Have some spare change in these troubled economic times? Want a nice camera to go along with your sailboat? Leica unveiled two new cameras today that may just suit your needs. First off is the extremely anticipated (and expensive) successor to their M8 rangefinder and the second camera is a relatively compact camera that packs a large CMOS sensor and a fixed lens. Rangefinder/retro camera lovers will be drooling all right now; but for the average Joe, price vs feature set ratio… or even price alone, will make things like the Leica M9 one of those ‘unattainable’ items in life.
Anyway, here are their specifications. On a sidenote, you can buy a Canon EOS 1D Mark III or Nikon D3 or about four mid-range SLRs for the same price as the M9.
Leica M9
(Rangefinder camera)
- 18 megapixel Kodak CCD sensor (Full frame)
- Leica M lens mount
- 2.5 inch LCD (230k pixels)
- Built-in rangefinder with parallax correction
- Full manual controls with RAW/DNG modes and flash hotshoe
- No movie mode
- SD/SDHC memory card slot
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available now if you’re in the UK, 4850 pounds (body only) or for almost $8000
Leica X1
(Large-sensor compact camera)
- 12 megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C)
- Leica Elmarit 24 mm fixed-lens (equivalent to 36 mm), f2.8 aperture
- 2.7 inch LCD
- Live view only; optional external viewfinder attaches to hotshoe
- Shutter speed and aperture value dials
- On-board flash; hotshoe available
- ISO range of 100 - 3200
- Full manual controls; point-and-shoot operation also available
- 11 point AF
- 3 FPS burst mode
- No movie mode (obviously, it’s a Leica!)
- SD/SDHC memory card slot
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in January 2010 for $2000