M10-D owners - are you happy?

[AndreasG]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

vor 6 Minuten schrieb TangoCharlie27:

Made of brass?

I also doubt it is brass, the touch and sound when scratching is plastic for me. As for the yellow color, mentioned by fenykepesz above, could it be PPS, a strong engineering plastic of yellow/beige color?

[fenykepesz]

i also thought first that it's plastic - but the little grooves i created are indeed quite shiny and yellowish, and, using a magnifying glass, looks like brass, Messing in german.  at least that's the case for the middle ring, while the three indents in the outer ring i have filled with paint & glue and hence can't be examined anymore.  but i remember them glistening too - and, importantly, the stuff was really hard while sinking the drill... don't faint now 

Edited April 28, 2020 by fenykepesz

[Advertisement]

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

[fenykepesz]

here a pic of these infamous wheel grooves - although i had some trouble focusing with my FxTec Pro-1...  looks pretty metally to me.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

[AndreasG]

Yes, indeed, it looks like brass (I have machined a lot of brass in my life to build small steam engines), or, considering the price range of M cameras, Gold? 😀

[Steven]

On 4/16/2019 at 5:31 PM, Chris said:

Well for me the decision of getting a Leica M10-D was the following. I'll also post a short summary (TL;DR) at the end, as this might turn out to be a bit longer.

 

I started photography as a hobby no too long ago - ten years to be exact (2009). What started as a thought of doing something in your sparetime soon turned out to be a passion. I've started a 365 project (one photo each day) and took literally hundreds of photos each day for the first year. I regret to say that I didn't get to filter those first photos to this day.

 

Sadly, as my main profession is in computer science (IT) I'm also kind of a spec-head. The world of (digital) photography gives you many new cameras to toy with each year which makes it hard to keep the focus on the photographs itself. My first camera (an APS-C Canon 500D) was replaced by an older but full-frame Canon 5D after about a year. A year after that a more modern 5D Mark II followed.

And then I bought a film Leica. Mind you, it wasn't a thorough decision but rather an impulse purchase. On eBay I bid on a used Leica M4-P and didn't think I'd really win it. Well it turned out I did, as I later realized, because an M4-P is Canadian and some people want a Leica "Made in Germany". So I received the M4-P from one of the nicest person and didn't even have a single lens for it. One weekend later I was able to buy one in Solms at a camera fair.

And this is were I knew I had to swallow the pill. The Leica was mechanical bliss. I've taken photos with an analog Canon EOS before. But that was an electrical camera with autofocus and film in it. It felt just like the Canon 5D without a screen. The Leica was something different alltogether. I also wanted a similar digital experience. (Sidenote: The Leica M4-P is the one Leica I've never sold and plan on keeping forever. Later I was able to compare it to a Leica M3 and M4 and the M4-P is in no way in any worse than the German versions).

This was 2013.

 

By that time I also earned money by photographing events, landscape photos and just started photographing weddings along my main job. Buying a used Leica M9 seemed financially crazy in comparison to a Canon which was about half the price, but as you on this forum probably know – that doesn't stop us Leica users. 🙂 Making the money spent for the Leica taking photos was the reasoning for buying the M9. 

My M9 experience: I was amazed how bad the screen was but loved the size of the camera and that I was able to photograph a rangefinder digitally. For weddings though the M9 wasn't up to the task (atleast for the way I photographed weddings back then). So I exchanged it one year later (2014) for a Leica M240. The M240 was a much more modern camera with a (in my opinion) better sensor and of course better screen. But it was also thicker, heavier and somehow didn't feel quite right. What I disliked the most were bars in photos when shooting against the sun (I believe those were the shutter blinds and it happens only occasionally). Sidenote: I also photographed weddings with this M240 and a Fuji X-T1.

 

This is were things took another turn. I sold the M240 as I did with cameras often since I took up photography and which I regret in hindsight. The reason was a Fuji X-Pro2 that felt similar to the Leica but was much cheaper. I thought it could do everything the M240 did for me. (Having a optically viewfinder and all). The Fuji system was light and really great optics and lenses were much smaller than Canon EF lenses and had AF.

Now let me say this: The Fuji system is great – but, for professional weddings I missed the full-frame look. I know the differences are in the details but I felt I had to deliver the highest quality possible for my customers. Also I didn't want to own multiple systems.

At that time I had my analog Leicas with lenses, the Fuji system and planned on getting back into Canon for weddings. One system had to go – Fuji.

 

This is today:

I sold all Fuji gear without great losses, as everything was gladly bought used beforehand. I've got a Canon system for wedding and landscape photography which is great, as that system is robust, prices for the lenses are fair and the quality is high. Also it covers 17-600mm iwith multiple lenses. Second system (but without interchangable lenses) is a Ricoh GR II – It's one of the best pocketable cameras I've owned, if you are aware that it comes with a fixed 28mm lens. And the third system for non-commercial photography I got is the Leica M system.

 

What do I make off this all? (TL;DR):

Playing the "I got the newest digital camera game" with Leica is madness. Eventhough prices are quite stable buying used and selling used leads to big losses. Mind you: Cameras of other brands (eg. Canon) seem to get more expensive as well.

