The Downsides of the Leica M10 Reporter

Having written about what I like best about it, here are the things that I've noticed that are, for me, the downsides of the Leica M10 Reporter (NLA new). But please, note those italics. I'm not a hater, and if you love your digital M, I get it and have no quarrel.

Cost: First is the elephant in the room, cost. I believe I read when I was a boy and still into military enthusiasms (ancient history now) that the German Tiger tank was superior to any armor the allies had, but that Soviet T-34 tanks were so much cheaper, and could be produced in such numbers, that a strategy developed whereby four T-34s would attack one Tiger. While a T-34 could never beat a Tiger one-on-one, at four-on-one it was no contest the other way around.

That metaphor might be brutal in light of the tank battles in Ukraine (sorry), but, very honestly, I think the excessive expense goes against Leica's stated intentions of providing a tough working tool for extreme conditions. To me, an important aspect of an all-the-time, on-the-go working tool is that it be replaceable. You either need to be able to buy a readily-available replacement quickly, or you have to have a second body already waiting in reserve. And the replacement/reserve obviously needs to be something you can afford, and cheap enough so that if you break or lose it, it's not a catastrophe.

Now, I know full well after having written this blog for 16.5 years that "price sensitivity" is an individual thing. We have everything from multi-millionaires to retirees on pensions reading this site (we used to have students, but I don't think so much any more). What is out of reach for some is a throwaway cost for others, and there's a whole range of people in between. Still, if you're doing weddings for pay with a Fuji X-T4, you probably have a backup body; yet I doubt that even millionaire owners of the M10 Reporter have a second one set aside and waiting in case they drop one into the punchbowl or set it on a concrete wall in a parking garage and accidentally knock it off and it falls four stories. (Both scenarios based on true stories!) I did meet a pro once who switched from a perfectly good main body to the more recent one because a replacement for the more recent one could be overnighted to him the next day, whereas the older body had been discontinued. But you might counter that the "tough working tool for extreme conditions" is actually just symbolic in the case of the Reporter—an homage to the concept, if you will. That's a valid point.

As you know if you read the comments to Friday's post, Jack Mac actually encouraged me to take the M10 R out for walks, and even said he wouldn't mind if I scratched it. Which is pretty generous of him. Still and all, cheapskate that I am, I must duly report that I find myself highly constrained by the preciousness of the M10 R. The most expensive camera I ever bought was an M6 c. 1990, $3k then and $6,700 in today's dollars. There were times when I felt uncomfortable carrying it around with me. I want a camera I can use up.

In any event we can no doubt natter amongst ourselves about the meaning and implications of a $10,000 camera body (the current going price for a Reporter) all day and all night, so let us move on.

No autofocus: To my mind, manual focus and autofocus are just options, and one is not better than the other. I'm pretty familiar and comfortable with rangefinder focusing, for at least the last 30 years anyway, and there are some advantages to manual rangefinder focusing: no clutter in the viewfinder; a direct view of the subtle intensities and colors of the real light because a rangefinder window is WYSIWYG in that respect; the infinity stop; and the focus stays where you place it until you change it. You hold focusing distance in your mind and can check on it with a glance if you forget. (Some of these can be simulated in various ways with some AF cameras.)

There are also some usability benefits that I pointed out in the previous post, for instance that it frees up a half-press of the shutter for AEL rather than AF-lock, and I like that.

However, I like AF too. Despite my transplanted cornea, my eyes aren't what they used to be. I'm not complaining at all; I don't wear glasses at age 65 except for computer use and reading, and I'm plenty thankful for that. But manual RF focusing requires some learning and practice, and I'm just as happy to let the camera focus itself, even though my use of AF is pretty limited. (I only use two modes, and don't begin to utilize all the Sony's capabilities).

No EVF: All you have to do is photograph with the Voigtländer 12mm (NLA) to have it blatantly pointed out to you that the field of view can be hard to see with an RF viewfinder. The M10's various framelines are approximate, and, despite Leica's clever perspective correction in the digital domain (called Perspective Control), there are still the usual headaches of parallax at closer focusing distances. An EVF is not WYSIWYG in terms of providing a window to the light and the color of the scene, but it's perfectly WYSIWYG with regard to perspective and the exact boundaries of the frame. Verdict? Six to one, half a dozen the other.

