No plasticy feeling  here. It felt good and the zoom was smooth. The lens hood proved quite effective too.

So what's it like to actually use?

It is great in the hands - I didn't feel the need to use any grips or cases with zoom attached. The lens wasn't too heavy and the whole unit felt nicely balanced. In the future with perhaps a longer lens it may be tricky but right now it's perfectly fine.

Autofocus seemed pretty good in all but the dimmest of light. I did find the white balance a little slow to change when I moved from outdoors to indoors. Sometimes I felt it wasn't too sure or was a little too indecisive. It's not lighting-fast but it's consistent and fine.

For me the biggest disappointment was that the camera's useable ISO is no more than 3200 and even then there's a fair bit of noise in the shadows. I was hoping that because the lens was quite a lot slower than the usual lenses I shoot with (f14, f2.8),  I'd be able to push another couple of stops out of the camera by upping the ISO to compensate for the f5.6 maximum aperture at the zoom end on the lens. Alas, I wasn't able to and this was a little annoying. Even at it's brightest f3.5 I felt myself needing to shunt up the ISO in an averagely lit room.

 

I started trying to use the camera as a more manual camera - and wasn't getting on with it at all. I'm not convinced this is what Leica had in mind with this unit. I popped the ISO into auto mode and never allowed it to max out more than 3200 ISO.

Once I did this I found it a lot more pleasurable to use. I tended to use P mode most of the time and let the camera figure out the settings -it was quicker and less fiddling on the screen, so I missed less shots.

I did use Aperture Priority by setting one dial to be my F-stop controller and the other as exposure compensation. I left the camera on auto focus and auto ISO.

 

At the moment Apple haven't updated their OS to be able to read the RAW files so I knew I was going to have a bit of a round-trip to get the images into my image editor (Aperture). I shot RAW and JPEG fine and the picture settings I had set to all neutral.

I found the neutral settings ok - did find the skin tones a little pale but nice enough and smooth. The colours were good but not overly rich and fake.

I was using Aperture to edit the JPEGS and actually found them amazingly robust. For the shots in this review I actually exported the RAW files using Photoshop's Raw editor then saving as TIFF files then re-imported into Aperture.

This let me pull some more details from the RAW files than using the JPEGS but I don't think the difference is massive - but it's certainly better using the RAW/TIFF converted files. I am sure that editing the images natively once they are able to be read by OSX that this process will be a lot better.

I have to admit I was impressed with the images once I was using the TIFF  files. The colour is good and there's a heck of a lot of detail.

 

In good light the lens performed like a champ. Once you're in a low light environment you're going to be in bother. This what what infuriated me about this - that this wasn't the all-rounder I really wanted it to be.. once indoors it was a bit of a struggle to get a decent shot. I'm not talking pitch black here.. just what I would call normal early evening light indoors. Perhaps a little window light and some artificial light. I was shooting wide most of the time to keep the aperture at 3.5 but at anything more than 3200ISO it was pretty poor in terms of grain and noise. Spot metering helped me get a decent shot of the singer you can see above.

With the 23mm lens at f2 this may not be so much an issue- but it was disappointing I couldn't really push up the ISO past 3200.

 

When I travel I like to shoot video too - Video shooting on my M240 is quite tricky handheld, so I usually throw my RX100M2 into the bag to use as a point and shoot and also for video clips. I was excited to use the T for both stills and video. If it performed then I'd be even more excited about it's possibilities.

Unfortunately the video quality was just about ok. I was shooting in 1080p the whole time and whilst it was good, it wasn't anywhere near as good as my small RX100M2. The colours are a little washed out and the images looked over-sharpened. Don't get me wrong - its not 'bad' but it's just not up to my standards and I was a little disappointed. For most people though I am almost certain it would be fine- and looks good (not excellent) on a 48inch LED TV.

Conclusion

The Leica T is a fine looking camera that is capable of taking very good images. Leica have firmly placed their feet into the CSC (compact system camera) market with a potentially exciting product. The touchscreen is very nice too - and although the interface and operation may not be as finessed as other devices it's very useable.

