Leica‘s latest announcement is the Leica Q (Typ 116), a 24-megapixel full frame, fixed lens digital compact camera.

As much as I like Leica M’s and how they’re just the essence of photography, there are compromises when it comes to modern conveniences like autofocus and Wi-Fi. Sure, purists will say these things are unnecessary and for the most part, they’re right. I enjoy shooting film too but sometimes autofocus just gets the job done quicker and Wi-Fi lets me post to Instagram right now. This isn’t the world of photography Oskar Barnark lived in when he first made that 35mm Ur-Leica prototype but it’s the world of photography we live in now.

And that’s what the Leica Q is: a Leica for the modern age of photography. A camera that lets people that want the latest technology also enjoy what’s made Leica one of the world’s most iconic camera manufacturers. There have been Leicas with autofocus and Wi-Fi before but with 1/1.7″ or APS-C-sized sensors. They were certainly not as feature rich as the Q. They felt like Leica “lite” while the Q is the real deal.

At the core of the Q is a 24-megapixel full frame CMOS sensor and a fixed 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens with image stabilization. The lens has 11 elements in 9 groups with 3 aspherical elements and all contained in a magnesium and aluminum body made in Germany.

On the back, there’s a 3-inch, 1.04M dot touchscreen LCD that you can use to manually focus as well as a 3.68M dot electronic viewfinder. In comparison, the Fujifilm X-T1‘s EVF has a 2.36M dot count. One interesting thing about the EVF is that it will also have frame lines for 35mm and 50mm focal lengths. Using the “digital frame selector”, the Q saves a JPEG image at 35mm or 50mm and keeps a full size RAW file of the full 28mm wide.

There’s also a rather striking groove cut into the back for thumb grip.

Leica also claim the Q is no slouch in the autofocus department and that the contrast-detect autofocus system is the fastest of any full frame digital compact. The new Maestro II image processor allows the Q to shoot up to 10 frames per second.

You can crank the ISO up to 50,000 for low-light situations and shutter speeds go as low as 1/2000s with the mechanical shutter. The electronic shutter takes this up to 1/16,000s.

The image samples look fantastic. Sharp and contrasty across the frame with gorgeous out-of-focus elements.

They have that unmistakable Leica “look”, a rather intangible quality that’s impossible to describe but easily recognizable to Leica fans. Dynamic range looks quite impressive.

You can find more sample shots from the Leica Q on Leica’s website.

Also, can I point out this new Leica bag launched with the Q?

To keep the profile slim, there’s a cutout for the lens in the body of the bag. I’d like to see a picture of this from the side but that’s a very cool design.

The Leica Q (Typ 116) is available now for pre-order and is expected to start shipping in a few weeks.