Leica M Monochrome Announced in Berlin

On the evening of May 10th, the gallery "C/O Berlin" in Berlin was filled with excitement, buzzing with photographers and journalists invited from around the world.

This venue, a former post office, is well-known among photography enthusiasts.
Visitors were greeted by "MASTERCLASS," an exhibition of monochrome portraits by the American photographer Arnold Newman (1918-2006), who continuously captured portraits of influential figures in art, culture, science, politics, and business, including Pablo Picasso, Marilyn Monroe, and J.F. Kennedy.

While admiring the photographs, we ascended to the second floor and entered the hall where a stage was set up.
After an opening jazz performance by string instruments and a flugelhorn, and the awards ceremony for the "Leica Award 2012," a break was taken, and then the new products were finally announced.

The products announced were:
(1) The M-system Leica dedicated to monochrome photography, "Leica M Monochrome" (scheduled for release in August),
(2) The "Leica APO-Summicron-M f2.0/50mm ASPH.," which sets a new standard for standard lenses with its outstanding depiction quality (scheduled for release in August),
(3) The "Leica X2," the pinnacle of Made in Germany compact cameras (scheduled for release in late May),
(4) The new compact digital camera, "Leica V-LUX 40" (scheduled for release in late May),
and (5) the third collaboration model with Hermès,
(5) "Leica M9-P Hermès Edition" set (two types, release date undecided)
making a total of five items (prices are open or to be announced later).

The most anticipated product is, as expected, the "Leica M Monochrome," dedicated solely to monochrome photography. Equipped with a 35mm full-frame, 18-megapixel sensor, it was created to pursue the artistic quality of monochrome photography.
This model was planned in response to the global boom in monochrome photography and features functions such as a RAW data histogram display that can show the luminance of raw data as is. Furthermore, the included software is also comprehensive, with "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom" offering a function to reproduce the characteristics of over 20 types of monochrome films.

Leica achieved unprecedented profits in 2011.
Although there was no announcement of a mirrorless interchangeable-lens model, which Japanese Leica fans have long awaited, the introduction of this model can be seen as a clear declaration of Leica's special position within the camera industry and its intention to maintain it.