- Leica unveils the Leitzphone, its first globally out there cellphone
- The US is about to overlook out, although
- The digicam {hardware} is much like Xiaomi’s newest flagship
Leica makes telephones, however you most likely would not realize it as a result of thus far they’ve been unique to Japan. That scenario simply modified, nevertheless, with the brand new, globally out there Leitzphone.
There’s unhealthy information in case you’re within the US, nevertheless, as a result of that is the one market set to overlook out on what appears like a wonderful flagship cellphone – particularly for photographers.
Powered by Xiaomi and wrapped in a sometimes premium Leica shell, the Leitzphone shares a lot of the identical {hardware} as the most recent flagship Xiaomi cellphone — which means an iPhone and Galaxy-beating triple digicam unit.
The primary digicam is provided with a big 50MP 1-inch sensor and LOFIC tech, for pure picture high quality and fewer of a reliance on HDR and computational processing. For digicam nerds, LOFIC stands for Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor. Briefly, the capacitor sits on the pixel degree and reduces clipping, thus growing dynamic vary. Leica hasn’t supplied me with the precise numbers.
What’s distinctive to the Leitzphone mannequin — in addition to its slick Leica design and UI / UX that is per its precise cameras, and which is a primary for telephones so far as I do know — is a mechanical ring across the digicam unit. It is an actual design centerpiece for photographers, offering a tactile approach to manually management a setting of the digicam.
By default the management ring is about to zoom, this avoiding display tapping to change between cameras and zoom settings. (The 200MP telephoto lens has a 3x to 4x optical zoom.) Nevertheless, the ring might be reassigned to capabilities comparable to publicity compensation and white stability. Correct photographer’s stuff.
The Leitzphone will even be suitable with the most recent model of Xiaomi’s digicam grip, which is available in a photographer’s equipment, and which can go a great distance in bettering the cellphone’s dealing with for images. That was definitely my expertise with the Xiaomi 15 Extremely.
There’s one model of the Leitzphone; a matte black with silver knurled trim, priced at £1,700 (round $2,000 / AU$3,400). Contained in the field you may discover a cleansing material, purple wrist strap, silver lens cap plus a case (which is suitable with the mechanical ring).
My dream cellphone for images?
I’ve beforehand declared the Xiaomi 15 Extremely as my favourite digicam cellphone, and though I am but to correctly check out the brand new Leitzphone, I am fairly certain it will win my coronary heart.
It is outfitted with the most recent Xiaomi tech, as per the 17 Extremely introduced on the identical day forward of MWC in Barcelona. I actually felt that the bigger 1-inch sensor delivered the pure picture high quality I count on from a premium compact digicam, quite than the overly processed look I typically expertise with digicam telephones.
Throw in Leica’s beautiful design and UI, plus the varied colour profiles and bokeh traits impressed by Leica cameras and lenses, and it appears set to be my dream cellphone for images.
One profile is impressed by the Leica M9 — the final Leica digicam to characteristic a CCD sensor (earlier than CMOS turned the business commonplace). Photos made with CCD sensors have a unique look about them.
A black-and-white mode is impressed by Leica’s new Monopan 50 movie roll, too — its first movie, revealed final yr.
Leica is not skimping elsewhere, both. The Leitzphone incorporates a wholesome 6.9-inch show with 3500nit brightness, 16GB RAM, 1TB storage, 6,000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
Talking of chipsets, there is a distinctive (to telephones) further safety chip, designed for securely embedding content material credential data onto pictures — the business commonplace manner of authenticating pictures as actual.
All in all, the Leitzphone appears like the posh cellphone for photographers and, satirically, one of many extra reasonably priced methods to shoot with a Leica. I will report again as soon as I’ve had an prolonged time photographing with the cellphone.
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