Finally! After all these months of waiting, users of the Leica X1, Leica’s homemade large-sensor-compact, get the firmware update they’ve so desparately been waiting for!

The Leica X1 made it to the news not only for featuring a large, 12 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, a 24mm f/2.8 Elmarit lens, and for bringing Leica’s finances back into the black, but also for being rather slow and unreliable when it comes to autofocus. Leica promised addressing the issues with the X1 months ago, but as they’re a small company with just over a thousand employees and order books constrantly overfilled, these things take their time.

According to the L-Camera Blog, the new firmware addresses the following issues:

• Enhanced image quality in JPEG files (could you please do that for the M8 as well?)
• Enahnced AF speed in low light and low-contrast scenes
• Enhanced manual focusing including a depth-of-field scale (this was specifically asked for by users — yes, Leica listens to the needs of their customers!)

You can download the new firmware directly from the Leica website here (in German) and here (in English). There, you can also find additional information on the X1 and the new firmware.

In another note, Leica are asking everyone to donate for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year. They’re calling for donations to the Japanese Red Cross, who are having a hard time helping the flood victims all over the country. Again, you can find more information in the L-Camera Blog.