A few comments based upon two outings with the Leica M-D type 262 camera

[jaapv]

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But can this be disabled for when I don't want the camera to shut down? There are situations where it might be more than 10 minutes between shots and I want the camera TO BE READY, without constantly flipping the switch back and forth.

 

Just tap the shutter button from time to time.

[ramarren]

So it's not going to a full auto-off, it's going into a deep sleep mode. Okay, that's fine. 

[Nick Bedford]

Yeah the solution is to simply half press once when you pick it up and the camera will wake up. No need to switch it off and on.

[asiafish]

Leica has created a digital version of their M7 film offering.

 

I was fortunate enough to purchase one of these cameras three weeks ago.  I put my name on the local wait list even before the camera was announced, but was bumped a couple of positions by higher-priority customers and saw the opportunity to have a camera in hand in time for a planned vacation, so I bit.  Shooting Leicas is a major entertainment outlet for me, and I have shot with every mainline production M I can think of, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M4-2, M4-P, M6, M6TTL, M7, MP, M-A, M8, M8.2, M9P, Monochrom, M-P240, M246, and M262.  Still, the screen-less Leica digital sounded like loads of fun, and did not disappoint.

 

I have had the chance to shoot my M-D for one day at Universal Studios Hollywood and for 8 days in the various attractions in Orlando, Florida.  During this time, I averaged 150 frames per day, for a total of just under 1400 images.  I shot the camera “naked” of any case or protector for the minimum bulk.  I attached the new 35mm/2.0/ASPH/II lens and an E39 UVa and didn’t look back.  The camera shoots like an M7.  It meters like an M7, focuses like an M7, and uses the same muscle memories for the on/off switch that I developed with my M7.  The big difference is not the extra depth, which is truly minimal, but rather the adjustable ISO dial on the back, which you don’t get to leverage on an M7 without changing rolls of film.  Having any speed film from 200-6400 ISO at the twist of a dial is very handy.  The rest of the body works like an M7, and the bump on the back of the top plate holds your thumb very much like a film winding lever.  All in all, an excellent handling design.  O.K., there is one tiny new item I need to train myself on, that is the use of the function button and rear control thumb wheel to adjust exposure compensation.  Luckily the meter is good enough you don’t need to use it often.  The shutter sound is discrete like an M should be, very much like the one in the M262, which has the current best M digital shutter.

 

Several aspects of performance warrant discussion.  First and foremost, the image quality is every bit as good as any of the other ‘240 class cameras.  The default compressed DNG files are superb and offer lots of flexibility for image editing.  The second area worth note is the metering.  The pattern used is the ‘240-series “Classic” pattern, which uses reflections off of the central blades of the shutter curtain.  Metering reflected off of curtain works very well and quickly, although the metering can occasionally be fooled by high or low-key lighting.  The solution is what I term, “nodding the camera”.  You simply point the camera down for lower shutter speeds, up for higher shutter speeds, then hold the exposure with a half-press of the shutter release and recompose your final shot.  Using this approach, I achieved exposures that were around ½ stop underexposed 98-99% of the time.  The slight underexposure is perfect for ensuring you don’t blow out your highlights, and the dynamic range of the sensor and resultant files pulls the details out of the rest of the image and the shadows without issue.  The continuous burst buffer is good for 10 shots in a sequence.  Battery consumption hovered around 15% per day for an average 150 photos, which extrapolates to 1000 photos on a full charge.  These numbers were achieved by turning the camera off between periods of use.  I did confirm the hard way, however, that the camera does not have an auto-off, and I would up with a dead battery one morning.  I would recommend having a spare charged battery readily available in case you make a similar mistake.

 

The M-D comes with a hard black paint finish over brass.  I would have preferred a silver chrome version, and may pick one up in the future if offered, but the black paint chosen for the current version is very durable, with no signs of wear after 9 days in busy amusement parks.  This is no MP black lacquer, and your camera will not resemble the Kravitz ‘240 for quite a long time of use.

 

Other than the aforementioned dead battery, the camera was 100% reliable, with no crashes or hang-ups.  It wrote every single image I took to SD card without error, something no other M digital I have owned can claim.  It really is that good.  If I were to make two changes, I would add silver chrome as an option for the top and bottom plates and hardware, and maybe a two-position on/off switch versus the current Off/S/C/Timer.  I did overachieve and put the camera into Continuous mode when I wanted Single, but no harm came, and no images or opportunities were lost.  Oh, and did I mention it had the cleanest sensor straight out of the box of the 11 digital Ms I’ve purchased since 2006?   Not a speck of dust!

 

I did have the chance to share the camera over lunch with a friend named Kevin who has made a career out of photography.  He loves his M’s, but also shoots a lot of Canons for digital stills, and other gear for video.  I explained the philosophy behind the camera as a reliable tool where you stay focused on your subject and environment to be ready for the next shot, not reviewing the past image.  I caught him chimping the ISO dial a few times, and when I commented he said, “you’re right, this will take some getting used to, but it’s a good thing, and I need to get me one of these (M-D).”  Kevin supervises a number of other photography professionals, and I would not be surprised to see their department adopting a no-screen shooters challenge as a way of capturing more “decisive moment” images.  This, of course, requires equipment that is 100% reliable and predictable, and photographers with the skills to make the most out of the equipment on every image.  The M-D is up to the task.

 

So, who should buy this camera?  This is a little bit hard to define.  The camera is ultra-reliable, produces excellent images, and is totally predictable.  It should be durable enough to last for decades.  I would expect the batteries and SD cards will be the lifespan-limiting commodities, not the M-D.  If you want a “decisive moment” Leica M digital for still images only, and have at least some skill with M cameras, this is an excellent selection, and could be your only M.  If you need to work at the limits of M capabilities, lenses wider than 28 or longer than 90 (subjective), shoot macro, hold cameras overhead or away from your eye for perspective or safety,, shoot at f/0.95, or need to capture short video clips, then a ‘240 may be a better tool, but don’t forget the lessons the M-D and prior film M cameras teach us.

