Leica M Typ 262: Rangefinder Essentials Only

[CGarrard]

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I posted this review on a different forum to, but added more at the end.

No video, no live view, rejoice stills shooters!

This one will make you a better rangefinder photographer. Just the essentials like a nice sensor, a nice screen, and a great optical rangefinder experience. It's beautiful, quiet, lightweight, modern, comfortable, and simple.

Particularly Leica gets credit for it's considerately clean exterior design, it's a real understated beauty.

Mostly, it's a much better and more pleasant to use M9, not in all ways, but that's a generally safe descriptor of the 262. The menu is simple and easy, and one of the, if not the best menu systems out there from any brand (sorta reminds me of Canon's original 5D menu, but even better).

It's battery life can't be beat by any M, or any DSLR that I can recall, it can go for days without the need to be recharged.

Had it a min shutter speed of 1/8000th, a base ISO of 100, and a 1.00x (1:1) viewfinder, it would be a perfect rangefinder.

But as is, that's a wish list, not a con list.

It would be nice if it had an auto cleaning sensor and multi-pattern metering option, but those are just quibbles. Considering Leica mostly hit this one out of the park, it's definitely a tie for my favorite Leica M of all time.

They don't make them like this anymore, it's for still shooters who above all else love an optical finder for framing and metering. It will test and improve your rangefinder skills, that I promise you. A highly rewarding classic style experience without being so dated that it slows you down.

I think today the Typ 262 becomes more valuable considering the direction the M design has gone. Back when it was announced in 2015, it was a bit of a rebel if you consider the trend of the 240 and other cameras at the time, but it seemed there was quite a bit of pent up demand too suggesting that perhaps there would be successor models built upon its simple design principles. That hasn't really happened (with the exception of the M-D Typ 262).

But it makes me wonder how well it would sell with a more modern 24mp sensor/processor and the M10/11's larger viewfinder and frame line selector switch added back in, at a much lower price than the M10/11 cameras. I bet it would be really popular. Again, with no live view or video or EVF option etc.

I think Leica are coming dangerously close to not supporting a 100% rangefinder experience in the future, and to me, that style of shooting needs to be promoted and preserved always with the M mount. Today's M's have become more like crippled mirrorless cameras (crippled meaning no autofocus features at all) than the original principled design they were intended to be.

They all need to exist, imho.

For now, long live the beautiful and simple, original M Typ 262!

 

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Edited September 4, 2023 by CGarrard

[a.noctilux]

One of the most underrated digital M, M262 family.

Now I don't care of the "value" keeping thing as I will not sell or buy one of them.

I have one M262 and the M-D (typ 262), I don't know which one I prefer using.

The M262 lacks the field preview, strange enough the "not so useful" lever is present on M-D.

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[geesbert]

Although I own and use a M11 and had and sold an M10 I held onto my 262 as I think this is the most essential digital M. I hardly use it anymore, but it is too nice to let go

[LCM94]

Hello

I am about to buy a m262 but I cannot find the following information:

- can you display the histogram?

- I have read that M240 series is not so good at WB when in auto: do you systematically use a custom white balance using a pocketable white card?

Thanks!

[pippy]

On 9/4/2023 at 8:56 PM, CGarrard said:

...Had it a min shutter speed of 1/8000th, a base ISO of 100, and a 1.00x (1:1) viewfinder, it would be a perfect rangefinder...

...it makes me wonder how well it would sell with a more modern 24mp sensor/processor and the M10/11's larger viewfinder and frame line selector switch added back in...

I agree with most of the points you make barring (for MY shooting-style) one important detail; viewfinder magnification.

A 1.00x finder would be / is preferable for lenses 50mm-and-longer but shooting with anything wider would require the use of an external shoe-mounted finder. As someone who shoots the majority of my stuff with 50mm-and-shorter I find the 0.68x finder which has (surprisingly accurate) frame-lines for 28mm and 35mm to be the perfect choice. Speaking of frame-lines I have the M-D Typ-262 so my camera does have the frame-line lever and yes; it can be a useful thing!

Other than that? No real quibbles. I'm not sure how often a 1/8000 speed would be needed; I can't think of any time I've even used 1/4000 in ten years of Digi-M snapping. When you write "a more modern 24mp sensor/processor" what, exactly, do you have in mind? I can't find much to fault about the 24mp CMOS and even although there is only a 1gb buffer as I don't shoot 'continuous' I've never had the camera freeze whilst it waits to clear the backlog.

Interestingly although, at the time of release, the consensus seemed to be that there would be no M11-D version I have seen, recently, some chat suggesting that such a camera might be released after all. I suppose all we can do is watch and wait...

Philip.

Edited September 18, 2023 by pippy

[Ampersand]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:51 AM, LCM94 said:

"...can you display the histogram?...".

No pre exposure histogram is available as the M262 is without Live View, however a histogram may be displayed on the rear screen during image review by pressing “PLAY” and then “INFO” once.  Sorry that I cannot help you about the characteristics of using WB Automatic.  Similar to countless others, for outdoor shooting I set WB to Daylight and then if necessary, adjust the WB of the DNG file using Capture One 23.  You will not be disappointed with the M262.

 

[a.noctilux]

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On 9/18/2023 at 11:51 AM, LCM94 said:

I am about to buy a m262 but I cannot find the following information:

- can you display the histogram?

Yes with the INFO center button.

 

Funny story

(my wife had pushed the button or when taking the M262 out of her bag),

she toll me why when she reviewed the images, weird "colors mountain shape" showed on the images.

She never use histogram knowing nothing about the function.

...

Note:

"mode d'emploi", in French pdf  can be freely dowloaded from this link, summilux.net documents

Edited September 22, 2023 by a.noctilux

[a.noctilux]

Another wife story.

( happening before the former story )

When we packed for long travel, we want to choose photo gear, my wife asked me if I can show her the Ms differences.

I put on my silver M240 one 2.5/50 lens, then handed her the combo.

She said ...don't you have one black M that I can use, her former M was black M8.

So I'm glad handing her the black M262, she appreciates the lightness of the combo 2.5/50 + M262.

...

She took very nice pictures with them and I'm jealous (well = glad) of her mastering of the M262.