The red dot on the price tag – This week's photo news

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Hold on to your hats, because this news is a bombshell: Leica Camera AG, the holy grail of German engineering and for many the epitome of photography, could soon have a new majority owner. The private equity firm Blackstone, which currently holds 45 percent of the shares, is reportedly considering a sale of its stake. The estimated value for these shares? A mere 1.2 billion US dollars.

But before all you Leica disciples faint collectively: this is not a fire sale. Quite the opposite. Leica is doing brilliantly; sales are at a record high. Blackstone is an investor, and investors do what investors do: buy, increase value, and then sell for a profit. This is about as surprising as the fact that water is wet. Blackstone got involved in 2011, and after more than a decade, purely from a financial perspective, it's simply time to cash out.

Much more important for the soul of the brand: the Kaufmann family, descendants of the founder, who hold a significant stake in Leica, is staying on board. This is the real pacifier for all those who fear that Leica might suddenly start producing cheap plastic cameras with unicorn stickers. The guardians of the heritage are therefore remaining at the helm, which speaks for continuity and the preservation of brand identity.

Who is buying a piece of the myth?

Now, of course, speculation is running wild, and that's the entertaining part. Who is willing to put over a billion dollars on the table for a camera manufacturer whose products are often as inaccessible to ordinary mortals as a weekend house on Mars?

• A luxury conglomerate? Imagine LVMH or Kering snapping it up. Soon there might be the "Louis Vuitton Monogram M12" or a "Gucci Edition" with the typical green-red stripe on the camera strap. Sounds absurd? Perhaps. But Leica has long been more than just a camera; it's a luxury accessory, a statement.
• A tech giant? The idea of Apple absorbing Leica to finally be able to label the iPhone camera module with "Designed by Leica in Wetzlar" has a certain appeal, but is probably more the stuff of wet tech dreams.
• Another camera manufacturer? Extremely unlikely. Canon, Sony, or Nikon would be wary of cannibalizing such an independent and high-priced brand. It would be like Ferrari trying to swallow Rolls-Royce – two wholly different philosophies.

Most likely, another long-term oriented investor or a so-called "family office" fund will step in, one that understands the value of the brand and wants to nurture it. So, for us photographers, little will probably change in the short term. Prices won't suddenly plummet, and a "people's Leica" for 500 euros will remain a dream. But the discussion alone shows the enormous appeal this little red dot still possesses in 2026.

AI, Art, and Cold Facts – The Battle for Truth in Photography

An artist declares truth in photography to be over, and the old hands of journalism load their arguments. AI forces us to rethink the nature of photography and our images.

Hand on heart, dear readers, when was the last time you saw an image and thought without the slightest doubt, "Yes, that's exactly how it was"? If conceptual artist Phillip Toledano has his way, we should best abandon this thought altogether. In a widely noted opinion piece for the Washington Post, he simply proclaims the end of "photography as truth." After 150 years, during which the camera was considered a kind of reality certificate, this era is now over. We now live in the age of "historical surrealism." A philosophical liberation, he believes.

As an experienced technology and photography journalist, one initially shrugs. Image manipulation? That existed even when people were still tinkering with chemicals in darkrooms that would now be considered hazardous waste. But Toledano's argumentation, fueled by the sheer endless possibilities of generative AI, has a new, unsettling quality. He suggests that we simply accept it. Truth is no longer universal, but local and negotiable. An interesting provocation for the art world, but for anyone who values visual and photo-journalistic evidence, it sounds like a declaration of surrender.

The Counter-Offensive of the Old Guard

Unsurprisingly, the dissent was not long in coming. Mickey H. Osterreicher, General Counsel of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), fired back in a letter to the editor of the same newspaper. His message is unmistakable: Forget "philosophical liberation"! The credibility of photos is based on professional standards, transparency, and consequences. They are evidence in court, in newsrooms, and in public discourse. Osterreicher warns against simply abandoning this foundation. For journalism, he concludes sharply, "meaning without credibility is not liberation. It is surrender." Boom. That hit home.

Award-winning photojournalist Brian Palmer, who has seen more conflicts and crisis zones through his lens than most of us would care to, is even more direct. He simply calls Toledano's interpretation of history "pathetic." Truth, found through investigation and evidence, has served societies. "Truth" enforced by denying reality destroys them. His crucial point: We photojournalists are responsible for our work. We are on the ground. A generative AI is not. It is an "opaque, digital black box" that crafts hyperreal fictions from commands and data.

Giving Up Is Not an Option

And here, dear readers, lies the core of the problem. It is tempting to throw in the towel in the face of the flood of AI images. But what would be the consequence? If we no longer believe what we see, who benefits? Certainly not the public, which relies on reliable information. Those who have always had an interest in distorting reality, denying facts, and enforcing their own "truth" benefit.

Therefore, the answer cannot be to write off photography as a medium of truth. On the contrary, we must train our brains for critical thinking. We urgently need standards for the labeling of images, for tracking their origin, and even greater accountability for those who create and distribute them. AI does not make photography powerless; it merely forces us to look more closely, to question, and to verify. Giving up everything would not only be irresponsible; it would be a gift to the wrong people.

(tho)