Leica prepping professional-level DSLR

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.