endergemini wrote:
The Xiaomi/Leica phones interest me as I am an Android user and becoming disillusioned by Samsung's reluctance to innovate (or even add a larger battery than the same one used the past 5 or so Ultras). If these will be available in Leica stores in the US that will be a welcome addition as typically buyers have to purchase the global models from overseas. There have been collaborations with Xiaomi and Sharp for "Leica" phones for a while now but it feels like they are starting to take more of a real interest as other Chinese phone OEMs build their collaborations with Zeiss and Hasselblad. Most would assume but it should be said that Leica is not making the actual phones, they are providing/informing the optics and color science/modes for said phones. ...Show more →
The new phone line with be branded "Leica Leitzphone" and be very photo/video centric in design and capability. Even a zoom lens. More like a camera that does smartphone stuff. It should be officially announced by end of the Month. Stores are already being configured for it.
Rear Camera System (Leica co-engineered):
50MP main camera (1-inch OmniVision OV50X sensor, f/1.67, Leica Summilux optics).
200MP periscope telephoto (1/1.4-inch sensor, f/2.6, 3.2x–4.3x continuous optical zoom, Leica APO certified).
50MP ultrawide (14mm equivalent, f/2.2, 115° field of view).
Front Camera: 50MP selfie camera.
Unique Leica Edition Features:
Physical Master Zoom Ring around the camera module for manual control of zoom, exposure, white balance, and quick camera launch.
Exclusive Leica Moment modes with 3:2 aspect ratio, M9-style colors, and M3 + Monopan 50 black-and-white film simulations.
Dedicated security/encryption chip for photo authenticity protection.
Dual-satellite communication (BeiDou + Tiantong).
Two-tone Leica-inspired design with red dot logo, textured edges, and premium gift box (includes lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case, cleaning cloth).
Leica have curated a brand mystique over decades. While some people are put off by it, others consider Leica cameras and lense to be among the best available. They love the optics and the rangefinder experience that are core to the brand.
IMO, such mystique will be unlikely to transition to products that do not have decades of brand history and excellence behind them. Sports optics may be an exception.
The risk is that their attempts to expand product lines will tend to dilute the very cache that they spent many years building.
retrofocus wrote:
IMO Leica should bring the M-E series back as they made it for the M9 and M 240 series. It was a more affordable entry way into the M system without sacrificing camera performance. This is what I see missing in Leica - only looking currently at the top end of the market and neglecting the entry level (M-E series, Summarit lenses etc).
As somebody on another forum recently put it: "Not all of the youngsters are happy with a worn-out M4 plus an old Summicron..."
SlowDriver wrote:
As somebody on another forum recently put it: "Not all of the youngsters are happy with a worn-out M4 plus an old Summicron..."
+1. Exactly - they probably could save enough money to get a newer entry level M with more affordable Leica lens instead. Leica loses currently out on this IMO also important market. There is a good reason why all these more affordable Chinese M lens manufacturers are so successful with some versions quickly sold out. Leica doesn't even currently bother to look at this lower priced M lens market.
1bwana1 wrote:
The new phone line with be branded "Leica Leitzphone" and be very photo/video centric in design and capability. Even a zoom lens. More like a camera that does smartphone stuff. It should be officially announced by end of the Month. Stores are already being configured for it.
Rear Camera System (Leica co-engineered):
50MP main camera (1-inch OmniVision OV50X sensor, f/1.67, Leica Summilux optics).
200MP periscope telephoto (1/1.4-inch sensor, f/2.6, 3.2x–4.3x continuous optical zoom, Leica APO certified).
50MP ultrawide (14mm equivalent, f/2.2, 115° field of view).
Front Camera: 50MP selfie camera.
Unique Leica Edition Features:
Physical Master Zoom Ring around the camera module for manual control of zoom, exposure, white balance, and quick camera launch.
Exclusive Leica Moment modes with 3:2 aspect ratio, M9-style colors, and M3 + Monopan 50 black-and-white film simulations.
Dedicated security/encryption chip for photo authenticity protection.
Dual-satellite communication (BeiDou + Tiantong).
Two-tone Leica-inspired design with red dot logo, textured edges, and premium gift box (includes lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case, cleaning cloth)....Show more →
The phone is the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition, they are just rebranding it Leitzphone for global release and changing the color from the dual tone to a dark gray but that may be region dependent on offerings. It has been out in China since December I believe. There are a bunch of reviews out along with comparisons of the camera vs the Zeiss lens found in the Vivo X300 Pro:
There is some confusion as to whether or not the global version will have the same size battery and if it will have access to specific bands for ATT and Verizon here in the US (otherwise will be stuck at 4G). Hopefully this will be cleared up once the official launch hits on the 28th:
1bwana1 wrote:
The new phone line with be branded "Leica Leitzphone" and be very photo/video centric in design and capability. Even a zoom lens. More like a camera that does smartphone stuff. It should be officially announced by end of the Month. Stores are already being configured for it.
Rear Camera System (Leica co-engineered):
50MP main camera (1-inch OmniVision OV50X sensor, f/1.67, Leica Summilux optics).
200MP periscope telephoto (1/1.4-inch sensor, f/2.6, 3.2x–4.3x continuous optical zoom, Leica APO certified).
50MP ultrawide (14mm equivalent, f/2.2, 115° field of view).
Front Camera: 50MP selfie camera.
Unique Leica Edition Features:
Physical Master Zoom Ring around the camera module for manual control of zoom, exposure, white balance, and quick camera launch.
Exclusive Leica Moment modes with 3:2 aspect ratio, M9-style colors, and M3 + Monopan 50 black-and-white film simulations.
