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LEITZ PHONE 1 – Leica Smartphone with 1" Sensor


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Leica Camera AG presents the LEITZ PHONE 1, a new milestone in the company's history

Sales of Leica Camera AG's first own smartphone will begin in Japan on July 16, 2021. The Leitz Phone 1 in the iconic Leica design and with a 1- inch image sensor that is exceptionally large and powerful for smartphones has been developed exclusively for the Japanese market.

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Wetzlar, 16 July 2021. The Leitz Phone 1 will be sold exclusively in Japan from July 16. With the first smartphone of its own, Leica Camera AG sets another milestone in the company's 100-year plus history and once again underlines its constant pursuit of the highest quality technical innovations. The Leitz Phone 1 will embody Leica’s passion for concentration on what is essential – ‘Das Wesentliche’ – uncompromising quality, iconic design, and outstanding picture quality. Smartphone-photography has become a method for instantaneous communication – a visual language without limits. The Leitz Phone 1 strives to enable every user to become his own witness - to capture and share personal moments and experiences of everyday life with pictures of unique Leica quality.

The Leitz Phone 1 will feature a 1-inch image sensor with 20.2 megapixels, which is exceptionally large and powerful for smartphones as well as a Qualcomm® SnapdragonTM 888 5G Mobile Platform. In combination with a fast f/1.9 lens and up to 6-fold digital zoom the integrated Leica lens technology of the Leitz Phone 1 delivers brilliant pictures in RAW and JPEG formats that will impress with high quality and true-to-life detail, especially in large- format prints. Every image taken with the Leitz Phone 1 will reflect the essence of Leica image quality and testimony Leica’s unparalleled optical capability and image software expertise. The "Leitz Looks" mode was integrated into the camera application specifically for this purpose. The mode, which is based on the visual language of the Leica M Monochrom, is the first integrated Leitz Look. Additional "Leitz Looks" will be made available with later firmware updates that harness the Snapdragon 888’s 6th Generation Qualcomm® AI Engine. A further highlight will be the pre-installed “LFI.Widget”. Presenting the best photos from the Leica Fotografie International Gallery - the curated platform for Leica photographers worldwide.

The unique iconic Leica design of the Leitz Phone 1, created by the company’s own design studio in Munich/Germany, is entirely new to the smartphone world. As with the cameras, Leica follows the credo "reduced to the essentials" here. In addition to the clear, minimal and intuitive handling characteristics, drawn from Leica cameras, the Leitz Phone 1 also sets an entirely new benchmark in terms of its looks. Its aluminium case in Leica silver is encased in a layer of glass in which a 3D Leica logo is seamlessly embedded in a matt-black background of Gorilla-glass. Sophisticated details such as the knurled edges of the aluminium frame not only epitomise the high degree of technical precision and passion for details for which the brand is renowned, but also underline the characteristic commitment to functionality and joy of use in the design of Leica products. The discreet and innovative lens cover with a magnetic attachment system is unique, complementing both the functional and emotional elements of the Leica design philosophy, with a nod to the brands enigmatic past. The clarity and the premium finish of the silicon case provides protection against dust and moisture and further highlights the premium and sophisticated aesthetics of all Leica products. Integrated into the display will be the Qualcomm® 3D Sonic Max, Qualcomm Technologies’ largest in-display fingerprint sensor for smartphones and works even when fingers are wet.

Dr Andreas Kaufmann, Majority Shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG: ‘Leica has a long-established tradition that is and always has been characterised by the constant pursuit of technical innovation. We welcome smartphones because they make a very valuable contribution to the world of photography. Never before have people taken as many pictures as they do today: billions of pictures are posted online every day. For Leica, the presentation of the Leitz Phone 1 is the next and logical step on the path to the technologies and markets of the future. Personally, it fills me with pride when I see that Leica Camera AG will once again set a significant milestone in both the history of the company and smartphone photography with the Leitz Phone 1.’

The Leitz Phone 1 will be produced exclusively for the Japanese market in collaboration with Sharp Corporation and will be distributed by the Operator SoftBank, Japan’s leading distributor of information and communications technology.

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Interesting!