 

 

Great overview, but an M1?  You used the no-viewfinder M?

[asiafish]

I've had my M-D for about three weeks now, and used it recently for a Leica Akademie workshop ("Photography Wide-Open" with Mark De Paola), with a borrowed Noctilux no less.

 

Talk about intimidating, shoot live models, at minimum focus distance and wide-open at f/1 WITH NO SCREEN.

The images came out great, and I've since ordered my own Noctilux, and no longer have any reservation about using it without a screen.

[enboe]

Great overview, but an M1?  You used the no-viewfinder M?

 

But of course!  That's what hyper-focal shooting with an ultra wide is all about.  O.K., more of a novelty experience, the M1 was, but it still produced Leica images when used with Leica glass.

 

Have fun.

 

Eric

[asiafish]

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I am happy for all of the users who like the absence of a screen and a good review by the OP from his standpoint.  I don't think I would do it.  I don't feel I'm good enough.  I need the screen in tough exposure situations and also to check framing and sometimes focus point too.  This is one of the great advantages of digital for me.  When I am traveling to a place to which I might not return, I do not want to get back to my hotel and look at images and say "uh oh, I didn't get what I wanted."  This is IMHO especially important with a manual focus rangefinder camera.  My proof of all this is from the "experiment" of comparing the images I made when I used film (starting in 1959) compared to to those that are digital (starting maybe 10 years ago).   More keepers with the digital and it isn't just that I am older and wiser.   My hat is off to those of you who can work without that little screen.

 

I thought that too, until I took my M-D to the UK on vacation and had a higher keeper rate than I had in Germany the year before with a Canon 6D and autofocus lenses.

[plaidshirts]

I think the M-D is for people like me who shoot mainly film and view it as an analog camera with a digital back.

Now I can view my photos in a matter of minutes instead of days or weeks!

A digital camera you have to develop (process) to view - I personally love this and is the only digital Leica I own.

[Gregm61]

The idea of the MD appeals, but tbe reality of my M262 is fine, as well as the MP240 that completes my two body set.

 

The matter is, it’s digital and I want to see what I am capturing the moment it happens, both for conformation of what I captured and knowing I captured what was intended.

[kentishrev]

I dream of the M-D experience! The ISO shifts, the reliance on self-trust and the focus on framing the next shot, rather than thinking about the last one. Couldn’t afford one when they were available, and they never seem to come on the used market. I’ll keep looking, or hoping instead for the M10-D.

[Exodies]

It’s not self trust if you have to lock yourself out of the possibility to chimp in order not to do it.

[kentishrev]

It’s not self trust if you have to lock yourself out of the possibility to chimp in order not to do it.

It can be. Otherwise you may end up taking far more shots than necessary in order to correct a non-existent error. But point taken - perhaps development of self-trust have been a better phrase.

[a.noctilux]

Reread this review 😂 and discussions.

Never thought as "M-D is waiting for future picture" (next shot) opposed to "review on LCD past picture" with LCD's M.

[IkarusJohn]

Interesting to re-read the opening post.  Much applies to my perception of the M10-D.

His comment about his mate Kevin made me think - when I did the California Superbike training course some years ago, our first rounds of the track were in one gear (second, I think), with gaffer tape over the speedometer and the rear view mirrors, and we weren’t allowed to use our brakes.  The lesson?  One gear (one lens?) had us thinking more carefully about speed and using the engine to control speed through the corners, covering the speedo and mirrors had us looking ahead.  Re-learning to use the engine to regulate speed and to properly look through the corners had a dramatic improvement on our riding skills.

The rather poor analogy has covering the controls on our cameras forcing us to look around us and to think about the next picture, a bit like so many famous M photographers.  I wonder if Kevin has his students choosing one lens, setting the camera up, and covering the LCD screen with gaffer tape?

[littlelio]

I am so glad the LCD is gone for personal use (opposite to professional job).

Today at any time, we can raise a phone camera to take any thing as digital image.

But that's not photography. It's something like ... a security camera on your body... lol

[WPCello]

I have been a fairly serious amateur photographer most of my adult life - for the record I will be 73 in September.  I have owned and used probably every major and many minor camera brands you can name (and maybe some you can't).  While I still prefer B&W over color, I have always and continue to shoot both.  I currently own (and use) a vintage Conley 5x7, several Nikon Fs, plus a original Leicaflex, an MDa which I use with Visoflex for tele-lenses, and an M2 with a 50mm Summicron.  I also have a Nikon DSLR. system.   Although no stranger to the darkroom from which I have had a long absence, I recently started again "souping" my own B&W negs and then scanning same due to the difficulty of finding a competent lab and the high cost of same.  Like all of us, I love the instant gratification (and convenience) of digital photography.  However,  I despise the complexity of modern digital cameras.  I still enjoy the basics of photography, i.e., film speed, f-stop, shutter speed, and focusing; plus of course, composition.  Being a Leica fan, like most everyone else on this forum, I have watched with interest, enthusiasm, and even dismay at times with Leica's entry into the digital world - I am addressing M Leicas only here.   For many reasons, I have resisted as they say "writing the the check."  Nevertheless, I recently purchased a used MD Type 262.  Frankly, I could not be more pleased.  Without going through the same comments that have been repeated here ad nauseum, I look at it as an M2/M3 with a memory card rather than film.  Now, Leica needs to produce the monochrome version of this camera!