Pedigree Projector

Leica continues to move people through imagery, but this time it's not through the lens of a camera.

- ANDREW LECI

The Leica Cine 1 is spectacular. The images are bright, the colour rendition is excellent, and it's as smart as any smart TV out there, claiming to be the bee's knees when it comes to connectivity.

It's also spectacularly expensive. One hundred inches will set you back $12,790 that's the recommended retail price - but why bother with something so puny when you can get 120 inches for less than $1,000 more? And don't worry about making a spectacle. The Cine 1 is an ultra-short throw projector, which means it sits comfortably almost adjacent to its screen, which is both neat, and neat.

IT'S ALL IN THE NAME

How can a "TV" cost so much? "Because it's a Leica" holds some water as a partial explanation and informs the debate on value for money and the premium paid for the brand. Leica cameras are world famous, in high demand, and expensive, but there are professional photographers across the globe who would use nothing else, alongside aspiring amateurs with a slavish devotion to the iconic bit of kit.

Sunil Kaul, managing director at Leica Camera Asia Pacific, speaks of the brand having a "cult following" and hopes this extends to the other products in the Leica portfolio that now include elegant wristwatches and the Cine 1.

Leica has been making projectors for decades since 1926, in fact - but it's been a niche market with limited appeal. The Cine 1 is a different beast an attempt, perhaps, to go mainstream in a different field of vision and convince consumers that all Leica products are worth their salt and more.