Leica M( ) and M-E: first impressions

[swoop]

http://camerasize.com/compare/#389,213

So it seems they are the same. Also based on this it looks like the Thumbs Up will still fit as well as it starts to flare out at the outside of the power switch. And on the Milestone the thumb nub is further out.

Also the extra weight is likely the new battery which appears about twice as large as the M8/M9 battery.

 

[maitani]

THE INCREASE IN THICKNESS IS THE THUMB REST NOT THE BODY.
THE BODY DIMENSIONS ARE THE SAME AS M9
PETE

if so, those are great news, btw the huge battery, is great news too... In 2 days I will know when I will get my first hands-on

 

[swoop]

screen grab from theverge.com. Battery seems about twice as large and should account for the added weight. Hopefully the life is twice as long as well. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be half the price.

M9 top with Thumbs Up.

Milestone top. Appears the Thumbs Up should fit fine if dimensions are equal. Also noticed the hot shoe shape has been changed and they removed that annoying diagonal and spacer. Generic flashes should fit better now.

 

[Spicy]

That comparo site says 14% thicker body (a lot, proportionally), excluding protrusion.

 

[RSilva]

Just curious. Could I use my contax g lens with this camera with an adapter like the one we have for m43 or Nex?
That would be awesome.

 

[swoop]

Great overview here.
http://www.reddotforum.com/content.php/278-Photokina-2012-Day-1-The-Leica-M

Appears the battery rating is about 800 shots. Awesome.

Also the bottom plate has a plastic window for Eye-Fi cards if you're into Wi-Fi transfer. I personally use one when on family vacations. Images go from camera to tablet to family.

The tripod mount is no longer in the bottom plate but in the camera itself. The bottom plate simply has a hole in the middle. Should be more solid for the 3 times a year I use a tripod.

Also yes, you can input copyright info into exif/iptc. This is huge for me as a photojournalist. One less thing to worry about. My images will always carry my name.

Also amazing. Spot metering is now available. That's going to make life a lot easier in certain situations.

 

[migtex]

It must be a new type of DSLR I guess!
They should learn from Fuji..

 

[Godfrey]

It must be a new type of DSLR I guess!
They should learn from Fuji..

It's not a DSLR. It's a full-frame, 35mm format rangefinder camera with TTL electronic viewing options AND large-sensor 1080p video capture capability. A perfect combination for those who prefer using a rangefinder (the primary user base of RFF ... ?) but occasionally would like to be able to use a long lens, or a macro lens, and for those few who might like to work with video.

I'd say they've taught Fuji a few things. Such as: you don't need a fancy sensor with non-standard Bayer mosaic, making for difficult to process raw files, to make great image quality. And: rangefinder users want a rangefinder focusing system, not a camera that just looks like a rangefinder. And: when you do provide Live View and and EVF, fer gosh sake make it a good one with focus peaking so that it can be used to focus a lens properly.

eh?

 

[Godfrey]

Just curious. Could I use my contax g lens with this camera with an adapter like the one we have for m43 or Nex?
That would be awesome.

Contax G cameras have a slightly shorter lens mount register than M-bayonet mount, and the lenses' focusing helicoid is driven through the screwdriver coupling to the body. While there are some companies that have adapted them to M-bayonet mount, it's an expensive proposition and means modifying each lens individually, and permanently, to do so.

Micro-FourThirds and NEX lens mount register are much shorter than M-bayonet and provide working space of 10-12 mm for an adapter and a focusing system coupler. That's why you can build adapters for Contax G lenses to these systems with relative ease and do not have to custom modify each lens.

 

[Godfrey]

I really hope that's the case. I'd like to see M9 and "new M" side by side. Even with that protrusion though I'd feel more comfortable with a Thumbs Up on it. I wonder if the current model will fit or if there's going to be a new Thumbs Up just for the "new M"

Personally, having tried a TU and a Thumbie, I prefer the camera without either and fitted with a half-case. Both of the thumb rests proved more than I wanted.

The new M's thumb-rest cum control dial, and the repositioned four way controller, look even better: I find the M9's four way controller and annular control ring a little clumsy at times.

 

[Godfrey]

M vs M9 size ...

http://camerasize.com/compare/#389,213

Very interesting. The M9's 4way control and dial stands much more proud of the body than the new M components. The bodies shift as you toggle them in the top view overlay mode.

