The new Leica M10-D just surfaced this week and it’s a stunning new rangefinder with an incredibly minimalist design. Most notably, the M10-D has no rear LCD for chimping your shots. Instead, you get a ring on the back of the camera to adjust exposure compensation.
This isn’t the first Leica digital rangefinder to eschew the LCD in favor of a barebones design. In 2014, Leica introduced the limited run Leica M Edition 60, which only saw 600 units produced at a cost of $18,500. Then in 2016, Leica launched its first production digital rangefinder with no LCD – the Leica M-D.
The Leica M10-D, however, adds built-in Wi-Fi for connecting the minimalist camera to modern smartphones using the Leica Fotos app. From there, you can gain instant access to images on the M10-D if you just can’t wait to get them downloaded to your computer for processing.
Leida M10-D Key Features
- 24MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
- Leica Maestro II Image Processor
- Minimalist Design; No Rear LCD Screen
- Optical 0.73x-Magnification Viewfinder
- ISO 100-50000, up to 5 fps Shooting
- Stills-Only Operation
- Integrated Fold-Out Thumb Rest
- Weather-Resistant Brass Construction
At its core, the Leica M10-D channels the analog roots as a very stealthy digital camera. Casual observers would be hard-pressed to identify the M-10D as digital in any way. The subtleties of the design will be reason enough for the patient Leica fan to buy a camera that’s a little less digital than everything else. An optional EVF is also available.
The Leica M10-D retails for $7995 and is available for pre-order here at B&H Photo.
I’m guessing the optional EVF is electronic and adjusts for various focal length lenses which the built in optical viewfinder would only be able to do with different sized fixed frame outlines? The lack of a rear LCD is not a problem for me as the only time I use it shooting is for tripod work, and in that case using a phone would likely be easier than looking at a small LCD on the camera back. This is strictly academic anyhow as $8k plus with accessories for a niche camera, regardless of quality, is ludicrous in my world view.
Yeah, this is another camera that eschews features because, well, it’s just better to take a step backward. Okay, so no chimping allowed, unless you get that additional wart that sticks on top in the hot shoe I suppose, but a 24MP chip isn’t going to impress anyone.
The thing that made Leica’s name magical back in the day was the supremely built mechanicals in the bodies as well as the optics; in the world of digital there is no film advance mechanism etc. so the mechanical stuff is not as germane. And on the glass side – thanks to computer designs and new glasses etc., I daresay the difference between Leitz and other high end (but certainly less costly) lenses is minimal. Kind of like when the Sony Trinitron was heads-and-shoulders above the competition in vacuum tube based color TVs, but when LCDs came along there really isn’t that much difference.
What’s the point? They made the same exact thing a couple years ago only now you get wifi, whoop-dee-doo! At 8 thousand bucks, I just don’t see much point in this at all, paying more for significantly less. This is twice the cost of Fuji’s new Medium Format and that’s MEDIUM FORMAT for pete’s sake. Is this even weather-proof? I mean, what exactly justifies such a high cost? I’m extremely excited about the partnership between Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma so I’m sure there’s much more exciting stuff from Leica around the corner, so why not just wait a little longer for something better and more useful? This one will get a very lukewarm reception at best, just like the M-D. If they dropped the price down to a much more realistic $3,000 (which is still too high for that long in the tooth sensor), I’m sure they’d sell fairly well but it’s still a drop in the bucket with Sony, Nikon, Canon, and Panasonic all having their own very exciting full frame mirrorless offerings.
It strikes me that Leica cameras are as much “jewelry” as they are instruments to take photos…I’ve been in the Leica store in LA numerous times over the past few years and almost every time there are people handling the various cameras, asking questions of the staff – who seem to know nothing of photography. My sense of it is that for them, $8K (or $12K if you want a lens to go with that) is chump change they find in the couch cushions.