Leica introduced the SL-System in 2015, an evolution of the classic L-Mount with a full-frame sensor and enough sophistication and quality to satisfy even the most demanding professional user. At the same time, the SL-System has proved an effective gateway into the Leica universe for those looking to elevate their photography and videography.

This is the new SL3-P, the latest SL-System upgrade, which is being launched alongside two new lenses, the Summilux-SL 50 f/1.4 ASPH. and APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL 100 f/2.8. Taken together, they offer an unbeatable and hugely flexible package that stays true to the Leica ethos while also prioritising ease of use and minimalist design.

A new 44-megapixel BSI full-frame sensor is paired with a new autofocus system, giving the camera the ability to shoot images at up to 176 megapixels, with a vast ISO range (50 to 200,000) to facilitate low-light photography. The autofocus blends phase detection, depth mapping and contrast detection, for instantaneous focus.

As a result, the Leica SL3-P can shoot continuously at up to 40 frames per second with full autofocus. It also supports 8K video, including the industry standard 8.1K Open Gate format and can produce 4K slow-motion footage at 120 frames per second.

The new camera and lenses are manufactured in Germany; they don’t depart from the firm grip of the Leica aesthetic, although on this particular occasion the red Leica logo is conspicuous by its absence. The body is metal, weather-resistant, and finished in sober black. L-Mount capability gives the SL3-P incredible flexibility, with the choice to use not just Leica’s own lenses but compatible glass from alliance partners.

Taking and managing photographs is handled by Leica’s crisp UI and the Leica Fotos App, which connects to the camera via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB-C. The unit can also be tethered to Lightroom Classic, or via Adobe’s cloud, further expanding the ways in which content can be managed and processed.

The Summilux-SL 50 f/1.4 ASPH is billed as the ‘world’s most compact autofocus lens with this focal length and a lens speed of f/1.4’, with a length of 75.5mm. It’s joined by the new APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL 100 f/2.8 macro lens, capable of delivering outstanding detail thanks to its close focus distance of 30cm. The camera is available now, with lenses coming later in the year.

Leica SL3-P, £5,150.00 / €5,990 (camera only)
Leica Summilux-SL 50 f/1.4 ASPH, £3,890.00 / €4,500.00
Leica APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL 100 f/2.8, £2,110.00 / €2,450.00
Leica-Camera.com, @Leica_Camera

Leica already makes some of the slickest and most elegant television projectors on the market via its Smart Projection series, including the Cine 1 and the Cine Play 1. Now the company has added a new ultra-compact mini projector to the line-up: introducing the Leica Cine Compact 1.

Following the same aesthetic as the Cine Play 1, the new Leica Cine Compact 1 still manages to pack a lot of power into its compact form factor. The projector offers brightness of up to 1,700 lumens and can project a 4K image at sizes up to 220 inches, whether it’s on a wall or ceiling – the latter feat aided by a 360-degree rotation system.

Set-up is designed to be plug-and-play, with automated keystone correction, framing and focus. The optics are handled by a Leica Summicron zoom lens with aspherical elements, along with the company’s own image-processing technology and the inclusion of Dolby Vision.

The compact size encourages you to move the projector to wherever suits you best, with an optional stand that preserves full use of the 360-degree rotation system. The unit itself is presented in a solid aluminium housing with softly curved edges, a dark glass front panel and geometrically precise details and vents and a matching remote control.

On board services include Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ and Amazon Prime, with expansion ports for HDMI sound systems, in addition to the integrated sound system, which includes support for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS Virtual:X. Other connectors include USB, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and media can also be streamed via Apple AirPlay and Apple HomeKit.

Like everything that bears the Leica name, it carries a premium, but this is still an elegant unit that stays true to the company’s design and material ethos while also offering high-grade video and audio performance.

Leica Cine Compact 1 projector, £1,450.00 / €1,645.00, Leica-Camera.com, @Leica_Camera

Leica keeps the product flowing with yet another new model, this time with an even more specialist bent. The new Leica Q3 Monochrom is a derivative of the Leica Q3, only with the USP that the Monochrom features a dedicated black-and-white sensor.

Here we have to take a detour into the pros and cons of digital black and white. On the one hand, it’s a simple process to transform the output of any digital camera into black and white and many even have the option to shoot in black and white as well as colour. So why discard the colour option altogether?

For Leica, the Monochrom models (of which this is the second) is a direct link to the brand’s history as the progenitor of the original 35mm camera, the Leica I. Describing it as a ‘bold choice to deliberately renounce colour’, the company's thinking is that a pure black and white process, from framing to post-production, focuses the mind on pure composition – ‘the art of composing with light and shadow’.

The hardware is typically impressive. A compact mirrorless full-frame cameras with a 60MP sensor, capable of 8K video, an ISO range of 100 to 200,000, plus a 5.76-megapixel OLED viewfinder, it has the technical chops and build quality the firm is renowned for.

On board there’s also a digital zoom (28 to 90mm) and the debut of a new user interface that separates photography and video functions in a more distinct way – it’s an improvement that’ll soon be rolled out as a firmware update on the Q3 and Q3 43.

There’s an authority to the weighty metal body and the entire camera is made in Germany, with an IP52 rating to protect against dust and water splashes. The more observant will note the absence of the red Leica logo, giving this monochrome hero a truly utilitarian look.

Leica Q3 Monochrom, £5,800 / €6,750 / $7,790, Leica-Camera.com, @Leica_Camera

Leica has announced a veritable deluge of delectable photography equipment in honour of its iconic original 35mm camera, the Leica 1. The year 1925 saw the introduction of what was to be the world’s first mass-produced 35mm film camera, establishing the format that would dominate the next 75 years and remain the de facto choice of those who continue to shoot with analogue. It wasn’t just about the format; the Leica 1 was compact and beautifully engineered, making it the go-to choice for reportage.

