During the last two weeks I received many questions regarding the new Leica M10 camera. I will try to answer them all in this Q&A post. If you have any additional questions, please add them in the comment section and I will update this post. Here are the Q&A:
Q: One of my biggest complaints about the M240 was the limitation on long exposures: 60 secs at ISO 200, but only 8 secs at ISO 1600 and above. Does anyone know what the long exposure limits are on the M10?
A: Yes, this limitation is still there – I tested ISO 6400 and in bulb mode was able to get only 8 seconds exposure.
Q: How does the ISO dial work?
A: You can change the ISO by pulling the ISO selector up to unlock and then turn to select. You cannot change the ISO while the ISO dial is locked, but you can keep it unlocked while shooting for an easy and fast way to change the ISO.
Q: Is it possible to turn OFF long exposure noise reduction?
A: No, at least not that I am aware of – I could not find this option in the menu.
Q: Does the Leica M10 come with a free copy of Lightroom?
A: No, you only get a 90 days trial for Adobe Creative Cloud. I also did not see any offers for the LFI magazine subscription.
Q: Do you have an image of the 28mm frame lines inside the viewfinder?
A: This is how the 28mm frame lines look inside the new 0.73x viewfinder:
Q: Are the framelines in the M10 illuminated?
A: Yes, white color only (the M240 could do red as well).
Q: Can you change the focus peaking color?
A: Yes, there are four different options:
Q: How do you delete pictures on the M10 since there is no delete button?
A: You use the “Menu” button located right under the “Play” button, after pressing it you will get Delete Single, Delete Multi, Rate and Unrate All.
Q: Can the Live View electronic loupe be moved around?
A: Yes, there is a small cross mark you can move in Live View and the magnification patch will be on the selected spot.
Q: Why does the Leica M10 accessory hand grip have such a thick/tall base plate?
A: Not sure, I saw it in the store and did not like it. Just adding additional height to the camera. For me personally the grip would make sense if it had GPS or additional battery built-in. For comparison, the M9 hand grip was the same height as the original base plate.
Q: Is the tripod mount on the base plate like on the M9?
A: No, the tripod mount is on the actual camera body and there is a hole on the base plate (see picture above).
Q: Can you use the viewfinder magnifiers from the M Typ 240 with the new M10?
A: No, you will need the new “Leica thread adapter for M10” (see also the new set of Leica Correction II lenses).
Q: Does the Leica M10 have Gorilla or Saphire glass?
A: Gorilla glass (same as the M Typ 240). You can still buy a screen protector.
Q: How is the buffer of the M10?
A: Better, bigger and faster (2GB in the M10, 1GB in the M Typ 240).
Q: Is the Leica M 240 camera still in production?
A: Yes, see this interview with Leica executives.
Q: Can the Leica M10 be set to Adobe RGB color space?
A: No, at least not that I am aware of – I could not find this option in the menu.
Q: Does the Leica M10 offer uncompressed DNG files?
A: No, the M10 offers only compressed DNG files. Years ago, when the M9 was announced, I was told by Leica that there is no practical difference between compressed and uncompressed DNG files (see also this post explaining why Leica did it).
Q: Is it possible to turn OFF long exposure noise reduction?
A: No, at least not that I am aware of – I could not find this option in the menu.
Q: How is the M10 battery life?
A: The M10 battery life is not as good as on the M 240.
Q: Is the spirit level/virtual horizon still available?
A: No, the spirit level is removed and there is no option in the menu. I think they removed the entire sensor in order to keep up with the small size of the M10. Update: this feature will be added later with a firmware update.
Q: Does the M10 supports UHS-II memory cards?
A: I don’t think so. From the official technical specs released by Leica: “Storage media – SD cards up to 2GB/SDHC cards up to 32GB/SDXC cards up to 2TB” but you will probably benefit from faster speeds while transferring files to your computer when using a faster memory card.
Q: Can you transfer DNG (RAW) files from the M10 to a smartphone (Adobe Lightroom for Mobile now has DNG/RAW support in iOS 10)?
A: Yes, you can transfer DNG files directly to your iPhone and then edit them in Lightroom for iPhone (note: there is a new M app for iPhone, make sure you turn the “DNG to Camera Roll” option):
For additional Leica M10 coverage please follow the new Leica M10 camera Facebook group and the Leica M10 camera Facebook page.
Leica M10 pre-order links:
| US | Worldwide |
| B&H Adorama PopFlash Leica Boutique Palm Beach Leica Store San Francisco Leica Store Miami Tamarkin Classic Connection |
Meister Camera (Germany) Reddotcameras (UK) MKKamera (Hong Kong) Rangefinder (Hong Kong) 9days (Hong Kong) Map Camera (Japan) Leica Boutique Montreal (Canada) |
Top picture credit: reader from Japan
