Leica M10 Monochrom Digital Rangefinder Camera

Leica M10 Monochrom Camera Summary

The Leica M10 Monochrom provides fine art and other discerning photographers with an entirely newly developed black and white sensor presenting 40.89MP of exquisite detail from a digital rangefinder system. This new black and white sensor allows the camera to capture more light with a lower native ISO 160 to an impressive maximum ISO 100,000. This places the ISO performance firmly within reach of even the most advanced DSLR’s available today. It also boasts wider dynamic range capabilities over its’ predecessor the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246.

Users will have access to a wealth of existing Leica M-mount lenses for the system including highly popular models such as the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 and beautifully crafted Zeiss C Sonnar T* 50mm F1.5 ZM. Leica R lenses can also be mounted with the optional R to M Lens Adapter expanding lens possibilities even further. Users will enjoy unparalleled tones, rich details and razor sharp images when pairing this camera with the very best lenses which Leica and Zeiss offer.

Despite the new higher resolution, the Type 6376 rangefinder is no slouch being able to buffer 10 RAW DNG files up to 2GB. The body has been adapted from the M10-P with a dedicated ISO wheel, silent shutter and touch screen functionality within a slim design. It also retains Leica’s signature all metal die cast magnesium chassis with brass top and base panels, together with black chrome plating. In fact Leica have taken the body design one stage further with the removal of all colour from the exterior, including the red dot and top panel markings. This provides users with ultimate discretion in the form of a truly stunning monochrome camera design.

Key features

The M10 Monochrom is a dedicated black and white stills only rangefinder camera featuring a host of enhancements over the previous model. M10-P users will be able to mount any number of accessories as these systems are so closely related. These include useful additions such as the 2.4MP Visoflex Typ 020 Electronic Viewfinder (which also provides GPS data) or the M10 Black Hand Grip. Spare batteries are the same model as the 6376 also uses BP-SCL5.

Leica M10 Monochrom In More Detail

Sensor: Brand new 40.9MP monochrome CMOS Sensor, 24x36mm without colour or low-pass filters.

Processor: Leica Maestro II

Display: 3” TFT monitor (1.04 million pixels) Corning Gorilla Glass

Material: All-metal die cast magnesium body, synthetic leather covering. Brass top panel and base, black chrome plated.

Exposure times: 16 min - 1/4000s. This enables fine art and landscape photographers to blur water and cloud motion in signature long exposure images.

ISO sensitivity: 160-100,000 With well controlled noise

Resolution: DNG: 7864 x 5200 pixels (40,89 MP)

JPEG: 7840 x 5184 pixels (40,64 MP), 5472 x 3648 pixels (20 MP), 2976 x 1984 pixels (6MP)

Storage media: SD cards up to 2GB/SDHC cards up to 32GB/SDXC cards up to 2TB

Flash sync time: 1/180 s; slower shutter speeds can be used, if working below sync speed: Automatic changeover to TTL linear flash mode with HSS-compatible system flash units

Eye piece: Calibrated to -0.5 dpt.; corrective lenses from -3 to +3 diopter available

Magnification: 0.73x for all lenses

Image field limiter: By activating two bright lines each: For 35 and 135mm, or for 28 and 90mm, or for 50 and 75mm; automatic switching when lens is attached

Parallax compensation: The horizontal and vertical difference between the viewfinder and the lens is automatically compensated according to the relevant distance setting, i.e. the viewfinder bright-line automatically aligns with the subject detail recorded by the lens

Matching viewfinder and actual image: At a range setting of 2m, the bright-line frame size corresponds exactly to the sensor size of approx. 23.9 x 35.8mm; at infinity setting, depending on the focal length, approx. 7.3% (28mm) to 18% (135mm) more is recorded by the sensor than indicated by the corresponding bright line frame and slightly less for shorter distance settings than 2m

Rear LCD screen: 3” colour TFT LCD monitor with 16 million colours and 1,036,800 pixels, approx. 100 % image field, glass cover of extremely hard, scratch-resistant Gorilla® glass, colour space: sRGB, for Live-View and review mode, displays

Wi-Fi: Complies with IEEE 802.11b/g/n standard (standard Wifi protocol), channel 1-11, encryption method: Wifi-compatible WPA/WPA2 encryption, access method: Infrastructure mode

Black and white sensors are known to capture more detail at slightly higher resolution than equivalent colour counterparts. This is down to a combination of removing the need for colour to be recorded at pixel level, not requiring de-mosaicing (or debayering) and the removal of a low pass filter in this instance. These all allow equivalent ISO’s to gain more light and the sensor to capture more detail, as well as dealing with highlight clipping more readily. Seeing is believing in this case, with the M10 model delivering unprecedented levels of detail with rich tonal graduations and a wide dynamic range. Few other camera manufacturers have developed digital monochrome-only cameras with notable exceptions from Phase One. This means Leica are leading the field in this department aiming at professional and advanced enthusiasts.

What’s in the box?

• Leica M10 Monochrom
• Carrying strap
• Battery
• Charger and Cables
• Quick start guide
• 3 months Adobe Lightroom trial