Mic Drop Moment: M10-D with thumb lever

[Keith]

Nice new camera from Leica. Don’t get what mic drop moment this supposed to be.. Didn’t Epson rangefinder have same faux film wind thingy and every now and then it’s lauded here on RFF.

I like the control via phone aspect of it, as Leica can deliver updates easier to phone than the camera. +Phone screens are better than cameras have anyways.

Price.. well that’s another story 🙂

Nothing faux about the Epson's lever ... it cocks the shutter!

 

[jarski]

Nothing faux about the Epson's lever ... it cocks the shutter!

ok thx for clarifying.. I thought it served the same purpose on both. using the thing for mere thumb rest does sound quite weird decision. but would be nice to try in real life how it works.

 

[jsrockit]

Nothing faux about the Epson's lever ... it cocks the shutter!

I would say that cocking the shutter on a digital camera isn't exactly real either... was it necessary?

 

[RichC]

I would say that cocking the shutter on a digital camera isn't exactly real either... was it necessary?

Yes. The Epson was literally a film camera (a Bessa) with a sensor stuffed into it...! The dials on top were Seiko watch innards (Epson and Seiko are the same company.)

So the Epson was a real Heath Robinson camera! The Bessa shutter is entirely mechanical, hence the cocking lever...

Epson made only a few thousand R-D1 cameras, so creating a digital camera from scratch with an electronic shutter was never on the cards. Hence the reason for adapting a film camera.

It's a proof of concept that a sensor could be inserted into something like an Olympus OM or Nikon F series film camera without the ludicrously large add-on created by Leica for its R series SLR or the later (and hopeless) kickstarter project (did that ever get made?). Unfortunately, there's no viable market for such a camera. Wish there were as I'd love a digital OM2... (The Epson R-D1 was essentially a vanity project to showcase Epson as a company - it was never designed as a commercial product to make money.)

 

[jsrockit]

Thanks Rich... I see what you mean. However, if Leica did the same... it would not have been because they were using available parts.

 

[taemo]

This is probably the best M10-D video that I've seen, really in-depth and philosophical.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HUHRjFuB-E

This camera really speaks to me, for me it is finally the Leica M camera with a digital sensor.
I like the minimalist design without the extra buttons and the LCD screen on the back. It simply puts all the controls and decision to the photographer.
I wonder if Leica reads this forum as I remember suggesting years ago on an M240 or M-D thread about no LCD screen but still having the option to use the optional EVF if desired.
The faux lever is a nice addition, I use it all the time on my film M as thumb rest to improve my holding, it not cocking the shutter doesn't bother me at all, actually glad that I don't have to as it speeds up the operation.

The only thing that still concerns me regarding this camera is the on/off switch, how easy is it to switch on (without accidentally going to WiFi mode) and how fast is the start-up time as I know with the M240 sometimes it was 1-2s.

Any RFF that have a M10-D yet?