Leica had been teasing us for nearly a year and a half with a new camera in their medium-format category called the S3. After much longing, you can now pre-order the camera for only $18,995.

For a medium-format, the camera body is quite compact considering that it stores a 64MP Leica ProFormat CMOS sensor with a 2:3 ratio and up to 15 stops of dynamic range. The ISO ranges from 100-50,000 providing more than enough room for shooting in different lighting conditions. It can capture up to three frames per second and can record DCI 4K 4:2:2 8-bit internal video at 24 fps using the full width of the sensor. Powered by its Leica Maestro II processor, the camera boasts a 2GB buffer memory. This makes it possible for the Live View mode to have a refresh rate of up to 60fps paired to an optical viewfinder with 0.87x magnification with an approximate 98-percent coverage.

The S3 certainly requires deep pockets but in the right hands, the capabilities of the camera will soon outshine the price it comes with. Units have just started shipping as it went through a preorder phase.