Leica M10-R
The classic Leica rangefinder get a megapixel makeover.
The idea of a digital version of Leica’s M rangefinder camera got off to a shaky start in 2006 with the M8, but the concept has been evolving ever since and the M10-R is arguably the best execution yet.
The challenge for Leica has been to balance the key traditional elements of its legendary 35mm RF cameras with the consumer expectations of a contemporary digital camera… which is hard to do without compromising something somewhere. Consequently, these will never be mainstream cameras – and, in fact, Leica sees the exclusivity as being desirable – but M10-R owners can expect competitive imaging performance… just in a very different package to a DSLR or a mirrorless camera.
At the heart of this is the M10-R’s 40.8 megapixels fullframe sensor, which is essentially the colour version of the current M10 Monochrom’s B&W-only CMOS imager.
To extract even more performance, the sensor doesn’t have an optical low-pass filter. The native sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 100 to 50,000, and JPEGs can be captured in one of three image sizes, while RAW files are recorded in the Adobe DNG format with 14-bit color at 7864x5200 pixels.
As with the other M10 series models, there’s no provision for recording video so there are neither HDMI or USB connections. The single memory card slot is for UHS-I speed SD devices. The sensor is matched to Leica’s current-generation Maestro II processor, enabling continuous shooting at up to 4.5fps with a 2GB buffer memory for bursts of up to 40 frames.
The classic Leica combined viewfinder/rangefinder – which was a revolution when introduced on the M3 in 1954 – is supplemented by a fixed 3-inch LCD monitor with a resolution of 1.037 million dots and touchscreen controls.
The body is magnesium alloy with brass top and bottom plates, and sealing against dust or moisture. The mechanical shutter is the same quieter system that was introduced the M10-P and has a speed range of 125-1/4000 second with flash sync up to 1/180 second. As always with a digital M, exposure control is via either aperture-priority auto or manual modes, but the longest timed exposure is now up to 16 minutes (versus four minutes on the other M10 models).
The colour reproduction balances accuracy and saturation very well, and the sensor’s wide dynamic range means plenty of exposure latitude when shooting in RAW so, if the centre-weighted metering does underexpose, it’s easily corrected post-camera.
The M10-R is still essentially a prestige camera for the purists or somebody who simply likes to do things differently, but it is also now right in the mix in terms of the image quality standards being set by the leaders in mirrorless cameras. Paul Burrows