Analog vs. Digital - When to pick what?

[pgk]

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7 hours ago, pippy said:

Clearly there's no 'One Size Fits All' answer to the question as posted.

Philip.

Isn't it great that for some questions there simply are no definitive answers? Life could be so boring .....

[pippy]

2 hours ago, pgk said:

Isn't it great that for some questions there simply are no definitive answers?...

Possibly!

Philip.

[Mikep996]

LOL!😂

[tedd]

I love film. I love loading it into a Leica, winding it on, rewinding it, the feeling of intention it brings. I am more forgiving when it doesn’t work than I am toward digital. More accepting that some shots I just can’t take due to the medium. But I’ve grown to quite dislike developing and absolutely hate scanning (and while I do own an enlarger it has been in a box for years). The last M2 I bought and sold without even putting a roll through it, and yet just today I was once again scrolling eBay looking at film M’s! I guess I like the idea of it more than the reality (and I don’t want to spend the crazy money for a lab to dev and scan my HP5). 
 

The results on a screen are much of a muchness in my eyes. Equal pros and cons to both, it’s just a question of workflow and enjoyment. 

[pgk]

3 minutes ago, tedd said:

I love film. I love loading it into a Leica, winding it on, rewinding it, the feeling of intention it brings.

We need a hybrid camera. One into which you load film and gives the above response. But which actually uses a sensor to take photographs. Best of both worlds.

[jimmielx]

1 hour ago, pgk said:

We need a hybrid camera. One into which you load film and gives the above response. But which actually uses a sensor to take photographs. Best of both worlds.

Not quite the same, but it does begin to sound a bit like the M10-D...! Just imagine that the memory card is actually a roll of your favourite emulsion and you're nearly there. A debate around the merits of an SD card soaked in rodinal vs HC110 could also be a good read.

[tedd]

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22 minutes ago, jimmielx said:

A debate around the merits of an SD card soaked in rodinal vs HC110 could also be a good read.

ID11 for me please! 

[Aryel]

For me it is very simple, if I shoot during the day then film. If I shoot during the night then film 😋.

[Anbaric]

3 hours ago, pgk said:

We need a hybrid camera. One into which you load film and gives the above response. But which actually uses a sensor to take photographs. Best of both worlds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULjAwiqufPE

[Anbaric]

2 hours ago, Anbaric said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULjAwiqufPE

A digital camera with a faux wind-on lever is almost beyond satire, of course, but some genuine reviewers seem equally baffled by the M10-D. This comment could almost be from the Ikanagas 'Professional' review above; you wonder if Leica didn't bother providing a manual, or if the reviewer didn't bother reading it:

https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/leica_m10_d_review

'There is a small button on the top of the camera, as well as a small dial on the rear of it – there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable function attached to these, and perhaps are just there as they have been brought over from the body of other M10 cameras.'

[Matlock]

47 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

A digital camera with a faux wind-on lever is almost beyond satire, of course, but some genuine reviewers seem equally baffled by the M10-D. This comment could almost be from the Ikanagas 'Professional' review above; you wonder if Leica didn't bother providing a manual, or if the reviewer didn't bother reading it:

https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/leica_m10_d_review

'There is a small button on the top of the camera, as well as a small dial on the rear of it – there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable function attached to these, and perhaps are just there as they have been brought over from the body of other M10 cameras.'

The M10-D is my go to Digital Leica even though I have the M10-R as well. It is an example of a well thought out camera that is intuitive and is very much like a film M in use. The faux wind-on lever is just a thumb rest, some will like it, some will not, but it does the job.

[Anbaric]

21 minutes ago, Matlock said:

The M10-D is my go to Digital Leica even though I have the M10-R as well. It is an example of a well thought out camera that is intuitive and is very much like a film M in use. The faux wind-on lever is just a thumb rest, some will like it, some will not, but it does the job.

I want one with an M4-style rewind crank that drives a dynamo to charge the battery.

[lmans]

39 minutes ago, Matlock said:

The M10-D is my go to Digital Leica even though I have the M10-R as well. It is an example of a well thought out camera that is intuitive and is very much like a film M in use. The faux wind-on lever is just a thumb rest, some will like it, some will not, but it does the job.

A good looking camera…. Looks real close to my MA. One most likely would get a feel for shooting analog with this. What does the shutter sound like?

[Topsy]

1 hour ago, Matlock said:

The M10-D is my go to Digital Leica even though I have the M10-R as well. It is an example of a well thought out camera that is intuitive and is very much like a film M in use. The faux wind-on lever is just a thumb rest, some will like it, some will not, but it does the job.

The M10-D is the only Digital M that could tempt me to move on from my M9s but they are rarer than Hen's teeth and I can't justify the cost 3 of them (even if I could find 3) to replace my 3 M9s.

