Ready to Publish
Ready to Publish
Publish Date
Nov 5, 2023
Slug
leica-11P-content-authentication-chip
Today's One Thing is about truth in photography with a new camera by Leica that has a built-in content authentication chip, signaling a potential turning point in a time where distinguishing real from fake is more challenging than ever.
In a world where fiction and reality are becoming increasingly more difficult to determine, Leica is doing its part to help by releasing the first commercially available camera with a content authentication chip built in.
I had to look this up, but basically, the core concept behind photo content authentication is something called Cryptographic Provenance. The Leica 11-P is the first commercially available camera with content authentication credentials built in and is a partnership between Leica and Adobe. The 11-P stores a JSON file with information about the exact camera used, a certificate signature with data from that specific camera, the photographer’s name, date, etc., is stored in what is called a manifest, which the camera digitally signs and embeds this data into the images and it's read-only and cannot be changed. The images can be edited, but the changes are tracked, and the photos are resigned, showing the exact editing done.
Leica is working with Adobe on this, but content credentials are open source, so any program can support and digitally sign images.
However, having authentication begins at the point of capture in hardware is a huge step forward and one that I hope expands to all cameras.
Taking this a step further, hopefully, one day soon, most videos will come with content credentials that authenticate and verify even videos on YouTube or any other social media platform, especially if this content authentication shows that the video came from a camera with a content authentication chip.
Now, if I could just afford the camera, it’s $9,995 for the body.
That's all for today. Until next time, never stop in the pursuit of better. Keep learning, keep growing.
Written by
Coffee & Curiosity | Creative Technologist | Photographer | Mixing decades of business insight and tacit knowledge with philosophy and the latest in tech. Ever an early adopter, forever a student.