• Today, Leica has made their latest version of Image Shuttle software, version 3.3, available for download. The new version supports the following cameras:

    Leica S (Typ 007)
    Leica S (Typ 006)
    Leica S-E […]

    • I use both Windows and Mac OS. I'd definitely appreciate a Windows version soon, but my understanding is that the ball is in Adobe's court, not that Leica is trying to snub Windows users.

  • Staying true to their promise to deliver the S-Adapter L by Q2 2016, Leica has announced that the long-awaited adapter will start shipping immediately. The S-Adapter L allows the use of the entire range o […]

  • Yesterday, the photography world suffered a great loss. Micheal Reichmann, known best for founding the Luminous Landscape website 17 years ago, passed away after a year-long battle with cancer.

    Michael and I […]

    • I will always have Michael next to my heart. Literally. When Luminous Landscape issued DVDs, I bought all of them, and ripped the tracks to MP4 i-device-compatible videos. There are 11 videos on Iceland alone. The good news is, instead of having a nameless or faceless presenter of scenes, Michael and his associates are participants and presenters in these photographic adventure videos. And having them at hand at all times, they continue to inspire me as well as others I come into contact with.

  • So, this press release came across my inbox this morning and I have to say, the Metal Jacket looks very, very cool for those looking to put the Leica SL (Typ 601) into service for professional video applications. […]

  • The first batch of Leica M-D (Typ 262) cameras are making their way to dealers in the US this week.

    The initial delivery, as is the case for most new Leica products, is extremely meager, with just a hand […]

  • Today, Leica Camera has released new firmware for most of its current digital M lineup. The firmware fixes a number of bugs and improves operational stability of the M (Typ 240), M-P (Typ 240), M (Typ 262) and M […]

  • Today, Leica Camera has announced the Leica M-D (Typ 262), a full-frame digital M rangefinder camera with no rear LCD screen, live view, video or electronic viewfinder compatibility. The camera features similar […]

  • Today, Leica Camera has announced a collaboration with high-end German camera bag designer and manufacturer Oberwerth. The ‘Oberwerth for Leica' set has been made exclusively for Leica and is limited to 800 […]

    • Here's one Oberwerth user who can testify to the outstanding quality and aesthetics of Oberwerth bags. They are an excellent value.

  • While Adobe Lightroom, which comes bundled with the camera, does support direct tethering, I've had some Leica S photographers inquire how they can set up a straightforward and solid tethered workflow into […]

    • For the S (Typ 006), you will have to use Image Shuttle 2.2, but the procedure remains the same.

    • I am in a Windows 10 environment. Can I tether in a Windows environment?

      (I am a big fan of C1 and I hope I can make use of it with my 007).

      Thanks,

      • Fred,

        Unfortunately, there is no Image Shuttle 3 for Windows 10 just yet. I'm hoping to see this soon, as I work in both OS X and Windows environments.

    • You can't set White Balance to the default DNG profile, but you can create a preset. Alternatively, what I was doing in my testing was to manually set a gray card white balance in the camera before shooting the tethered session. I find this technique works well, and have used it for LR as well going back to the S2.

  • In 2015, Leica Camera USA announced a special pricing promotion to compensate for the weakness of the Euro versus the US Dollar, cutting retail pricing on nearly all photographic equipment by 12%. That pr […]

  • Today, Leica has released a major new firmware update for the SL (Typ 601): Version 2.0. This firmware incorporates a considerable number of new features, enhancements, stability improvements and bug fixes. Before […]

    • I have never been so happy with a firmware update before. 🙂 thanks for breaking down the updates! greatly appreciated since exploring the updates last night on the camera where very DIY.

      Thanks Josh!!

    • There might be some inherent hardware-based per-pixel noise reduction in the imaging pipeline, but a DNG wouldn't have software NR applied to it like a high ISO JPG shot in-camera would. You'd still have to apply NR in post processing, just as before when a DNG+JPG was captured. The JPG used for preview would have NR; the DNG wouldn't.

  • Developing an entirely new lens lineup is no easy task. For the recently released SL, Leica focused their initial efforts on quickly launching high quality zooms for the system, in an attempt to cover the largest […]

    • I enjoyed your review as usual. The lens looks like a stellar performer.

    • Arif replied 9 years ago

      Great review David! Seems like a lens worth having.

