Why so much love for M10?

[colint544]

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On 7/26/2020 at 1:09 PM, budjames said:

I love my M10. 

A friend told me about a little trick to check focus. If you have your right index finder on the shutter button, you can easily use your middle finger to move up and down quickly in front the small focus window on the front of the camera. If the focus is proper, you will see no change in the focusing square in the viewfinder. If the focus is not on, it will be very apparent.

Regards,
Bud James

Bud,

I just tried that with the M2 I had to hand. It really works! 

I've been shooting M cameras since 1998, and I never knew about that before now. Thank you, what a great tip. It genuinely makes shooting an M easier. 

I've got an M Monochrom, and the instruction book is so hefty, you could prop a door open with it. It's a veritable tome. Nowhere does it mention that. What a vital piece of information to leave out!

Thank you again.

Colin

[budjames]

11 hours ago, colint544 said:

Bud,

I just tried that with the M2 I had to hand. It really works! 

I've been shooting M cameras since 1998, and I never knew about that before now. Thank you, what a great tip. It genuinely makes shooting an M easier. 

I've got an M Monochrom, and the instruction book is so hefty, you could prop a door open with it. It's a veritable tome. Nowhere does it mention that. What a vital piece of information to leave out!

Thank you again.

Colin

Colin,

You are very welcome. Sharing and community is what these forums are all about.

I just received my M10-R from Leica SoHo in NYC. It's awesome. The focus tricks works with this body too as the rangefinder focus system is the same.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

[Guest]

My trick with the focus on a rangefinder is to get correct focus in the viewfinder and then check the image on my computer magnified.

It works a treat.

[Erato]

EOL news, FYR.

https://us.leica-camera.com/World-of-Leica/Leica-News/Global/2020/Repair-capacity-for-camera-models-Leica-M9-M9-P-M9-Monochrom-M-E

Good news -- For all below mentioned camera models that are affected by corrosion of the CCD sensor, Leica AG are offering the following upgrade options, please tapping on the URL above for more details.

LATEST INFORMATION CONCERNING THE REPAIR CAPACITY FOR CAMERA MODELS LEICA M9 / M9-P / M9 MONOCHROM / M-E 

 

The production of the CCD sensors for the Leica M9 models has been discontinued. Therefore, subsequent deliveries are no longer possible and defective sensors cannot be replaced. Until further notice, all other repairs on the M9 model generation can still be carried out.

In place of the sensor exchange we are offering new attractive conditions to our customers to trade in their camera with a defective sensor and purchase a current Leica camera model.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Erato

[erniethemilk]

On 7/26/2020 at 1:09 PM, budjames said:

I love my M10. 

A friend told me about a little trick to check focus. If you have your right index finder on the shutter button, you can easily use your middle finger to move up and down quickly in front the small focus window on the front of the camera. If the focus is proper, you will see no change in the focusing square in the viewfinder. If the focus is not on, it will be very apparent.

Regards,
Bud James

Brilliant!

Probably the best tip I’ve found out during my short Leica experience. I’ve been shooting using this tip for the past few days on my M10-P and it works like a charm.

Definitely stopped me picking up my X100f so regularly as it makes focussing much more simple, maybe even stopped me from letting my Leica go!

Thanks Bud. 

[budjames]

4 hours ago, erniethemilk said:

Brilliant!

Probably the best tip I’ve found out during my short Leica experience. I’ve been shooting using this tip for the past few days on my M10-P and it works like a charm.

Definitely stopped me picking up my X100f so regularly as it makes focussing much more simple, maybe even stopped me from letting my Leica go!

Thanks Bud. 

Based on the feedback, sounds like my tip was a winner! Enjoy! Woohoo!

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

[adan]

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2 hours ago, budjames said:

Based on the feedback, sounds like my tip was a winner! Enjoy! Woohoo!

It's worth noting (and it just popped up in my memory) that with the screw-mount Leicas, an accessory was offered that approximated your tip.

An orange (or sometimes yellow) "contrast" filter that screwed on over one of the front rangefinder windows, to help in distinguishing the two images for alignment.

https://filmphotograph.com/leica-iiic-k-grey-military-camera-1945-187

Some other rangefinders, especially medium-format folding cameras, sometimes had an internal pinkish filter to do the same job.

I guess one could tape a bit of colored optical-gelatin filter over the smaller window on the front of an M to do the same thing.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/817717-REG/Kodak_1273580_3_x_3_CC50.html

[Dennis]

The fascinating world of hacked Leica 🙌 There are so many options to customize the M cameras, this is awesome. Mine, it has only grip, thumbs up, soft release and bunch of black tapes to cover settings. My camera is unique, I'm proud of ... Her?

[erniethemilk]

6 hours ago, Dennis said:

The fascinating world of hacked Leica 🙌 There are so many options to customize the M cameras, this is awesome. Mine, it has only grip, thumbs up, soft release and bunch of black tapes to cover settings. My camera is unique, I'm proud of ... Her?

Part of the fun of owning I guess. Mines pretty ‘naked’ with just the thumb grip as an add on. I did have a soft release on it, but didn’t really see any advantage to it & it’s just something else to lose!

[Mikep996]

I've added/removed soft buttons on every Leica I have owned over the years.  I don't seem to ever really figure out which I prefer.  On my 'new' M10 I purchased/installed one, took it off, put it back on, took it off again!  Yesterday I put it back on.   I guess that means it doesn't really make much difference!  I read somewhere once that the definition of "crazy" is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results...

[erniethemilk]

1 hour ago, Mikep996 said:

 I read somewhere once that the definition of "crazy" is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results...

Sounds like my camera buying experiences - guess I’m crazy, the Wife tells me I am enough! 🤣

[klausi]

Sure have my issues focusing M10 in certain circumstances, but would like to give one key advice that helped me the most; always clean the rangefinder windows as they tend to get smeared. This little advice helps a lot.

[mujk]

On 7/30/2020 at 6:42 AM, rramesh said:

Any camera these days can take great pictures (smart phones, DSLRs/mirrorless etc.). Most have useful aids like zoom, autofocus, focus assist etc.

A rangefinder is a completely different beast from anything else out there . It's completely manual and learning the process is akin to learning to cycle for the first time (back to basics). It takes time to master and you have to enjoy the experience. If you can't it's not for you. There would be better options.

Also in the days of film, people were not so picky about pixel peeping etc. It was always about the overall composition and look. Patience and foot work was needed to capture the right moment and in the right frame.

 

Fully agree.

With a Leica M (and any other manual camera), most of the processing takes place in the "computer" between your ears. Because the camera does only the basic stuff, there is a minimum of controls you need to use while shooting.

With an auto-everything the computer(s) in the camera does most of the job, often faster and with greater precision. But instead you have a myriad of buttons, knobs, dials and menu settings with which you can try to convince the camera computer to "think" in the way you want it to, unless you are satisfied with the default auto behavior.