The L-Mount Alliance: a strategic cooperation between Leica
Camera, Panasonic and Sigma
At the companies' press conference prior to the opening of
Photokina 2018, Leica Camera AG, Panasonic and Sigma announced a
strategic partnership. The 'L-Mount Alliance' is a previously
unparalleled form of collaboration that will particularly benefit
the customers of all three partners. The collaboration enables
Panasonic and Sigma to make use of the L-Mount standard developed
by Leica for their own developments and to offer both cameras and
lenses utilising this lens mount. As a joint effort of all three
partners, this alliance will increase the importance of the L-Mount
technology to the world of photography even further.
Due to their numerous interchangeable components, system cameras
are extremely versatile and can be individually configured for a
wide range of photographic needs. Here, the bayonet is the most
important interface, because the lens makes a decisive contribution
to imaging performance and, in turn, to the quality of the final
results. Thanks to the strategic partnership between Leica,
Panasonic and Sigma, customers will be able to choose from a much
wider selection of cameras and lenses without having to limit
themselves to a particular brand, as all three brands will share
the same proprietary bayonet mount.
Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica
Camera AG and majority shareholder: "For photographers, the ability
to choose from a wide range of lenses for their system of
preference is extremely important. Especially in the strongly
growing market for mirrorless system cameras, users seek
increasingly greater product diversity to fulfil a wide range of
different photographic needs. We have therefore decided to work
together with prominent partners in the photographic segment as an
immediate response to these needs. Our long-established partnership
with Panasonic is a collaboration based on mutual trust, and the
company's expertise in the area of electronics is
unquestioned.Sigma is also a highly respected company that has
become firmly established especially in the areas of optical design
and lens manufacturing and is able to perfectly complement our
existing portfolio of L-Mount products. We are convinced that we
and our partners can realise mutual and sustainable growth for all
our products."
Mr. Tetsuro Homma, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Panasonic
Corporation: "Panasonic has always focused on revolutionising the
camera sector to make the lives of photo enthusiasts easier, more
sophisticated and more enjoyable. Our longstanding partnership with
Leica has brought many high-performance and high-quality digital
cameras to the market; fusing Leica's superior optical technology
with Panasonic's digital technologies. Our partnership has enabled
us to accelerate the development of excellent digital camera
products, and the L-Mount alliance with Leica and Sigma is a great
example of such acceleration. This is an alliance of growing
players, which will make a fundamental difference to the future of
the imaging industry. We have always been a challenger, bringing
innovation to the industry under the slogan of "Changing
Photography" to meet the high expectations of professionals. Our
partnership with Leica and Sigma will create additional business
opportunities for our businesses, but more importantly will advance
our customers' joy of photography."
Mr. Kazuto Yamaki, CEO, SIGMA: "As cameras evolved into digital
and mirrorless, requirements from users and systems introduced by
each brands diversified. Currently, there are overwhelming choices
for users, but in terms of extensibility and possibility, the
system truly meets user's needs is not yet available. SIGMA is
joining this alliance to develop mirrorless cameras benefiting from
a short flange back. As SIGMA strives to develop high performance,
high quality and innovative products, this alliance will strengthen
the level of completion and the extensibility of our camera system
and provide greater user benefits. Leica is a magnificent company
that has been contributing to photographic cultures for more than
100 years, and Panasonic is leading the industry by developing
reliable technologies across various fields. Together with SIGMA's
unique, high performance and high quality products, the L-Mount
will evolve as an extremely attractive system for users."
About the L-Mount
The L-Mount was developed by Leica Camera under the proviso of
providing customers with a future-proof, flexible, robust and
precise bayonet mount that would fulfil even the most demanding
photographic needs. Since its initial appearance in 2014 within the
Leica T, development of the L-Mount was continued by Leica as well
as by its strategic partners, which led to significant improvements
and therefore an effectively new and more polished L-Mount
technology.
To ensure maximum product diversity, the diameter of 51.6
millimetres was chosen to make the L-Mount suitable for use not
only with full-frame cameras, but also on cameras with APS-C
sensors. The short register of only 20 millimetres enables a short
distance between the lens and the sensor, which in turn enables
considerably more compact construction - which is particularly
helpful for developments in the wide-angle lens segment. To ensure
resistance to even the most extreme stresses, and to guarantee
customers maximum reliability in many years in intensive use, the
camera bayonets are manufactured from wear-resistant stainless
steel and with four flange segments that prevent canting and ensure
particularly secure and precisely positioned lens attachment. The
standardised L-Mount contact strip ensures trouble-free
communication between the electronic components of the lens and the
camera - including the possibility of installing future firmware
updates for lenses to react to technological advances and exploit
the full performance potentials of the lens.
The lens mount is currently used in the Leica SL full-frame
camera system and the Leica CL, TL2 and TL APS-C camera models. All
lenses made for the various different systems can be used on all
cameras without adapters and without any functional limitations -
this illustrates only one of the numerous benefits the common
bayonet brings for customers. In the near future, not only Leica
Camera AG, but also Panasonic and Sigma will be announcing further
products that use the common standard.
