TheAppWhisperer’s Press Trip to Leica HQ, Wetzlar and Beyond! Part 1
Many of our readers will be aware that last week I was whisked away to the comfort of Leica HQ, Wetzlar, Germany, by telecom brand, Huawei. Lens and camera manufacturer Leica, originally announced in late 2016 their joint research and development centre with Huawei; working on optical and software systems. Now, this all takes place in the The Max Berek Innovation Lab. The Huawei P20 Pro that I was presented with has three cameras within this device and are co-engineered between Huawei and Leica. A spokesman for Huwawei explained “There has been significant technological collaboration between Huawei and Leica around many aspects of the camera, including optical design, imaging quality, image data processing, optimisation, and the mechanical construction of the camera module to the graphic user interface. The devices meet Leica’s highest imaging quality standards.”
The Lab’s establishment is the result of the vision and support of Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, majority shareholder and chairman of the advisory board of Leica Camera AG, and Ren Zhengfei, founder of HUAWEI.
“With the founding of the Max Berek Innovation Lab, HUAWEI and Leica Camera AG are expanding the scope of their successful strategic relationship and are laying the foundation for close collaboration in research and development of ground-breaking technologies in the imaging segment,” emphasised Dr. Andreas Kaufmann.
“In the future, over 90 per cent of the data traffic will be images and videos,” said Ren Zhengfei, founder of HUAWEI. “The Max Berek Innovation Lab provides the capacity to establish an even closer partnership with Leica, leading to continuous improvements in image and video quality. As a result, we will deliver the most advanced innovations in the smartphone camera market and bring greater value to consumers.”
“HUAWEI and Leica share not only enormous innovation power and years of research experience, but also their dedication to providing the highest quality standards. The Max Berek Innovation Lab offers us a historic opportunity to unite the resources and extensive expertise of both companies to pioneer game-changing technologies,” confirmed Markus Limberger, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Leica Camera AG and director of the Max Berek Innovation Lab.
The R&D centre is named in memory of Max Berek (1886 – 1949), the German pioneer of microscopy and creator of the first Leica lenses. Berek was also responsible for the optical design of more than 20 lenses for the legendary 35mm camera, invented and built by Oskar Barnack. Thanks to the exceptional imaging performance and perfect harmonisation of the lenses, coupled with Barnack’s ingenious construction, Leica achieved worldwide success in 35mm photography.
Leitz Park
This is Leitz-Park and it has been created as a unique place where Leica enthusiasts, lovers of photography and guests from around the world can explore and experience the brand universe and find inspiration in the numerous fascinating facets of Leica and Huawei photography.
Huawei P20 Pro
The HUAWEI P20 Pro features an astonishing 40 MP RGB camera that delivers unparalleled sharpness, colour accuracy, focus and contrast for every single shot you take. And I can tell you, it takes the most phenomenal images and I’ll demonstrate that too. I know you’re thinking but it’s not an Apple phone and it doesn’t run on iOS and that’s completely true. But, the days of fragmented Android systems are long behind us. I was one of the first journalists to write and detail Android fragmentation in both The Guardian and Android Magazine, many years ago. The Android system is so much more fluid now and many of the apps that you are using on your iOS device are available within Android/Google Playstore.
Factory Tour Video
And the next day we took a private jet to Naples, more to follow!
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
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