A look at the new Leica M (video) with John Dooley

A look at the new Leica M (video)

Check it out guys! A quick look at the new Leica M via youtube in case some of you have missed it. I have not had one come through here yet but am looking forward to seeing the next evolution of this classic camera. Take a look below and comment to let us know what YOU think of this new M.

The M can be pre-ordered at any of this site’s sponsors. Ken Hansen via e-mail at khpny19@aol.com, PopFlash Photo, The Pro Shop or Dale Photo.  I have heard conflicting reports of actual ship dates but expect anytime between Feb-April 2013 so who knows when it will actually hit the streets.

 

45 Comments

  1. As shown in the video, attachment of the new Leica flash bracket seems to block the bouncing of flash to the right rear or side. So then what good is it?

  2. They took the simplicity and the beauty of the m9p and crammed a sony nex into it. I personally won’t be purchasing this. Gonna wait for a M10E, where it’s just a M240 sensor in a MP body style.

    • It is the wave of the future. Cameras, like cars, have become computers. Leica realizes this and feels a need to compete. That being said, the M will still be a Leica…just a more modern one.

  3. there are quite a few dust spots in the sky at 2.18… hmm… seems like the new m is pretty prone to it!

      • well… seeing a lot of dust spots in a camera that probably hasnt been used before it was sent to this guy leads me to the conclusion!

  4. no tiltable screen .. why?

    a functional design award for the additional grip. i hope the other companies (Fuji, Sony .. ) will copy that and drive it further. with various modules: fast coprozessors, virtual machines, high res hdmi output …

    • The first time I saw the finger loop on the M9 Titanium, I knew I had to get it. Fantastic yet simple design… Then I found out that camera cost $20k. Ooops… On theTitanium, you don’t need the additional base plate which is better IMHO…

  5. Nice, apparently with the same top cover as the M8, however lacking the second small lcd screen (framecounter and batterylevel) which was rather practical on the M8

  6. the stiils side looks fine but looks like there are rolling shutter problems (same in canon 5d mke/3) from this vid which I am guessing was not shot on a leica M. Also a good source says there is a headphone jack…vital for monitoring audio. Never rely on just levels

  7. Nice video. Its been around for a couple of months but still good to see it again. Can’t wait to try one out. I am happy with my M9 but an EvF and better ISO would be a nice addition. D!RK

  8. It looks as a very capable camera, the modular concept is a win.
    Video performance looks very good imho, i found the colors in the footage very pleasant.

  9. The Leica M will be a great camera, and it will be a great success for Leica. By modularity, it can be transformed from a simple rangefinder with classical optical viewfinder to a professional latest-technology-body, and by this will easily outperform other systems. It is unique, also in the sense that it does not have autofocus.
    I think we already see an autofocus option with new AF-M lenses on the horizon. This will be the next logical development step, based on exposed-sensor-technology. You can even combine this with the optical viewfinder: Add AF phase detection sensors onto the photo sensor, open the shutter and just read out the AF sensor data, all the while the photographer looks through the viewfinder, where a peaking point will indicate “in focus”. And based on the LED frame line technology, it should also be possible to bring in or switch on more than just a central AF point in the viewfinder. Optionally, this could also all be displayed in the EVF, based on the full data available from the exposed sensor, as done by all other common manufacturers. I also think that it is possible to add AF connectors to the M mount, so that the compatibility to the current lense line-up can be maintained.

  10. I’m into photography just under 6 months and I own an NEX 6. Though I’m enjoying with this camera at the moment, I feel that I would need a better system and definitely a FF compact. Currently the only option is the pricey Leica M. I’ve already started saving some money to go for it in 2 years time from now. But hopefully at that time, Sony and Fuji would have their FF compact systems out and I would have options to choose from. But whatever it is, the Leica M is a masterpiece and should make oneself proud owning it.

      • Full frame sounds much better than medium format. More filling, not so much like halfway somewhere. In any case, if he has retained his enthusiasm in two years, he is right that there will be several interesting FF options at reasonable prices.

        I hope Leica remains at the top of their lensmaking game, because I do think the bodies will be a harder job to sell in years to come. Retro style trends change all the time. Right now postwar retro fashion sensibilities are aligned perfectly with Leicas. My Dad didn’t have one but his Minolta was a rangefinder so I do have a warm spot for them. I’m not alone in that taste, but it is simple nostalgia and changes as time passes. In a decade my mid-80s Canon T70 may be in fashion, motorized, black plastic grip, LCD on top, like I had in college (still do, with a sticky shutter, waiting for it to become fashionable.)

        Leica? Those old-looking, mechanical cameras? I’m sure they’ll still appeal to the same purists who use split-cane fly-fishing rods, and wear real Panama hats, but will they still be able to charge high prices as a status symbol when they fall out of fashion. As they eventually will. Right now the buyers of status symbols keep the company healthy enough to make quality cameras for serious shooters. Without fashionistas, the company may yet again slide into insolvency. I hope not. I hope Leica can innovate and come up with cameras true to their history but competitive with the super-cameras of the future.

  11. It seems to me that the big advantage Leica always had over DSLRs, mainly small size for FF is now lost. By the time one adds the EVF, the grip and the 2nd flash shoe one has a camera as large and heavy, maybe even larger and heavier than many DSLRs. I bet the Nikon D600 is smaller and weighs less and it has AF in addition to all of the other features of the M9 (yes with adapters you can use R lenses). In fact, either a Nikon or Canon or Sony DSLR may offer significant advantages in size and weight. I seriously doubt that it will produce a better image than the RX1.

