When Leica M10 first came to the world, I was mesmerized by its design. It’s smaller than its predecessor Leica M240 and it would support low light shooting which is usually not feasible with its predecessor! Since I’ve been saving to purchase Leica M, this was my perfect opportunity. Soon I found that I need to wait for months to get it as there are 60 more pre-order people before me.
Anyway, since I got my Leica M10, my life literally changed. I started shooting for corporate customers. Being a hobby photographer is fun but being a professional photographer, it’s more fun. I have to not only think about how I shoot it, but also I should satisfy customer’s need at the same time. This is more challenging but without challenge, you can’t move forward.
Leica M10 offered me two things.
1) Simplicity of shooting process : Before Leica M10, I’ve used various DSLR and Fujifilm mirrorless cameras, they are great but the problem with them is that I have to depend on its features as opposed to my skill. However with Leica M10, there isn’t much to set in terms of shooting options, so setting it to DNG+JPG(for backup just in case) is pretty much done. The rest is on me.
2) Split image focus through optical viewfinder. This is trickier at first. But once I get the hang of it, this is the best way of focusing in any circumstances. Even under low light where AF camera would have difficult time in focusing a dark object, as far as I can see it in my eyes, I could nail it down.
Leica M10 produces awesome quality pictures. Somehow, I feel transparent look and feel from the output which I haven’t felt from other cameras. Also color is so rich, if you take landscape photos, you don’t have to do much at the time of post processing because it’s already enough.
Dynamic range is also great. So if you wanted, you could make dark or bright point come alive however you like through post processing. (although JPG is not much use, DNG offers great DR experience.)
More than 50%, I shoot in low light conditions such as dark indoor or night shot. I don’t have to worry anymore because up to ISO6400 even noise makes the picture more prettier.
Most importantly Leica M10 does what it is supposed to do. In other words, I don’t have to rely on the preview image on the back LCD after shooting. Just like film camera, framing my target, shoot then move on. So I turn off back LCD at all times. This save battery life substantially. With two batteries, I could go on without charing for a week while traveling. (although, I take charger with me in just case.)
I have various Leica M bodies, but Leica M10 is the best Leica M so far. Probably I won’t upgrade it to Leica M10-P nor any future model because I don’t need more than what Leica M10 offers.