Buckle up, because it’s about to get a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re a true Leica completist and feel the need to capture every edition of the company’s legendary cameras. The anniversary celebrations are led by an exclusive boxed edition of the M11-D, lavishly presented along with a case and two lenses, brass top and base plates, and cognac-coloured leather case.

This centenary set includes a special iteration of the original Leica 1’s compact lens, the Leitz Anastigmat 50 mm f/3.5, ‘reimagined for modern times while preserving its historical essence’. It’s paired with the contemporary Leica Summilux-M 50 f/1.4 ASPH. Collectors will have to wait, because the set won’t emerge until spring 2026.

In the meantime, there’s the Leica M11 100 Years of Leica ‘Wetzlar Germany’ edition, available only in Germany as part of a series of M11 editions engraved with cities around the world. The Wetlzar edition, which retails at €9,500, follows Dubai, Milan and New York, with Shanghai and Tokyo editions to follow. Notably, Leica has omitted its iconic red dot logo on this edition to stay in keeping with the original Leica 1.

Three other new anniversary editions are unveiled today, including a Leica D-Lux 8. This contemporary classic has been refined still further by a new colour scheme and black leatherette texture to reference the Leica 1, the omission of the thumb rest and an engraved top plate. The D-Lux 8 100 Years of Leica edition is available online and in dealers, priced at £1,600 (€1,850).

It’s joined by the Sofort 2 100 Years of Leica, Leica’s own hybrid instant camera, which is given new centenary finishes. The Sofort 2 will retail at £425 (€495). There’s also a pair of Leica binoculars in the anniversary series, the Trinovid 10x40. A limited edition reissue of just 100 units, the hand-polished binoculars come with a special bag and strap and are priced at £2,350 (€2,750).

Leica is also celebrating the centenary with a new monograph, 100 Leica Stories, a visual commemoration of the Leica 1’s place in both photographic and social history. The 320-page hardback monograph is priced at £50 (€70) and is available in both German and English. Finally, there’ll be a number of exhibitions at the Ernst Leitz Museum and Leica Gallery in Wetzlar, including a retrospective of the work of Joel Meyerowitz.

For more information visit Leica-Camera.com, @Leica_Camera

With smartphone photography getting more sophisticated every year, it's perhaps surprising to see compact cameras surging in popularity. In the first three months of 2025, the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) reported that global shipments for cameras with built-in lenses increased by about 115 per cent in comparison to last year. For real-life proof, head to a local camera store and ask how long the wait list is to get hold of Fujifilm’s new X100VI (good luck!).

The truth is, when it comes to travel, we want travel to be the primary focus. With many of us attempting to switch off while abroad, it's easy to see the appeal of a dedicated camera. With help from our technology editor, Jonathan Bell, we've selected five compact cameras perfect for capturing memories on the go.

Five of the best travel cameras

Fujifilm X half

Sony RX100 VII

Ricoh GR III

OM System OM-5

Leica D-Lux 8

Leica announces its newest full-frame system camera, the SL3-S. It’s been nearly a decade since Leica Camera launched the SL-System, a full-frame digital SLR camera system that went head to head with the established players in the pro photography arena. The Leica SL3 was introduced in spring 2024; the company has now given it a new upgrade to create the SL3-S.

The SL series was aimed at photographers and videographers from the outset, and this functionality has been enhanced with the new camera. Speed and versatility are of paramount importance, with two different kinds of memory card slots, HMDI 2.1 output, connectivity to external hard drives and power supplies via USB, and built-in compatibility and connectivity with Apple products. Later this year, Leica promises to add a link to the Adobe frame.io cloud.

Image stabilisation is joined by a new autofocus system, and the SL3-S can shoot at up to 30 frames a second – the ‘fastest Leica system camera ever built’. Other innovations include the ability to digitally sign metadata to track any image manipulation.

Video recording can be undertaken at up to 6K resolution, with pro-grade timecode synchronisation. The viewfinder uses Leica’s EyeRes technology, with a frame rate of 120fps. In addition to the camera’s physical controls, the 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen provides direct access to the interface.

The sensor is new and offers a 24-megapixel native resolution, alongside 48- and 96-megapixel multi-shot modes. The L-Mount system provides full compatibility with all Leica lenses, as well as third-party suppliers and adapters provide access to Cine-specific lenses, which are catered for by the SL3-S’s software.

Leica SL3-S, £4,500 / €5,190 / $5,295, Leica-camera.com, @Leica_camera

Leica’s latest lens-equipped device accelerates our conversion to the power of the projector. Hot on the heels of Epson’s excellent EF-22 comes this, the Leica Cine Play, a triple RGB laser technology-equipped projector that has an estimated service life of over 25,000 hours. It’s especially interesting to see how one of the oldest and more admired optics companies on the planet is approaching this tech. The Cine Play 1 follows on from last year’s Leica Cine 1 projector, but this time things have been downsized.

We don’t know if anyone’s crunched the numbers, but it would be instructive to compare the embedded carbon in a 100-inch-plus television versus that of a compact projector box, let alone the associated storage, packaging and shipping costs. Then there’s running cost and repairability; acres of sensitive, wafer-thin OLED screen is especially susceptible to wear and tear, whereas the most essential component in a projector is the light source itself.

The Cine Play 1 offers 4K resolution thanks to its laser light technology – the quietest and most energy-efficient projection method – capable of throwing up a 300-inch screen, should floor and wall space permit. It’s also the brand’s first foray into so-called ‘mini-projectors’, denoting the kind of device you can easily move between rooms and set up on any suitable surface, inside or out.

