At Photokina -- always a thrilling time, along with the Perpignan Visa pour l'image festival at about the same time each year -- Leica is announcing a range of items. However, one caught my attention in particular: the new Leica S (Type 007).
The new Type007, next to its predecessor, the 006, which will still be produced as a more economical (a relative term in the $20,000 range) version of the camera.
I've not mention the S (or S2, as it was named when first introduced in 2009) because it's spectacularly expensive, involves a whole new lens system (also spectacularly expensive) and is aimed at studio photographers who would be transferring from the (also very expensive) medium-format film and digital systems from, say, Hasselblad.
But now, it comes with video ... which is interesting. 4K video. As the link above, from the Leica Forum says: "The information from Wetzlar is a little bit sketchy, it’s not clear if the 4k video resolution comes from the complete sensor of only a limited sensor area.
"If this is an interesting option for the target group of professional photographers – I don’t know. And if professional film makers are interested in a 20,000 € photo camera for medium format shooting? We’ll see…"
Me, I'm uncertain why a "cinematographer" (irony quotes to indicate my doubts whether a title originally geared to describe people shooting film in big cameras like the old Mitchell applies to someone capturing HD video in a DSLR) would drop four times the money he could spend on, say, a Canon D7 Mark II to buy this. The video had better be really spectacular.
But, being the huge Leica fanboy that I am, I really hope it is ...
