(Leica X1)Before going into the actual topic of this post, which is Leica's likely answer to the clumsily named X Pro 1 – let's keep the fingers crossed that the implementation of functions will be less so, we should learn something about today's shot of seemingly animal genocide. No, they were not killed by an insane serial animal killer. Cured meat like these cured, well, duck heads is a Chinese delicacy which has been proved to be cancerogenic upon excessive consumption. Such food is usually consumed with congee. If you don't know what congee is, look the word up in a dictionary. The neck meat is to be consumed not the head. Well, usually supposedly so.
Now back to the actual topic. The X Pro 1 is making lots of photographers ticklish, and people are speculating on Leica’s answer to it. For that matter, an interview with Leica CEO in September 2011 can shed light on this pent-up demand for an answer. The interview articles reveals a few cues:
1) Leica will probably offer a ILC-like camera to fill the line-up and pricing gap between the X1 and the M to mark its centennial celebration which is in 2013
2) That bridging camera is not expected to have a diminutive body but will have an EVF.
3) The features will be in line with Leica’s philosophy: not too flowery to upstage simplicity in design and functions
4) The sensor type is still to be decided (Considering that the reporter probably has no good knowledge in camera because she keeps relating MFT to Sony, Canon and Nikon ILCs, as well as the business cooperation between Leica and Panasonic, my guesstimate is that Schopf’s was a polite reply. But it can also hint that the MFT sensor will be a choice if the larger APS-C under consideration doesn’t prove better and more cost effective.
As a side note, obviously, it doesn't take rocket science to figure out what the CEO means about smart phones and cameras: first, they are never the same even though in some cases the latter like the X1 doesn’t have an integrated VF; second, we now know the answer for sure as per the perpetual myth of what differs an image from a photo -- "If you look at the picture quality, it’s different. You can shoot images with such devices (phones), but (they are) not photos” Very humourously well-said indeed.
The full interview article is as follows:
Singapore’s My Paper (English) SOPHIE HONG 2011-09-16
1) Leica will probably offer a ILC-like camera to fill the line-up and pricing gap between the X1 and the M to mark its centennial celebration which is in 2013
2) That bridging camera is not expected to have a diminutive body but will have an EVF.
3) The features will be in line with Leica’s philosophy: not too flowery to upstage simplicity in design and functions
4) The sensor type is still to be decided (Considering that the reporter probably has no good knowledge in camera because she keeps relating MFT to Sony, Canon and Nikon ILCs, as well as the business cooperation between Leica and Panasonic, my guesstimate is that Schopf’s was a polite reply. But it can also hint that the MFT sensor will be a choice if the larger APS-C under consideration doesn’t prove better and more cost effective.
As a side note, obviously, it doesn't take rocket science to figure out what the CEO means about smart phones and cameras: first, they are never the same even though in some cases the latter like the X1 doesn’t have an integrated VF; second, we now know the answer for sure as per the perpetual myth of what differs an image from a photo -- "If you look at the picture quality, it’s different. You can shoot images with such devices (phones), but (they are) not photos” Very humourously well-said indeed.
The full interview article is as follows:
Singapore’s My Paper (English) SOPHIE HONG 2011-09-16
Phone cameras not a threat, says Leica CEO
MOBILE-PHONE manufacturers are increasingly equipping their handsets with higher-megapixel cameras these days.
The trend has led some to wonder if the traditional camera would go the way of the dodo bird.
However, in the eyes of Mr Alfred Schopf, the global chief executive of Leica Camera, that is not an issue at all.
Here’s why: The sensor of a traditional camera is more powerful than that of a cellphone camera.
“Currently, the cameras on mobile phones have very small sensors, due to the space limit. The smaller the sensor, the lesser the depth of field in your photographs,” he told my paper on Monday in an exclusive interview. Mr Schopf was in town to visit Leica’s office here.
