M10-D Micro Review - Exposure Metering

[enboe]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I took the M10-D with the 50 APO on a week's vacation recently and upon returning, downloaded and reviewed the images.  The images included a mix of daylight and indoors, bright and low-light, ranging from ~2000K to full daylight.  Of the 581 images I took, only 1 was out of bounds for exposure.  I would have to hard-count them to do the statistics, but I would estimate the exposure standard deviation at 1/3 stop with a neutral to 1/4 stop underexposure-biased mean.  Best in-camera "classic" style Leica metering performance I have used to date.

Eric

P.S.  I found the ability to set the automatically-selected shutter speed to 1/2f via the Fotos application useful as well.  The sensor has enough dynamic range to allow for the extra stop of shutter speed even when constrained with an f/2 lens.

[low325]

I have the same setup and keep the speed at 1/2F. It works out well. Sometimes the WB gets wonky but shooting in raw it becomes moot. Pretty solid digital M. 

[mujk]

Do you feel that it works differently from previous digital Ms?

I don' have an M10-D, but have not noticed any bigger differences in metering results between the M9 and M10, although I have not really paid very much attention to this. The metering system is pretty simple and both seem to have the same exposure sensor layout (two smaller and one bigger sensor lens). The difference in the shape and color of the gray and white shutter blinds (off which the light is reflected to the sensors) is not that big either. But maybe Leica has done some changes to the electronics or software?

The auto ISO options are really great. I mostly use the 1/2f setting as well.

[enboe]

Mujk - I have achieved an improvement from ~95-98% good exposures on M8/M9/M240/M-D262 to 99.8% good exposures on the M10-D.  It may be practice, or new firmware, that I cannot say.  Like the M-D262, the M10-D is a "deterministic" camera, where the results are exactly what I expect, something critical for a screen-less design.  No need to worry that I am giving something up.

Eric