So, 6 Months in What's The Verdict on the M10-D?

[MRJohn]

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My favourite digital M, by far! - I was torn between the M10-P and M10-D to complement my SL. No regrets. Such a relaxing way to take pictures. The only wish I have is to be able to toggle metering modes with the dial which they could easily add with a firmware update. In the future I would not mind an EVF instead of the optical rangefinder, 48 MP and weather sealing - while keeping the rest of the concept the same. But honestly I am not sure I would upgrade.

[Photon42]

8 hours ago, MRJohn said:

The only wish I have is to be able to toggle metering modes with the dial which they could easily add with a firmware update. 

You probably realise that metering modes are only available with the EVF.

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[MRJohn]

13 hours ago, Photon42 said:

You probably realise that metering modes are only available with the EVF.

Like mb_p said in the related thread (M10-D owners - are you happy?

😞 "The one thing I'd like to be able to do on the camera that currently needs the Fotos App is the ability to change metering mode (spot/center/multi-field). I think they could add this e.g.  pressing the function button and using the thumbwheel to scroll through these 3 metering modes. The mode would need to briefly show in the viewfinder while scrolling, as say | S | or | C | or |   |." 

[james.liam]

Or perhaps utilize that film advance lever to be something other than a vestigial tail. 

[humerc]

great would be if the film advance lever turned the camer on...

[magixaxeman]

8 hours ago, humerc said:

great would be if the film advance lever turned the camer on...

Or cocked a mechanical shutter?

[humerc]

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1 hour ago, magixaxeman said:

Or cocked a mechanical shutter?

I’m not sure if it would be fun after the first few days?

[M11 for me]

I think that after I had a screen for many years by now I do not think that it would be great to be without it all of a sudden. For me to take an image is a technical thing besides the artistical elements of course. Most time I work with reportage. I can not imagine to be without the back screen to be able to control that the main elements on my photograph are not blown out. This needs to be controlled. Of course I learned that with the photos app I can do this as well. No, I do not want to carry my mobile phone with me in order to complement my camera. I need a screen and this screen has to be part of my camera.

[RF’sDelight]

I use the Foto app for a quick look, when I want to be veeeery sure about a certain exposure. Although the other day I added three stops to DNG file in Lightroom and got a perfect shot. The WLAN connectivity somtimes acts a bit stubborn and its energy consumption could be more modest. Apart from that…

Am 30.4.2019 um 17:31 schrieb RF’sDelight:

I’m as satisfied with the M10-D as a Leica M nerd can be. The Visoflex comes into play only for the extreme focal lengths (16–21, 135). From here I only wish for a M10 Monochrom.

Here are my three black chrome milestones (among other Ms on the way, skipping everything M240). Cheers!

1988 – Leica M6
2007 – Leica M8
2018 – Leica M10-D

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[HELM]

I had both M10 and bought M10D. Sold M10 after 3 months as I stopped reaching for it

Simplicity and ruggedness of the M10D is ideal. I do not change the shooting style (requiring fotos app) as I settled on my modes and am quite happy to shoot within those parameters. Frankly if I need to shoot multiple images in a burst that's when I need a telephoto (I shoot sailing) and have a Canon 5Ds/400 for that for the reach. City/street, travel and artistic photography I love the M10D and focus on the composition (move your feet)

It is exactly what I needed. Spent a week skiing with it in Zermatt this winter and came away with some fantastic images. The result is what matters

 

[poli]

I had an M-D which I really liked, but couldn't resist the pull of the M10-D, plus a decent deal mad me swap. I do not own any other camera. The main plus of these two cameras for me is the lack of a screen. But the pros and cons have been discussed by many users in other threads and I do not need to add anything to that. You either like it or you don't. If not, move on to another M-camera. Plenty of choices. 

