Leica is known for its rangefinder cameras, which were in the hands of some of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson. In this century it has, of necessity, diversified into the digital and point-and-shoot markets. But Leica has been consistent in bringing their unique touch to their offerings, and their latest point-and-shoot model — the C-Lux, announced on June 15th and available for preorder — is true to that precedent.
I’ve put the salient specs for the C-Lux below. If you don’t want to read through them, I can summarize by saying that it is a top-of-the-line point-and-shoot camera. More interesting to me is the care Leica took to make sure that this luxury camera, available in Light Gold or Midnight Blue, is equipped with a full line of unique accessories. You can see the entire accessory line here – some highlights follow:
- This leather camera case () is available in red, blue, or taupe. The retro styling is reminiscent of old-fashioned camera cases which allowed for shooting with the case cover half off.
- Leica fans who want protection for their camera but still want all its functions accessible can get the leather protection case (), which protects significant portions of the camera while leaving its buttons and screen visible.
- For holding the camera, you can get either a wrist strap () or a carrying strap (). You can also go for a bag — the leather handbag () is available in red or black and the outdoor case () is made of water-repellant fabric.
- I personally have my eyes on the leather vintage pouch () and the leather vintage case (). These are unique pieces made out of polished natural leather, and they look gorgeous.
As for the specs, like I said, the C-Lux is a top-of-the-line camera. Some highlights that make this camera special include:
- A 1″ 20-megapixel image sensor behind a 15x optical zoom lens — zoom from 24 mm to 360 mm (at 35 mm equivalent)
- 10 frame-per-second continuous shooting for 28 images with RAW capture, or 85 images with JPG capture
- ISO 25,600 image capture with shutter speeds as long as 120-seconds and as short as 1/6000th of a second
- Integrated electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a high resolution 2.33 megapixel screen that covers 100% of the image field; adjustable diopter compensation setting for glasses-wearers
- 4K video capture with 8 megapixel still image extraction
- 49 metering points for its ultra-fast autofocus
- 5-axis optical image stabilization and pop-up flash
- Wifi and Bluetooth integration
- A 3″ TFT-LCD touchscreen display through which you can share your photos and videos instantly to your phone’s Leica C-Lux app (for Android and iPhone/iPad – these apps can also be used to remotely trigger your C-Lux)
As a postscript, I found this camera’s name interesting — Leica has already used almost exactly the same name in a digital camera released in 2006 – the Leica C-Lux 1, actually currently available for parts from Adorama’s Used Department. This was followed by the C-Lux 2 and C-Lux 3 in the next years. Of course, that camera was nothing like this one — it was a six-megapixel point-and-shoot with a 1/2.5” sensor and a top ISO of 1600. How times have changed!
