[Leica] Leica Sigma, Panasonic. ( SL Mount cameras and lenses)

[red735i at verizon.net (Frank Filippone)]

L-Mount Alliance: Strategic cooperation between Leica Camera, Panasonic and 
Sigma

One day before the official launch of photokina 2018, Leica Camera AG, 
Panasonic and Sigma announced a strategic partnership at the company's press 
conference. The "L-Mount Alliance" is an unprecedented way of working 
together and will be particularly beneficial to the customers of the three 
companies. It allows Panasonic and Sigma to use the L-mount standard 
developed by Leica for their own developments and thus also offer cameras 
and optics with this lens mount. Through the joint efforts of the three 
partners, the alliance will significantly contribute to the importance of 
the L-Mount standard for the world of photography

Due to their numerous interchangeable components, system cameras allow a 
very flexible use and can be individually configured according to 
requirements. The bayonet is the most important interface, as the lens has a 
significant impact on the imaging performance and therefore on the final 
image quality. The strategic partnership between Leica, Panasonic and Sigma 
will allow customers to use a wider range of cameras and lenses in the 
future without compromising on so far to have to specify individual 
manufacturers, because they use propriety bayonets.

Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and majority 
shareholder, Leica Camera AG: "Photographers are extremely important for 
their chosen camera system. Particularly in the increasingly growing market 
for mirrorless system cameras, there is an ever-increasing variety of 
different requirements on the part of the users. In order to be able to meet 
these requirements at short notice, we have decided to work together with 
renowned partners from the photographic industry.
With

Panasonic associates us with many years of partnership and trusting 
cooperation and their expertise in electronics is undisputed. Sigma is also 
a respected company, which has established itself particularly in the field 
of optical development and can offer a perfect complement to our existing 
L-Mount portfolio with its innovative products , We believe that together 
with our partners, we can achieve mutual and sustainable growth for all our 
products. "

Mr. Tetsuro Homma, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation, 
said: "Panasonic's focus has always been to revolutionize the camera market 
and make photographers' lives easier, more advanced, and more enjoyable. Our 
long-standing partnership with Leica has resulted in numerous 
high-performance, high-end digital cameras, combining Leica's leading 
optical technology with Panasonic's digital technologies. This partnership 
has enabled us to drive the development of excellent digital photography 
products. The L-Mount alliance with Leica and Sigma is a prime example of 
the power of our collaboration. This alliance of strong companies will 
fundamentally change the future of the photography industry. As a market 
challenger we always have the slogan 'Changing Photography' Driving 
innovation to meet the high expectations of professional photographers. Our 
partnership with Leica and Sigma will open up additional business 
opportunities for our companies, but above all, it will continue to delight 
our customers in photography. "

Mr.Kazuto Yamaki, Chief Executive Officer, SIGMACorporation: "As cameras 
evolve toward digital and mirrorless, user and system requirements have also 
changed. Currently, there is an almost overwhelming choice of different 
systems that, however, do not yet meet all the needs of users, especially in 
terms of extensibility and flexibility. SIGMA joins this alliance to develop 
mirrorless cameras that benefit from the short run. As SIGMA seeks to 
develop high-quality and innovative high-performance products, this alliance 
will greatly enhance both the implementation and expandability of our camera 
system, significantly increasing the value to our customers. Leica is a 
great company and has been a major influence on photography for more than 
100 years, and Panasonic is due to it proven developments market leader in 
many different areas. Combined with SIGMA's high quality, high performance 
and unique products, the L-Mount will become an extremely attractive system 
for potential users. "

About the L-Mount?

The L-Mount has been designed by Leica Camera to provide customers with a 
future-proof, flexible, rugged and precise bayonet that will meet even the 
most demanding photographic needs Leica T, the L-mount has been continuously 
developed by Leica Camera and its partners, resulting in an improved and 
quasi-new L-mount technology.

For the widest possible variety of products, the diameter of the L-mount was 
dimensioned at 51.6 millimeters, making it suitable not only for full-frame 
cameras but also for APS-C sensors. The small footprint of only 20 
millimeters allows for a small distance between optics and sensor, making 
lenses much more compact - particularly useful for wide angle development. 
To withstand even the heaviest loads and to guarantee maximum safety for 
customers over many years of intensive use, camera bayonets become wear 
resistant Stainless steel and with four flange segments, which prevents 
tilting and ensures a particularly firm and flat fit of the lens. The 
standardized L-Mount contact strip ensures smooth communication between the 
electronic components in the lens and the camera, including the possibility 
of firmware updates for lenses, in order to react to technical developments 
and thus ensure full performance in the future.

Currently, the Leica SL system in full format and the APS system with camera 
models Leica CL, TL2 and TLde use the lens mount. All the optics of the 
different systems can be operated without restrictions and without adapters 
on all cameras - here is already one of the many advantages that customers 
have through the unified bayonet.In the near future, both the Leica 
CameraAG, as well as Panasonic and Sigma announce other products using the 
same standard.
Frank Filippone?Red735i at verizon.net