Time spent with the Leica M10 Monochrom.
A brief review of what, is for me, camera perfection.
I’ve owned the Leica M10 Monochrom since its release. I had lusted after a digital Leica ever since making an impulse purchase of a Leica M3 when I was heavily into shooting film. Until the arrival of the M10 Monochrom I was always hesitant to make a purchase. That hesitation largely influenced by the fact that I couldn’t afford one. I’m a strictly amateur photographer. Spending such a large amount of money on a camera that was never actually going to earn me any money apart from the occasional print sale was not an easy decision to make. It also meant that all of the other cameras and lenses that I still owned and had purchased over the 10 years that I have been making photographs had to be sold.
As I have matured as a photographer my desire to have a large bag full of cameras, a selection of lenses, filters and various other paraphernalia has reduced considerably. My kit now consists of the M10 Monochrom, a 50mm, 35mm and 28mm lens and on the occasions where I intend to shoot landscapes a selection of LEE Filters. All easily carried in a Billingham shoulder bag. For 90% of the time though my 50mm is permanently attached to my camera. At the moment, due to the financial restrictions of shooting with Leica, the 50mm I am using is the Voightlander 50mm APO Lanthar. I like the ergonomics of the lens and the performance of it is also superb. There are a couple of Leica lenses I would like to add to my setup (If Leica would like to send me a 50mm 1.2 Noctilux and 35mm APO that would be nice) but for now I’m happy with what I have.
I’ve been asked on a number of occasions why I chose to go down the route of using a Leica. The simple answer I suppose is that it’s a camera that does exactly what I want. No more and no less. All previous cameras that I have owned, never gave me any reason to complain, but they were filled with functions and technology that no matter how good, I simply had no use for. The Leica is a simple, superbly engineered tool that provides me with the basic controls that I need to produce photographs. Simplified further by the fact that it only allows me to shoot monochromatic images.
Not only is the camera suited to my simplistic approach to photography it also delivers at any ISO. I’m talking all the way up to it’s maximum of 100,00. At a high ISO you will get film like grain and an image that is far from the peak quality that the camera is capable of, but when it means the difference between getting the shot or not, I’m happy to push it to it’s limits. The following two images were both shot at the cameras maximum ISO of 100,00.
A young couple enjoy a moment of passion on the streets of London. (Heavily Cropped)
Taken in almost complete darkness at around 10.30pm. Leica M10 Monochrom ISO 100,000
So, from high ISO images to what the camera is capable of at base ISO. The below image I made from a location near to where I live a few hours before sunset. I’ve been trying to photograph this island for about 10 years and whenever I do I’m never really happy with it. On this occasion everything came together briefly and allowed me to make an image that I am happy enough with to make a print.
I use a method of printing that combines digital capture with analog printing (See my previous blog post) and this image printed on Ilford fibre paper looks beautiful.
The Island of Steepholm in the Bristol Channel 2021.
The images below are of an abandoned sock factory and buildings on the Greek island of Crete. Not only is the sensor of the M10 Monochrom capable of capturing fine detail, it’s dynamic range is also superb and allows great flexibility when working in tricky lighting situations.
An abandoned sock factory on the island of Crete 2021.
A small cat poses for me. Crete 2021.
This was only a brief review, to be honest there isn’t that much to say. This camera delivers what you would expect from a Leica in both build quality and results. It requires careful input from the photographer and I wouldn’t say it would be an easy camera to use if you normally rely heavily on the automatic features and blisteringly fast autofocus that are common in many cameras. That said, it’s not a difficult camera to master. You have options such as auto ISO and shutter speed and after a bit of practice manual focus becomes quick and easy. When employing zone or pre-focusing techniques, reliance on autofocus can become obsolete.
As mentioned previously, I have been an amateur photographer for about 10 years. I’ve used Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and a number of analog cameras. I’ve never complained or been disappointed with any camera I’ve owned from any company. Fujifilm in particular continue to be excellent in both their products and customer service and the X-Pro1 was the camera that pushed me towards the rangefinder style of camera and ultimately, Leica.
The Leica M10 Monochrom due to it’s simplicity, beautiful engineering, attention to detail and quality of output has allowed me to worry less about what is in my hands and more about what is in front of me.