M10M - Any Regrets?

[RexGig0]

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8 hours ago, RexGig0 said:

This has been an informative discussion, as I ponder whether to beat the Leica USA price hike, due to occur about an hour from now. I have the money, in the bank, so would not be going into debt, but spending close to $9K US, total, for the camera and the sales tax, is not an easy decision.

I currently use M10 and M Type 246 cameras. I do, very much, love shooting in monochrome, but, I also enjoy the lovely M10 color palette, which suits my wife’s skin tone so well.

 

Well, I decided against buying an M10 Monochrom, before the price increase. Time will tell, whether I will regret this decision.

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[T25UFO]

6 minutes ago, RexGig0 said:

Well, I decided against buying an M10 Monochrom, before the price increase. Time will tell, whether I will regret this decision.

Never regret . . . the camera isn't going anywhere.  Just pay a little extra eventually 🙂

[jplomley]

10 hours ago, LeicaTobin said:

Thanks so much Jeff! I really appreciate your response and experience. I think we met in Camtec in 2009 one Saturday maybe? I am from Nova Scotia. I remember seeing your amazing Cuba work on the walls at Camtec as well. That voodoo shot with the 21 still lives in my head!

 

Hi Chad, I do remember meeting you! Are you the gentlemen that was friends with Robert Frank, or am I confusing you with someone else? I hope you are keeping well. Beautiful part of the country you live in, was actually hoping to get out to the east coast this summer with the monochrom depending how the pandemic evolves.

Thank-you for the feedback on the Cuba display. Several of those images were eventually featured in LFI magazine along with a few blogs. That voodoo image has an interesting story. It was taken in a tiny village called Chivirico. There was another photographer there at the time with a big Canon 1 series camera and one of those white lenses. The gentleman conducting the ceremony would not let him into the dwelling. So I thought I would have no chance to get in, assuming they did not want the event photographed at all. That day I had my M7 loaded with Tri-X and the 21/2.8 Elmarit Asph. I held the camera up and politely asked if I could come in and take pictures. He looked at the camera, shrugged his shoulders and said "no problem". I have no idea if it was because the camera did not look threatening/professional, or because it was not digital, I have no idea. But it was a fantastic experience. I recall taking an incident light reading prior to the start, and for the image you are referring decided to dial the shutter speed down to 1/15th sec for an impactful motion blur. I was only able to shoot for about 15 minutes before my eyes were smoked out. Not exactly certain what they were burning, but I certainly left in a buzzed/tranced state.

[jplomley]

12 hours ago, Jeff S said:

FWIW, my recently purchased new 35 FLE focused without issue on the M10 M that I just rented.

Jeff

Cheers Jeff, sounds like my lens needs to go for a tune-up, even though its perfect on my M10-R. It is a very curious oddity. Must be the zero depth of focus on the M10M sensor.....

[Jeff S]

2 minutes ago, jplomley said:

Cheers Jeff, sounds like my lens needs to go for a tune-up, even though its perfect on my M10-R. It is a very curious oddity. Must be the zero depth of focus on the M10M sensor.....

It is strange... haven’t heard of any similar Monochrom compatibility issues. Too bad to have to go through service, but hopefully it works out well without affecting use on other cameras.  I’ve ordered my M10M, so hopefully it plays well with my lens(es).  Enjoy yours!

Jeff

 

[Drmat]

I owned a M9M.  I sold it in anticipation of the M10M.  I bought the first one available in Canada and it was the only camera I owned for 2020.  I used it every day with both vintage and current lenses.  I recently purchased a M10-P thinking it would be nice to have a colour option and I still find the M10M is my go-to camera (I find that I have to look for colour images - at first i carried both cameras and now I only take out the M10-P if I know I want a specific photo).

Much has been said about shutter speeds - I aim for 1/90th on wide lenses and 1/180th for 50mm, minimum.  At first I thought I needed that and was annoyed (I used 1/30th regularly on my M9) - looking back at my old photos, it seems a lot of them were “shakier” than I remembered.  Turns out I could have benefited from a faster shutter on those photos!  I now set a minimum of 1/60th with the M10-P + 35mm F2.  I try for 1/90th on the M10M with the same lens, so I agree with the 30-40% (50% in my case) bump in speed.  Given the ISO capability, you might not notice the difference.  In fact, some photos look better at 5000-12500 ISO if you are trying for a vintage look.

