Leica prepping professional-level DSLR
updated 01:00 pm EDT, Mon September 22, 2008
Leica S2 DSLR camera
Leica is preparing an unexpected new camera, writes Professional Photographer. Better known for its rangefinder cameras like the M8, Leica is said to be working on a new DSLR, the S2. The camera is being targeted exclusively at the professional market, and should have a 37-megapixel full-frame sensor, 56 percent bigger than that of its competitors. This may theoretically put the S2 in competition with medium format cameras like the H3D-II, rather than DSLRs like the Sony A900.
A Leica spokesman, David Bell, says that the camera is intended for pros who would normally resort to high-end Canon or Nikon DSLRs on location, but prefer the quality of medium format. The S2 is said by PP to be somewhere between an EOS-5D and 1Ds Mk. III in terms of size, and have a three-inch LCD; according to Leica product manager Maike Harberts, autofocus should also be "twice as fast" as Hasselblad's H series, and superior when it comes to high ISOs.
Though no prices or release dates have been announced, the S2 is already set to have nine unique S-series lenses, including a 120mm macro, a tilt-and-shift 30mm, a 24mm ultra-wide, and a regular 70mm f/2.5. Some of the lenses will supplant the S2's focal-plane shutter with a leaf system, enabling higher-speed flash sync.