[lmans]

8 hours ago, Topsy said:

The M10-D is the only Digital M that could tempt me to move on from my M9s but they are rarer than Hen's teeth and I can't justify the cost 3 of them (even if I could find 3) to replace my 3 M9s.

Wasn’t there a 240 or 262d version that the M10d is based upon? If so…. Perhaps that is an option … ah! Nothing with Leica is too cheap, if worth it. 

[jakontil]

hard to pick in particular which to shoot between digital and film, i always carry both and as a backup to each other, sometimes i take digital the other i take the films out... what is more difficult for my case, should i shoot colour or bw in films lol

[Matlock]

14 hours ago, lmans said:

A good looking camera…. Looks real close to my MA. One most likely would get a feel for shooting analog with this. What does the shutter sound like?

Quieter than the M-A.

[Matlock]

13 hours ago, Topsy said:

The M10-D is the only Digital M that could tempt me to move on from my M9s but they are rarer than Hen's teeth and I can't justify the cost 3 of them (even if I could find 3) to replace my 3 M9s.

Yes, I got mine when they were first released, it is very rare to see one come up for sale now. I wonder how many were made?

[jakontil]

5 hours ago, Matlock said:

Yes, I got mine when they were first released, it is very rare to see one come up for sale now. I wonder how many were made?

fewer than a black paint M10r which was 2000 i believe, or in the same ballpark like safari edition? 

i had that when it was first released against all odds, regrettably sold it to fund my mp.... i dont know up to this day, if it was a mistake

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[pippy]

14 hours ago, lmans said:

Wasn’t there a 240 or 262d version that the M10d is based upon? If so…. Perhaps that is an option … ah! Nothing with Leica is too cheap, if worth it. 

The first screenless Digi-M was the limited edition (600 examples) M Edition 60 which featured an exterior designed by Audi. It was made from Stainless Steel and came as a set with a specially designed Steel 35mm Summilux. It was released, in 2014, to celebrate 60 years of M camera manufacture. A few members here have this camera and at least one member has a pair of them. One peculiarity of the M 60 was that there were no strap lugs(!).

A review of the M Edition 60 can be found here;

https://www.macfilos.com/2015/03/02/2015-2-27-leica-m60-edition-review-gorgeous-steel-grey-retro-pushes-all-the-right-buttons/

Two years later, in 2016, Leica announced a 'regular release'(*) screenless version of the M262 (itself an already stripped-down M240) which was named the M-D Typ-262. This was far simpler and less technologically spec'd than the M10-D which followed.

Shooting with the M-D 262 really is pretty much exactly the same experience as shooting with a film camera but, as per Paul's wish expressed in post #26, one which records images using a digital sensor / memory cards. The only real differences between using my M2 and my M-D 262 are as follows;

Firstly with the M-D there is the ability to change ISO at will and on a shot by shot basis if need be. This, stating the perfectly obvious, is very useful. Secondly with M-D the limit to how many frames can be captured isn't ever an issue. Nor do I 'run out of film' at an important moment as has happened when shooting film. Lastly - and for me most importantly - the M-D gives me the advantage of a digital work-flow which I find to be far superior - as well as being far more practical - than when using film.

Incidentally as far as the M-D 262 goes (I don't know about its function on the M10-D) the 'small button' mentioned in the review posted earlier has a few different functions depending on when it is being used. When the camera is switched on pressing the button gives information - visible in the viewfinder - firstly regarding battery percentage and if pressed again gives 'frames remaining' (if 999 or less). The button is also used - in conjunction with the self-timer position of the on/off switch - to open the shutter curtains to allow for cleaning of the sensor. As there is no menu-screen / set-up buttons there isn't any other way to carry out this task.

I believe the small button can also be used somehow with the thumb-wheel thingy to adjust exposure compensation but I find it far simpler to use the camera in Manual mode and adjust shutter-speed/aperture manually.

With the M-D 262 there was a printed instruction book included with the 'goodies' inside the box. I suspect that for those new to screenless digi-shooting Leica thought it would be more practical for owners to have some sort of 'hard-copy' as it might be needed for reference relatively often...

A review of the M-D Typ-262 (and the one which was the 'final straw' in my decision to acquire one for myself) can be found here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX3PBhzurEo

Philip.

* Whilst it was a regular release - in that it wasn't part of a Limited Edition - from production figures being compiled in the appropriate sub-forum here it appears that, as far as can be estimated from serial-numbers known at present, there were somewhere in the region of 1700 (+/-) manufactured. This figure really is just a 'Best Guess' and the true number might be quite different.

Edited December 9, 2022 by pippy