But the real gotcha with the viewfinder? It's that I've gotten into the habit of reviewing using the viewfinder! I love it, and I do it both while shooting, to check various parameters, and also while reviewing to see what I got. It takes ambient light, sunlight, out of the equation. Again and again with the Leica I would like to check what I just shot in the viewfinder, and of course can't—you can only review on the viewing screen on the back of the camera, which is hard to see in sunlight.

No image stabilization: It's been my observation that many times when you'd like to use something that's obsolescent, it would do fine in many respects, but there's often just one or two modern features that are so useful or sensible that it's hard to do without them. (I think of this every time I see Jay Leno tooling down the highway in an old car with no airbags. He's a head-on collision away from some fine old wooden Nardi steering wheel making contact with his spine from the wrong side. No thanks. I've watched "Idiots in Cars" vids. I'll take an airbag.) In the '90s I bought a Nikkormat FT-3 and considered using it as my main camera, and it would have been fine except that the 1977 groundglass was just very dark in comparison to more modern ones. If just that one thing could have been modernized, the older camera would have been fine. (At the time.)

Well, most old things have "just that one thing." In cars, backup cameras—stories of people backing SUVs over their own children deeply horrify me. You know where this is going: IS is one modern feature I happen to think is useful. Of course the M10 doesn't have it. Cartier-Bresson was rumored to go to bed early and abstain from coffee so he could handhold 1/4th sec., so there are workarounds.  :-)

Handling: The M10 was famously the first digital M to replicate the exact size and shape of the classic Leica, represented in Leica's literature by the M4. And of course the standard party line for half a century was that the Leica M was small and handy and "a camera you can get to grips with." It's received wisdom: i.e., you're supposed to believe it because everybody has always believed it. Yeah, but. The trouble is, the M10 is not small and handy by today's standards. It's handy compared to a 1930s folder and small compared to a TLR. It's not that they haven't done a great job replicating the original; it's that the world has changed. Today it's a little on the clunky and awkward side...

...Most particularly, the grip, or lack thereof. I'd consider a handgrip mandatory with this camera, although I don't have one here to try. The Sony A6600, which has the biggest grip of any of its ilk, makes that camera very handy and satisfying for a small camera. And I just handled a Nikon Z series (Dave Levingston's), which is excellent ergonomically, and it felt greatly more comfortable and secure in the hand than the 70-year-old design of the Leica.

Finally—and this is just a nitpick—I noticed that whenever I switched to vertical orientation (shutter release at the bottom and viewfinder window at the top right), my left thumb naturally hit the menu button. On the good side, even with the menu open on the viewing screen you can still press the shutter button and the camera will take a picture normally.

But you get used to handling. With a "you're in control" camera like the M10, you learn it. I'm sure I'd get used to the handling if it were mine.

Weight: The M10 Reporter is too heavy. With the 35mm Summilux especially. That combo tilts my scale at 972 g (34.3 oz.). That's not heavy for a camera, necessarily, but the smaller the camera the greater the subjective density and the more its weight is emphasized. My A6600 is also a bit on the porky side: with the 30mm ƒ/1.4 Contemporary it's 767 g. Like the handling, you'll get used to the M10 if you use it a lot. But it's too heavy. It can be lightened by using a lighter lens, but, like most of us, it would benefit from going on a diet. Weight loss of 15% or even 20% would benefit the body. (My body too. You?) You might say this is a matter of taste, and I'd have to grant you the point, but a cost-no-object camera should attain an ideal, and feeling like it's made of lead isn't ideal IMO. Note too that a handgrip would add yet more weight, putting this camera + prime combo at ~1150 g (over 40 oz.). Compare to the Nikon Z7 II and kit zoom at 1115 g.

Second car
What's the upshot here? Obviously, there is more than one reason to buy a Leica M. They're status symbols, very satisfying toys, cool body accessories, tickets of admission to various communities of geekery, and also, within their range, excellent working tools. Everyone's going to have his or her own mix of reasons for either wanting or buying one. As I made clear on Friday, it's a digital camera that goes most of the way to recovering/recreating the simple and secure experience of using a film camera. It fully realizes the promise of the early, imperfect first digital M, the M8. And it's a digital M that will be satisfyingly, gratifyingly familiar to those with histories as film M owners/users.

