Digital Camera News
Leica Raises €23 Million in Fresh Capital
August 31, 2005 –The German camera maker Leica has successfully executed a stock offering that will import €22.95 million ($28.2 million) into the struggling company’s cash holdings. The 13.5 million share offering, which was the subject of an unsuccessful lawsuit brought by four major institutional investors seeking to block it, aimed to raise money to help the company focus its products as it struggles to compete in the digital marketplace. Leica suffered a loss of €9.3 million on sales of €70.6 million during the first 9 months of the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
Leica recently emerged from a restructuring effort that saw the installation of a new chairman as well as the implementation of a plan designed to trim the company’s inventory. Leica also plans on focusing on the development of new cameras in partnership with other manufacturers, rather than expanding its in-house research and development.
Leica currently supplies some of the optical technology for some of Panasonic’s consumer digital cameras and camcorders but has said in a previous announcement that they would like to develop a new line of compact cameras, expanding their offerings above the current M and R lines.
As part of its restructuring, Leica established its own sales company this past March, Leica Camera Japan Co., in partnership with Hermès Japan. This was done in an effort to increase the company’s exposure in the second largest camera market in the world. Hermès Japan is a unit of the luxury goods giant Hermès International SCA, one of the institutional investors who brought the initial lawsuit against Leica that sought to block the offering.
Latest News
& Reviews
-
22-May-2012
Pentax K-30 brings weather sealing to midrange DSLRs
The weather-sealed Pentax K-30 finally made its debut yesterday. With weather sealing at a sub-$1000 price point, it begs the question: why aren’t all DSLRs built like that? Read More...
-
22-May-2012
DigitalCameraInfo.com's Lens Buying Guide
So you bought a great new DSLR, but you’re stuck with a mediocre kit lens. We know choosing what lens to get next can be a real headache. Check out our beginner-friendly lens guide to help get you started. Read More...
Top Rated Digital Cameras
-
Digital SLRs
Point & Shoots
-
$3,499.001Canon EOS 5D Mark III
We have finally put the Canon 5D Mark III through a full, rigorous performance test and it sits among the best DSLRs we've ever tested. Read our full review to see how Canon has improved in all the areas the 5D Mark II struggled. Read full 7-part review
$3,499.00
$499.001Panasonic Lumix FZ150
Excellent image quality, speedy performance, and a great design add up to the best superzoom that has ever graced our labs. That distinction seems to change hands every week, but trust us when we say that the FZ150 is a truly great camera. Read full 16-part review
$499.00 -
$1,999.992Sony Alpha A77
Sony's blazing fast, top-of-the-line SLT A77 has just about everything we could ask for in a modern system camera. Read full 7-part review
$1,999.99
$449.992Sony Cyber-shot HX100V
This professionally-geared ultrazoom offers some of the best color accuracy we've ever seen. It's a shame the other scores weren't quite so strong. Read full 16-part review
$449.99 -
$1,700.003Fujifilm X-Pro1
Fuji's bold new mirrorless rangefinder throwback brings the successful X series into the realm of interchangeable lenses. Read full 9-part review
$1,700.00
$799.993Canon PowerShot G1 X
Canon's new G1 X features a giant 1.5-inch CMOS sensor and the same manual control that we loved on the G12. Read full 7-part review
$799.99 -
$799.004Nikon D5100
The D5100 is the latest entry-level DSLR from Nikon, with full 1080/30p video, an articulated LCD, and the same image sensor as the D7000. It lacks an internal focus motor, but we found it produced some of the most accurate colors we've seen yet. Read full 7-part review
$799.00
$429.994Canon PowerShot SX40 HS
Canon's SX30 got a CMOS makeover that resulted in the SX40 HS, an impressive ultrazoom that captures beautiful shots in almost any scenario. Read full 16-part review
$429.99 -
$1,349.995Sony Alpha NEX-7
We've put the 24.3-megapixel Sony NEX-7 through our full battery of tests, and the writing's on the wall: the NEX-7 is the best mirrorless camera yet. Read full 7-part review
$1,349.99
$399.995Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ47
Panasonic resists the urge to cram more megapixels and more focal length into their latest ultrazoom. The FZ47 instead focuses on image quality and features, resulting in an incredibly strong camera that we loved shooting with. Read full 16-part review
$399.99
Find the right digital camera for you.
