M262

[lykaman]

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Hi all, trying to understand the following:- does the 262 suffer exposure wise because it only has One metering choice? Does it lower the Keeper ratio? My M-P240 had various choices which obviously helped in difficult situations, even my D-Lux 7 has metering choices..   L

[Gregm61]

Does the MD262 not having a back LCD cause the keeper rate to drop on that camera?

I think it more depends on how good you are working with the camera you own. Using live view with the MP240 allows you to see the exposure before you shoot and frame the wide/super-wide images much more accurately, and also slows you way down. I've had an MP240, M246 and the only digital M I still own is the M262 I bought brand-new in 2016, the only M, film or digital, I ever purchased brand new.

[DwF]

I came to Leica Digital cameras from M6 and was shooting M2 right beside the M6 so I am accustomed to working a bit to nail exposure. Having said that, with my M6, I felt like the meter was magical in successfully assessing exposure, except of course in high contrasty or contre-jour situations where some conscious attention and adjustment was necessary.

The M262 seems to have been designed for folks who would treat it like an M6.  I find non-keepers are more likely from some other failing or being hasty or ill-prepared, rather than exposure, where I am very satisfied with the camera.

David

[elmars]

The M262 is only metering on the shutter curtain - like the M6 and M9. All M cameras with LV are able to meter with the  sensor - but only in the LV mode! Metering on the sensor enables more metering modes than on the curtain such as spot metering. 

[TomLong]

To answer the original question, no, the M262 does not feel limited in any way by not having the additional live view-based metering modes but then I've no experience of using the M240. I doubt that having the extra metering modes would help much, unless you wanted live view, and then the M262 wouldn’t be much use…

I found the M262 metering to be surprisingly accurate though sometimes it needs a bit of thought but re-learning how to use a more basic metering set-up has been part of the fun of using the M262. I did buy batteries for an old Gossen meter just in case but quite quickly got the hang of the M262 and now only use a separate meter for the enjoyment of playing with it. But any more metering options on the M262 itself would only complicate matters, and a big part of the pleasure of using the M262 is its simplicity.

I hope this helps,

Tom

[_Michael]

I don’t feel my M262 is limited in any way by its metering. In fact, it’s part of the draw to this system for me. Frankly, even on the bodies I’ve had and still have with multiple metering mode I only ever use spot mode in specific situations. I would not be concerned with the limited modes.

[Focasport]

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Best way to know the reactions of your center-weighted metering is to have the knowledge of metering area! There are clear tutos on the web to highlight on which area the M-metering system relies on. Personally, I hate multi-area metering and have always been using center-weighted or spot on all my cameras, so I would not say that M262 has a lower market value for this single reason.

In fact, my question would be more to know whether M262 has a better reliability than M240 due to simpler features (no LV, no EVF, no video...).

[a.noctilux]

23 minutes ago, Focasport said:

...

In fact, my question would be more to know whether M262 has a better reliability than M240 due to simpler features (no LV, no EVF, no video...).

Welcome Focasport.

M (typ 240) and M (typ 262) are as reliable as can be a modern Leica M.

I use the two types (and others) for years, nothing to complain, never had to be adjusted or repaired.

In my view, M262 is to "replace" M9 without sensor problem with this pretty (if that is important) "cut-out at right" of the body.

Weights are similar, M9/262 at about 100g less than M240...if that matter.

Arnaud

[Focasport]

Thanks for your welcome and advices, Arnaud.

[lct]

Lack of life view is a limitation factor for me. As far as metering is concerned, my hit rate is better with, say, my digital CL or Sony A7s than with my M8.2 or M240 that i use in classic mode only due to its sluggish EVF. Now the difference is not huge to be honest but i have 30+ years experience with film Ms so it helps a bit. YMMV.