As you’d expect from Leica, picture quality is a major emphasis, and the crisp image is projected through a high-performance Leica Summicron zoom lens. The suggested range is between 65 to 300 inches, although the projector will need to be around 20 feet from the screen to get the most cinematic scale. The image itself is processed and optimised by the company’s proprietary technology, which boosts colour rendition and gives excellent contrast. As always, slightly dimmer ambient light will substantially enhance your viewing experience, but we think that’s all part of the projector bonus – you focus more on the screen, and less on the world around you.

True cineastes will skip the onboard pair of 15-watt speakers in favour of a dedicated sound system. All the connectivity is there to set up 3D surround, and although there’s no built-in Google TV (a big plus point in the Epson’s portable nature), the Cine Play 1 still has a host of connections, including Airplay, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and HDMI, USB and LAN ports. There’s also voice control and the ability to dovetail the projector into your Smart Home set-up, if that’s still even a thing.

Visually, Leica scores over the Epson, although in my experience a projector tends to sit in a cupboard when it’s not being used. That said, Leica is especially proud of the clean lines, ‘inspired by the Bauhaus school’, no less. The gently curved aluminium casing and glass front are finished off with the signature Leica red dot logo, an instant supplier of class. For a more permanent set-up, there’s the optional Leica Floor Stand with its integrated power supply that does away with the need for a trailing cable.

Quality and attention to detail are paramount here, as you’d expect from the Leica name. The Cine Play 1 is a premium offering from a company that’s always made a virtue of its ambitious price tags. If you have sufficient space to take advantage of the power and the lens, it’s the new top-drawer choice.

Leica Cine Play 1, £2,950 / €3,500, Leica Floor Stand, £335 / €395, Leica-Camera.com, @Leica_Camera

It’s been seven decades since German photographic pioneer Leica Camera introduced the M series, a compact camera that quickly became the favoured tool of photojournalists the world over.

Leica is now celebrating this 70th anniversary with 250 editions of the ‘M set’, along with a new Leicavit M fast winder, and a special anniversary book celebrating the camera itself and the work of the many photographers who have favoured it over the years.

First up, the new camera itself. The centrepiece of special-edition ‘Leica M Edition 70’ set is this platinum-plated M-A camera with exterior design derived from the Leica M3 yet containing modern technology inside. It comes with the APO-Summicron-M 50 f/2 ASPH lens, a Leicavit M fast winder and a film container.

The M3 was introduced in 1954 and sold until 1966. Nearly quarter of a million of these highly collectible cameras were made during this time, with key elements like the frame counter, rear film type indicator dial and advance lever becoming visual shorthand for the SLR type camera. With the 2009 Leica M9, the company took the M system into the digital age.

Celebrating 70 years of this classic design with a traditional film camera follows the current trend towards old school analogue film. Not only that, the tactile quality of film has continued to shape the Leica image into the digital era.

‘The quality and craftsmanship of the materials, the sense of precision in every movement, the soft click of the shutter release and the visual clarity of the viewfinder all combine to create an experience that goes far beyond just taking pictures,’ says Leica’s Head of Design Mark Shipard.

The accompanying 250 page, ‘Leica M’, not only includes a visual overview of the entire M System from its 1950s beginnings, but also work by contemporary photographers highlighting this compact camera’s agility with low light and tightly framed subjects.

‘This book is also a huge ‘thank you’ to all the people who worked with the M and on the M: photographers, employees, customers, and friends of what we call ‘the Leica family,’’ says Dr Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG.

Leica M Edition 70 set, £19,000, Leica M anniversary book, £45, Leica-Camera.com, @Leica_Camera

This Spring, with its new Leica store, the German premium camera and sports optics brand is joining the likes of Diane von Fürstenberg and Lexus in New York’s Meatpacking District, the once derelict post-industrial wasteland that is now shorthand for gentrification. Leica has brought its optical and design expertise to this famed micro-neighbourhood, nestled alongside concept stores and high-end nightclubs. 

Leica store opens in New York’s Meatpacking District

The heritage brand called on up-and-coming, Brooklyn-based practice Format Architecture Office to transform a long-disused 1950s meat market into a small but impactful flagship. The firm’s gut renovation of the 1,200 square metre space retained the original exposed timber frame, but opened up half the second level to create a monumental mezzanine level and vaulted entry. Format worked closely with the local Landmarks Preservation Commission to ensure its intervention remained balanced and respectful of the site’s history.  

‘As one of the smallest buildings remaining in the Meatpacking District, we wanted to celebrate this intimate scale which has become rare in the neighbourhood, while also giving the building a more assertive voice on the street,’ says Matthew Hettler, firm co-principal. 

He and his team introduced a 6-metre high open structure brick spandrel facade as a striking decorative component that is bold enough to help the boutique stand out but also blend into its surroundings. One could argue that it reflects the precision and rational aesthetic of the brand’s superior-quality instruments, such as the recently released mirrorless full-frame system SL3 camera.

This emphatically modern, cathedral-esque element illuminates like a jewel box at night and filters in much-needed natural light during the day. ‘On a building site that is narrow, quite deep, and surrounded by taller buildings, this became one of the primary challenges for the project,’ says Andrew McGee, firm co-principal. 

‘The architectural design answers this problem in a range of different ways: the addition of several large overhead skylights and large glazed openings with views to the street and rear terrace from the ground and mezzanine levels.’

An earth-tone palette carries through from the sleek beige brick screen exterior to the light-toned wood flooring and monochromatic ship-lapped walls. This scheme accommodates a flexible arrangement of back-lit display cabinets and counters inside where products like the next-generation Leica Q3 take pride of place. The brand’s signature red help frame standout showcases and contrasts the rest of the design. 

leica-camera.com

format.nyc

The new Leica SL3 is a mirrorless full-frame system camera, which features significant upgrades from its predecessor, the SL2. The German optic specialist introduced its SL-System in 2015, with a hybrid approach to camera design intended to satisfy the needs of conventional photographers and videographers.

