The Leica smartphone is now official! We also have new patents from Canon, leaked images of a new DJI drone, and much more. Here’s the best news I’ve selected for “The Photography News Show”!

SMARTPHONE NEWS

Leica Smartphone: Leitz Phone 1

I normally don’t talk much about smartphones on this show, but well, this week is an exception as Leica has launched its own smartphone, the Leiz Phone 1.

It has been developed starting from the Sharp Aquos R6, and it has all the needed features to deliver a “True Leica Experience”, starting from a 1-inch sensor camera.

Besides that, we find a largely monochrome user interface, an all-metal exterior with a circular camera compartment, that even comes with a metal lens cap.

It will come at around $1,700, but unfortunately, it will only be available in Japan.

There is no news about international availability, but given that Leica is a global and highly recognized brand, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an international, Leica phone in the future.

LENS NEWS

Canon Patents for Three New f/1.2 Lenses

It looks like f/1.2 is going to be the new standard for Canon L prime lenses.

Right now there are the Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM and Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS, but they’ll soon have some company.

Canon News has in fact found new patents that illustrate the optical system of the following three upcoming nelses:

• Canon RF 24mm f/1.2L USM
• Canon RF 28mm f/1.2L USM
• Canon RF 35mm f/1.2L USM

I’m really curious to see how other camera manufacturers will respond; Sony has a pretty complete f/1.4 lineup:

• Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM
• Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM
• Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA
• Sony Planar T* FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA
• Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM

And the recent launch of the Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM might be the first step to introduce other ultra-bright prime lenses.

While Nikon has, for now, released the crazy Nikon NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, and the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S, so we’ll see which direction they’ll take.

DRONE NEWS

DJI Mini SE Leaked Images & Specs

If you’ve always wanted to get a DJI drone without breaking the bank, the upcoming one might be what you were looking for.

This week there have been in fact some leaked images of the DJI Mini SE, which should have the same specs of the first Mini launched in 2019, at a smaller price, specifically, $299, which would make it the cheapest DJI drone yet.

I think this is going to be the perfect drone for those who want to start with aerial photos and videos, and being in the sub-250g category, you will be able to use it for recreational purposes without registering it with your country’s aviation administration.

APP NEWS

Profoto Camera App

Profoto is one of the most famous companies for lights & flashes, and this week they have launched the Profoto Camera app.

On the outside is just another app to take pictures with your smartphone, but the special thing is that it can communicate with Profoto lights that have Air-X TTL, such as the A10, B10, and C1.

This means that you can literally shoot with your smartphone using Profoto lights without any other accessory, and on top of that, the shots will be in the ProfotoRAW file format.

This is pretty cool as it will unlock so many creative possibilities for your smartphone photography, but at the same time, I’m wondering why would someone use this.

Meaning, if you’re bringing all these lights with you, why no to bring your camera as well?

Smartphones have surely gotten much better, but in my opinion, they can’t be compared to high-quality cameras and lenses.

But well, if you’re on a shoot and all your cameras break, now you will be able to use your smartphone with some of your Profoto lights.

RUMORS

Nikon Z Fe Leaked Images

In some episodes ago, I shared with you a rumor about an upcoming retro-styled Nikon camera, and this week we have some leaked pictures of it from NikonRumors.

The first picture is a mock-up, that shows how the camera should look based on all the rumors, while a few days later we had actual pictures of the camera, which confirms pretty much everything!

It looks like there will be a lot of good ol’ knobs for shutter speed, ISO, and exposure compensation, with a very retro look.

The camera will have an APS-C sensor and should be announced on June 28th.

Sony a7CII Under Development

Rumors from this week reported that the development of such a camera has started, and it will be released one year after the A74, which will be announced in late September.

We don’t have any other details except the following:

• It will be a “Smaller a7IV”
• Smaller body than the a7C
• Bigger Electronic Viewfinder
• Higher Resolution Sensor

So, let’s wait and see!