I do think its "beautiful simplicity" is plenty of reason for owning one. So is using it purely for serious photography. I see no impediment to that, if its natural limitations suit the kind of work you do or aspire to do.

Well, and if you have good insurance. (Consider a rider on your homeowner's insurance, or dedicated camera insurance.) 

However, even if money were no object, I would probably not be happy with an M10 as my only camera. (Although I think I'd like to do an OC/OL/OY with a Q2 Monochrom, which has AF and IS, and is weatherproof.) And I'll go out on a limb (way out on a limb) and guess that most M10 owners also own other cameras. I wasn't a pro for very long—only 6–7 years in the '80s–'90s—but during that (pre-digital) time I noticed that most pros I knew or met had pretty complete systems in at least one, more often two, and not infrequently all three major formats (35mm, 6x6 or 6x7, and large format); and then, many of them also owned a Leica M and a few lenses for "personal" work, as personal jewelry, and/or to tie in to the tradition of intrepid globetrotting photojournalists or committed art photographers such as Capa, Koudelka, Eisenstadt, Winogrand, and so many more great names from the olden days.

I also knew a few photographers who used only a film Leica M. I'm sure their "digital equivalents" are out there, and power to 'em. All I'm saying is that an M10 really is like a Miata*: you'll probably be happiest if it's your second car. Er, camera.

This ain't all. In our discussion of the M10, there's more yet to come.

Mike

*Steve Renwick said this.

Book o' the Week:

Inspiration Leica Akademie (English and German Edition). A "group show" of 76 Leica Akademie photographers from 16 countries worldwide, curated by Heidi and Robert Mertens. It looks to me like this is going out of print soon, so act soon if you want one.

The book link is your portal to Amazon from TOP, should you choose to support the site.

Leica at B&H Photo

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Bryan Hansel: "On Friday, you gave me camera envy. Thankfully this posts brings me back down to Earth."

PWL: "Well, I have the M10 P, and to be honest, I don’t notice most of the difficulties you mentioned in your article, perhaps because I shot Leica M film cameras for years and are used to their idiosyncrasies. Where I will agree with you is that the price is a real issue. Makes it hard to use a very good camera in a lot of instances, because you’re afraid of destroying, damaging, or losing such an expensive item (although I should note that I do have it insured, but still…). And yes, I do have another camera system that gets a lot more use: Fuji X-Pro cameras. Pretty much my go-anywhere workhorse system."

Jeff: "I don’t mind the weight (provides stability for me), but the M11 black version, which is 20% lighter (530 g vs. 660 g for the M10, both with battery), provides an option for those who might. The EVF and hand grip issues can each be addressed via accessory add-ons, albeit at the expense of added bulk and weight. I don’t use either, but do use the accessory thumb rest (attached via hot shoe) for much better handling.

"My complementary system (for EVF, AF, IBIS, weather sealing, zooms, longer and wider focal lengths, etc) is the SL2. It has a virtually identical menu interface as the M, and seamlessly adapts M lenses. But I prefer keeping my M lenses (28mm/35mm/50mm) on my M."

Alex Mercado: "Pff…I always keep an M10 at easy access in the boot of my Morgan Plus Four. What is this 'My-At-Tah' you speak of?"

Bob G.: "Had to laugh (sort of) at your Nardi analogy…I had one on my '67 E-Type and it was scary to think about being in an accident with it. My mechanic said, the metal bends, but the wheel doesn’t. I felt 'better' with my single-spoke, downward-facing '71 Citroen Safari wheel…all this way before airbags for sure…."

Mike replies: Plus, you never wanted to go fast in a '71 Citroen.  :-)

Centeredlens: "+1 for camera insurance. I was afraid to take my M10 on vacation until I bought the peace of mind that I could replace it if it fell off a wall or got stolen. (Not that I’ve had to test the insurance yet, fingers crossed….)"

