Leica is developing a new proprietary image sensor; a typical cycle takes ~5 years.
Leica confirms in‑house sensor development, potentially for M12 and SL4
Leica’s CEO Andrea Kaufmann has confirmed that the company is once again developing its own image sensor. After using AMS sensors up to the M10 and switching to Sony sensors for the M11 generation, Leica appears set to return to an in‑house solution—a process that typically spans about five years and is reportedly already well underway.
It’s notable to see Leica charting its own path again. The move raises interesting questions about what prompted the shift away from Sony sensors, which continue to set benchmarks for innovation (for example, partially stacked architectures in the A7V and ongoing global shutter advances like those seen in the A9II).Going in‑house could give Leica more control over color science, microlens design tailored for rangefinder optics, and supply chain independence. It could also enable unique feature trade‑offs that better match Leica’s priorities for the M and SL systems.It’s likely the new sensor will find it’s way in the future Leica M12 and SL4 cameras!
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