M10 Digital Rangefinder Camera (Silver)

Everything I hoped it would be. The colors are outstanding, the low light performance is unbelievable. I picked this up because I have always loved Leica's philosophy of the essentials and their build quality. I love shooting film photography and wanted the experience of film but in a digital format to have the instant results. This is my first Leica, The camera really feels like shooting film and has that experience like a film camera of slowing down and making sure you are getting what you hope for. Rangefinder experience is my favorite. The simplicity of the camera is amazing. The build quality is absolutely impressive. The ergonomics are ideal for my taste. The down side is the highlight dynamic range. It has good latitude in range minus the highlights. This camera likes to be underexposed. All that is needed in addition is an extra battery and nice lenses.

Operationally, this is a fantastic camera, as other reviewers say in more detail. Two things keep me from giving it 5 stars. First, the terrible battery life, which makes this my backup, not my go-to camera. $7K is a lot to pay for a backup camera. My trusty M262 will go all day with battery time to spare. Even using all the power-save features (e.g., no live view), this battery just lasts a couple of hours, about the same as the $5 aftermarket batteries that work great with my Sony A7. If you're going for light weight and short battery life, then make the camera compatible with one of the inexpensive Asian battery sizes...like the Panasonic batteries Leica uses in its consumer cameras. A $175 battery that only lasts a couple of hours feels like a scam. The second issue is the super slow performance with the EVF. When I bought the EVF I expected to use it in that mode most of the time. But the EVF lag time is so long that it makes the camera useless for fast-reaction time shots, such as street or event photography. Plus the EVF sucks battery life even faster. Again, might as well just use the 262. Every time Apple releases a new product, it's better IN EVERY WAY than the predecessor. No compromises. Disappointing that an expensive brand like Leica doesn't follow suit.

Before I got this, I was using disposable film cameras. They had a lot of advantages but they’re harder to get and target doesn’t process film anymore. A $7000 manual-focus camera makes a lot of sense to me. Plus when you’re as cool, hip and retro as me, you can’t be foolin with no dslr. It’s gotta be a rangefinder all the way. The pictures are ok, but not great cuz I can’t afford a lens, but still they’re taken with a Leica so they’re better than anyone else’s. Now I understand the hype about Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eddie Adams and so many others. They took great photos only cuz they had Leicas. Any other gear and we never would’ve heard of them.