Jack Mac: "Mike, My explanations that if you ding it, it’s OK is partially based on my history of dropping cameras. Right after I wrote you that last week, I dropped an M 10 monochrome. It now has a loving ding in the upper corner. The digital M cameras are still robust. The Rangefinder patch was still in alignment and everything worked perfectly. Except I noticed that it doesn’t record color."

Mike replies: Heh. Reminds me of that old joke, 'Doctor, after my operation, will I be able to play piano?' Plus the fact that car repair shops occasionally car mechanics see cars towed in with the complaint that they will not start...and all that's wrong is that they're out of gas.

Dan Khong: "Twenty-five years back when the M6 and Rollies and Hassies were more seen and used side by side, the ownership of a Leica M stood out head and shoulders above the rest. Today, I am more likely to attract attention with a Rolleiflex TLR than—might I dare say—even the M10 Reporter (which I don't own so I am guessing). When I stroll around with a grey Rolleiflex T, I can almost always get a subject to agree to have their picture taken."

Pierre Charbonneau: "Digital M's are indeed a bit heavy in the hand. There are days when I prefer the Fujifilm x100 for walking around with friends.The autofocus is then a blessing. I guess it shows that I am then more casual and my subjects are appreciating this. And the pictures aren't bad either for all that."

Nicolas Woollaston: "the difficulty with wide angle lenses is also similar to the limitations in trying to use long lenses and in wanting to use any lens focused close, let alone macro."

Ben: "I just bought an M11. The cost is tough to swallow...I feel very lucky to be able to afford it now and able to use the lenses I've gathered over the years. And I definitely feel uncomfortable about the price/cost/value, so I always cover the silly dot. At least that's the only visible marking. The black M11 is, I think, pretty close to 25% lighter than the M10. So the weight is...perfect. It should've had IS, of course! But it's great to have really good high ISO performance in an M, so I can shoot at faster shutter speeds to avoid camera shake. Agreed about the hand grip...I added a stick-on one. We'll see how it goes, but the handling seems better. For whatever reason, I've always felt most comfortable with a rangefinder and OVF. I do also have a Micro 4/3 system (Panasonic GX8 forever! ;-) and a Fuji X100V...I quit Nikon some time ago. Have thought about a Sony system but the size of the lenses is off-putting."

Luke: "I'm so happy to see this post. Modern electronic gizmo cameras produce better pictures due to AF, EVF, IS, etc. If it's easier to use, yes, your pictures improve. IS or give up coffee?? Hah! Also, Mr. Mercado, does your Morgan even have a boot? Maybe you strap your Leica to the luggage rack?"

Kenneth Tanaka: "Chiming-in very late, sorry. But as a long-time and very current Leica owner here are my thoughts.

First, I agree with much of your earlier praise. Leica’s excision of video from the M cameras and converting the user control interface to the SL-style design greatly simplified the camera’s actual and apparent usage. Until last week I owned an M10-R and, previously, an M10-P, M240, and M9…so I’ve keenly observed and welcomed the camera’s evolutionary refinement. I am pleased to say that the new M11 maintains that design line and even extends it in new and useful ways.

"I also mostly concur with your 'downside' points of this post; cost, no autofocus, no image stabilization, awkward handling, and weight, although these have always been intrinsic characteristics of this type of camera. Your 'No EVF' point is not entirely accurate as the camera does offer an accessory EVF (Visoflex) that attaches to the hot shoe and articulates 90 degrees [$740. And more weight. —Ed.]. Regarding handling I would also add that an accessory grip has long been available for these M cameras giving the hand at least a better purchase on the camera. Regarding weight, as someone noted, the new black M11 with its aluminum top plate is significantly lighter than previous digital Ms. In fact, its weight is slightly less than that of the film M7!

"Beyond your downside points I would add three others that, in my experience, represent practical limitations of the M rangefinder that should be paramount to anyone considering using such a camera for particular jobs. I don’t think they’ve been noted yet:

Lack of weatherproofing: The Leica M is simply one of the least weather resistant cameras on the market. Lens mounts are metal-to-metal. Heck, the whole bottom of the camera must be removed just to change batteries and SD cards! I have never had an M camera fail from weather although I have never pressed the boundaries.