    • Hi David
      I hope you're well.
      Great report as usual – I had the lens for a week, but I didn't have time to really do it justice.
      Hope to get my hands on one again soon.

      best
      Jono

    • Correct, there are no strap lugs on the lens itself. I had no issues carrying from just the camera strap. The lens points downwards which doesn't exert the same kind of lateral torque on the lens mount that mounting it to a tripod from the body would. In that case, use the tripod foot to remove the stress on the mount.

    • I don't know what the stock situation in Hong Kong is like these days. Here in the US, the 90-280 is still in short supply relative to demand.

  • Today, Leica has released a major firmware update for the latest S (Typ 007). This release adds in features that I have wanted since first testing the camera in Iceland last summer. Here's the full rundown of […]

    • Mark, unfortunately, the distance scale is only available in meters, even on v3.0.0.0. I made a request/suggestion during my initial testing for the scale to be in feet as well.

    • David,
      Thanks for the walk through.
      An easy update. Surprised they jumped from calling it a 2.xxx all the way to 3.0.0.0..0000
      I expect 3.00.001 to convert meters into feet. And what other suggestions did you make that they may include on 3.00.002?

      I like that it will update my old lenses “automatically” so I will be good to go as soon as the S 350mm is announced.

  • Today, Leica Camera has officially launched the Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm f/2.8-4 lens in the USA. Priced at $6,395, the lens is expected to ship in April. This will be the second SL-system lens r […]

    • What would be a compact elegant leica-like camera if only for the fact that the only thing made for the front of it are metal munching monster lenses. They promised a 50mm normal i think…. thats the lens which should have come out. Whats needed is a pancake 40mm. Hold the blueberries… make is short stack..

      • I'm sure there will plenty of primes to come, starting with the 50 f/1.4 Summilux-SL coming later this year. In order to cover the widest range of focal lengths, the two zooms were launched first.

    • Yes, the 90-280 SL has a very nicely designed rotating, detachable tripod collar. There is a knob to lock the rotation and a knob with safety release for the tripod food.

    • The collar is part of the lens. The foot is removable.

  • Today, Leica has announced special promotional pricing on two Leica T Camera System sets. The sets each come with a Leica T (Typ 701) in  your choice either black or silver, a Vario-Elmar-T 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH […]

  • The newly revised, and recently announced, 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH lenses are starting to ship in the US, in both black and silver. The 35mm Cron has always been a solid go-to lens for the M shooter. And now, […]

  • Well, this one is interesting. It seems that Leica is looking to join in on the smartphone camera party. More pictures are taken every year by smartphones than any other camera category. Zeiss has been involved in […]

    • It would be cool to see a Leica lens on a smartphone, but first some observations:

      While the lenses on the Panasonic-related D-Lux and D-Lux 6 are/were top-notch lenses, the Leica lens on the new $700 Panasonic ZS-100 is not so great. The Leica lenses on the Leica C and related Panasonic LF1 were not very good at all. The tiny LF1 was $500 and the Leica version around $800, so their lenses should have been superb, but weren't even very good.

      Canon makes a pocket superzoom (SX720) whose lens is superb, from 24 mm equiv. to 960 mm – fantastic!

      Apple's iPhone6 lens is incredibly good – limited only by a tiny phone sensor. Clip-on lenses from Olloclip and (soon to be) Zeiss extend the iPhone lens, with excellent quality results.

      So, cellphones may benefit from a Leica lens, but only if they are made and implemented extremely well.

  • One of the most significant changes in the Leica S (Typ 007) over the previous S (Typ 006) and S2 is the addition of Live View functionality. While purists might consider LV to be an extraneous and gimmicky […]

    • Thanks David,
      You showed me some features I had yet to discover myself. The focus peaking in zoom with the ability to then see the finished result zoomed in and switching from one shot to the next still zoomed is a handy tool indeed.

      I suggest you consider also to do a video on the use of wifi control sometime. Photographers who have had live view for smaller formats for sometime may be very familiar with the magic of wifi enabled focus but I was not. Using wifi control of focus on my iPhone is certainly more handy than merely having a swingable LCD display. This of course assumes one is on a tripod for critical adjustments. It also allows me in interior architectural work to place the camera totally against a wall for maximum field of view and still see what the camera is taking via the iPhone view.

  • After a few iterations of Beta plug-ins from Adobe, we now have full and stable tethering support for the Leica S (Typ 007) in Lightroom. The functionality isn't natively in Lightroom yet, so don't be looking for […]

  • Leica has released a new firmware version for the T (Typ 701) camera: version 1.5. The firmware adds a major new feature that allows users to connect an iOS or Android device directly to the T via Wi-Fi, instead […]

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