“If you look at the picture quality, it’s different. You can shoot images with such devices, but (they are) not photos,” he said. That is why high-end brands in the market, including Leica, do not feel threatened by the emergence of cellphone cameras, he added.
For Leica, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013, worldwide sales in the first quarter of its fiscal year have gone up by 28.7 per cent.
The German firm’s interim report also noted that camera sales in the Asian region have seen a rise of over 30 per cent.
Of late, camera manufacturers have been racing to come up with mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses.
Also known as Micro Four Thirds cameras, these devices are close to digital single-lens reflex, or DSLR, cameras in performance but come in much smaller sizes – one factor that has made the Micro Four Thirds system a hit in the mass-consumer market.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Sony’s market share in Japan has doubled after its foray into the Micro Four Thirds market with the Sony Nex series.
In contrast, the combined Japan market share of the world’s two biggest high-end camera makers, Canon and Nikon, which have not unveiled any Micro Four Thirds camera, has dropped by 35 per cent.
When asked if Leica would be launching its own line of Micro Four Thirds cameras, Mr Schopf said that the brand already has the Leica X1, a compact camera, and the M-System, which has interchangeable lenses but not an electronic viewfinder.
“We are at the borderline of compact-system cameras already, with the Leica X1 and Leica M-System, and it’s pretty obvious that, at one point, we are going to offer something in between,” said Mr Schopf.
“But we have to look very carefully into what sensor parts we are using and what features we are offering.”
MOBILE-PHONE manufacturers are increasingly equipping their handsets with higher-megapixel cameras these days.
The trend has led some to wonder if the traditional camera would go the way of the dodo bird.
However, in the eyes of Mr Alfred Schopf, the global chief executive of Leica Camera, that is not an issue at all.
Here’s why: The sensor of a traditional camera is more powerful than that of a cellphone camera.
“Currently, the cameras on mobile phones have very small sensors, due to the space limit. The smaller the sensor, the lesser the depth of field in your photographs,” he told my paper on Monday in an exclusive interview. Mr Schopf was in town to visit Leica’s office here.
“If you look at the picture quality, it’s different. You can shoot images with such devices, but (they are) not photos,” he said. That is why high-end brands in the market, including Leica, do not feel threatened by the emergence of cellphone cameras, he added.
For Leica, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013, worldwide sales in the first quarter of its fiscal year have gone up by 28.7 per cent.
The German firm’s interim report also noted that camera sales in the Asian region have seen a rise of over 30 per cent.
Of late, camera manufacturers have been racing to come up with mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses.
Also known as Micro Four Thirds cameras, these devices are close to digital single-lens reflex, or DSLR, cameras in performance but come in much smaller sizes – one factor that has made the Micro Four Thirds system a hit in the mass-consumer market.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Sony’s market share in Japan has doubled after its foray into the Micro Four Thirds market with the Sony Nex series.
In contrast, the combined Japan market share of the world’s two biggest high-end camera makers, Canon and Nikon, which have not unveiled any Micro Four Thirds camera, has dropped by 35 per cent.
When asked if Leica would be launching its own line of Micro Four Thirds cameras, Mr Schopf said that the brand already has the Leica X1, a compact camera, and the M-System, which has interchangeable lenses but not an electronic viewfinder.
“We are at the borderline of compact-system cameras already, with the Leica X1 and Leica M-System, and it’s pretty obvious that, at one point, we are going to offer something in between,” said Mr Schopf.
“But we have to look very carefully into what sensor parts we are using and what features we are offering.”
On Micro Four Thirds devices, Mr Schopf said: “They have compact bodies and huge lenses in front. I feel a little bit stressed by that design, to be honest.”
It may take a bit more time to see a Leica Micro Four Thirds camera on the market, but Mr Schopf reassured fans of the brand that this is to ensure that high standards are maintained.
It may take a bit more time to see a Leica Micro Four Thirds camera on the market, but Mr Schopf reassured fans of the brand that this is to ensure that high standards are maintained.
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