In advance there were soms things I had doubts about regarding this M10-d:

• ISO dial
• Battery life
• WIFI/FOTO's

ISO dial: The ISO dial on the back of the M-D is still superior for me. I liked it better. But.. on the M10-d on that spot you now have the EV compensation dial. That's actually much handier than the scroll wheel on the M-D. Now you can set ev compensation while the camera is off and you always see right away on what position it's at. Actually it is fine with the ISO dial on the M10 spot. I don't change the ISO that much.

Battery life: The battery life of the M-D was better. But I knew that in advance. However, so far the battery life of the M10-D is also fine. If you use the FOTOs app a lot things are different. But if you just shoot (I don't have an EVF) it sure is good enough. 

WIFI/FOTOS: I kinda disliked the option of an app. The attraction of the MD for me is the minimalistic approach. And therefore I didn't expect myself using the FOTOS app. Well.. I don't use it much for settings. But I do find it very easy to transfer pictures to my iPhone. So I have used it much more than expected. Then again, you could completely ignore the app and use the M10-d the same way as the M-D. So you definitely do not need a smartphone to complete your M10-d, as stated in one of the remarks in this thread. 

Apart from these small issues I think the M10-d is a step forwards. I do enjoy the larger viewfinder, the really quite shutter and the slightly thinner body. It's a lovely camera. I am also impressed with the sensor and the B&W photos I get out of this camera. Finally the much discussed advance lever (which funnily seems to mainly worry people that don't have the M10-d and don't plan to buy it) is no issue at all. It's is nice, but for me personally not necessary. Then again, I might use it when I put a larger lens on the M10-D. With the tiny lenses I use, I have hardly used the lever.  (I mainly use a Summaron 35 f3.5 and the much newer Summaron 28 f5.6). Then again, you don't notice the lever at all when you are taking pictures. 

Hopefully this gives some insights to potential buyers of this camera. 

[james.liam]

On 6/25/2019 at 11:14 AM, humerc said:

I’m not sure if it would be fun after the first few days?

Been shooting film lately again. Second nature so you'd get used to it.

[SiOnara]

I love my M10-D. Having had the M10 and then the M10-P I spotted a used D at a great price and exchanged my P. 

I used my P screen mainly to check critical focus and to change lens profiles. That's about it. Don't switch shutter mode, shoot RAW with AWB.

Hopefully they will implement lens profile changing at some point. 

Sometimes carry a spare battery but most times by batteries last me a week or so! Sometimes I only take 1 or 2 pics a day. 

The thumb rest is a genius and brave addition. It was obviously gonna get loads of ridicule from people but as with the film cameras it's a perfect thumb rest! It just works and it folds away snug when you don't need it. It reminds me of the Apple Watch digital crown. An integral part of most analogue watches updated to be an initiative input device. 

The camera is  definitely not for everyone but for some it makes perfect sense.  Leica should be applauded for making cameras like this for such a small percentage of it's community. 

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by SiOnara

[SiOnara]

4 hours ago, SiOnara said:

initiative = Intuitive! 

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

On 6/23/2019 at 11:23 PM, farnz said:

Well done!  They are rare very now and Leica won't touch them because the expertise is no longer in the company.  A friend of mine has one and a fleck of paint dislodged and stuck itself at dead centre.  Eventually Stephan Daniel, Director of Photo Management, fixed it because he was the only one left who still knew how.

Pete.

Wonderful story.  I know he started at the bench as a techie. Glad to hear he hasn't lost his touch, after all those years in coat and tie.

[james.liam]

On 6/28/2019 at 2:53 AM, HELM said:

I had both M10 and bought M10D. Sold M10 after 3 months as I stopped reaching for it

Simplicity and ruggedness of the M10D is ideal.

 

How is it more rugged than an MP or M10??? Or simpler if you turn the LCD screen off on an either of the two?

[scott kirkpatrick]

On 7/2/2019 at 3:50 AM, james.liam said:

How is it more rugged than an MP or M10??? Or simpler if you turn the LCD screen off on an either of the two?

More rugged -- no Lcd to scratch, chip or smash.  Simpler -- things that you don't need to obsess over are gone and you are not tempted to bring them back.