The additional viewfinder has a good screen and is helpful for framing in sunlight or using as a 'brace' when shooting video. It also adds GPS if you want to log your travels- but be prepared to carry a spare battery.

The camera produced a good JPEG out of camera and they're quite robust in editing if (like me) the system can't read the DNG files it produces as it's RAW output.

Video quality is 'ok' if not a little disappointing, and the 18-56mm lens is a little on the slow side.

The ability to use M lenses means that you can perhaps start your foray into the world of Leica at a much more friendly price point and then perhaps graduate to their Rangefinders once you've saved enough!

What's for certain is that this is a very interesting camera. Albeit with disappointing performance at high ISO's.

I want to love it.. but not quite yet.

To see Rick’s gallery images go to: http://www.satureyes.com/leica-t

Rick Bronks writes about himself:

I am all about great images and stories.

My work has a strong narrative, with elements of lifestyle.

I am firmly established as one of the leading photographers in the live events world.

I am a qualified member of the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photography) and a certified European Photographer.

My professional career began with eight years working in TV, producing national TV shows as well as documentaries and award shows for SKY TV.

I learnt how to shoot with broadcast cameras and edit video. I am an Apple Certified Professional in their industry standard editing and motion graphics applications.

My background in TV enables me to offer my clients a video production service alongside stills photography. I am able to shoot both stills and video at an event and turn the content around very quickly.

Member of the British Institute of Professional Photography & Federation of European Photographers

PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHTING THEN AND NOW

In the early days of photography, the only source of light was, of course, the sun. Subsequently photography depended mostly upon long days and good weather. It was obvious that artificial light would be indispensable: not dependent on the sun anymore, pictures could be taken where natural light wasn’t sufficient, or on dull days when studio work was impossible.

The first artificial light photography dates back to 1839, when L. Ibbetson used oxy-hydrogen light (also known as limelight, discovered by Goldsworthy Gurney) when photographing microscopic objects. Limelight was produced by heating a ball of calcium carbonate in an oxygen flame until it became incandescent.

Despite being used widely around 1839-1840, the results of using the chemical were rather poor: chalk-white pale faces and a harshly lit picture, an effect created due to the imperfection of the light source and differentiation of the reflectance of different parts of the scene (due to different distances and materials).

Attempts of using limelight and other chemical sources for lighting the picture can be considered to have been a failure, either because they did not contain the rich blue, that the plates of the day required, as well as due to the chemical’s low intensity.

Other possibilities had to be explored. Nadar – an early French photographer and journalist – for example, photographed the sewers in Paris, using battery-operated lighting. Later the arc-lamps were introduced to aid photographers, but it was not until 1877 that the first studio using electric light was opened.

Powered by a gas-driven dynamo the studio by Van der Weyde in Regent Street, had the light sufficient to allow exposures of 2 to 3 seconds.

Flash Powder

Despite being quite a step forward in artificial lighting development, the early chemicals could not provide the satisfying result for the photos. Producing a shorter, and therefore more predictable flash became the goal. There was one solution: magnesium.

In 1862 Edward Sonstadt began experiments to prepare the metal on a commercial basis and by 1864 magnesium wire was finally placed on sale.

 

Magnesium wire

The wire was extremely expensive, but following an extremely successful demonstration in February the same year, where a photograph was produced in a darkened room in only 50 seconds, the highly actinic light proved ideal for photography and became incredibly popular.

The technology of the wire wasn’t too complicated. Magnesium was burned as a wire or ribbon twisted into tapers or clockwork lamps with a reflector. There were different lamp designs, each for different use. Despite different ways of using the magnesium, there were no ideal variant for this method.

 

Clockwork driven magnesium wire lamp

Burning was often incomplete and unpredictable. Exposures varied considerably and the air remained laden with grey, opaque fumes, making the method unsuitable for studio use.

Even more, the technique was not without its obvious dangers and it also released a lot of smoke, smell and a fall-out of white ash.

Nevertheless, magnesium lamps gained in popularity through the 1870s and 1880s despite the expenses and danger. Trying to solve the unpredictability of the popular magnesium technique, Charles Piazzi Smyth, experimenting in the pyramids at Giza, Egypt, in 1865, had attempted to ignite magnesium mixed with gunpowder. The resulting picture was quite poor but the principle of combining magnesium with oxygen-rich chemical resulting in a combustion was developed.