However, the overall size looks to be very very similar. I doubt it will make a substantive difference in feel and balance. (And it will be nice to have that control dial slimmed down and out of the way ... I have felt it obtrusive on the M9 since I got mine.)

 

[fotomeow]

From Leica AG website:
1. M camera:
Dimensions: approx. 139 x 42 x 80 mm
(5,5 x 1,7 x 3,1 in.)
Weight: 680 g (23.9 oz)
Weight WITHOUT battery ????????

2. M9 & M9-P
Dimensions (W x D x H) approx. 139 x 37 x 80 mm (51/2 x 11/2 x 3 1/6 in.).
Weight (with battery) M9 585 g (20.6 oz), M9-P 600 g (21.2 oz).

3. M-E
Dimensions: (W x D x H) approx. 139 x 37 x 80 mm
(5,5 x 1,7 x 3,1 in.)
Weight: 585 g (20.6 oz)

4. Monochrome
Dimensions (L × H × D) Approx. 139 × 80 × 37 mm (353 × 203 × 94 in).
Weight (with battery) 600 g (21 oz).

 

[Godfrey]

Before the announcements came out I was wetting myself with anticipation of Live View and video and hoped that it wouldn't be crazy expensive. Now that it's here, I seem to have changed my mind...

Mine is the opposite experience.

I was ambivalent prior to the announcement ... after all, I have an M9 and have been more than delighted with its capabilities and image quality.

But now that I see what they've produced, and read further the features, see it in use, etc, the more excited I become. This is the camera I've been waiting for through this past decade of tumultuous change and development. A camera that produces a fusion ... Now I can have just ONE set of lenses from ultra wide to ultra tele, a rangefinder which I prefer when I'm working with my usual stuff, a TTL framing/focusing system when I'm doing or long long lenses macro, and only one body's controls and capabilities to learn.

One I obtain the new M, I'll sell off the remains of my DSLR kit (haven't touched it in half a year already), the GXR kit (lovely, but no longer needed), and reduce my lens kit down to what I need for the M, the M9 (if I keep it) and the CL and M4-2. I'll keep the X2 for a pocketable. So everything I shoot with will once again be the 24x36 mm format, one modest set of six-seven lenses will suffice for everything (21mm to 400mm), and there will be only just one body's controls and processing requirements to deal with. AND it's weather sealed. AND it can do video. AND the viewfinder articulates for the copy stand. AND... AND ... AND ...

My dream has come true. It's truly amazing.

 

[jarski]

M-E is still old school, M-M even more so. choose which you please.

 

[fotomeow]

The M issue I am most interested in is how loud the shutter recocking is.
The M8/9 was so g*dd*mn LOUD. Had to get rid of them. Needs to be quitter and
less earth-shaking for me ever to consider one again.

Second: the live view for the M doesnt interest me in and of itself. What I do like is that it allows accurate tele lens use.

 

[coelacanth]

Totally subjective and cosmetic only, but that big red dot is... eh... really big! (actually bigger than other M body red dots, right?)

Love to see the M-P variant in the future, but the front face might look too plain without the FL illuminator window...

Other cosmetic bits: I'm glad Leica found a way to put focus aid and movie buttons resembling the film M controls. It looks like Button Rewind M2. 😀 Maybe they'll do a limited edition with FL illumination window and bolted focus aid button and call it "M Classic" as modern M2.

 

[jarski]

The M issue I am most interested in is how loud the shutter recocking is.
The M8/9 was so g*dd*mn LOUD. Had to get rid of them. Needs to be quitter and less earth-shaking for me ever to consider one again.

dont think new shutter will be any quieter than M8.2 or M9, but could be wrong ofcourse. for me plain vanilla M8 "staple gun" shutter was just fine.

 

[swoop]

dont think new shutter will be any quieter than M8.2 or M9, but could be wrong ofcourse. for me plain vanilla M8 "staple gun" shutter was just fine.

I believe the shutter is new. I read that it's just as loud as the M8.2/M9 but the recock portion of the shutter is faster.

 

[coelacanth]

According to B&H, M-E is expected to be available on Oct 1st, and M on Jan 31st. I don't know how accurate this is though.

 

[jpfisher]

I got about 20 minutes of time with the camera today. I couldn't take it out and shoot, but did put my thoughts together in an article -- http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409915,00.asp