The Leica SL3 continues this tradition of versatility, swathed in Leica’s ever-impressive build quality and design simplicity. The new camera has a rugged metal body yet is still lighter and more compact than its predecessor while – naturally – being substantially faster and more capable. 

The Leica SL3 is built around a BSI CMOS full-frame sensor that outputs DNG raw files of JPEGs at up to 60MP. Video can be shot at up to 8K resolution in a variety of different formats, with a time code function for syncing to professional audio-visual gear.  

A generous ISO range extends up to an extremely light-sensitive rating of 100,000, while a clutch of autofocus technologies and in-body stabilisation assist those who don’t want to shoot in manual mode. The camera is also compatible with Leica’s expansive family of L-Mount lenses (as well as those by external partners). All this is served by an ultra-high-res digital viewfinder, that can display 5.76 million pixels at up to 120 frames per second, with a tilting touch screen on the rear.

A new user interface matches the minimal brilliance of the SL3’s case, fully customisable for a perfect workflow, with seamless integration with Leica’s FOTOS app. Connectivity is also top notch, and includes an HDMI output for monitoring on a big screen. 

Leica gear will always have its detractors who claim that the famed red dot commands an unnecessary freedom in an era of widely available excellence. As any photographer will tell you, the best camera is the one you happen to have to hand. Pick an SL3, and you’ll have no excuses not to excel.

Leica SL3, £5,920, leica-camera.com, @leica_camera

In the heart of Mayfair, London, Leica Gallery’s showcase by photographer Nachson Mimran journeys through an array of communities and landscapes in a cultural tapestry of imagery. It’s the first solo show for Mimran – creative executive officer of to.org, a philanthropic collective of creative activists – and explores a key period for the photographer. 

Titled ‘Nachson Mimran: Photographs from the Decade that Changed My Life’, the retrospective starts with imagery from 2016, inviting the viewer to follow the photographic narrative through to 2023. Nachson used his cherished Leica Monochrom cameras to capture diverse landscapes and lifestyles, across Bangladesh, Uganda, Ecuador, Senegal, the Swiss Alps, and more.

An odyssey with Nachson Mimran

The 18 prints curated by Lou Proud of Leica Gallery include intimate family portraits; group photos at refugee settlements; a portrait of  Manari Ushigua, the leader of the Sápara Nation in Naku in the Ecuadorian Amazon; football training in Uganda; and creative activists from Kyebando packing hundreds of waste plastic bags into a bottle to create a bottle brick in Mauritius.

Mimran’s childhood in West Africa inspired a passion for nature and humanity that guides his creative work and is evident in his photography, which simultaneously encourages and inspires solutions for the world's most pressing climate and humanitarian concerns.

‘I’m honoured to collaborate with Leica on this exhibition, my first solo show, and to be sharing moments captured over the last decade on my treasured Leica Monochrom cameras.’ Said Mimran. ‘I hope that visitors to the exhibition can see my intentional use of art, culture, and creativity as a Trojan horse encouraging conversations about important topics; climate change, displacement, our attitudes to waste, and the Sustainable Development Goals.’

‘Nachson Mimran: Photographs from the Decade that Changed My Life’ is on until 11 February 2024.

Leica Gallery London
64-66 Duke Street, W1K 6JD

to.org

leica-camera.com

This is the new Leica Q3, the next generation of the iconic optic specialist’s compact full-frame digital camera. The Leica Q family first debuted in 2015 and quickly found favour with both professional and casual photographers as a camera that delivers fast, reliable results thanks to its fixed-focal-length Summilux lens, compact form factor and intuitive controls.

The new Leica Q3 adds the company’s latest BSI-CMOS sensor, as found in its M-series cameras, along with a new macro mode and other features for both photographers and filmmakers. The new sensor offers three resolutions, 60, 36, or 18 MP, with the capability to process jpgs in-camera as well as raw image files. The Leica Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 ASPH lens incorporates a digital zoom – giving you the chance to use focal lengths of 28, 35, 50, 75mm, and 90mm without degrading image quality. There’s also new dynamic range and perspective control modes.  

Autofocus has been sped up significantly, and the big news for filmmakers is the addition of a tiltable 3in touchscreen on the rear, transforming the way one interacts with the camera. This is paired with the hi-res OLED viewfinder, which delivers a crisp preview straight to your eyeball. 

Capable of shooting 8k film in industry standard codecs, the Q3 can also be hooked up to external sound-recording devices via HDMI (and soon USB-C), further bolstering its on-set credentials. Bluetooth and Wi-fi connectivity hook you up to the cloud of Leica’s in-house FOTOS iOS app, which now accepts video import as well. 

Further convenience is added via a new handgrip accessory that brings wireless charging to the Q3, via a Qi-compatible Leica Charging Pad that can also be used to charge up your phone. Leica has also branched out into accessories; as well as the leather half case (available in three colours), there are optional lens caps, lens hoods, thumb rests, soft release buttons and flash shoe covers, also available in three colours.

Leica continues to build its cameras in Wetzlar, Germany, and the quality and feel of the Q3 continues the tradition of tactile solidity and perfect balance that defines all the company’s products. In recent years the company has pushed its consumer division into new lines, including the Cine 1 laser TV projector and even timepieces, with the new L1 and L2 watches. There have also been high-profile partnerships, such as the recent Q2 Disney Edition. The Q3 demonstrates that quality cameras are here to stay.