In 1887, Adolf Miethe and Johannes Gaedicke mixed fine magnesium powder with potassium chlorate to produce Blitzlicht. This was the first ever widely used flash powder. Blitzlicht gave the photographers the ability to produce instant photographs at night at a very high shutter speed. This caused quite an excitement in the photography world.

Being the explosive that it is, flash powder accidents were obviously inevitable. Simply grinding the components was dangerous enough, and a number of photographers died while either preparing the flash powder or setting it off.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the flash powder formula was refined and improvements were made to make the process simpler and safer. The flashes now lasted for 10 ms only, so subjects no longer closed their eyes during the exposure which helped portrait photography.

There were still enough disadvantages to the method, for example, the smoke was still causing trouble, making studio work quite difficult, so another invention was awaited.

 

 Early commercially produced, prepackaged flash powder

 Flash powder "flash gun" with flash powder dispenser

Pushing the spring loaded button on top of the dispenser would release a premeasured amount of flash powder.

 

Turning the igniter wheel would create a spark to set off the flash

Agfa flash powder with Haka Flashlight

A lit candle would be moved toward the igniter strip via a clockwork mechanism and set off the flash after a predetermined amount of time.

Preloaded flash powder capsules with built-in percussion caps for firing

Flash gun for preloaded capsules

A spring-loaded firing pin would set off the flash via the percussion caps.

Flash Bulbs

In his experiments in underwater photography in the 1890s, Louis Boutan – a French zoologist and a pioneer underwater photographer – used a cumbersome magnesium lamp. Powdered magnesium, sealed in a glass jar fixed to a lead-weighted barrel to supply oxygen during burning, was ignited by means of an alcohol lamp.

Paul Vierkötter used the same principle in 1925, when he ignited magnesium electronically in a glass globe. In 1929 the Vacublitz, the first true flashbulb made from aluminum foil sealed in oxygen, was produced in Germany by the Hauser Company using Johannes B. Ostermeier’s patents.

 

Early magnesium foil filled flash bulb

 Early flash gun and flash bulbs

It was quickly followed by the Sashalite from the General Electric Company in the USA.

The flash bulb was an oxygen-filled bulb in which aluminum foil was burned, with ignition being accomplished by a battery. The light of the bulb, although powerful, was soft and diffused, therefore less dangerous to the eyes than flash powder.

Using a flash bulb produced neither noise nor smoke when the charge was fired. This provided an opportunity to using flash in places where flash powder use was questionable or simply dangerous. The first photos using the “Sashalite” flashbulb were published by The ‘Morning Post.

The pictures were of the engine-room and other compartments of a submarine. These were not only interesting as unusual subjects, but they indicated a high technical standard. It was not to be until 1927, however, that the simple flash-bulb was to appear for sale.

Flashbulbs were a big step forward. They weighed little, were easily fired electrically and were extremely powerful and, therefore, convenient. Another important aspect of the technique was that it was extremely safe, especially compared to the widely used before flash powder.

Due to a high quality of the invention, mass-market cameras were soon fitted with flashguns or synchronizers to fire a bulb when the shutter opened. This was a huge technological leap forward for the photography and a very advanced technology in its own, so by the 1950s bulbs had virtually replaced flash powder on the market.

 

Kodak Brownie with flash attachment for flash bulbs

There were also several versions of the flashbulbs released to the consumer that fitted everyone from professional to amateur photographers. The purpose was mainly to make the use of the flash more convenient for a novice or an amateur user.

For example, Flashcube, a popular bulb by Kodak was a device that had 4 bulbs installed in one, making it easier to take several pictures in smaller amount of time.

 

Flash cube on Kodak Instamatic camera

Flash Synchronisation

Early flash photography was not synchronized. It’s hard to imagine an non-synchronized flash today, but the way those worked was that one had to put a camera on a tripod, open the shutter, trigger the flash, and close the shutter again – a technique known as open flash. The exposure time had to be managed manually, and the process was very inconvenient compared to today.

