Leica launches its first full-HD DSLR… but only kind of
Posted by DocumentaryTech on September 23, 2010 · 1 Comment
Leica may not have ever dominated the photojournalism market, but the estimable German brand did, at one time, dominate the imaginations of those who fancied themselves “serious” photographers. Everybody wanted a Leica and few could afford one.
Leica’s front end cameras are still expensive (the M9 titanium body only runs $29,000) and Leica has not included HD video in its offerings – until now.
But maybe not really.
The newly launched Leica V-Lux 2 has 1080/30i video, but Dan Sung at Pocket-Lint is on the case:
Look familiar? It should, because it appears to be the identical twin of the Panasonic Lumix FZ100 that we saw back in July.
The curious part is that not only do they look exactly the same, the have the identical parts as well. Both come with the same high-performance LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 4.5 – 108 mm f/2.8 – 5.2 ASPH. zoom lens, the same 14.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, the same 3-inch swivel screen with 460k dots and the very same chassis all over with all the buttons in the same place. So, they are indeed, the same. They are one – just with different badges. In fact, if there is anything else that separates these two, then it must be incredibly well hidden.
There are worse things than being compared to a Panasonic Lumix, but the big question is whether the prices will be identical (not!). What, indeed, is the price premium for the word “Leica” on your camera? The one list price we saw on the Leica is £675, or more than $1,000. The Panasonic lists at $499.
When any brand manager puts the company “seal” on an inferior product they trade short term profits with reducing the meaning of the companies brand in the mind of the customer. Leica has had financial trouble over the years, but to put the same brand on their top level camera and a product so obviously made by a high volume Asian producer is just stupid. “Leica designed” perhaps, but not “Leica.”
Cosina uses Voightlander, Contax and Zeiss, to market their products, Leica is just going down the same path.