Metering: The nature of the M10’s design is such that center-weighted-average is what you’re going to get. (That has changed somewhat with the M11.) This is easy to manage but it’s important to understand that exposure precision will be entirely up to you.

Close focus range limitation: The nature of the M rangefinder’s optical design leaves most lenses with a closest focus distance of approximately 3 feet. There are accessories and at least one special macro lens that enable you to get closer to subjects but this has been a notable limitation of the camera’s design since its invention.

"But let's be honest: nobody buys an M with their head. Nobody needs one of these cameras for anything any more."

Josh: "As a Brit, talking about backup cameras (second cameras) and backup cameras (reversing cameras on a car) in the same post confused the hell out of me for a second!

Mike replies: Oh—sorry! That didn't even occur to me. But it should have.

Sroyon: "I enjoyed Josh's comment about backup cameras. Made me think about using a backup camera as a backup camera (forgot your Leica at home? Simply ask your subject to stand behind the car and record them on video) or alternatively, a backup camera as a backup camera (reversing camera on your car not working? Gaffer tape your spare Leica ME to the rear fender and stream video to your phone)."

Comments

[Matt O'Brien]

All of these reasons are why I am waiting for the CL2.

[Albert Smith]

I still have my Leica M6 and all the lenses from that era. I've adapted the lenses to my Fujis and found another limitation that the rangefinder system has: a long minimum focus distance based on the triangulation between the RF and finder.

I've been spoiled by the extremely close focusing of my modern (non-macro) lenses, but didn't realize it until I kept bumping up against the close limit of those M lenses.

[Peter Barnes]

I always assumed that the high price of a Leica bought you toughness and reliability. Until I met Julie on a an international photography trip. She was toting two Leicas (I don't know what model, but I do remember calculating that one of her bodies plus lenses was around 4 times more expensive than the Fujifilm XT-3 plus lenses I had with me) "Why two bodies?" I asked. " Backup" was the simple answer. Julie had money and loved to travel, especially on photography tours. Turns out she had a Leica stop working, twice, on consecutive tours. Not from a fall or other accident - just stopped working.

[Rick in CO]

I imagine it depends on your preference for picture taking. The M10 is my primary camera, a 21mm is rarely used but the 28-50 most often. I do have a need for an autofocus camera to use my 70-300mm zoom lens for wildlife pix.
I did have to give up a second car, but having one 10 year old car is enough to handle.

[Greg Heins]

Yes, especially to the idea that the most expensive camera you can afford is the most expensive camera you can afford TWO of. I've dropped a camera on cobblestones (lens and camera totaled) and I've left a camera behind on a park bench (returned by a good Samaritan). Stuff happens and it will happen again. I don't want to photograph in fear that my camera will be damaged/lost/stolen and I'll never be able to replace it. When I dropped the K-1, I had another in a couple of days and I didn't cry over it. (I do, however, keep the original on a shelf in view to remind me not to be so careless.)

[Phil]

...and retirees WITHOUT pensions reading this site.

[Jeff]

To Matt O’Brien, you’ll have a long wait. Leica has just discontinued the CL/TL (APS-C) line.

[Jeff1000]

The Leica M10 “Reporter” is a boutique-like replica of an actual photojournalist’s working camera.
📷😂👍

[T. Edwards]

Re Handling:

I got an unexpected windfall a few years ago and decided I was going to go buy a dream camera.

I had heard a lot about Leica but never handled one. I walked into the Leica store in SF, fully expecting to walk out with new camera and a couple of lenses. As soon as I picked the camera, I was shocked by the lack of a grip and how awkward it was to handle. (I think it was an M9 back then.) It just felt precarious and unbalanced - especially with the weight.

I commented on it and the very nice salesperson replied that since it was manual focus, it was meant to be held with two hands anyway. Plus, there were aftermarket grips if I really needed one.

