Already a Q owner, thinking to get the M10

[MyLeicaWorld]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi all,

6 months ago I bought a pre-loved Q. And I am happy with it. But the EVF and the absence of the rangefinder window made me think that the Q is far away from the real leica spirit. And I started for a search for the m10.and finally I got a good deal in trade with my Q from the Leica store Porto.

I have some questions. Will it be hard for me to get used to the absence of autofocus. And the absence of evf, is it really hard to focus manually? And the image quality? Will I get better images than the Q? By the way I will get silver m10 with 28mm summicron. And I will pay a really good price for that after getting the tax back. Thanks for all your advices and replies. Have a great day..

[microview]

I would not exchange my Q for an M10 as the fixed 28 lens is so good. The rangefinder for the M10 can be fitted with a screw-in diopter to exactly match your optical needs (best tried at Leica dealers to see which, if any, you require). Rangefinder focus is actually faster than manual focus on the Q. The M10 of course allows live view so you could buy the accessory EVF, although it's not as good as the autofocus Q viewer. Useful perhaps for 90mm lenses where focus is critical at close distances. The extra weight of the M10 may not worry you. Of course it opens the possibility for a wide range of lenses to be fitted…… although the 28 Summicron is good too.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[M11 for me]

To me there are some situations that do not work to my satisfaction without an AF lens. But when I do teavel, street and lanscape then I need no AF and the M10 is great. So it depends on what you need.

[albertknappmd]

Can you try out an M before taking the plunge?

[MyLeicaWorld]

Can you try out an M before taking the plunge?

Yesterday I tried my friends black m10.. My friend is good at zone focusing and he does it very well.. but I think it will take time to learn it and it seemed it is not as accurate as the autofocus on the Q.. and the other thing is; it seemed the spot metering is not so good as the on the Q, cause you can see it barely on the Q’s EVF..

But on the other hand the M legacy.. hard to resist.. don’t know what to do..

Q is easy to use.. M is hard to use and will take to much time to learn the manuel focusing but it’s worth to...

[Tailwagger]

This site is populated by dozens upon dozens of aging photographers, myself included, who successfully shoot Ms (and ones with VFs that aren't as nice as the M10's). If my crappy eye sight can managed to focus a wide open Summilux 75mm, you should have zero issues dealing with a 28mm.  Theres a learning curving around how to do it well and more consistently, but its very doable. One alternative to zone focusing is using a hybrid technique. Rely on the deeper DoF,  shooting at f8 say, but do a quick, rough manual focus on your subject not worrying about precise focus. The results tend to be more satisfying then the set and forget model. 

 

The M, in my view, really isn't any harder to use than the Q, but it can require a significant change in mindset to be successful. And to be honest, it does take time for the psychology to fully take hold. If you only shoot a few frames a week, keep the Q. If you're shooting all the time, there are rewards for owning an M. In my case, of all the camera's I've every owned, its the one that most feels like a partner in the process rather than a mere facilitator of it. My photography has unquestionably improved as a result.  I bought the Q for the price/performance/convenience of an additional body, but if money were no object, I would have bought a Summilux 28 and replaced my 240 with a second M10. Which is not to say I'm not happy with the Q, but for all it does bring to the table, there are a few sacrifices as well.

 

One alternative to consider might be to keep the Q and buy a used 240 and alternative focal length, say 50mm. If it turns out, RF photography isn't for you, it really wont cost you very much if you feel compelled to trade that setup in a year or so. 

[geddon_jt]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I’m not sure if this will be helpful to you but I hope it is. I started with a Leica Q and immediately fell in love with it. So did my Wife, so much so that we were always sharing the Q. We have a vacation coming up and I asked her “are we going to want to have our own cameras for this trip?” She said “absolutely.” That was the green light for me to get an M10, which I bought with a 50mm Summicron f/2,.0 lens.

 

So, long story short, I love both cameras, and the pairing of the cameras is really quiet ideal and I feel very fortunate to be able to own both. When I got the M10, I did not really have any trouble learning and adjusting to the rangefinder system, although my wife has struggled with it a bit. The M10 is a real thrill to shoot. Now when I go back to the Q I am usually manual focusing it just because that’s what I’m so used to on the M. I don’t know if its my imagination, but the DNG files that come out of the M seem to have a much greater dynamic range- you can seem to get more out of them than you can the files coming out of the Q. That being said, my Wife has taken some shots with the Q after I got the M that are just awesome, pin sharp shots where I think wow, what an incredible camera the Q is! They go hand in hand quite well and I imagine that if I had to get rid of the Q I would miss it. Certainly never going to get rid of the M10. The EVF, AF and electronic shutter functionality of the q give it a very modern vibe - the much louder shutter sound and rangefinder system of the M10 have an incredible classic old school feel that really sets the 2 cameras apart.

 

My advice, keep the Q, save up your money and get an M10 to go with it! Better option to me than getting an M10 + Summilux M 28mm.....

Edited April 6, 2018 by geddon_jt

[Tailwagger]

...I don’t know if its my imagination, but the DNG files that come out of the M seem to have a much greater dynamic range- you can seem to get more out of them than you can the files coming out of the Q. 

Not your imagination, the M10 files are definitely more malleable.  

 

http://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/PDR.htm#Leica%20M10,Leica%20Q%20(Typ%20116)