Film isn’t dead yet. That’s the obvious message behind Leica digging up its roots and reimagining its storied M6 rangefinder film camera from 1984 and releasing a brand new variant in 2022.
Leica is going all in on the revival of classics. In addition to restarting production of its M6 film rangefinder, the company is also bringing back the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 originally released in 1961.
Leica has announced that it has redesigned the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH lens in several ways to make what it says is one of the most versatile M lenses even more flexible.
Vintage lenses are more popular than ever, thanks in large part to the mirrorless revolution as well as affordable, high-quality cinema and hybrid video cameras. These lenses are regularly “cine modded” for video use due to their unique character and less clinical rendering, (sometimes) affordable prices compared to cine lenses, helicoid-driven focus with hard stops, and physical aperture rings (which are often de-clicked).
The Leica Lisse store in the Netherlands has acquired an extremely rare lens: the huge, 26-pound Leica / Hughes Leitz 17mm f/2. This is the only example of this wide-angle lens produced and is currently available for purchase for just $47,200.
Sharp has just announced the Aquos R6 smartphone with a large Leica-branded lens and huge 1-inch sensor, a first for a traditional handset manufacturer.
Leica has announced its version of the popular "desert island" lens in the Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH., what it calls an "ideal lens with broad appeal," as it is capable across multiple disciplines from travel, studio, architecture, photojournalism, portraiture, and more.
Voigtlander has announced the 28mm f/2 Ultron Vintage Line lens for Leica M-mount, combining a classic lens exterior with modern optics. The new lens will be available in three different colors.
A rare Leica lens has sold for more than some people will pay for a house. The Vario-Elmar-M 3.5-5.6/28-75mm ASPH. prototype was initially estimated to sell for between €60,000 and €80,000 (~$72,430 and ~$96,570), but blew past those projections easily, closing at €240,000 (~290,000).
Leica has just unveiled two new products for M-system photographers and collectors with deep pockets. The $13,000 Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH lens promises to "set a new benchmark" for portrait photography, while the $15,000 limited edition Leica M10-P "Ghost Edition" camera takes a design cue from faded wristwatches to create a gray and silver version of the M10-P.
Newer Leica lenses have a special lens code on the mount flange of each lens that informs the camera of what's mounted on it, and allows lens-related EXIF data to be embedded inside photographs. If you have an older Leica lens or a third-party lens on your hands, you might not have this special code, but did you know that you can apply the code manually to a code-less lens using black and white paint?
La Vida Leica! has published a tutorial showing how simple the process is: it only takes around $15 and 15 minutes to do.
Hidden in-between all of the camera announcements from Leica at their May 10th event, was a lens that made quite a stir. At 50mm and f/2.0 the new Leica APO-Summicron-M ASPH lens doesn't seem like anything to write home about; and with a price tag of almost $8,700 it falls a bit outside most consumers' price range.
Leica's justification of the price, however, has to do with the craftsmanship that goes into each of these lenses, and the quality that this leads to. Like all of Leica's lenses, each one is hand-made: the optics are inspected and assembled by hand, the casing is put together by hand, even the numbers on the lens are painted by hand; and the catch phrase for the lens on Leica's website, "Anything but a standard lens," isn't off the mark.
You might have heard about Leica’s legendary manufacturing quality, but have you seen it? The company released this promotional …