The greatest pre-photokina news so far in my opinion has come from Leica. Leica has announced a brand-new digital photographic system in its new S-system.

The Leica S2 with its 37-MP sensor which is 56% larger than those used in 35mm full-frame DSLRs, is aimed at the top-end professional photographer shooting advertising, fashion and other commercial work. The official announcement of the new Leica S2 is expected be aat the Photokina trade show

“We realised that many professionals work with medium format but also keep another camera – a Canon or a Nikon – for location work,” said Leica UK’s David Bell. “We wanted to make something to occupy that middle ground -- a camera that would give the quality of medium format and the handling and flexibility of 35mm.”

"We have a stunning line-up of nine lenses in the S-system. Some will have leaf shutters to enable flash sync at fast shutter speeds, other will be smaller and rely on the S2’s built-in focal plane shutter,” said Leica product manager Maike Harberts. “We expect the S2 to be able to perform twice as fast as Hasselblad H-series cameras and put in a better performance at high ISOs too.”

Leica S2 Specifications:

• 37-Megapixels 30x45mm sensor
• Small body similar to that of a professional 35mm DSLR
• Weatherproof seals
• Three-inch high-quality LCD screen
• Dual shutter system – focal plane or leaf
• open DNG RAW format

• Range of nine new lenses, including a 120mm macro, tilt-and-shift 30mm, 70mm f/2.5 standard lens and 24mm ultrawide-angle

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