Well, here you go Leica fans. You now have your digital camera for real. Leica has finally bought into the standard digital mantra that is endlessly recited on just about every forum I have ever read.
If you are not interested in the new features like Live View, Focus Peaking or Video, you do not have to use them. You can still use this camera just like any other Leica M rangefinder since the M3.
Enjoy those features, but you are now on a very, very slippery slope. With the new M more of the basic values that made a "Leica" a "Leica" are now compromised and you will not be able to turn back the clock. Unfortunately for Leica fans, Canon, Nikon, even Olympus or Fuji, do this digital thing wayy better and far cheaper than Leica can. Leica still retains it lens compatibility, but so do Pentax and Nikon. And now you can buy any old Fuji mirrorless camera with an adapter and use all your Leica glass. The differentiation is quickly eroding. I think that the time is quickly approaching that Leica will become like Zeiss Ikon.
When I purchased my M9 I actually thought that Leica "got it." There was still a market in the world for simple, manually operated, digital full frame cameras. When the Monochrom came out I was even more convinced. Here was a simple, manually operated, digital camera that shot only black and white! That was a gutsy move. Unfortunately I am not so sure anymore.
At least they will continue to market the Monochrom and the M-E. Let's hope that they do not become what the MP seems to be, the bitter end of a long line of beautiful, mechanical cameras, that do exactly what the photographer wants, not what some algorithm wants.
Ahh well, back to my Leica II.
