Leica is known for producing some of the best craftsmanship of cameras within the photographic industry, from producing some of the best mirrorless cameras with the German company's Leica SL3 , to keeping the joy of 'pure photography' alive with the legendary Leica M-System with the Leica M11, or the keeping analog users shooting film with the glorious Leica M-A or Leica MP, the red dot is held in very high regard.
Now, the rumor mills have started churning out gossip on what the next generation of the Leica M rangefinder camera could look like and what features might be included with this new camera model, which we assume will be dubbed the Leica M12.
Let's start with what might not be included with the new Leica M12, as this feature might be a deal breaker for some who have also wanted it within the M-System.
In-body stabilization:
It was confirmed by Stefan Daniel, Leica Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations when he spoke to members of the Leica Society International in Dublin on October 14, 2022, stating: "In-body stabilization for the M system is not viable because of size constraints." This makes perfect sense, due to its interchangeable lens design.
However, to throw a bit of confusion in the air, in another interview in 2022 Stefan mentioned that IBIS could be added, commenting:
"It isn't ruled out that the image stabilizer could be integrated into the M at some point, for example, if we would do without the mechanical shutter and so the necessary space would be available again."
Whether or not this will come to the M12 is another story, but if you're going to do something evolutionary, the launch of the M12 could well be the time to do it.
So what could we expect to see from the new Leica M12?
Smaller design:
According to sources on Leica Rumors, the new Leica M12 will be 3mm smaller than the M11. This makes sense, as we have seen with the Leica SL3, whose overall size was reduced to fit into a more compact size.
While the Leica M cameras have always been compact, having a slightly smaller design could help with weight distribution, and as the new close-focus M-mount lenses from Leica are lighter - making the overall package lighter makes sense.
Larger LCD screen:
We currently have a 2.95-inch screen seen on the back of the Leica M11 and Leica M11-P, but rumors suggest that a bigger 3.9in screen could be added to the new Leica M12 - this rumor would tie into speculation that physical buttons could be removed from the Leica M12 for a touchscreen interface - much like we saw on the Leica TL2 camera.
Electronic viewfinder:
There have been many rumors over the years that Leica could introduce an EVF or hybrid EVF, much like the Fujifilm X100IV. Back in 2022 Stefan Daniel, Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations at Leica mentioned that Leica would consider an EVF model if there was enough interest, originally stating that Leica would need to sell a couple of thousand to make it worthwhile, and later correcting that it would need to be several thousand to be viable.
With the new close-focus lens capability of 0.3m that Leica is currently producing it does hint that an EVF could be on the cards, as currently the only way to use this close-focus is to use the optional electric viewfinder of the Leica Visoflex - which a lot of users don't like as it adds extra bulk.
It also must be said that this is all hearsay currently, with no official announcement from Leica Camera AG. However, as soon as we hear more you can be sure we will be the first to report on it!
