[Opinion] The M10. Three Months In...

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11 hours ago, Jeff S said:

So, no obvious reason you presumably have bonded with the M10-R, but not with the M10?

Jeff

No, I liked the simplicity of the 262 vs the M10 but went for the increased MP.

[charles tay]

I got my second leica camera - Pre-Loved M10 unit and i paired it to Voigtlander 50mm APO f/2 VM Lens. I wanted to find a suitable 50mm Leica lens but could not find a suitable lens. Meanwhile i just use the Voigtlander lens first. 

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, charles tay said:

I got my second leica camera - Pre-Loved M10 unit and i paired it to Voigtlander 50mm APO f/2 VM Lens. I wanted to find a suitable 50mm Leica lens but could not find a suitable lens. Meanwhile i just use the Voigtlander lens first. 

Enjoy, that should be an excellent combination. Looking forward to seeing your photos in the M10 image thread.

[charles tay]

26 minutes ago, Studienkamera said:

Enjoy, that should be an excellent combination. Looking forward to seeing your photos in the M10 image thread.

I was deciding between getting brand new voigtlander 50mm f2 APO from second hand Leica lens shop or get Leica 50mm f2 summicron ASPH from main Leica shop. 
 

In the end I bought the voigtlander 
 

 

[Torpille]

Am 4.8.2021 um 20:44 schrieb Adam Bonn:

Firstly, apologies for this - I've not much to say, but no doubt will take quite a while (and words) to do so!

I came to Leica in 2017, I'd long fancied an M9 but it was a big outlay financially.

They announced that they'd be ceasing the free sensor replacement which I figured wouldn't help them get any cheaper (if they'd had the new sensor) and wouldn't make them a safe bet if they hadn't. So the time was now (well then, aw you get what I mean)

A low mileage official dealer supplied example came up at the right time and as they say on forums such as this I pulled the trigger

Now truth be told I expected to use the M9 a bit like a classic sports' car (not that I own one) - sunny Sunday drives down country lanes, with a modern practical car for everyday.

Long story short, I quickly became seduced by using a rangefinder, the cerebral challenges of a simple camera, and well boy meets Leica M - a story as old as the hills.

My other brand cameras were relegated to the gear cupboard and the M9 and I partied like it was 2009

Of course the M9 does have some limitations, and I found myself wanting and needing something a little more modern for certain things.

Enter the M240.

I bought this camera because it was comparatively cheap, and had more ISO which I needed.

Whereas I quite liked the 240, I never loved it.

I found it quite hard work. Sure it performed better than the M9 with DR and ISO and I was glad of that. But the files needed more work in post, the camera was less nice in the hand and well.. we got on well enough but but it wasn't love

I decided to see what the M11 did to M10 prices on the used market.

About a month later my local AD got a secondhand M10 in, factory refurbished with new top and bottom plates (I don't want to know why it needed those....), the so important to me, warranty and at a price that was merely excruciating rather than terminal.

I bounced into the store as they opened and...

...no M10

Sold?

Nope - reserved for someone.

You'll have to wait a week to see if I can sell to you

It was a long week, that ended with a mad dash across the city to catch the store before closing. (Guy it was reserved for ended up buying a new m10R instead)

I had a couple of DMs from folks asking about the whole M9/240/M10 comparison thing (which I've replied too), so that's not really what this missive is and besides that's all been done before I think?

Also of course the early and mid adopters of the M10 have already shared their reviews and thoughts, so possibly I've little to add of value.

But that said!

I'm really very happy with the M10!

My first concern was the reduced battery life compared to the 240.. well it is less, but as I'm not much of a chimper, tend to switch my camera off between shots, don't own the EVF, seldom use live view and can't be bothered to install the phone app thing = my battery life is great 😁

Usually about 650-750 shots.

The headline feature of the M10 is that it's thinner.

I'm genuinely surprised at how much I notice this and how much better it feels in my hand than the 240 (I have small hands) - of course the weight distribution helps here too, the M10 has better balance than the 240 (less front heavy, and mass concentrated into a smaller area feels more nimble, it's a technique used in sports motorcycle design)

The next headline feature (I guess) is the improved viewfinder.

