Leica has officially announced the M9, the first digital camera of its size to include a full-frame sensor that equates to that of shooting with a 35mm camera. The EP-1, Olympus’ offering is comparable, but uses a micro four thirds sensor, which result in image cropping and disables the photographer from using the full range of the lens. It’s a bit disappointing to see that the LCD is just 2.5-inch in size, which probably means a smaller form factor, but still, at $7,000 I dide expect a bit more from the German company. The camera’s housing is crafted from high-strength magnesium alloy, while the top and bottom deck are machined from brass. So drop this thing down a flight of stairs and it will keep on snapping.

Specs:

• 24 x 36mm, 18.5-megapixel sensor
• Dual imaging processors
• ISO 160 to 2,500
• Leica M mount
• RAW (DNG format) and JPEG
• 2.5-inch 230k-dot resolution LCD
• SD/SDHC flash media

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