[David Saxe]

Different strokes…

I love my M10 and my “pros “seem to be your “cons”. Not only I have never really been comfortable with autofocus, I find the manual focus of my Leica almost as quick, and with zone focussing even faster (A second or two here or there is not really important to me). Also, I feel a bit uneasy not seeing a distance scale on the lens—something current manufacturers have all but abandoned these days. I find viewfinder “clutter” totally unnecessary and over-the-top giving me gobs of info that is all but useless to me. I also never liked EVF because it never really shows the light as it really is—it only shows an electronic interpretation of it. I am always amazed at the difference between a digitized image on the screen as opposed to the real thing. I also do not miss image stabilization because these days in digital, all one has to do to get a faster shutter speed is change the ISO. All image stabilization gets me is a bigger, bulkier more noticeable lens.

I like my Leica M10 because of the way it feels in my hands. I like the weight, the small size and simplicity of use—not having to fiddle with a bunch of buttons and dials. It allows me to think about what’s most important to me in a photograph—that is the photo itself. I never really was impressed with the so-called “Leica Look” nor the super quality of the lenses that people speak of, because once a photo is printed, it would be very difficult to tell whether the picture was made using the latest Summilux 50, a 50 year old Summicron 50 or my favorite Zeiss Sonnar 50 which is 15 years old. Once printed, it either looks good or does not and it has nothing to do with the lens. Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Frank made some of the most iconic photos of the 20th century with ancient lenses you could probably still find in old pawn shops sitting under a glass counter, covered in a layer of dust.

It took me 50 years before I could afford to buy my first Leica (a used M3) and I never looked back. I have used other cameras over the years but it is the Leica which is street photographers friend because it is small, simple and unobtrusive. Although I use other cameras (mostly for macro or when I occasionally want a zoom lens), I use my Leica 90% of the time. Camera choice is very personal, and I guess the real reason there are so many different cameras on the market is because we have different tastes, different needs, and different goals.

[Dave Levingston]

In one way I'm glad the M10 is so expensive. If it cost $2,000 (with a lens) I'd probably talk myself into buying one, even though it would never be my primary camera. Still have my M3 and a couple lenses...but, of course, never shoot with it these days.

And, in the "They don't make them like they used to" department, the tales of mishaps reminded me of the time the camera strap broke on my Nikkormat Ftn. It hit the sidewalk. There was a dent that kept the rewind knob from turning. I beat the dent out with a hammer. It still worked. I still have it and it still works today.

[Steve B]

I bought an M10 a couple of years ago (previously had an M8 for a while when in was the only Digital M). I like the weight and solidity of the M10. My plan is to keep this until I leave this world...
I also have a Fujifilm X-Pro2 and an Olympus OMD EM1 Mk III. I enjoy using all of them. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

[Dogman]

I'm holding my breath for Leica to build a stripped down digital M Monochrome for under $1000.

(That "thud" you heard in the background was me falling over from lack of oxygen.)

[Graham]

Ya know, it’s one thing using a rangefinder at f/4 with grainy film, but totally something else at f/1.4 on a 60 MP back-illumated sensor. It’s also burdeonsome worrying about gear that’s too expensive to own. And if you ever have to deal with Leica USA for repairs, I only hope your experience is better than mine.

[darlene]

"... I've gotten into the habit of reviewing using the viewfinder! I love it,..."

The only way I chimp!

I think the popularity of the Fuji X-Pro series is the EFV along with the optical viewfinder. With the X-Pro3, came the folding screen which is convenient to use while digitizing film. Personally, my digital cameras must have autofocus, whereas none of my film cameras do. Also, anyone that has only tried the X100 thru T models, need to give the X100V a try with the backlit sensor; the colors are marvelous!

[ColinC]

Totally get what you are saying about simplicity. I’d add that for me it’s also about the view through the finder. If you shoot 35mm-90mm lenses a hi mag finder on a Leica is unique. If you haven’t ever done it I’d recommend seeking out and looking through the apparently tiny wee window on an M3 with your right eye and keeping your left eye open - and losing yourself in the ethereally beautiful frame lines hovering over the actual, in focus, world in 3d.

As to cost … while apparently expensive, no money is lost on Leica M or lenses. The longer you keep it, and it doesn’t really matter the era .. the greater the accumulation in worth. I have a nicely brassed 2015 M240-P which cost £2100 pared with a (now lucratively discontinued) 2.4 Summarit 50mm bought used in 2019 for £890. Leica might seem expensive perhaps but feel free to google the current prices for this kit. The value of the 1.4x viewfinder magnifier I use to replicate the M3 finder experience on M240 is worth about the same as the current value of a Nikon D700 body.

