Over the past couple of weeks there have been persistent rumours of a new M-mount camera with a CCD sensor greater in resolution than the 24MP seen on current Leicas. The most intriguing aspect of these rumours is that the camera is said not to be a Leica. At first there was some confusion with the new Hasselblad X1D but it seems clear that if this new M-mount camera exists it is not a Hasselblad, not a Leica. [Reader Elie Bescont who has better eyesight than me has read “Konost” on the sketch. This explains a lot. I had discounted Konost because of the curvature of the body; but now this makes sense. Konost is on the March at last]
According to Prosophos.com, based in Toronto, the rumoured camera will have a curved body as you can see from these sketches. Apart from that, however, it looks very much like a bent Leica M, even down to the control buttons, screen, placing of the shutter-speed dial and release. I suspect Leica’s lawyers would have a field day if this turns out to be a production model. There is no information on whether this is a mirrorless or rangefinder camera, although the general appearance suggests the latter.
What I find very strange (assuming Prosophos is correct in stating that the camera is not a Leica) is how something as unusual as this could be developed and reach production without earlier leaks. For this reason, I am treating this story with extreme caution.
If this is not a huge hoax there should be some interesting times ahead.
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