We were just musing about how megapixels aren’t everything, and then this 56-megapixel Leaf AFi 10 camera comes along. This monster even tops that 50-megapixel Hasselblad H3DII-50 that so impressed us a couple of weeks ago. Pro shooters will love the Leaf’s "Verto" technology that eliminates the need for rotating the camera to take portrait-oriented shots, instead rotating the 56×36mm CCD sensor inside the camera with a quick button push. Neat.

This camera is the digital equivalent of what’s called “medium format” in film photography. That format gives you a 350% larger negative for higher resolution and finer detail. You can expect a similar performance boost in this camera over the best digital SLRs, but you’ll pay dearly for the privilege when it's released later this year — that $37,000 Hasselblad looks like a bargain next to this Leaf AFi 10, which will cost you a cool $43,675.

Leaf, via Photography Blog