Leica Q3, £5,300, leica-camera.com

This new alliance between Leica and Disney isn’t as leftfield as it first appears. Walt Disney’s first features were developed in the 1920s and 1930s using Leica cameras and projectors as part of the painstaking animation process. 2023 is Disney’s centenary year, and the two companies have unveiled this collaboration to mark the occasion: the Leica Q2 | Disney ‘100 Years of Wonder’.

Leica Q2 | Disney ‘100 Years of Wonder’

The term ‘Leica Reel’ came out of this early era of filmmaking, referring to the process of making an animated storyboard aligned with key parts of the soundtrack, used to develop and showcase the progress of a film.

This special Q2 is decorated with a design based on a 1937 model sheet by animator Don Towsley, who worked on Dumbo, Fantasia, and Pinocchio, amongst many other films. There’s also a Mickey Mouse on the top plate and an etched Disney logo on the rear.

Pitched at collectors who are mad about the mouse and also appreciate the sheer quality of Leica’s cameras, this new edition of the Leica Q2 is limited to just 500 examples. 

Leica Q2 | Disney ‘100 Years of Wonder’, £5,400, available from leica-camera.com

In partnership with Leica

The Leica Women Foto Project Award 2023 – representative of the German camera specialist’s ongoing commitment to giving voice to the marginalised and empowering the female point of view through photography – highlights an alternative perspective, capturing moments that bear witness to how women based in the UK, Mexico, Canada and the US see and interact with our world. 

The recipients of the Leica Women Foto Project Award 2023 (the fourth annual award) are Anna Filipova (UK), Eli Farinango (Canada), Greta Rico (Mexico), and Mary F Calvert (US).

The panel of judges – including photojournalist Liz Johnson Artur, photographers Mary McCartney and Amanda de Cadenet, and newspaper picture editors Sara Rumens and Natalia Jiménez – based their selections on quality of photography, sophistication of project and a dedication to the medium of photography. Each winner receives a Leica SL2-S camera, a Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH lens, and a cash prize of US$10,000. 

Leica Women Foto Project Award 2023: the winners

Photographer Mary F Calvert – a finalist in the Feature Photography category at the 2020 Pulitzer Prizes and a past winner at both the World Press Photo Contest and the Cliff Edom New America Award, US – specialises in work that throws light on social justice issues often neglected by the media at large. Catching the judges’ eye was a nine-year project that documents military sexual abuse (MST) in the United States Armed Forces. The raw and emotive images in Left Behind depict the impact of MST on victims and their families, as well as the scars of trauma that are left long after events of sexual assault. 

Documentary photographer Greta Rico’s harrowing and illuminating project Substitute Mother tells the story of her cousin Siomara, who took on a maternal role in a three-year-old niece’s life following her mother’s murder. Portraying a narrative of femicide, the series is a powerful story telling of the psychosocial impacts that cause trauma in orphan children, in mothers, sisters, grandmothers and aunts. 

Eli Farinango explores the vastness and beauty of the healing journey through her documentary photography, exploring spaces to reclaim ancestral memory through imagemaking and collaborative processes. Farinango was born in the indigenous Kichwa territory of Ecuador and raised in Canada; her series Wilkay, traces her experience of transformation and healing from abuse and mental illness, allowing her to reconnect with her roots, family and ancestors in the process. 

Visual journalist Anna Filipova chose to explore unique environmental and scientific topics in remote and inaccessible areas. Using captivating imagery and compelling stories to raise awareness for climate change, her project Arctic: The Darkest Hours explores Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, where the largest laboratory for modern Arctic research is based and research scientists make up most of the population. This area has the cleanest air on Earth, but also receives circulated air from Europe and North America, allowing for extensive research of post-global warming conditions. 

With over 100 years of history, the Leica brand represents a beautiful combination of art and engineering with the future of form and functionality. Based in Wetzlar, Germany, the renowned manufacturer of cameras and sport optics products is committed to supporting the creation and preservation of iconic photography, past, present and future and the artists behind it. With the Leica Women Foto Project Awards, says Lydia Beagelman of Leica Camera UK, ‘We hope to encourage the development of underrepresented visual storytellers and provide additional support for their future projects.’

leica.com 

Precision timekeeping meets German engineering in the Leica watch, with the Leica L1 and L2 marking the camera specialist’s venture into watchmaking. 

‘We have been working on [watch] design and production since 2014,’ says owner and chairman of Leica, Dr Andreas Kaufmann, referencing a previous collaboration with Swiss company Valbray. For the new Leica L1 and L2 watches, however, he notes a change of approach. ‘We decided to stop what we had been doing and do it ourselves, making [the watches] in Germany, and we had a partner who wanted to work with us and find out how it could be done.’

New Leica watches nod to camera design

The partnership – with Lehmann Präzision – meant most of the watch components were developed and produced at the company’s manufacture in Germany’s Black Forest, an established watchmaking region. The watch itself, powered by Leica’s own mechanical movement with mechanical winding, nods to the distinctive elements of a camera in its design, from the knurled push crown and GMT crown inspired by the M-series camera’s control dials to the domed glass referencing the curve of a camera lens. ‘It looks simple, but it’s very difficult to make it look so clean,’ Kaufmann adds. 

Functionality underlines this clean aesthetic, with details such as the push crown’s ability to reset the small second hand putting user experience at the forefront. ‘Together with [designer] Achim Heine, we expanded and fine-tuned the idea of the push crown,’ says Markus Lehmann, managing director of Lehmann Präzision.

‘In contrast to conventional designs – whereby the crown must be pulled out to stop the movement and adjust the time – we wanted the crown to be pressed down, like the release button of a camera. The moment you push down the crown, the watch stops and the small second-hand jumps to zero. Another click releases the movement again. This is an unusual detail that perfectly fits in with Leica.’

leica-camera.com

Leica’s first-ever laser TV projector arrives soon to revitalise your home cinema experience. The German manufacturer has partnered with the Chinese electronics giant Hisense to create the Leica Cine 1 laser TV, a unit that incorporates triple RGB laser technology alongside a high-quality Leica Summicron lens.

