Leica’s 37 Megapixel D-SLR Leaked Ahead of Photokina

When you hear the name “Leica”, what’s the first thing to spring to mind? If you’re a regular shooter of point-and-shoot cameras, you might think of your lens, since the name is extremely popular in that area. If you take things a little more seriously, you probably think of the company’s quaint M-series… modestly-sized cameras that do well to invoke some serious creativity and also features some of the highest-quality glass around.

What? You mean you don’t immediately think of a 37 megapixel D-SLR? Don’t worry, no one else did either. But, it’s been leaked ahead of the Photokina trade show and already you can see people drooling. The S-series camera’s sensor falls between in between a full frame and medium format, and delivers a resolution most commonly seen on Hasselblads, but even those are physically larger.

The leaked article doesn’t mention a price tag, but you can be sure it’s going to be far out of the reach of many. Even the lens, at f/2.5 70mm is sure to carry a price tag that could almost buy another pro D-SLR. Other features include saving to the DNG open format, a three-inch LCD, high ISO support and the hope that we’ll begin to see other such Leica D-SLRs in the near-future.

“We realised that many professionals work with medium format but also keep another camera – a Canon or Nikon – for location work. We wanted to make something to occupy that middle ground. A camera that would give the quality of medium format and the handling and flexibility of 35mm.”