What do I think about the M10-D? (TL;DR2)

The M10-D is a timeless classic from the outside (case, dials etc.). The digital sensor of course makes this a mute argument, but as some M9 users have shown, you can take outstanding images, even with older digital cameras. For me personally it's my attempt of staying with one camera for a long time.* That was the reason I wanted the Leica M10-D to be my first "bought-new"/first-owner Leica. The M10-D will not be a camera I use for weddings and doesn't have to be. I'll be able to have newer Canon or whatever cameras, but the Leica M10-D will be mostly timeless.

*Personal circumstances: The M10-D was released during the time my wife was pregnant with our first child. I wanted to have an instant classic of a camera from that time and during the time he will be growing up.

To sum it up: I highly recommend the M10-D if you want a camera that is special. Of course you can also get a M10 and take the same photos, but you have to answer the question if less (but special) is worth it for you.

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

AMAZING POST

[otto.f]

Is the M10-D out of production? I don’t see it in well known Leica stores

[poli]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

4 minutes ago, otto.f said:

Is the M10-D out of production? I don’t see it in well known Leica stores

Yes. It is. Unfortunately. I hope Leica will keep on making screenless M cameras. 

[otto.f]

Because of the problems with the wheel at the back? They do show it on Leica’s main site though

Edited January 19, 2021 by otto.f

[poli]

I do not know if the Wheel has anything to do with it (never had issues with mine). It was announced last summer with T the release of the m10-r. I think there is a thread about it on this forum. At the website of the Leica store in my area (Amsterdam) it is stated as ‘sold  out’. And now that I remember in store they confirmed to me it is out of production.  

Edited January 19, 2021 by poli

[otto.f]

2 minutes ago, poli said:

Amsterdam

That’s my area too. Now that the Fotos app works smoothly, at last, they could bring it back...

[poli]

1 minute ago, otto.f said:

That’s my area too. Now that the Fotos app works smoothly, at last, they could bring it back...

Oh I did not realise. Didn’t hear an accent. 😉

[benqui]

To me the M 10-D is one of the most beautiful digital M cameras ever. Your brain says it is stupid, your heart says what a great camera. My G.A.S is growing and growing...

[fenykepesz]

it is indeed a beautiful camera, and it does what i tell it to do.  nothing more, nothing less.  no distraction whatsoever.  that's what my photographic work style wants from a camera.  only quirks i would love to see solved for the M10-D are  :

- 1) the repositioning of the main power switch to the top

-  2) the fixing of that slow wake up time to something like 100ms or so.

Edited January 19, 2021 by fenykepesz

[Steven]

So, the M10D, if we are to believe the 9 pages in this thread, is a loved camera by those who tried it. 

For reasons we don’t know but can guess, it is now discontinued, and depending on the countries, it can actually be quite hard to find one used since there aren’t many. 
 

In these circumstances, is the m10d a product that will continue to lose value month after month, or will at some point take the turn into the “collectible” area and start appreciating itself ? 
 

im talking about a mint m10d of course. Not the ones that had holes drilled in the power wheel 😂 

[Guest]

I think Steven because of Leica's discontinuation of the M10-D and it's comparative rarity that the camera's value will probably stabilse at a relatively higher level than say a M10-P and in regards to finding a "mint" one  at a good price that could well be hard because as you will note most of us that do own the camera intend to keep it. 

[chasdfg]

It's a digital camera, so it'll continue to lose its value. Can't imagine any digital camera being a collectible (unless it was used and/or signed by a photography great). As Peter said, I too believe many owners intend to keep theirs, so there are less floating around which makes it harder to find used cause I don't think many were made to begin with and so prices may hold better. I think the M240P and MD262 are priced about the same at the moment, or maybe the MD262 slightly more (despite the MD262 being based on the M262). This is all speculation but while the MD262 is seen by those who own it as a "true" purist film-like digital camera, the M10D has its perks too, like M10 form factor and thumb rest, a slightly better sensor and for those who can disregard these functions when not used, offers WIFI and EVF capability. So these may help hold its value too, depending on what the M11D offers.

To me there's little point in buying a digital camera with the hope or speculation it'll appreciate or be valued $X down the road. I just use the cost of the MD262 or M240P as gauges to estimate how much the M10P/D would be worth down the road so I can calculate cost per month/year to see if I can justify owning the camera. I get the feeling (going by all the threads you've started) that you should be able to afford to use both the M10D and M10P at the same time for a couple of months to see which you prefer in the long run. If that's the case, why not? You can use it for 1 or 2 months (give it a good go as your only M), leave the M10P and M7 aside and see how you get along with it. If you don't like it, you can sell it for what you got it for. If you do, you can consider selling the M10P and M7. If the M10D really holds its value than the M10P, you'd also have a camera which may be worth more than the M10P a few years down the road. If not, it'll only be a few hundred bucks difference.

Side thing, I don't think the M10D was discontinued due to the wheel or anything like that. Just like how the MD262 had a relatively short production run, this camera did too, probably for streamlining product lines since Leica is really a relatively small camera manufacturer. It being discontinued was part of the reason why I jumped at the opportunity to pick mine up.

[MRJohn]

This might be it for the M10 iteration of this concept. But I think it is more likely than not that we will see a new one at some point, maybe as an M11-D. And then hopefully we have bluetooth vs WIFI, a fixed power wheel, a more comprehensive app to set lenses etc, a better visoflex integration, perhaps an EVF (I would love that even though it breaks with a tradition) or hybrid VF...  Would I upgrade? Not sure. Would I get one if mine died? Sure.