Leica's medium format S3 has reached the end of its life. What will the S4 have in store?

leica S3

It looks like Leica's medium format camera, the Leica S3, has hit end-of-life status.

There are many photographers wanting to make the jump from full frame to medium format, and Leica has long been one of the most sought-after brands. However, the German company might make newcomers to medium format wait a little while; it has been revealed by Japanese retailer @mapcamera on Twitter that the Leica S3 has reached the "end of production".

• Check out the best Leica cameras to see what else the brand has to offer

This is also confirmed by popular retailers in the US; B&H no longer lists the S3 for sale, while Adorama lists the camera as a "special order" item.

There may be an end in sight, though. While speaking at the Leica Society International talk in Dublin in 2022, Stefan Daniel, Leica's executive VP of technology and operations, hinted that a new mirrorless medium format camera is scheduled for production in 2025 (as reported by Leica Rumors).

(Image credit: Leica)

While we might have to wait for 2025 for this new style medium format camera from Leica, we believe that we have actually seen a mock-up of the said camera during the Leica M11 launch video, which showed an array of Leica prototypes in a line. Eagle-eyed viewers pointed out a camera that looked different from anything seen before.

As we can see in the still image above, there is a prototype that has a bigger mount than the normal L-mount – which would lend credence to the idea that it is an S-mount (medium format) camera from Leica. It's also apparent that the body is bigger, with a thicker grip to the left of the camera.

While this is all we have to go on about the possible new camera, even Leica Rumors has stated that it has not heard a specific rumor about an S4. So maybe 2025 is the best timeline we have so far, but the real question is: what will the megapixel count be, and will it beat the 60MP of the Leica M11 or the Leica Q3?

Of course, you don't have to wait for Leica! Check out our guide to the best medium format cameras – including the 100MP Fujifilm GFX 100S and Hasselblad X2D 100C.