Leica Cine 1 laser TV

The result is a 4K-quality projector that’s capable of rendering 80, 100 or 120in displays (depending on the size of your wall). The compact unit contains an integrated TV tuner, allowing access to smart TV and streaming services, while full connectivity allows consoles and additional players to be hooked up to the system. 

There’s also an integrated Dolby Atmos audio system that can be boosted with additional speakers for the full surround-sound experience. Leica expects the device’s laser projection system to have a service life of over 25,000 hours; the company points out that the projector-driven approach consumes far less energy than an equivalent-sized OLED television, while also taking up much less space.

As a short-throw system, the Leica Cine 1 can be placed alongside the wall you use for projection, meaning you don’t have to worry about breaking the line of sight or about special mountings. The unit itself is finished with Leica’s typical aesthetic aplomb, combining materials like aluminium with an automatic sliding dust cover to protect the lens when not in use. 

Quality visuals need quality components, and the Summicron lens at the heart of the system is manufactured to the exacting standards that Leica has pioneered in its one-and-a-half centuries of production. 

Leica Cine 1 laser TV, from £3,680, Leica-Camera.com

The two winners of the 42nd edition of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2022 have just been announced, with Kiana Hayeri securing the main prize for her series Promises Written on the Ice, Left in the Sun, and German photographer Valentin Goppel winning best Newcomer for his photo series Between the Years. 

The projects from both winners and ten runners-up will be displayed at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar, Germany, now open until January 2023. In an award ceremony at the museum, Hayeri will be receiving a €40,000 prize along with €10,000 worth of Leica kit to spur on her career, while Valentin will collect €10,000 and a Leica Q2 camera. 

Iranian-Canadian Hayeri documents her seven-year experience of living in Afghanistan. Her work highlights the recent strides taken in freedom of expression and women’s rights and education by the nation’s people, and the Taliban’s role in reversing the progress made. By focusing on the women at the heart of the conflict, she documents everyday moments, taken between summer 2018 and autumn of 2021, and depicts an everyday reality that has rapidly become something of the past. Her work highlights a stark contemporary reality where fear dominates, and people once at the forefront of progress have to flee the country to find safety. 

Karin Rehn-Kauffmann, art director and chief representative of Leica Galleries, notes the enthusiasm from the jury on the nomination of such ‘young participants, as well as the higher proportion of women photographers’, and thanks the jury for having ‘always kept the human touch at heart’. Rehn-Kauffmann also notes that the runners-up cover a breadth of explorations into the human experience, with projects highlighting Peruvian indigenous populations, projections of apocalypse in nature and the Haitian migration crisis. 

Goppel’s works, nominated by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover, consider the insecurity induced by the pandemic in his generation. Through familiar sights of crowds and bedroom drinking, he relates the common experience of teenagers through lockdowns, while highlighting the loneliness of a generation disorientated by the future.

leica-oskar-barnack-award.com

In partnership with Leica

The 2023 Leica Women Foto Project Award, the latest iteration of the storied camera manufacturer’s annual celebration of female photographers, has just announced its call for entries. This year, the initiative is promoting diversity in photography by expanding to  new regions across the globe. For the first time, Leica will accept entries from the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Canada in addition to the United States, awarding one winner per region. Prizes include a Leica SL2-S camera, a Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH lens, and $10,000 (USD).  

Applicants are requested to submit a photo story created with any make or model of camera (owning a Leica is not required) that bears witness to humanity from the female perspective. Submissions will be assessed by a diverse group of judges renowned in the field, who will base their decisions on quality, sophistication and dedication. 

The award’s expansion serves to harness the art of photography to spotlight stories through a cross-cultural female lens. 

‘Photography has the power to give reason for hope: don't look the other way, shake things up, express and advocate for change,’ says art director of Leica Galleries Worldwide and award juror Karin Rehn-Kaufmann. ‘The connection to humanity and our responsibility to bear witness to its moments is at the heart of Leica’s culture – from the Leica Oskar Barnack Award to the Leica Women Foto Project Award. With these initiatives, we recognise and celebrate the courageous photographers and the stories they express through their unique lens.’ 

Since its inception in 2019, the Leica Women Foto Project Award’s mission is to encourage photographers to demonstrate the importance and impact of a female point of view. ‘Leica is often known for being associated with the great icons of photography, but as a brand we are equally passionate about fostering the development of underrepresented visual storytellers,’ says Lydia Beagelman, head of marketing and PR for Leica Camera UK. ‘With the Leica Women Foto Project, we want to shine a light on the female perspective and the importance of capturing moments that bear witness to how we see and interact with our world.’

How to enter 2023 Leica Women Foto Project Award

Applications can be submitted through the online registration form found on www.leicawomenfotoproject.com with terms and conditions. Candidates must be legal residents of US, Canada, UK, or Mexico and 21 years or older at time and date of entry. Entries close on 7 November at 11.59pm EST. Leica Camera will announce the winners on 8 March 2023.

INFORMATION

For more information about Leica visit uk.leica-camera.com

Ana María Arévalo Gosen has been unveiled as the winner of the 2021 Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), while German photographer Emile Ducke is the winner in the Newcomer category.

Venezuelan photographer Gosen’s series Días Eternos, her 2017 study of women’s prisons in Venezuela and El Salvador, claimed the prize. She used a Leica Q to capture the women in their living conditions, creating visual stories that open a dialogue into the consequences of imprisonment for both the subjects and Latin American society as a whole. ‘In the portraits of the women in jail, I’m concerned about the conditions of their imprisonment, where human rights seem to be ignored. I don’t think I can change these women’s lives, but at least through my work I can show that they exist,’ Gosen says.