Very much in the “no regrets” camp.  If it were the only camera I was allowed to own I would not complain.  Now my biggest worry is Karbe vs Mandler!

[LeicaTobin]

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On 4/1/2021 at 12:40 PM, jplomley said:

Hi Chad, I do remember meeting you! Are you the gentlemen that was friends with Robert Frank, or am I confusing you with someone else? I hope you are keeping well. Beautiful part of the country you live in, was actually hoping to get out to the east coast this summer with the monochrom depending how the pandemic evolves.

Thank-you for the feedback on the Cuba display. Several of those images were eventually featured in LFI magazine along with a few blogs. That voodoo image has an interesting story. It was taken in a tiny village called Chivirico. There was another photographer there at the time with a big Canon 1 series camera and one of those white lenses. The gentleman conducting the ceremony would not let him into the dwelling. So I thought I would have no chance to get in, assuming they did not want the event photographed at all. That day I had my M7 loaded with Tri-X and the 21/2.8 Elmarit Asph. I held the camera up and politely asked if I could come in and take pictures. He looked at the camera, shrugged his shoulders and said "no problem". I have no idea if it was because the camera did not look threatening/professional, or because it was not digital, I have no idea. But it was a fantastic experience. I recall taking an incident light reading prior to the start, and for the image you are referring decided to dial the shutter speed down to 1/15th sec for an impactful motion blur. I was only able to shoot for about 15 minutes before my eyes were smoked out. Not exactly certain what they were burning, but I certainly left in a buzzed/tranced state.

That was me! I was lucky to know Robert Frank for ten years. He changed my life.

 

Meeting you at camtec was like ten years ago I think! Thank you so much for telling that story! That photograph is amazing! 

 

Chad

[rtai]

I loved the M9M and more so the M10M because of the seemingly unlimited iso. Due to the pandemic I haven’t done any travel but locally have been doing a lot of street photography. I tend to shoot fast at 1/500 or 1/1000 @f8 and I don’t even need to look at auto iso. The results are always beautiful. And there’s live view which means I can use long lenses with an adapter something I can’t do with the M9M.

[Patrickfoley@mac.com]

In an attempt to rationalise my Leica gear I sold my M10M to a dealer a few months ago. But I then regretted it so much that a few weeks later I called him up and asked if I could buy it back. Luckily he still had it and sold it back for what he had paid me. I’m so, so, glad I’ve got it back! I can’t imagine ever selling it now.

[didier]

On 5/7/2021 at 10:35 AM, Patrickfoley@mac.com said:

I can’t imagine ever selling it

+1

 

just wanting to shoot and testing new (to me) lenses with it 😇

[Herr Barnack]

On 5/7/2021 at 4:35 AM, Patrickfoley@mac.com said:

In an attempt to rationalise my Leica gear I sold my M10M to a dealer a few months ago. But I then regretted it so much that a few weeks later I called him up and asked if I could buy it back. Luckily he still had it and sold it back for what he had paid me. I’m so, so, glad I’ve got it back! I can’t imagine ever selling it now.

When I look at my M10 Monochrom, I see a complete camera - no weak points, everything you need.  I can't think of anything that an M11 mono will bring to the table that we can't live without.

The M10 Mono is a camera for life. 

[jplomley]

40 minutes ago, Herr Barnack said:

When I look at my M10 Monochrom, I see a complete camera - no weak points, everything you need.  I can't think of anything that an M11 mono will bring to the table that we can't live without.

The M10 Mono is a camera for life. 

You're joking right. Did you read this thread:

 

And yes, Leica is aware there is a problem. 

 

[Sjz]

2 hours ago, jplomley said:

You're joking right. Did you read this thread:

 

And yes, Leica is aware there is a problem. 

 

Not all of us experience the issue and I for one, really enjoy the camera.  
 

Sorry you are suffering.

