Leica Camera AG, Panasonic and Sigma announce a strategic partnership at Photokina, the "L-Mount Alliance". As has been rumored for some time, Panasonic is now venturing into the segment of full-frame cameras. In order to optically cover the larger sensor, a different mount than MFT is of course required; however, a similar non-proprietary solution is not available. Each manufacturer offers its own eco-system consisting of mount and lens family (Sony, Canon, Nikon etc.).
While Panasonic has so far partially opted for Canon EF in the video sector, the L-Mount partnership for the new mirrorless FF is just right -- which of course should not be a coincidence, after all, Panasonic and Leica have been cooperating for many years. The alliance is legally based on a license agreement under which Panasonic and Sigma license the L-Mount standard from Leica. However, the further development of the L-Mount is to take place jointly.
The L-Mount itself is not new, it was first introduced by Leica in the Leica T in 2014. The very small overlay of only 20 millimeters is particularly advantageous, as it allows very compact lenses to be developed on the one hand and almost any other optical system to be adapted on the other. Thanks to the 51.6 mm diameter, the mount is also suitable for cameras with a smaller APS-C sensor (uniform bayonet).
Sigma, the third partner in the alliance, is also obviously planning to develop its own mirrorless cameras with L-Mount ("SIGMA joins this alliance to develop mirrorless cameras that benefit from the short back focal distance"). The previously offered Sigma Quattro with Foveon X3 direct image sensor uses its own SIGMA SA bayonet.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
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