Say Käse: Leica Debuts New $23,000 S2 Digital SLR Camera
Filed under: Gadgets
For the cost-is-no-object photography crowd, Leica is the be all and end all. We've reported on some of the high-end German optics company's products before, but they've just delved into the professional field of digital Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras with its new S-System, announcing prices for its initial line-up.
Packed inside a body smaller than most SLRs is a 37.5 million pixel sensor that measures 30x45mm – more than 50% bigger than the industry standard. The camera body alone costs a whopping $23k – and as any serious photog worth his flashbulb will tell you, that doesn't even include a lens. Those start at around five grand, while the cheapest accessory in the catalog is the $400 charger. Upgrading to the sapphire crystal display and what Leica calls its Platinum service costs another five grand, which would be enough to buy a good Nikon or Canon with all the lenses and extra kit you could ask for. But then, of course, they're not Leicas.
With all the various gadgets we've seen gold-plated, crystal-studded or diamond-encrusted, there is one gadget that has had little attention paid to it: the digital camera. Digital cameras have been getting sleeker and faster, but there has been a noticeable lack of really over-the-top ones until now. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Canon will be auctioning off ten 