 

[Herr Barnack]

5 hours ago, jplomley said:

You're joking right. Did you read this thread:

 

And yes, Leica is aware there is a problem. 

 

Did you read post #3 in this thread?  Apparently not, so here it is:

Quote

Digiloyd has a history of crying wolf without any understanding of the alleged problem (SL AF issue-- storm in a teacup, M camera focus shift with red filters - lack of basic photographic knowledge, etc.) If this were a realistic problem, the forum would be filled with threads, - as with his report "including failing to fix camera crashes (total lockups) which I experienced at least a dozen times in my one-week trip over XMAS" 
A dozen times? And nobody else?

Andy's explanation (#2) appears to be the rational one.

Given his much less than distinguished track record, I am not going to lambast every M10 Mono that has ever been built in Wetzlar, based on the "expertise" of jibber-jabber spewing from Digiloyd's keyboard - particularly when my M10M has zero defects and is operating 100% as it should.

If that makes me a supposed "Brainwashed Leica Moonie" in some quarters, so be it.  I have been called worse by my own mother and lived to tell. 😁

 

 

Edited May 22, 2021 by Herr Barnack

[panoramer]

Am 27.3.2021 um 14:08 schrieb Chips:

 

I was where you are now about 11 months ago. Before I purchased the M10M I tried it out for a few dozen images (I took the SD card back to my computer and worked the images just a bit in LR)  and was amazed. I have purchased the M10M with the larger viewfinder window, live view, focus peaking and find that it really is an excellent camera and gives me what I want -- rich tones and deep contrast. It is very discreet for street photography, silent shutter and all black, no distinctive red dot,  virtually invisible.  The 41 MP sensor has no filters so theoretically the image has to be sharper -- but if you want some special tones you need to purchase external filters (Yellow, Green, Red and Orange) -- just like the old days with film, except at 41 MP much more data is captured than with film.  One word of caution the blown highlights are not recoverable so I need to underexpose so I can bring up the shadows and keep the highlights. The M10M is a commitment to B&W and there's no  option for color -- its B&W or nothing. But the quality of the images are beautiful when worked a bit in LR. Pull the trigger I don't regret my decision a year later at all.  CHIPS

 

No option for color is not right. You can with the program "Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020" the B&W Picture of the M10M colored (Photoshop Elements Keyboard shortcuts for Mac: alt+cmd+R)

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!

The artificial intelligence of Photoshop Elements is great.

Edited May 22, 2021 by panoramer

[panoramer]

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!

Rapeseed field colored with Photoshop Elements is amazing.

[didier]

7 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

The M10 Mono is a camera for life. 

This is exactly how I feel about the M10M. Nothing to complain, just a fantastic camera !

 

1 hour ago, Herr Barnack said:

If that makes me a supposed "Brainwashed Leica Moonie" in some quarters, so be it.

+1

So be it  

[benqui]

vor 10 Stunden schrieb Herr Barnack:

The M10 Mono is a camera for life. 

Ha ha I do not want to disillusion you, but I told the same sentence several times to myself (and it did not work). When I say this now my wife always replies  „is it again time for a fairy tale?“

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak😉😉😉

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[jplomley]

20 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

Did you read post #3 in this thread?  Apparently not, so here it is:

Given his much less than distinguished track record, I am not going to lambast every M10 Mono that has ever been built in Wetzlar, based on the "expertise" of jibber-jabber spewing from Digiloyd's keyboard - particularly when my M10M has zero defects and is operating 100% as it should.

If that makes me a supposed "Brainwashed Leica Moonie" in some quarters, so be it.  I have been called worse by my own mother and lived to tell. 😁

 

 

Well, I do see the line down the centre and the waffle pattern eveytime I straighten an image, its no illusion. Only reporting my observations. When these artifacts do not present, agreed, it is an amazing camera. Leica will make it right, of that I'm certain. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by jplomley

[jplomley]

23 hours ago, Sjz said:

Not all of us experience the issue and I for one, really enjoy the camera.  
 

Sorry you are suffering.

 

Yeah, I'm certain its a lemon and will be fixed to proper specifications.