Disclaimer! ***Photography nerd post***

I wish I had a dollar for every digital camera introduced to the marketplace in the last 5 years. I'm not sure how much cash i'd have, but it might be enough to buy one of these puppies:

Leica M8 digital rangefinder camera

Leica knows a little bit about camera making. Oskar Barnack, who worked for Leica (then Leitz) pretty much invented the 35mm camera in 1913. Here is a timeline on Leica's impact on photography over the years:

(from the old Leica camera website) New website is:

(link...)

1913 Prototype of the "Ur-Leica" by Oskar Barnack
1925 Leica I with built in lens; commencement of
seriel manufacture
1930 Leica I: first Leica camera with threaded lens
flange; Hektor 50mm f2.5: first high speed lens
1932 Leica II with built in coupled rangefinder.
1935 Leica IIIa with 1/1000th of a second shutter speed.
1936 Xenon 50mm f/1.5: first very high-speed lens
1950 Leica IIIf with variable flash synchronisation
1954 Leica M3 with quick-exchange bayonet mount, bright-line
frame viewfinder for 50, 90 and 135mm focal lengths
1958 LEICA M2 with bright-line frame viewfinder for 35, 50 and
90mm focal lengths
1965 Leicaflex: First Leica SLR camera.
1966 Noctilux 50mm f1.2; first lens with serially produced
aspherical lens
1968 Leicaflex SL: first SLR camera with selective light
metering through the lens
1971 Leica M5 with built-in exposure meter.
1975 Apo-Telyt-R 180mm f/3.4: first apochromatically corrected lens
1976 LEICA R3: first camera with adjustable selective/integral
exposure metering
1984 LEICA M6 with built-in exposure meter through the lens
1988 LEICA R6: SLR camera with mechanically controlled shutter
2005 Leica Digital Module-R: First and so far only digital
attachment for a film based 35mm camera
2006 Leica M8: Digital rangefinder camera.

From dpreview.com:

With a resolution of over 10 million pixels, the KAF-10500 continues Kodak’s legacy of offering high performance imaging devices that leverage Kodak’s Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) technology for low noise, high sensitivity, and wide dynamic range. Utilizing a 6.8µm pixel architecture, the sensor uses an optimized microlens configuration to maximize center to corner uniformity for improved image quality, particularly important for the broad incident light angles associated with M series lenses. The sensor also includes anti-blooming protection to prevent against image corruption during high light level conditions.

Anyway, while most every other camera maker rushing products to market as fast as they can, only to come out with a slightly better product months later, Leica is a bit more thorough. Leica's customers have been begging for this camera for at least two years now, and it will finally be here in November. That's not to say that Canon, Nikon and all the rest are not as high quality or good; they're providing products to a wanting public. Canon, Nikon and company mass market many many consumer grade products and offer just a few "professional" grade products.

Leica Camera, on the other hand has only really offered a select few products, the M (rangefinder), the R (Reflex) and a couple of niche compact cameras. They've had a hard time surviving, as there are only so many people willing to shell out $2-3K USD for a really, really well made hobbyist camera. They've partnered with Panasonic and now offer a few less expensive digital products to try and raise their profile in the marketplace.

Photokina in Cologne, Germany is coming up, September 26 - October 1st, and all of the camera makers will be showing off their new wares. Leica will of course be there with a booth, and the new models so that the industry can take a look.

Best of luck looking forward Leica!