Leica M10 variants

[rramesh]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Leica Rumors is talking about an impending Black Paint version of the M10-P.

Somehow I get the feeling that since Leica seems to have firmed the M10-P body as a standard (silent shutter, better LCD etc.), we will see more M variants using this body.

We have already seen the 40 MP and Monochrome versions in addition to the M10-P version.

Maybe down the road, it would be nice to see:

1. A new version of the M10-D without the thumb rest and a redesigned rear wheel.
2. A cheaper crop-sensor version like the M8.
3. etc.

 

[Advertisement]

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

[Tailwagger]

My guess is that an APS-C/H/what have you version of the M will never happen again, at least from Leica.  I doubt that the retail cost of an M could be reduced very much if at all. Perhaps there'd no longer be a need for microlensing, but it's hard to image the sensor representing more than a few % of the overall production cost regardless. About the only reason off the top of my head to produce one is that it could be a way of shoehorning IBIS in there. Not compelling enough a tradeoff, IMO. 

[Good To Be Retired]

33 minutes ago, Tailwagger said:

My guess is that an APS-C/H/what have you version of the M will never happen again, at least from Leica.  I doubt that the retail cost of an M could be reduced very much if at all. Perhaps there'd no longer be a need for microlensing, but it's hard to image the sensor representing more than a few % of the overall production cost regardless. About the only reason off the top of my head to produce one is that it could be a way of shoehorning IBIS in there. Not compelling enough a tradeoff, IMO. 

Leica being Leica, I rather suspect that cost reduction would not be a primary goal of feature removal to create a variant

After all, we're talking about a brand that sells bodies with the paint half worn off at a significant premium

Edited August 26, 2020 by Good To Be Retired

[farnz]

According to rumour, the next variant will be the M10-N, which will be a low-cost, pared down M10 body with no LCD screen.  The 'N' stands for 'no lens mount' so money spent on lenses can be saved and it's aimed at 'phonographers' who take thousands of pictures but never look at them.

Pete.

[bags27]

I'm betting on #3: the etc version: the Donald in orange with a tastefully matched 50 Cron APO

[adan]

19 hours ago, rramesh said:

A cheaper crop-sensor version like the M8.

This is not how "economy" is achieved in the sensor world. Unless one is going to build enough (100000? 1 million?) to recover the cost of the new sensor design.

It is cheaper, per sensor, to simply order another 20-30000 of the existing 24x36 sensor. Increase the economies of scale.

And... a reduced-sized sensor would require other expenses: a special batch of "cropped" frameline masks, new firmware, and probably a new shutter so that "first curtain" and "second curtain" flash-sync still occur at the top and bottom of the image area.

Which is OK - if one can increase the camera price to cover those extra expenses.

Part of why the M8 sensor was "cheap" was that it itself was a recycling of an existing sensor - the one from the DMR digital back. With a minor dark-mask change to get it from 1.3 crop to 1.333 crop (54 more pixels exposed around the edges) and some other tweaking.