Last Updated on 08/29/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
Could a new Zeiss full frame camera be on the horizon?
Zeiss recently released a teaser image on their official Chinese Weixin page, and while details are scarce at the moment, we have a feeling they are hinting at a yet to be announced Zeiss Full Frame Camera.
We have a feeling this new Zeiss camera will be a digital successor to the now discontinued analog Zeiss Ikon rangefinder that hit the market a little over a decade ago. Designed with street photographers in mind, we theorize that the new Zeiss camera will feature a fixed 35mm f2 autofocus lens. Being a fixed lens design, we are confident this new camera will be highly weather resistant (or at least if Zeiss knows the modern street photographer well, they’ll do this). In terms of internals, the new full frame camera will most likely employ the latest sensor designs and autofocus systems from Sony, with whom Zeiss has had long standing partnerships in the digital imaging market. Specifically, we believe that they’ll go for the 12MP sensor in the a7s II.
We also think that this new camera will come equipped with wireless and NFC connectivity, allowing street photographers to share their images to their social media platforms easily and quickly.
Rangefinders and compact point and shoots have always been popular with street photographers, and have even seen a recent surge in mass market popularity thanks to celebrities like Aziz Ansari, Chris Hemsworth, and Kendall Jenner. Zeiss is most likely positioning this new full frame camera as an alternative to something like the Leica Q or Sony RX1R II, and will price it in the $3-4000 range accordingly. It’s been a while since Zeiss had a camera on the market, and we’re excited to see what the German manufacturer has up its sleeves!
What would you like to see Zeiss include in this camera? Let us know in the comments below.