The jury – assistant editor, photography, at The New York Times, Sandra M Stevenson; photographer Ralph Gibson; photographer and head of advocacy and education for Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative, Santiago Lyon; director, education and public affairs at the Royal Photographic Society, Dr Michael Pritchard; and art director and chief representative for Leica Galleries International, Karin Rehn-Kaufmann – chose Gosen as the recipient of the €40,000 prize money and Leica camera equipment.

In the Newcomer category for up-and-coming photographers under 30, Emile Ducke’s Kolyma – Along the Road of Bones series scooped the prize. The series traces the route of Stalin-era gulag inmates, along a remote highway in the Siberian region of Kolyma.

‘Leica continues its commitment to supporting photographers around the world, portraying the relationship between man and the environment,’ says Leica UK’s managing director Jason Heward. ‘This year’s LOBA, its 41st edition, proves testament to this. With around 100 top-notch international photography experts submitting their proposals, the quality of the work presented has been outstanding.

‘The humanity shown in the images from this year’s winner, Ana María Arévalo Gosen, is both striking and beautiful. Her Días Eternos series documents the challenging living conditions of women in prisons in Venezuela and El Salvador and her thought-provoking images reveal the human rights aberration of these women’s imprisonment. A powerful piece of work with immense visual impact and social voice.’

INFORMATION

leica-oskar-barnack-award.com

Next day delivery: a dream come true for the consumer, but a shopkeeper’s worst nightmare. Quite simply, it means retail stores now need to offer something you can’t get online. Or better still – as demonstrated by Leica’s new London flagship gallery and shop – a great deal of in-store only perks.

The German camera manufacturer’s latest outpost, newly opened on Mayfair’s Duke Street, combines store, gallery, and bespoke training centre. Naturally, the store will offer the full range of Leica cameras (including the brand’s new Leica Q2), optics and lenses, along with the erudite advice we’ve come to expect from the brand, but on this occasion it feels like the merchandise is there to compliment what else is going on, rather than the other way round.

Dublin 1962 for Vogue. © Brian Duffy/Duffy Archive, currently on view at the Leica store in London

Much of the hype seems to be around the Leica Gallery, the first of its kind in the UK, albeit the 22nd globally. Here, the brand will exhibit the work of some of the world’s most celebrated Leica photographers, beginning with the exhibition ‘True Glamour/True Grit’ (until 26 April), a collection of vintage fashion images by Terence Donovan, Brian Duffy, Terry O’Neill and John Swannell. The surrealist photography of Ralph Gibson is next in line.

But it’s the Leica Akademie training centre, which will share the gallery space, that’s expected to get aspiring photographers through the doors. The Akademie, which has run in Germany since 1934, will offer an extensive schedule of talks and workshops for photographers and enthusiasts of all abilities – everything from portraiture to food photography. First up, Fashion & Art in Practise with Turkina Faso, followed by Beginner Street Photography with Robin Sinha. It’ll also run taster experiences with selected models, which could be just what you need to get your head round the Leica Q2’s new bells and whistles. That’s a service you’ll rarely get delivered to your door.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Leica website

ADDRESS

64 - 66 Duke St
Mayfair
London, W1K 6JD

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‘In this industry you can never play solo,’ says Huawei’s chief marketing officer Glory Zhang at the launch of the brand’s latest smartphone. ‘It’s about working with others to discover how good you can be; that’s the beauty of the hybrid.’

Indeed, collaboration, or ‘collective wisdom’ as the Chinese brand coins it, is at the very heart of its new luxury offering – a phone that combines technology by Huawei, a sleek handset by Austria-based Porsche Design and a powerful dual camera by German optical expert Leica.

Launched alongside the new Mate 9, the Mate 9 Porsche Design is a limited edition handset of which only 20,000 have been made. Three and a half years in the making and priced at €1,400, it’s a premium design that Huawei says, unlike its competitors’ efforts, doesn’t fall short on performance. Powered by a super fast Kirin 960 processor, the Mate 9 Porsche Design boasts 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, while promising to run at top speed for up to 18 months unlike other models, which start to lag after six.

In terms of its appearance, all the hallmarks of Porsche’s design DNA are present; a look that it describes as an ‘equilibrium of aesthetics and function’. Graphite black and completely symmetrical, the phone’s sleek aluminium body is set with a curved 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED panel that all together has less than 3mm ‘visual thinness’ and weighs just 169 grams in weight.

‘As a designer, it's challenging to design a smartphone nowadays because there is so little surface to work with,’ says Roland Heiler, managing director of the Porsche Design Studio, referencing the phone’s impressively large 2K resolution display. ‘But still, I think people are very sensitive in the way that they look at a smartphone because they are up close to it. They look at the way things are detailed and the way things are chamfered, polished or not polished. The surface quality has to be perfect because it’s so close to you. It’s an unforgiving object when it comes to design flaws.’

Although this is not the first smartphone that Porsche Design has worked on (in 2011 it partnered with RIM to create the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981), Heiler says it’s the the first time that they’ve worked with a partner using cutting-edge technology. ‘We bring our brand values in terms of design but also in terms of quality and craftsmanship to the table,’ he says, ‘and it’s fascinating to see that Huawei is actually innovating at a speed that is mind blowing. This is what we like about the collaboration.’

Aside from its pleasing contours, the Mate 9’s key selling point is its second generation dual camera. In a partnership that was announced just nine months ago with the launch of the P9 smartphone, Huawei has teamed once again with 102-year-old brand Leica to design and engineer the Mate 9’s camera.

