Leica opens the box (slightly) on soon-to-launch Mini M camera

 

 

Leica's done a pretty good job of teasing its new Mini M camera, which the company says it will unveil on June 11, 2013. But other than the name and the launch date, all rabid Leica fans have been able to drool over, so far, is an image of a black box. That changed this morning when Leica published a new photo of the Mini M, which shows the box slightly open to reveal what appears to be a black camera body and the outline of a black lens.

The Mini M box image is placed between a Leica M and a Leica X2, which indicates the price range of the new camera will between $2,000 and $7,000. That's a broad price range, which could accommodate anything from a full-frame fixed lens camera, to Leica's own compact system camera to, even, a miniature digital rangefinder. According to Leica Rumors though, it could be something slightly less exciting: an APS-C-sensor-based camera with a fixed zoom lens.

 

 

One of the more intriguing guesses we've heard, so far, is that the Mini M will be a Leica version of the beautiful but flawed Panasonic L1 rangefinder-style digital SLR from 2006. Leica Rumors' sources, however, have indicated that the Mini M will not be a rebranded Panasonic model but a true Leica camera that's made in Germany. So, there's that.

Stay tuned. There are liable to be quite a few more teases from Leica before June 11th.