Leica has denied a report in the Japanese press that it has ?abandoned? the production of film cameras.
An article on the website of respected Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun had quoted Leica Camera AG owner Andreas Kaufmann as saying: ‘Leica Camera has already ceased production of film cameras.’
Kaufmann supposedly made the comments in a speech on 30 May.
Asked by Amateur Photographer to comment on the article, Leica?s head office in Solms, Germany, issued this statement to us yesterday afternoon.
?Leica Camera AG has not stopped producing its analogue camera models, the Leica M7 and Leica MP, nor does it currently have any intention to do so.
?Although the demand for analogue Leica camera models is not high, it is stable, and we are still producing cameras on a daily basis as always.
?This is confirmed by a film made last year at the Leica factory showing analogue camera models being manufactured.’
The film can be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILn_jNbogHU.