Today's Buzz: Leica Announces the Leica-T System

Leica officially announced the Leica-T System today.

(The news was supposed to be embargoed until today, but the company put the information on their website a day early.  Someone noticed and posted the information a day early.)

The camera has created a great deal of buzz.  There were 15 different articles on it in my RSS feed today.


The new Leica T-System from Leica Camera on Vimeo.

For a full list of specifications, head over to La Vida Leica.  They have everything yo need to know about the camera and include links to various stories on the camera at the bottom of the article.  (As well as a large number of additional videos.)


My first response was "$1850 for a camera with a 16MP APS-C sensor?"  That's the price without a lens?  Oh, and there are only two lenses specifically made for it right now?

Then I saw it had no ability to save images in RAW mode.  JPG format only.  ($1,850 for a camera that can't record in RAW mode is a deal-breaker as far as I'm concerned.)


So why does it cost so much, and why the buzz?

First, it's a Leica.  The name alone carries a certain amount of cachet.

Secondly, you're paying for German engineering.  (Yes, it's a camera not a car.)  The body is milled from a single block of aluminum that is hand finished.   That alone accounts for a great deal of the extra cost. 


Frankly, the camera does not seem to be targeted at professional photographers or even serious amateurs.  (The lack of RAW capability means those photographers probably have better options.)  It seems more targeted at enthusiasts looking to make a statement with the camera's design.

I don't expect strong sales numbers for this camera.  It seems designed for a niche market.


That being said, this may mark a trend for camera development.  There seems to be a limit on the amount of resolution a sensor can cram into a sensor before noise becomes an issue.  16-20 megapixels seems to be the sweet-spot for APS-C or 4/3 sensors.

That means manufacturers can't differentiate their APS-C of 4/3 camera offerings by increasing the resolution.  That leaves offering additional features or design.

Leica has opted for the latter.