‘Every mobile brand was approaching us at one stage to help them with their optical engineering because they don’t have expertise in that field,’ remembers Leica CEO Oliver Kaltner. ‘So we made a very conscious decision to partner with Huawei; they know how to deliver product in the mass market but if you want to have a respected brand all over the world, you need to have a footprint in the premium sector. We said "we can lift you up on the premium side, and you can make our brand broader" – so it’s a truly win-win situation.’

Engineered by Leica but made by Huawei, the smartphone cameras are just the start of a much broader technology collaboration between the two brands which has been cemented by the launch of the Max Berek research and development centre at Leica’s global HQ in Wetzlar, Germany.

‘This is a joint venture that goes beyond smartphones. This could be anything, from VR to 3D – the possibilities are endless,’ Kaltner says. ‘If you were ask me if Leica might ever produce one of these tiny smartphone nano lenses, but make it in glass, I’d say it would be one of my dreams. If that’s even possible I don’t know, but so far we have a made lot of impossible things possible.’

INFORMATION

Porsche Design Huawei Mate 9, €1,395, available from late December. For more information, visit the Huawei website and the Porsche Design website

Artist Rolf Sachs has never been one been one to shy away from a project, with the breadth of his practice spanning sculpture, installation, opera set design, lighting and architecture. The Swiss-born, London-based polymath also happens to be an avid photographer, which made his recent collaboration with Leica on a limited-edition camera a natural pairing.

Sachs’ penchant for reimagining everyday objects in surprising contexts is reflected in the offbeat accessories set. A thick, woven-cotton shoulder strap recalls mountain climbing rope; a wooden toothbrush is designed to clean the camera’s bright red rubber grip; while a natural goat-hair cleaning brush is fashioned after a traditional staubpinsel. Sold with a Leica SF 40 flash, the M-System rangefinder comes in a matt-black finish with scarlet engravings and encased in the same specialist rubber found on table tennis racquets – a sly nod to a prior ping pong-inspired artwork by Sachs.

The special-edition Leica camera coincides with the launch of Sachs' new monograph, Camera in Motion: From Chur to Tirano, published by Berlin firm Kehrer Verlag and including texts by Helen Chislett and Bill Kouwenhoven. The images were captured over the space of a year from a moving train, as Sachs traversed the UNESCO World Heritage Rhaetian Albula/Bernina railway line on a whistle-stop tour. The UNESCO route spans 122km from Thusis to Tirano, encompassing some 196 bridges, 55 tunnels and 20 towns along its tracks. Blurring abstraction and photorealism, the artist lends the region's ruggedly romantic landscapes an ethereal quality.

As originally featured in the November 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*212)

INFORMATION

Camera in Motion: From Chur to Tirano, €49.90, published by Kehrer Verlag. For more information on the limited-edition camera, visit the Leica website

It's taken Leica a while to get to grips with the digital age. Beginning with the early, unique, Digilux cameras it moved on to a series of rebodied Panasonics, before photography aficionados were eventually granted what they really desired, a digital version of the iconic rangefinder series, starting with the M8 in 2006. With Leica, innovation is subtle, quality is paramount and prices are high. That little red logo speaks volumes to those in the know, and once you've spent some time handling one it's hard to step down to a rival. Now, 101 years after the company created the very first 35mm compact cameras, Leica has launched its most innovative digital camera yet, the T Series.

Intended as a technological and aesthetic showcase, the T Series is built around the strikingly handsome and tactile aluminum body, hewn from a solid billet of the metal that has been shaped, routed and hand-polished before being stuffed with electronics and a sizeable flatscreen from which you control almost every aspect of reviewing pictures and setting up the camera. The camera launches with two lenses, a 23mm for portraiture and reportage, and an all-purpose 18-56mm. More lenses will follow, and there's also an adaptor for the raft of existing M-lenses, as well as a specially designed electronic viewfinder.

That aluminium body is silkily tactile, as are the twin dials that control exposure. It's all very pared back and minimalist, and works well once you've sorted out your preferred settings using the screen. There's always the danger you'll spend too much time admiring the camera itself rather than the photographs it takes, and the T is unlikely to spend its days as a professional's workhorse. As a piece of functional excellence, the T Series reigns supreme, and should keep its lustre for decades to come.

As top-end still cameras add more and more multi-media functionality, Leica has launched a camera that does a lot less. The promise of course being that what it does do, it does very well. The Leica M Monochrom (the clue is in the title) is the first digital camera to shoot only in black and white.

Leica claims that excusing the camera - a new variant of the M9 rangefinder, first launched in 2009 - of colour duties means that the sensor can concentrate on dealing with light and shade, making for sharper images with much less noise. (And what noise there is, says Leica, is a finer, better sort of noise).

Given that most photographers shooting digitally work in colour before converting to black and white during processing, the M Monochrom is a genuinely radical proposition. But it shares the M9’s rugged construction and good looks with matt black chrome top plate and super soft leather trim. And like all M-class Leicas, the M Monochrom is built like a battleship.

Leica has also launched the Leica M9-P ‘Edition Hermès’, the third special edition it has produced with the French fashion brand. It comes with an ochre leather trim and an even more pared down and elegant body design. The Edition Hermés will be available in two limited edition sets.

There’s little need to disguise our burning passion for all things Leica. What’s good enough for celebrated snappers like Henri Cartier Bresson and Nan Goldin is certainly good enough for us too.

The M8 takes the original iconic Leica Rangefinder body crafted from brass, aluminium, titanium and steel but inserts a 10.3 megapixel digital lens and sensor system that delivers professional quality pictures.

And now the German camera makers at Leica have created an ultra limited edition white version. Classic modernist design equipped with futurist technology – a bit of all white, if you like.