Despite all of the problems, the open flash technique using flash powder was being used quite widely until the 1950s. But with the success and ease with which flash bulbs were used, flash powder slowly became history. With the marketing success of flashes, and the value of the idea of taking pictures at any time of the night or day, by the late 1930s manufacturers began to incorporate flash synchronization into their cameras.

 

Leitz VACU flash synch device for Leica cameras without built-in flash synch

 The flash was triggered by a cam added to the rotating shutter speed dial

 VACU cam on shutter speed dial

 VACU installed in Leica III

Some of the first mass produced cameras with this facility were the Kine Exakta, Falcon Press Flash, Agfa Shur-Flash and the Kodak Six-20 Flash Brownie box camera released in 1939 and 1940. After World War II, it became usual for a camera to have a flash synced shutters.

Cameras designed to be used with flash bulbs usually had different sync modes in order to be used with various bulb types. Depending on the requirements, the flash contacts were triggered accordingly prior to the shutter being open.

The principles of flash bulb synced cameras are still used today in modern cameras with electronic flashes and with big studio lights.

Electronic Flash

It was in 1931 when Harold Edgerton – a professor of electrical engineering – produced the first electronic flash tube. One of the most important advantages compared to the flash bulbs was that the electronic flash intensity could be controlled and adjusted.

Another great advantage, of course, was the rechargeable aspect of the electronic flash. Flash bulbs, despite being extremely useful, were very expensive and could only be obtained by professional photographers. Electronic flash used batteries of some sort, so it was possible to recharge the system.

Today’s flash units are electronic flash tubes. An electronic flash contains a tube filled with xenon gas, where electricity of high voltage is discharged to generate an electrical arc that creates a short flash of light.

 

Modern electronic flash for on-camera use

 Metz 60 series flash, one of the most powerful portable flash units available

 Multiblitz, a modern studio flash with built in modeling light

Photographic flash has moved through chemical to electronic phase, mostly driven by a desire to shorten duration and increase intensity of the light. In addition, a sensor either in the flashgun or within the camera is now used to detect that enough light has reached the film (‘auto’ flash).

For that, an infrared sensor is usually used to determine the distance between the camera and the subject, therefore setting the aperture and flash intensity automatically.

With every automated process there is always a possibility of something going wrong. The disadvantages with automatic electronic flash lie with unequal lighting in subjects at dissimilar distances from the camera with the flash, however, this problem is easily solved by using several light sources when working with the subject.

An Interesting Side-Note

The red-eye effect happens because the light of the flash occurs too fast for the pupil to close and much of the very bright light from the flash passes into the eye through the pupil. The light then reflects off the back of the eyeball and out through the pupil.

The camera records this light. Since the light goes through the blood in the choroid which nourishes the back of the eye, the color of the eye is red, hence this annoying effect everyone is aware of. Various techniques are available to combat the problem today, but it’s interesting to know why it occurs!

See also: http://gmpphoto.blogspot.com/2012/05/flash-in-good-old-times.html

WIN A LEICA

The International Leica society (LHSA) once again is offering their annual raffle.  Tckets are on sale now.  This is an open raffle, available to all LHSA members as well as non-members.

This year, the Grand Prize winner will have a choice of a complete Leica T outfit or a Leica M camera body.  The Leica T outfit includes two lenses, a Visoflex eye level viewer, and a Leica M lens adapter.  The Leica M is offered as the alternate Grand Prize and is the most innovative and versatile M camera ever made.

The Second and Third Prizes are the Leica V-Lux 4 and Leica D-Lux 6.

Online ticket purchases can be made on the LHSA website at https://www.lhsa.org/raffle/Default.aspx.  

LHSA members will also receive Raffle packets in the mail.

Tickets will be on sale through Friday, July 11 and the drawing will be held on Tuesday, July 22.

You could be one of this year's lucky winners!  Support the LHSA!

Not a member of the LHSA?  If you purchase a membership, you will receive a 20% discount on your first book of 10 tickets!

Questions?  Email us at info@lhsa.org.

