ftllens wrote:
Sony sensor M11 seemed like it was just buy time until new sensor was finished (probably end of this year or next year). Don't think more res is necessary unless they decide to market to gen zalpha 67mpx. If the startup and shutter lag feels instant, that's reason alone to skip the M11 gen and get the M12.
So Leica's partners could only be AMS OSRAM (with STMicroelectronics possibly being the foundry from before) or Tower Semi (probably unlikely if they want to keep EU identity) to produce the new sensor with Sony out.
I don't think that is necessarily the case. Leica has decided to pursue a sensor from a supplier other than Sony. They then announced that decision rather casually in an interview with Dr Kaufman. But we have no direct information as to when thae project started or how far along it is. What we do know is that Leica created a new VP position to head up this sensor development effort. His name is Markus Meirse and he formally worked for Fujitsu. He only started working at Leica in the last two weeks. I was informed about this by an insider, but you can easily confirm in LinkedIn as I did.
So, this sensor effort may in fact be at the very begining phases. Since sensor development is usually a 3 to 5 year process It will likely be some time before it is ready for a camera. We may see another Sony based sensor iteration in the mean time.
Alternatively Leica may be basing this project on the base of an existing fab and tuning it for their own use. In that case it could come sooner.
In all cases we just don't have enough information to justify all the assumptions I see being made. We only know an effort exists.
Jan 12, 2026 at 02:03 PM
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