Leica M - A New Best In Show - And Now Also For Studio

I do not own a Leica, though I have done so in the past when film was my only option. I thought them wonderful, but I when I transitioned to digital capture i realised that my studio work would not be served by a rangefinder camera - no matter how precise and sophisticated it was.

Perhaps I should reconsider - Leica have produced a new camera called the M. ( I could feign surprise at this choice but it is too early in the blog for that...) It has been punted around the internet with the model number of 240, but it is officially the M and is officially here.

I have only shot one picture of the front of it because frankly there is very little new to see up there bar one small silver button. It looks like an M-series camera...which means you can trace the design lineage back through all the rangefinders to the M3 of the 1950's. It just looks like a Leica...

Round the back the new is more evident. See the electronic viewfinder up there on the top? See the LV button on the left hand side of the body? Evidence that the image going onto the sensor can now be piped through the system to the user and this means that there is true is true through-thelens viewing. The previous caveat about using the camera system in a studio - the parallax error problem - has vanished.

See the new control dish and thumb wheel on the right hand side of the body. Pure luxury chasing menu selections and moving the viewpoint on the screen - very smooth indeed.

See the silver button on the front just under your forefinger? Focus zoom control with a small click in.

See the big rectangular windows up the front and round eyepiece at the back. Optical rangefinder like it always has been - precise and fast.

I have been told that it has a bit bigger battery than previous models. Same sort of SD card slot protected by the bottom panel. Secure from even the most absent-minded of photographers.

Have we got one here for you to try? Yes. Ring us a book a trial run with the camera. If you use it in a studio - for closeup or macro work - please bring some of he files in to show me. Please.

Hello - I'm Here From Leica To Help You

Last Friday night - rainy and cold - saw a visit from the Leica men. And they brought something new and marvellous to see - The Leica M camera.

What? Leica M cameras have been around for years! Not this one - it is the new Leica M - the one that has been reported in the press with the model number of 240.

As you can see from the photographs, there were a great number of great people who visited the Shoot Photography building right next door to our shop and by all reports they did not go away, hungry, thirsty, or disappointed. Apparently the Germans make beer and sausages - this is a revelation to me and recommends them to my notice in the future - and there was a good selection on offer.

The other things on offer - the range of Leica digital cameras, the wonderful Leica lenses, and the new Leica M camera - were ably demonstrated by the Leica representatives and the Camera Electronic staff in attendance. There is nothing like a good hands-on experience to stimulate the imagination and set the hopes high. Leica cameras are certainly the peak of aspiration for many photographers and the new M sets  a very high standard indeed.