ALFRED SCHOPF ON THE NEW LEICA STORE WETZLAR LEITZ-PARK

From Leica we received the following information:

Leica Store Wetzlar Leitz-Park opened its doors on May 22, 2014 and is located right in the middle of Leica Camera’s headquarters, the newly completed Leitz-Park. The store features a 400 square meter display area for the entire Leica product portfolio, a fully equipped photo studio and an ambiance inviting visitors to stay a while and chat with like-minded Leica enthusiasts. The store is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 – 17:00. Below, Alfred Schopf, CEO of the Management Board of Leica Camera AG shares his thoughts on the new store.

Q: What is it like for Leitz-Park to have the newest Leica store?

A: If you take a look at the building from the outside, it makes a statement. We wanted to incorporate what you see on the outside to the inside. We had the idea to create something unique, a place where you can look at the heritage of Leica and photography. It all has to fit together within the architecture. At least in Europe, and perhaps all over the world, you aren’t going to find many iconic brand stores like that besides some watch stores. It’s not about a single element either. Of course, we are proud of the store, but it’s always the combination. We want to incorporate that in all of our stores because in the end, our cameras are an instrument. You need to learn how to use it and we want to be able demonstrate that great images can be shot with such a device.

Q: The first official Leica Library is at the Leica Store Los Angeles and is curated by Martin Parr. The Leitz-Park store has a library well. Will libraries be a feature in future Leica stores?

A: As long as there is enough space, all of the stores will have them. All superstores will, at least.

Q: Is the Leica Store Wetlzar Leitz-Park’s library curated by Martin Parr?

A: Not yet, but it will be in the future.

Q: You have quite an impressive library personally, don’t you?

A: The books inspire me. I like to have them around me. If my office moves, they come with me. They are like my old friends.

Q: The other day, a Porsche motorcycle was rolled into the store. Can you tell us about that?

A: That was so people can see what kinds of stuff they can photograph. The store features a full photo studio.

Q: Is there going to be any specific artwork at the Leica Store Wetlzar Leitz-Park  like the “Fake Leica” from the Leica Store Los Angeles?

A: The “Fake Leica” is a hiccup. The artist who did it did a great job. The front is an analog Leica and the back is a digital Leica. I’ve seen a lot of techies approach it and complain that he butchered it but they don’t realize that it was purposeful, just to get you talking about it. Sometimes you have to ruffle some feathers.

Q: The Leica Store Wetlzar Leitz-Park has some special edition products that can only be found here. Can you comment on any of the items? Are there any that are particularly special to you?

A: We created the Leitz-Park brand and wanted to have something specific to it. That’s the idea behind it. We want to attract people to visit us in the future. We think that naming where you bought it, at the company superstore, is just a good approach. It’s a destination. It’s the birthplace of photography and we want to integrate more and more of that idea into our marketing approach. For me, it’s not that we talk about Leica history but that we talk about the history of photography. Oskar Barnack was really a genius. I mean, if you take a look into the X1, it’s 95 years after Oskar Barnack’s invention and the size is just the same. You don’t need something different. You have it in your hand and it’s a good balance. It’s quite amazing to see that. Leica is always trying to incorporate that into our work.

The special editions include four cameras, a Leica S, a silver chrome Leica M Monochrom, a Leica X Vario and a Leica X2 à la carte, and two pairs of binoculars, the Leica Ultravid 8×42 BL and 10×42 BL models with special red leather trim.

Q: Can you tease us about what might happen at photokina?

A: I don’t want to give away too much to our competitors. Our research and development team is working on some new stuff. You can expect something, but I don’t think I can remark now. All of my colleagues will get nervous.

Q: It seems like people flew in from all over the world for the Leitz-Park opening. Do you agree?

A: We are getting visitors from all over the place. The other day, the Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain was shopping in the store. There are Leica enthusiasts everywhere!

Thank you for your time, Mr. Schopf!

Learn more about the Leica Store Wetlzar Leitz-Park here:

http://en.leica-camera.com/Stores-Dealers/Leica-Stores-Worldwide/Leica-Store-Wetzlar-Leitz-Park

LEITZ PARK OPENING FESTIVAL - VIDEO

Here is a short video of the Leitz Park Opening Festival in Wetzlar



Leitz-Park Opening Festival from Leica Camera on Vimeo.