Really what’s not to like about Leica?

[John]

Thank you for pointing out the reality of modern M Leica cameras. I do love the idea, but rationally it doesn’t seem to make sense to me. I’d want see an affordable minimalist camera that takes M-mount lenses.

[Peter Croft]

The M10 is nearly AUD11,000 body only in Australia, which means it's not of the slightest interest to me I'm afraid. I could buy a Fuji GFX50 for half that.

Re using phones for photos, I've lost several chances lately because in daylight the display is simply so washed out that I can't see anything, not even the controls (OnePlus 3T). No, I'll go for a real camera such as an Olympus Pen - small enough to carry with me, cheap enough to replace, good enough.

[Michael Wayne Plant]

Hi Mike,
Apart form my now Leica M11, I also have another system and it is going to probably be my last DLSR, as I suspect that Nikon will never release a replacement to the wonderful D850, so one day I will be forced to move to a mirrorless camera as well, however if I am I might have to think hard about that as I do like an optical viewfinder.
I spent 10 years using Sony Mirrorless cameras and really liked the ability to see a live histogram in the viewfinder while working, however I also missed the optical view on the world that a DSLR or M camera gave me.

[Peter Wright]

I have owned a Leica or two down the years, and still have a (film) Leica MP. However, the true descendant of the M3 etc. is not the M10 Reporter, or any other digital rangefinder; it is the Q2 Monochrom: Shoots in B&W, almost ISO independent, great tones, simple to use, auto focus (or not), any effective focal length between 28mm and 90mm, IBIS, EVF, beautifully built, and more. It combines the best of the intuitive film Leica's and the best of the latest technology.

[Tom Burke]

I liked your point as to whether working pros ever had multiple Leicas back in the day. Apropos to that, I dug up some of photos of Larry Burrows - he seemed to have normally been adorned with cameras. Although there are some showing him with multiple Leicas (you in fact featured one of them, in 2009), in general it was perhaps just one Leica M and several SLRs - probably Nikon F examples?

Which begs the question - how did the price of a new Nikon F compare with the price of a new Leica M between, say, 1964 and 1968? It's around 3:2 in the UK at the moment. My local Nikon Dealer are selling Nikon D6 for £5,900 and Nikon Z9 for £5,200, although reductions - 'rebates' - are frequently available. The UK Leica store advertises M11 and M10-R bodies for between £7,200 and £7,500. (I haven't considered any of the Leica special editions...)

[Matt O’Brien]

To Jeff, Re CL1.

I got the Fuji x100v as a small travel camera… invested a lot of time to become familiar with it and optimise the config. But…. cannot fall in love with the so well specified little warrior.

So… I decided the CL1 might be a good option, especially as I can also change lens…

To discover
1. The Leica dealer in Dublin, Ireland, where I live, has returned his dealership to Leica. No other Irish deal and prospect of travelling to Brexit inflicted London plus currency and customs hassle is scary.
2. Recent CL announcement…

So… I am sad…

But maybe Leica / Panasonic might create a baby which might suit me. May even suit Mike !!!!!

[Stephen S.]

I used to extensively use an Olympus E-M5 Mark II, but sold it to "upgrade." Years later I realized I quite missed it, so I bought the Limited Edition (of 7000) version in a lovely titanium colour reminiscent of the OM-3 T. So do I use it as much as I intended? Of course not! It ended up being far too precious. Instead I use the black E-M5 Mark II with broken LCD screen that I got dirt cheap.

[Alex Mercado]

Photographers believed in the red dot, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning——
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

To Luke,

It’s pretty, isn’t it, old sport? Haven’t you ever seen it before? It has a lockable storage compartment under the luggage rack that is accessible from between the seats. (╭ರ_⊙ )

[Andreas]

My dream is a FF Panasonic Gx 8 with a Leica M or L mount!

[KeithB]

For the American view of the Tiger/M4 read "Deathtraps" by Belton Cooper. Hint, it was not the Tiger's that were the deathtraps. This was one of the sources for Brad Pitt's movie "Fury"