How To Change Your Apple iPhone Into A Leica Digital Camera – Meet The Leica i9 Camera
Impossible, I can hear you all cry but not in this case. The masterminds at Black Design Associates have managed to pair a Leica fixed-lens rangefinder camera with an Apple iPhone 4 – and it looks good. The Leica i9 concept offers an independent professional camera system with an ultra-compact body that doubles as a rugged protective case for your iPhone 4. The i9 is a true ready-to-shoot camera with Leica’s superior range finder and a 0.3 second start-up. Photos or videos are stored on the i9’s internal flash memory (expandable with SD) and then uploaded onto your iPhone4 once the Leica app has launched.
The i9 offers the high performance of a Leica (CMOS image sensor with effective 12.1 MP, professional lens with 8x optical zoom and 35 equivalent focal lengths and ready-to-shoot operation) with iPhone4 (retina display, multi-touch interface, extended storage capacity and mobile/wireless connectivity). Beyond camera features, the i9 and iPhone4 can share their independent batteries for extended operation.
The Leica i9 Concept offers timeless design, durability and the unmatched brilliance of Leica’s high performance camera system to compliment the unparalleled processing, display and sharing capabilities of Apple’s iPhone 4. With upgradeable software, partner plug-ins/apps, and the ability to take advantage of an ever-growing list of new iPhone features.
The Camera Back Dock
The Camera Back Dock is a tribute to traditional 35mm film. The Camera Back swings open like a traditional film door to reveal the standard Apple 30-pin connector dock. The Camera back is also interchangeable to accommodate compatibility with future generation iPhones.
Features
1. CAMERA/iPHONE TOGGLE – turns on your camera with an instant start-up time of 0.3sec., while simultaneously loading the Leica app on your iPhone4.
2. ZOOM/VOLUME CONTROL – adjusts Tight and Wide when your camera is on, and adjusts volume Up and Down when your camera is off.
3. DEDICATED APERTURE AND SHUTTER DIALS – offers fast and easy option for manual operation.
4. PASS-THROUGHS AND ACTUATORS – gives you full access to your iPhone4 controls and headphone jack.
5. FLASH AND LIGHT METER – offers higher quality photos and videos in low-light conditions.
Flawless Functionality
From F-Stop to Facetime, use-patterns were reviewed continuously, making sure the i9 functioned flawlessly as a high performance camera and smart phone.
Interactive
The i9 takes professional photos and videos and allows you to easily compress and share your content to Email, MMS, Flickr, Facebook and/or YouTube directly from the Leica app.
Design
Careful considerations were taken to get every detail right. The i9’s cohesive design compliments form with function, preserving and celebrating the way a Leica and iPhone4 should perform and operate.
Conclusion
To compliment Leica’s timeless design, the i9 includes an interchangeable backing for future generation iPhones. With upgradeable software and a growing list of iPhone features, the possibilities are limitless including a remote voice activated shutter control.
This i9 concept will set you back, if it comes to fruition, a cool $1,000 – would you spend that. Perhaps if you thought of it as as Leica and your iPhone was an accessory for it, this might make the price a little more reasonable?
Let us know what you think, remember how much Steve Jobs loves Leica, he is bound to be in love with this concept, don’t you think?
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photographer, photography journalist, editor and curator and the founder and editorial director of TheAppWhisperer.com, an independent international photography publication established in 2009.Her journalism, criticism and commentary have appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, BBC, Vogue Italia, LensCulture, Popular Photography, Android Magazine, NikonPro, DPReview, Which Digital Camera and Which Camera. She has lectured internationally on photography and mobile art, served as a juror for international photography awards, and exhibited her own photographic work across the UK, Europe, South Korea and the United States.Alongside her editorial work, Joanne's photographic and postgraduate research explores death, grief, memory, representation and social inequality through contemporary photography, participatory practice and visual research methods, with the longer-term aim of developing this work through doctoral research.Through TheAppWhisperer, she continues to publish independent photography journalism spanning contemporary photographic practice, mobile imaging, photographic apps, computational photography and emerging imaging technologies.Joanne is available for editorial commissions, photography projects, judging, curatorial work, speaking engagements, consultancy and selected collaborations.
One Comment
Gabi
Why buy a new display if you already have one of the best out there? Why go for built-in wifi to upload your photos to the Internet if your phone already has it? The concept of modularity and upgrading existing technology with specialized functions is one that appeals very much to me – particularly from a perspective of sustainability and preserving natural resources. Paying $1,000 for it – not so much.