Leica X1

The 12.2 megapixel camera isn’t cheap – the list price is $2,200 – but it should do most of what the M9 does. First, that lens. You can’t change it, and it doesn’t zoom, but as most Leica-M users stick to a 35mm lens anyway, the Elmarit 24mm f/2.8 Ashperical should do the trick. The math nerds will have noticed that 35 divided by 24 is 1.46. This betrays the X1’s huge sensor. It is bigger than the micro four thirds sensors, and essentially puts a DSLR-sized (APS-C) chip into a compact camera.

ISO runs from 100 to 3200, shutter speeds up to 1/2000th of a second, and there are 11 focus points plus face-detection. There is also a pop-up flash and a 2.7-inch, 230,000 dot LCD screen.

In addition to the usual auto-modes, the X1 has manual aperture and shutter-speed dials on the top plate, and that when you buy it, it comes with a license for Adobe’s Lightroom software, a very welcome addition as bundled software is usually awful.

The one thing missing is an optical viewfinder, but following the trend set by the Olympus EP-1, you can buy one to slot into the hot-shoe mount up top. It’ll cost you, of course (another $350), but if these optional finders become popular then a third-party market might grow to sell them, just like in the olden days of ‘finder-less “rangefinders”.

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We’re looking forward to this. It could actually be the true spiritual successor to Leica’s now anachronistic M-series.

The X1 will be arriving in January 2010.

Via Wired