  • the partnership with Sharp.
  • any news on price?
  • will it come to other countries eventually?
  • lens design and FL? A typical 28mm full frame equivalent would be 10mm for a 1 inch sensor. The optical design to fit that on a slim body, and focus closer than infinity would be interesting in itself.
  • I didn't know Leica had a design studio in Munich
  • What flavour of android will it have? Basic or custom version? Smartphones with limited sales and custom software make me nervous about updates.

I am always looking for the perfect pocketable camera. I've tried the Ricoh GR and Leica TL2, but keep coming back to the smartphone. The trouble is, most smartphones, even those that produce raw files, over process the image (including the Huawei phones that have Leica's input), making raw little better than JPG. A large sensor and Leica optics and colour science may help. 

Edited by LocalHero1953
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I'm afraid that I'm far more interested in Leica cameras, as in when we may get a CL2, than in "smartphones", which are now no longer mainly for personal communications and taking photographs, but have become QR readers for Government surveillance, and vehicles for intrusive State apps.

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55 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Interesting!

  • the partnership with Sharp.
  • any news on price?
  • will it come to other countries eventually?
  • lens design and FL? A typical 28mm full frame equivalent would be 10mm for a 1 inch sensor. The optical design to fit that on a slim body, and focus closer than infinity would be interesting in itself.
  • I didn't know Leica had a design studio in Munich
  • What flavour of android will it have? Basic or custom version? Smartphones with limited sales and custom software make me nervous about updates.

I am always looking for the perfect pocketable camera. I've tried the Ricoh GR and Leica TL2, but keep coming back to the smartphone. The trouble is, most smartphones, even those that produce raw files, over process the image (including the Huawei phones that have Leica's input), making raw little better than JPG. A large sensor and Leica optics and colour science may help. 

Me too...Perfect pocket camera depends on your pockets....If small, I take an Olympus XA, if medium, A Leica CL (film) with collapsible elmar-M 50mm, if big pockets I take my MP with collapsible elmar or 35mm 'cron.........if digital pocket ...sadly have to use a smartphone and the iphone does a resonable job....for example:-

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2 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Interesting!

  • the partnership with Sharp.
  • any news on price?
  • will it come to other countries eventually?
  • lens design and FL? A typical 28mm full frame equivalent would be 10mm for a 1 inch sensor. The optical design to fit that on a slim body, and focus closer than infinity would be interesting in itself.
  • I didn't know Leica had a design studio in Munich
  • What flavour of android will it have? Basic or custom version? Smartphones with limited sales and custom software make me nervous about updates.

I am always looking for the perfect pocketable camera. I've tried the Ricoh GR and Leica TL2, but keep coming back to the smartphone. The trouble is, most smartphones, even those that produce raw files, over process the image (including the Huawei phones that have Leica's input), making raw little better than JPG. A large sensor and Leica optics and colour science may help. 

A camera(phone) is only as good as its sensor. A one inch sensor with 20.2 MP can only come from Sony.

I use a pocketable Sony RX100 with a one inch 20.2 MP sensor, and it is very good indeed, as long as you don't need the separation of subject and background that only a 24 x 36 mm sensor can provide. Of course, in a smartphone, background blur can be added in firmware. It will be interesting to see how the 'Leica look' will be obtained.

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Japan site says it’s $900 for a limited time. Named Leitz in honor of the company founder.  Has a lens cap. Personally I don’t see the point, but I have never used the phone as a camera so I am not one to judge. Sharp is now a Korean company so I doubt any part of it is made here in Japan. Odd to me since Leica shares hardware with Panasonic. I have seen another phone for sale here advertising a Leica lens but I forgot which one.  Japan is a big time Apple fan boy country so it may be a hard sell here.

regards,

W. Unland

Edited by anrando
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Yes, 187,920 Yen is the price cited in the video, available in July.  I didn't note any other great revelations in the video, though my Japanese is very rusty.  The SIM slot on the top also holds a microSD card (3:42 in the video).  Clearly the reviewer couldn't do a very thorough review when the camera app simply presents the message "COMING SOON" (2:15)!

2 hours ago, luigi bertolotti said:

Don't sure, but saw in the video a 187920 figure which could be the price in Yen . around 1400-1500 Euro...

 

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