Leica Camera

Leica Camera

Leica has also announced the X1, a compact camera with a large APS-C sensor and a fixed 35mm equivalent field-of-view F2.8 autofocus lens. Featuring a design reminiscent of M-series rangefinders, complete with analogue-style shutter speed and aperture dials, the camera offers a choice of fully automatic or manual control. A 2.7" LCD and 12Mp CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 100 to 3200 round off the specification.

It's hard to think of a recent product announcement less expected, yet in retrospect more logical than Leica's fixed lens, large sensor compact, the X1. With the company's long-standing cooperation with Panasonic, it seems everyone was expecting to see a Leica-branded version of the 'rangefinder-esque' GF1 Micro Four Thirds compact. But perhaps Leica felt that very design philosophy came too close to treading on the toes of its M series, and instead chose to pursue another of its historically strong product sectors with a fixed lens compact designed for the discerning photographer.

During our recent visit to the company's Solms Headquarters we were amongst the first group of people from outside the company to be introduced to the X1, and have to say it's a very attractive camera indeed. Shorn of the stylistically-challenged bolt-on grip that appeared on the inevitable internet-leaked picture, it resembles nothing so much as a miniaturized M with more curvaceous, even feminine styling (to the extent of sharing Leica's new 'steel gray' finish with the M9).