    • Hmm, I don’t think you comparison is completely fair, since the D800 doesn’t have an EVF built in. Had he just installed the flash on the top hot shoe, the system would be more compact. I think he was trying to show how modular the new system is, and show off a bit with absolutely everything connected…

      • Furthermore he said in the video that the body is the same size as the M9 which was a good achievement with the added weather sealing…

    • Look at the whole package. You can change lenses (which are the best in the world) on the smallest FF package avail. Plus, it’s a rangefinder. If you don’t want a rangefinder look elsewhere. At the heart it’s still a rangefinder.

      If you don’t want a rangefinder get an SLR.

  12. Well, maybe it’s just me…but I don’t “get it”. They have taken everything that drew me to the M9, and done away with it. Yes, yes, I know it’s still there…but somehow the purity seems to have been compromised. While I can see how this camera will appeal to many (and will doubtless sell WELL) I guess I am kind of left wondering why I wouldn’t just buy a D800? Or an X-E1?

    (and don’t say “lenses”…we’ve heard that one already.)

    Anyway, I’m sure many will enjoy…but my money will be spent on a used M9.

    • A couple extra buttons won’t change they way you handle the new M compared to the M9. The experience will be the same. What you’ll possibly find frustrating with the M9 is its heavily outdated processor, poor LCD, and laughable ISO performance. If you can get over those facts the M9 is definitely a joy to use based on it’s simplicity in function and design, however, I felt a bit cheated considering the price of the M9.

      “Purists” will say those things hardly matter, however when your’e spending that kind of money you’d at least expect an lcd screen on par with your phone.

      I’m looking forward to the new M as it finally will have the ISO and movie functions on par with DSLR’s but with the compact and discrete body of a rangefinder.

      • That’s the problem with M cameras now though, the horribly outdated sensors will always be such, in 3 years this will be horribly outdated. The high price and nature of digital means there is less of a market for those wishing to spend a ton of money on one and only one camera, because they will need to continually update.

        No doubt they will retain their value a bit more than Canons, Nikons or Olympus’s buthow much do you think an M9 will be worth when the successor of this is out, i’m guessing about $1,500 at most, which is a significant loss.

        • Actually you don’t *need* to continually update. The older cameras still take the same great pictures they always did. M8s go for more than $1500 and they were introduced in 2006. Usually those *needs* are just perceived ones, and don’t enhance one’s photography.

        • Well I have just added an M8.2 to my ‘current’ M4, and I am finding the quality very impressive. Just because a better camera comes along does not make the old camera suddenly worse.

    • I believe that is why they retained the M9 as the ME which is even cleaner/simpler than the M9, as well as the M7/MP…

    • I have a D800E and an M9p. Why wouldn’t you get a D800E? Well, compare the size of the Nikon 35mm f/1.4 to the Leica 35mm f/1.4. There’s a start….Hold them in your hands. I have both. No comparison. Two totally different experiences. One is not better than the other, just different. Pick the one you want.

  13. Damn! That is a hot camera! I think its going to be a huge success, how can it not be? Amazing high ISO, focus peaking, live view, weather sealing, and HD video …. I want one!

  14. I believe I’ve seen this video before. I could have waited for the M instead of buying the M-E. But I don’t think I’d see the camera for several months since I did not get on any list. I’d assume there are many classic Leica users that will poopoo this piece but I’d say there are many that can’t wait for when this one arrives. Especially those that have a big investment in R gear. And it does hurt that its got weather proofing.

    I think Leica has hit a home run no matter what your opinion may be. For the classic shooter you don’t have to turn on Live View and it would appear that the movie button won’t get in the way either.

    Since its CMOS we can bet that the ISO performance will be much better than the CCD based cameras and once we see some “real” samples from the DNG the question of COLOUR will prove itself.

    All in all its a winner in my book, not that I know anything as a newbie.

  15. The latest ETA, that I personally received directly from Leica, is the last two weeks in January (like the next two weeks?). That was the window I was given in early Dec. by their National Sales Mgr. It all depends on when they actually arrive from Germany. You can rest assured that Allendale will ship them out as soon as they get them. Call now at 561-253-2606 and get in the cue. Art NeJame, Mgr., Leica Boutique, Palm Beach.

    • I’m not so sure about that, since it seems to be completely different from what all other rumors say (some of them also from very credible sources). I would love to get one in the next three or four weeks though, since I’m on the waiting list since the Photokina announcement.

      The video was on YouTube shortly after announcement of the camera, and I like it very much. The enthusiasm of the guy came close to my experience with it on Photokina. I’m really looking forward to it. – And I have no fear, that a CMOS will give us good colors over the M9 CCD. Before I got the M9, I have used the Epson R-D1 for quite some time. That one had a CMOS from 2004 and for me the colors of the R-D1 were much nicer than the M9 colors. So CMOS can deliver fantastic colors.

      • The R-D1 has the same CCD as the Nikon D100. Another argument for CCD. The RD-1 files are special, like the M8 – if not better in some regards.

        • You are right. I guess, that weakens my argument a little bit… 😉 But at leat it shows, there are other sensors that the Kodak CCD, that can deliver really good colors and have “film-like” characteristics.

  16. I hope that the new Leica M will have a good color rendition compared to the M9 whix is CCD. If the Leica M will produce clean high ISO images at 2500 above, definitely, it will become a sure winner. Clean images at ISO 2500 will produce lesser blurry images when shooting handheld in poorly lit sceanarios.

Comments are closed.