The legendary Leica M Series will now be seen in a new and improved avatar! The company has taken the M series digital and thus we have the Digital Leica M8. Leica loyalists will no doubt find the new digital camera tempting as it promises to carry forward the inimitable Leica Legacy!

The new Leica M8 is a rangefinder digital camera and retains the classic Leica M look. In a world full of glossy and shiny cameras, the M8 simple yet smart design comes as a breath of fresh air. The M8 has a resolution of 10 megapixels and Leica are quick to point out that the M8 is a brand new camera and not a successor to the M7. To complement the newly released M8, Leica has also unveiled the Tri Elmar M 16-18-21 mm F4 Aspherical lens which is built to provided optimized results at specific focal lengths. The new lens is compatible with both M8 and the normal M series.

When it comes to image formats, the camera supports DNG (RAW), JPEG (Fine / Basic)
and DNG + JPEG. The M8 features the Leica M bayonet and accepts all Leica lenses produced from 1954 onwards. The M8 is outfitted with a 2.5 LCD and an electronic viewfinder. Shooting Modes include; Single picture (one shutter button depression, one picture), Continuous (2 frames per second up to 10 frames) and Self-timer (2 or 12 second delay).

The camera comes bundled with anti-slip carrying strap, cover for M bayonet, lithium ion rechargeable battery, battery charger incl. car socket adaptor and 3 mains plug adapters (Euro, UK, USA) (14 463), USB connection cable, user manual, software DVD Capture One LE, software CD with LEICA DIGITAL CAPTURE and user manuals in all languages. No word on pricing or availability.

Via Dpreview