Leica M 240 Image Sample Gallery now online, will be updated every few days
Hello to all! I am on my way to Illinois for 8 days to visit family and will be shooting loads of images with the Fuji X100s, M 240 and RX1. I just put up a gallery for the M 240 where images will be added as I get them so keep an eye on it HERE. You can also access it under the “About Me” tab above. This is where all M 240 images taken by me while I continue to evaluate the camera will be placed. Enjoy! Also, the EXIF data is embedded in each image and as always, you must click the image for a better view. Thanks to all for being here!
I totally agree with you sony has climbed a mountain and there is very little difference if any between the 2 cameras
I can’t tell those images from Sony NEX. Still waiting for NEX FF cam.
Thank you for the input. I agree with you about new FF Sony, but I don’t really mind if I can tell SONY FF images from NEXs. I’m just waiting for a non-crop small body that have a good focus peaking for my favorite 35mm legacy lenses. Current NEX sensor is already more than I want. I shoot film all the time, which resolution and ISO are far below any of today’s digital cameras. LOL
As regards pricing for a Sony FF and excellent Zeiss lenses, I guess you are wright. However, it will not be close to Leica prices and most likely cost about a third. Yet it´s sensor and electronics (e.g. EVF refresh rate, focus peaking, EVF quality) will handily beat the M which looks already slightly outdated in these areas. Concerning superior German build quality, two weeks ago I brought my M9, MP and Summrit 75mm to Leica for repair and maintenance. Particularly the Summarit almost falling into its pieces was really disappointing. I only once sent in another camera make for repair. And guess which system I baby.
I totally agree the images are very nice but they’re not magical like the M 9
A Nissan GT-R or MorganPlus8 analogy. The Nissan beats the Morgan by country miles in every respect and smokes most Ferraris, Maseratis etc, except in the fun and user experience category. At least for some.
I look at the pictures again and…
I think the CCD works better with the leica glasses.
Anyway.
I had many leica M, all the leica glasses. My father is a leica collector, he own MP-3, noctilux, and other crazy expensive gears from Leica.
And, he agrees with me :
Today, it is just to be nostalgic to have a leica.
Japanese cameras are far better in everyway.
When the leica has been born, it was the right choice : why ? Because it was the most compact camera ever made and best optical quality to MAKE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY…(But wait a minute ? What are we talking about ? All time, good optics were good. Yes, try to find some very old daguereotypes : they are crazy sharp, amazingly clear, no distortion.)
Cartier Bresson had a leica because it was the best way to take pictures in a very discret way in the street. No for family, rarely for portrait.
Today, Cartier bresson would probably have something like the RX100 or the RX1. Something with good picture quality, good lens, and with AF of course !
The M9 is HUGE comparing with RX100 or RX1 or X100/X100s or even other good compact cameras.
Again, I had many leica and when I do street photography with the RX100 I was REALLY invisible, ultra fast, can make picture without looking into a viewfinder, take pictures impossible to take with a Leica. The AF is 99% of time better than RF, well ok, except if you do hyperfocal (no choice), but you still have a camera body bigger than sony or fuji compact camera.
Leica is not invisible, and today, some people know and can recognize the leica, and will think that :
1) You are rich
2) You make a show off
If you add that :
– Hard to share a leica with other friends or people : they can’t use it. Too much complicated to have the focus for a newbie. (It was a night during my last trip in Venice : I had to keep an eye on the M9 all the time (it was just 9000 euros camera) and impossible to ask to someone to take picture of me and my friends…
– street photography is going to die little by little. Cities are less beautiful than before, people have ugly closes, cars are ugly, ads are ugly, and sometimes people want to beat you when you take a picture of them… Yes you still can make wonderfull picture, to show all these ugly things.
Anyway.
Everybody can say that leica is beautiful and blablabla, it is true BUT nothing can justify to pay so much money to use a very very very old style camera, and so big and not very light (the M is bigger than the M9 wich is bigger than the M6/7, it is absurd for a legendary discret camera – An M240 + a noctilux 1.2 is very near than a 6D with a 50 1.2).
With the price of a Leica M240 + a Lux 35 asph, you can have an X100s full option + a 5D M3 and some amazing canon primes and some money to travel. You can have the choice and have cameras for ALL situations.
As a conclusion, all I can say is : when sony will be released a RX2 and you’ll can change the lenses, leica will just become a brand for show off people and nostalgic.
Have a nice sunday.
Though not particularly eloquent, Valentin makes some very good points. The RX1 has made the Leica a bit of a nostalgic piece of hand candy IMO, especially costing a new Leican $11K for camera and one lens. You can say all you want about the Leica/rangefinder experience but try to convince me to spend eight more thousand dollar$ to have it with a straight face and I’ll call you on it. Today with so many cameras taking excellent photographs, we are left to contemplate signatures. Leica had the edge in that department until the RX1 came along which also has its own unique signature from f2-4ish. If the next version of the RX1 has ILC, built in EVF (3.2M dot OLED) and maintains its superb IQ and signature, then the folks at Leica are going to need to step up their game immensely. The new M just didn’t do enough to fend off the superior Japanese engineering in the RX1. The gap has effectively been closed and I doubt if Sony intends to lift their foot off of the gas. It is my hope that this unforeseen development has caused a serious shake up at Leica and they are busy building the M11, and I hope it blows my mind!
Pip Pip 😉
Thanks a lot, Steve!
What is your trick to get such beautiful lights and colours?
Best,
Klaus
No tricks, these are all for the most part straight RAW conversions. The B and W are using Alien Skin. Thanks!
Got’a give it to ya Steve… you’re a dedicated man, riding the wave lol
Keep it up!
Thank you.
Best regards