The Leica X1, announced today in the shadow of its more famous brother, the M9, will be available in January 2010. Price is still to be announced, but as it is from Leica, this one’s set to be the rich man’s point-and-shoot.
The interesting thing about the Leica X1 is that the company took the extra step of pointing out that this new camera is “designed and made in Germany by Leica engineers.†Previous Leicas have been made in Japan, to Leica’s exacting standards, of course.
Leica says the X1 is set to become a future classic. It is equipped with a 12.2 megapixel CMOS sensor in APS-C format, as found in much larger DSLR cameras. This sensor, the company explained, combined with the all-purpose LEICA ELMARIT 1:2.8/24 mm lens, offers outstanding picture quality comparable with professional cameras.
It offers automatic functions as well as manual control options. Both aperture and shutter speed can be selected manually with the dials on the top plate of the camera.
[Site: Leica US]