Dedicated security/encryption chip for photo authenticity protection.
Dual-satellite communication (BeiDou + Tiantong).
Two-tone Leica-inspired design with red dot logo, textured edges, and premium gift box (includes lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case, cleaning cloth)....Show more →
Watches, projectors, meh..whatever.
Placing a Leica stamp on a camera phone, I think, cuts against the grain of everything that the brand tries to stand for.
Honestly, though, to your original question, none of this would get me into a Leica Store. Each time I have almost gone to one, they do not have inventory in what I am wanting to get. What is the point of the store, without inventory?!?!?
'There is an old joke, about the factory of the future. The modern factory will be staffed by a machine, one man, and a dog. The machine runs the factory. The man feeds the dog. And the dog is trained to attack the man if he tries to touch the machine.
China is already there. Here is news from Xiaomi. Xiaomi is a manufacturer of smartphones, and they’ve opened a smart factory that will produce a smart phone every second—that’s over 30 million phones a year—with no people. This is what’s known as a “dark factory.” It’s a $330 million plant.'
Placing a Leica stamp on a camera phone, I think, cuts against the grain of everything that the brand tries to stand for.
Honestly, though, to your original question, none of this would get me into a Leica Store. Each time I have almost gone to one, they do not have inventory in what I am wanting to get. What is the point of the store, without inventory?!?!?
Understandable with in demand items I suppose. The staff at all the Leica Stores I know work hard to accommodate their customers. It might be worth trying to work with them on an appointment bases. They get in the item you are interested in, call you to set an appointment. Then you can see it and often even take it out for a few hours to really test it.
Leica stores are structured more like boutiques, not warehouse stores. Work with them thus way and you will enjoy a very enjoyable relationship process.
philip_pj wrote:
'There is an old joke, about the factory of the future. The modern factory will be staffed by a machine, one man, and a dog. The machine runs the factory. The man feeds the dog. And the dog is trained to attack the man if he tries to touch the machine.
China is already there. Here is news from Xiaomi. Xiaomi is a manufacturer of smartphones, and they’ve opened a smart factory that will produce a smart phone every second—that’s over 30 million phones a year—with no people. This is what’s known as a “dark factory.” It’s a $330 million plant.'
I love the efficiency and likely quality control of that way of manufacturing. Probably also helps keep prices down. The opposite of the old sweatshop manufacturing that will become a thing of the past as this becomes more and more pervasive.
Prices are falling due to massive productivity gains and supply chain optimisation. Living standards are rocketing. It's a superbly managed capitalist high tech economy. 'As of 2022–2025, Chinese life expectancy (approx. 78-79 years) has virtually caught up to or slightly exceeded the U.S. (approx. 77-79 years), reversing a long-standing historical gap.' (Kevin's almost daily YouTube is also compelling viewing: 'Inside China Business').
1bwana1 wrote:
Do you think that this will make for an interesting product mix, that may make a visit to a Leica Store an even better experience. Or, do you have reservations that all of this product expansion will take Leica's eye off the core camera side of the company?
I think you may have used the wrong tense ….
(Whether that’s because of product expansion or other reasons, I have no idea.)
Nonetheless, it’s a good question. I actually have zero interest in any of this stuff (or boutiques). I agree completely with @theHUN about quality control and with @Grenache about inventory. Fortunately, I have never had to return a camera or lens for service. And it’s hard not to think that they are no longer on the leading edge of innovation. They are, to be fair, good at making small lenses that are nice to use. But once a company stops caring about quality ….
That said, I am a rubbish customer, from Leica’s perspective. I have only ever bought two things new (M246 and M11). The five lenses I own were all used, as were my M3 (obviously!) and MP. Whereas my Voigtländer, Sony and all but one Zeiss lenses were all new.
But I really do hope that Leica continues to thrive. If fancy stores help them do that, great.
Andrew CD wrote:
That said, I am a rubbish customer, from Leica’s perspective. I have only ever bought two things new (M246 and M11). The five lenses I own were all used, as were my M3 (obviously!) and MP. Whereas my Voigtländer, Sony and all but one Zeiss lenses were all new.
Don't sell yourself short. A strong used market is extremely important to Leica's business model. That is why they support it so heavily. Sort of on the lines of Rolex watches. Their new product sales are heavily dependant on a strong resale market.
1bwana1 wrote:
Understandable with in demand items I suppose. The staff at all the Leica Stores I know work hard to accommodate their customers. It might be worth trying to work with them on an appointment bases. They get in the item you are interested in, call you to set an appointment. Then you can see it and often even take it out for a few hours to really test it.
Leica stores are structured more like boutiques, not warehouse stores. Work with them thus way and you will enjoy a very enjoyable relationship process.
I have zero interest in the boutique experience. The process of purchasing an item, other than having a knowledgeable sales person that is somewhat polite is all I need, and by the time I am ready to buy a camera item, I already know that I want it, no need to hold it. I don’t need to be fawned over or given a herbal tea from Nepal or have my item dipped in yogurt.
I very much enjoy Leica gear. I’ll build a relationship with the gear. I do not need a long term, long distance, low commitment, casual sales friend.
Grenache wrote:
I have zero interest in the boutique experience. The process of purchasing an item, other than having a knowledgeable sales person that is somewhat polite is all I need, and by the time I am ready to buy a camera item, I already know that I want it, no need to hold it. I don’t need to be fawned over or given a herbal tea from Nepal or have my item dipped in yogurt.
I very much enjoy Leica gear. I’ll build a relationship with the gear. I do not need a long term, long distance, low commitment, casual sales friend.
Ah come on man, you are missing out on the zen experience. People pay good money for such therapy.