GRAND OPENING AT LEITZ PARK – A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENE

The grand opening of Leitz Park in Wetzlar has come and gone.  After the speeches and the introduction of new products from Leica, the daily work of making cameras and lenses have returned and memories linger.

Here are several photographs that offer a look behind the scene of the celebration.

About 2500 visitors gathered for the grand opening of Leitz Park and

the new headquarters of Leica Camera AG

A large tent was set up across the street for all the guests to gather

Dr. Andreas Kaufmann during his speech at the opening of the celebration

Dr. Andreas Kauffmann receiving a gift from district representative Wofgang Schuster

Wetzlar Mayor Wolfram Dette welcoming Leica back to the city of its origin

The Simon Bolivar String Quartet helped to make the celebration a success

The celebration was also used to award this year's Oskar Barnack Prize.

Here Dr. Andreas Kaufmann is congratulating the recipients Alejandro Cegara and Martin Kollar

Wetzlar mayor Wofram Dette on Monday at the townhall of Wetzlar, during the opening of a

special exhibition of  photographs by Leica photographer Reimund Schwarz. 

Special guest of honor, Dr. Knut Kühn-Leitz (center)

SURPRISES AT LEITZ PARK – NEW INTRODUCTIONS

Besides celebrating the official opening of the new headquarters of Leica Camera AG., Leica surprised everyone with the introduction of several new items.

First on the list is a new, non-electronic film (yes, film!) camera, the Leica M-A.  It emphasizes the continued commitment of Leica to no digital cameras and keeps them solidly as the only major camera manufacturer to do so.

Next is the new LEICA SUMMILUX-M 28 mm f/1.4 ASPH,. One of the fastest 28mm lenses on the market.  Little else is known at this time, but we will report on this new lens as soon as additional information is available.

Not to be outdone by wide angle photography, another new introduction was the LEICA MACRO-ELMAR-M 90 mm f/4 and the LEICA MACRO-ADAPTER-M.  The official Leica press release states:

 With the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4, Leica Camera AG presents a new, collapsible macro lens for the Leica M-System. As in the case of the previous generation of this lens, its performance has been optimised to cover the entire working range, from infinity to the closest macro focusing distance. This makes the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4 ideal not only as a moderate, universal telephoto lens, but also as a macro lens with exceptional imaging performance at close focusing distances. For example, in combination with the new Leica Macro- Adapter-M, specially designed and constructed for use with the Live View function of the Leica M, it allows photographers to capture spectacular close-up exposures at a reproduction ratio of up to 1:2.

The Leica Macro-Adapter-M is designed to be mounted between the camera and the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4. Its integrated helical screw system allows a variable extension of the lens of between 18 and 30 mm and thus enables the variation of the reproduction ratio. When mounted on the adapter, the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4 can also be used in its collapsed position for exposures up to infinity. Thanks to a new locking function, this allows photographers to set any distance from 41 cm (reproduction ratio 1:2) to infinity without having to dismount the adapter.

As the Macro-Adapter-M is also compatible with other M lenses, it offers Leica M photographers an even wider range of opportunities for creative composition and additional variety in reportage portfolios. With Leica lenses from 50 mm and greater, it enables macro exposures up to a reproduction ratio of 1:2 and, with wide-angle lenses, even larger ratios. The lens-to-subject distance decreases with decreasing focal lengths. The use of the adapter with 28, 35 or 50 mm lenses creates fascinating effects. The short distance from the subject creates extremely distorted perspectives and highly selective sharpness. Because, in contrast to a macro lens design, the imaging performance of these lenses is not optimised for such close focusing distances, it is advisable to stop them down by one or two aperture values. The use of the Macro-Adapter-M with lenses with focal lengths of less than 28 mm is not recommended, as the lens-to-subject distance must be extremely short to allow correct focusing.

Without the adapter, the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4 is an extremely versatile telephoto lens – for example, for portraits with shallow depth of field and in travel photography for capturing details in landscapes. For reportage photography, the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4 allows photographers to capture discreet shots at a greater distance from their subjects. In comparison, the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4 is a compact and lightweight alternative to existing Leica M-Lenses of this focal length. When not in use, the lens can be collapsed to save valuable space in the camera bag.

