Leica And Audi Design Rugged Waterproof Adventure Camera

Adventure-tested, the Leica X-U takes being ultra rugged to new levels, as the camera is waterproof, shockproof, and dust-sealed, seemingly able to handle any condition that comes its way.

Leica cameras have a reputation for their gorgeous optics and the kinds of prices only the Trump-set can afford. Replacing the viewfinder is a 3-inch LCD screen with 920,000 pixels, also enclosed in toughened screen cover.

It seems like it’s the season for APS-C enthusiast compact announcements: Leica follows on the heels of Fujifilm, adding another model to its X-series fixed-lens cameras.

The Leica X-U is a camera designed specifically for outdoor and underwater photography and it’s fully waterproof, features an underwater protection filter and works at depths of up to 15 meters underwater. It’s all made of aluminum and non-slip material, so it should stay in your hands but it’ll probably be all right if you drop it.

All control dials are made from anodised aluminium and the camera includes an integrated flash above the lens.

There are also a number of automatic functions and an underwater snapshot button that makes it easy to capture solid photos with a simple press of the shutter button, without having to fumble through settings and menus. The X-U can record video at up to 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second in MP4 format.

We’d heard rumor that Leica was working on a durable and waterproof camera which would, presumably, give some of the bigger competitors in the outdoors-centric part of the industry a reason to worry. The Leica X-U can be submerged in water up to 15m without any damage to its very pricey internals. The Leica X-U will soon be up for sale and can be purchased from multiple retailers by end of January.