Leica M12 will be equipped with a self-developed sensor

According to Leica Rumors, Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and major shareholder of Leica Camera AG, stated in a recent podcast that Leica is once again developing its own image sensor, which will likely be used in the next-generation Leica M12 camera.

The Leica M12 camera will use a new sensor developed in-house by Leica. "As some already know, we are developing our own sensor again. Until the M10, we used a European sensor. It was manufactured by AMS in Graz, or more precisely, designed and developed by its Dutch development office. The wafer fab itself was a French company located in Grenoble. Then, the M11 transitioned to a Sony sensor. At the same time, we restarted development of our own sensor, a more advanced version. We believe we have made considerable progress in this area. Currently, we cannot disclose more information.

Leica switched to a Sony sensor for the M11, and it was assumed they would continue to use Sony sensors in the future. But now it seems the M12 will once again use a Leica-developed sensor. The M-series rangefinder cameras may not need to pursue Sony's strengths in fast readout speeds or phase-detection autofocus performance; this may be determined by its product category. Will Leica's self-developed sensor have a technological advantage, or will it be more Leica-like in color science? We'll probably only know after the M12 is released.