The optical design of the new Leica-Macro Elmar-M 90 mm f/4 comprises four lens elements in four groups. Its imaging performance is very good across the entire image field. Even wide open, at f/4, the lens delivers near optimum performance. This high imaging performance is preserved almost completely in its closest focusing range. The only significant effect of stopping the lens down is an increase in the depth of focus.

The Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90 mm f/4 and the Leica Macro-Adapter-M will be available from June 2014.

In addition, there are the Leica M Edition 100: Leica M-A and Leica Monochrom in Stainless Steel.  The pure non-electronic Leica M-A is based on the LEICA MP.

All of the visible metal parts both of the Leica M-A and the Leica Monochrom are made of solid stainless steel.  In addition, there is a set of three Summilux lenses with 28, 35 and 50mm focal length. The Leica M Edition 100 is limited to 101 pieces worldwide.

The official Leica press release states:

This year, Leica Camera AG is celebrating 100 years of Leica photography. On the occasion of this special anniversary, the company has already announced two special centennial editions – the Leica S Edition 100 and the Leica D-Lux 6 Edition 100. And now, a uniquely special highlight will be presented in the course of the official opening celebration for the new Leica headquarters in the Leitz Park complex in Wetzlar on 23 May 2014: the Leica M Edition 100.

As the first Leica special edition of its kind, the Leica M Edition 100 brings together a purely mechanical rangefinder camera for film photography – the Leica M-A – with a digital  M (Leica M Monochrom) in one set. The combination of these two cameras is unique. Its symbolic character as an homage to the beginnings of Leica 35 mm photography and, in particular, to black-and-white photography makes the centennial edition truly special. This applies, above all, to its high-quality construction and finish: for the first time ever, both Leica cameras and the lenses in this set are made from solid stainless steel.

Both cameras stand as symbols for the origins of Leica photography and the present day. The Leica M-A, with technical specifications based on the currently available Leica MP film camera, is a direct descendent of the Ur-Leica. Many of the elements Oskar Barnack invented for the Ur-Leica are revisited in this new camera. These include the fabric focal-plane shutter, the accessory shoe and removable baseplate – and of course it is built for using film. Alternatively, the second camera, a Leica M Monochrom, is the contemporary variation of the theme composed a century ago by Oskar Barnack. As the world’s first camera conceived exclusively for black-and-white 35 mm digital photography, and featuring a sensor specifically designed for this purpose, it carries the traditions of black-and-white photography into the digital age and sets entirely new standards of imaging quality.

Alongside the exclusive combination of products, above all the premium finish is one of the outstanding features of the Leica M Edition 100. This is the first time that stainless steel – a material that is extremely difficult to work with – has been employed for the visible metallic elements of Leica products. A special protective coating applied by a Swiss company protects the exposed surfaces against finger marks. Resistant and durable in equal measure, this material guarantees enduring value preservation and lends the products a refined character with a silky sheen. The premium appearance of both camera bodies is further complemented by the application of a special black leather trim.

The set also includes three Leica Summilux-M lenses with focal lengths of 28, 35 and 50 mm. Renowned for their combination of extremely compact size, speed and exceptional imaging quality, they ideally reflect the characteristic performance criteria with which Leica lenses contributed to the establishment of the brand as a legend. The M centennial set will be supplied in a black anodized aluminium case constructed by Rimowa especially for Leica. Inside, the case is subdivided into compartments precisely tailored to the individual components of the set and lined with real leather in black. The set also includes Kodak TRI-X 400 black-and-white film for use with the M-A. This film is considered a classic in the genres of art photography and reportage and is still renowned and extremely popular for its unmistakable look in prints. Special engraving on the top plate of the body commemorates the centennial, as do the unique serial numbers that end with the four digits of the years between 1914 and 2014.

The Leica M Edition 100 is strictly limited to 101 sets for the entire global market. The cameras and lenses will be available exclusively as sets from Leica Stores and Boutiques from June 2014; none of the items contained in the sets will be available as separate items.

More news to follow...