Leica S3, L-Mount and more

Leica launches its S3 medium format DSLR and invites Panasonic and Sigma bosses to appear on its stage

Leica Camera has been transformed in the last decade or so from a company on the brink to a healthy and adventurous concern that has shed its stuffy pre-digital persona. It has managed to combine that trademark simplicity and retro-esque style with genuinely up to date technologies without disenfranchising its traditional customers who love the old Leica way of doing things.

Leica’s Photokina 2018 headline,was, in theory, the unveiling of the next-generation medium format S3 DSLR, ten years after the launch of the original S2. It sports 64 megapixels, 3 frames per second shooting and the whole sensor area can now be employed for video work at up to 4K resolution. It’s going to start shipping in the Spring of next year.

Meanwhile, attention turned briefly to the Leica full frame SL mirrorless system and, most importantly its L-mount.

 

 

The Leica S3 announcement was completely overshadowed by the assembly of head honchos from Leica, Sigma and Panasonic, confirming their joint commitment to and and involvement in the production of gear based on Leica’s L-mount  mirrorless platform.

Bizarrely, protocol was maintained and there was no direct mention of the Leica L-mount based Panasonic Lumix S mirrorless cameras revealed by Panasonic only a short while later at their own press conference – in the very same room.