Leica rumors 2024
The year started with a bang, thanks to the much-leaked launch of the Leica SL3. This followed a suitably stylish year in 2023, between the launch of the Leica Q3, the Leica M11 Monochrom and the new silver version of the Leica SL2.
It's also been busy in the non-mirrorless world, celebrating the 60th anniversary of James Bond with the Leica D-Lux 007, re-entering the instant camera market after 7 years with the Leica Sofort 2 hybrid, and continuing its partnership to provide smartphone cameras for the Xiaomi 13T and 13T Pro.
So what else is in store for the most prestigious name in photography, aside from expectations of a new M11-P?
Leica D-Lux 8
Leica has got good mileage out of the D-Lux 7, which is based on the Panasonic LX100 II, with re-releases like the aforementioned D-Lux 007. However, the 2018 camera looks like it's going to be imminently replaced by a D-Lux 8. However, it's not going to be a radically redesigned camera – namely because there isn't a new Panasonic LX100 model to build it from.
There has been plenty of chatter – particularly with the insatiable hunger for fixed-lens APS-C compact cameras like the Fujifilm X100VI and Ricoh GR III – that the D-Lux 8 will have a larger sensor and a fixed focal length. However, there are zero signs that such changes are in order – so we are almost certainly still getting a Micro Four Thirds Sensor and a zoom lens.
It's possible (and I certainly hope) that the 17MP sensor gets a resolution bump, though I expect the equivalent 24-75mm f/1.7-2.8 lens to make another appearance. Though I would love it if Leica brought its phase detect AF technology from the SL3, Q3 and M11 to the D-Lux line!
Leica M11 Black Paint
Word is that we're about to get a Black Paint version of the Leica M11 – often seen as the last dance for an M camera before it is replaced by the next model.
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These celebratory editions are often made from brass and, as the name suggests, are coated in gorgeous glossy black paint. This gives the camera a stunning vintage look when it's brand new, but also makes it more susceptible to wear – and as the paint wears, it produces the coveted patina "brassing" effect common to genuine vintage cameras.
However, it sounds special edition might be merged with the…
Leica M11-D
How do you create the most film camera-like experience on a digital camera? Fujifilm does it with film simulations and analog-like exposure controls, and on the Fujifilm X-Pro3 it even tried to hide the rear LCD screen.
However, the way Leica does it is to get rid of the LCD screen (and the evlectronic viewfinder) altogether, so you literally have a digital camera where you cannot "chimp" and check your images after you've taken them.
This is the "D" line of Leica M cameras, and I hear that we're getting a Leica M11-D very soon – though it apparently won't have the fake film advance lever, a step too far that was introduced on the Leica M10-D and wasn't terribly well received.
There are conflicting reports, however, about whether the M11-D and M11 Black Paint will be two separate cameras or will in fact be a single, double-limited edition product. Either way, the M11D has been rumored to appear in May, so we shouldn't have long to wait!
Leica S4
Leica has discontinued its medium format DSLR, the Leica S3. It has long been dropping Easter eggs and teasers about going mirrorless for its next medium format camera, though, and a company exec recently all but spelled it out.
"For the moment, we are stopping S3, but I think there will be plans for a future S4," Cyril Thomas, CEO of Leica France, told Phototrend.
"When will it happen? It's not tomorrow, it's not in the near future. I don't think we will see this in 2024, I don't know about 2025, but I know that Leica has plans in terms of mirrorless cameras in the medium format."
Leica M11-D
Possibly the most niche product line offered by Leica looks set to get a new entry, in the form of the Leica M11-D. This is essentially a Leica M11 but without a rear LCD screen or any menu buttons – making it the closest thing to an analog experience while shooting on a digital camera.
If you want to shoot 60MP images without being able to check if anything was actually in focus or properly exposed, it sounds like you'll be able to buy an M11-D in the latter half of 2024!
The Leica verdict
We're looking forward to seeing Leica turn its hand to mirrorless medium format with the S4 – particularly with the strides that Fujifilm and Hasselbald have made in the arena. Other than that, expect more of the special edition cameras that Leica specializes in. After all, 2024 has some huge anniversaries: 60 years since Muhammad Ali's first world title win, 50 years of Snoopy and Dungeons & Dragons, 40 years of Transformers, 20 years of Peppa Pig and Facebook…
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