I didn't notice this in the store, but it's tangibly bigger and easier to use. I don't wear glasses, but I do wear sun glasses a lot and it's a lot nicer to use wearing them, 35mm framelines work better for me too.

But I guess the key upgrade reason was the ISO improvements and what the internet seems to have dubbed the colour science

Lets start with the ISO. This is easy. Yeah it's a ton better. And not just more ISO less noise better, but more exposure push in post, image doesn't end up with more banding than a field of Zebras better. Massive score IMO

Re colours.. well when I go through my LR catalogue thumbnails it's not always completely obvious if I'm looking at a M10 or 240 shot... the colours are not poles apart, but I find the M10 DNGs nicer to work on, there's a lot of pleasing (to me) pop and contrast and bite from the off. Skins tones of the people I shoot look better to me (and them) too.

In fact a custom DCP and a preset with a little contrast gets me most of the way there during DNG import, personally (OMMV) I found the 240 images were a lot more case by case with different images needing quite separate types of work to get what I liked.

This was the main thing I missed from the M9 (which I still have) with the 240. It was just how the M9 images usually arrived pretty close to being usable (or completely useless), whereas always the 240 demanded work

(obviously YMMV, you may use different tools or the same tools in a better way)

In fact I've little to complain about with the M10 (well the price 🙄) and of course all the things that you've read on here already, the too stiff to lift ISO dial, the missing (for me, YMMV) cont/timed modes on the power switch (especially as timed isn't retained if you power off) - menu diving isn't what I associate with Leica...

There's only really one fly in my personal M10 ointment (which I knew about before I bought it, not complaining too heavily, honest)

Who's clucking bright idea was it too make base ISO inaccessible?

WTAF?

As you all know, you face a choice ISO 100 and don't dare clip a highlight or ISO 200 and hope the shadows aren't too murky if you need to recover them heavily

Which, to me at least, makes ISO selection important for scenes where frankly it should be set base and forget

(a colour RAW histogram might help here too...)

But I can't stress enough... the camera is a tool, they all have foibles and we need to learn to use them to get what we want. 

So in some sort of summary

The M10 compared to the M9.

There's only one M9. The M10 isn't like an M9 v2.0 or something. It's just closer than the 240 was. The M9 colours are great and everything, but for me the M9 magic is the tonality, the glowing colours and airy light pictures. 

The M10 compared to the M240

On paper there's very little in it, but sincerely all those little improvements really do add up. The IQ is tangibly better, the ISO is far more usable, and it's just a nicer object to hold and use. (Which is important, cars get bought cos of the spec - they get sold if they're uncomfortable to drive)

The M10 compared to the M11

ahahaha just messing - ask Jono or someone 

And that's the thing...

Soon enough arrives the M11

Many here will get one, and I guess some you will use the opportunity to get an M10...

Getting a camera that's not a current model has more than just price benefits... the firmware is mature, manufacturing bugs should be eliminated and the forums are full of tips and tricks for getting the most out of it written by people that have shot with one for some years

If you've sat on the fence about the M10 and are figuring that now might be the time to jump, well I sincerely believe that you'll be happy with it.

I know I am

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

Thanks you for sharing. 
I agree with you the M10 is a great camera. 
i don’t thing we need anything else as the regular M10. 
I try a lot lenses with this camera and for sure it influences the results a lot. 
The M10 delivers its magic in colors with some specials lenses like the summilux 35 and an adequate light. 
In fact the m lenses are so good that you can get a close result to the M10 with the SL1.

A SL could even be a cheap alternativ to a m10 for someone who like to use some Leica M lenses 😉

Not exactly 1:1 but a great option indeed. 
The sl1 is still a brillant camera.




 

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by Torpille

[Harvard Kiwi]

The M10 with a CV50/2 APO is a fantastic setup. I went with the CV50/1.2 Nokton because I regularly need the extra light but that APO is on my list. 

I would definitely like to get more Leica glass, but Voigtlander do make some fantastic lenses.

You should be very happy with that combination!