The Leica M10-R
The lifecycle of Leica M cameras has led us to expect a Monochrom at the end of the line, and we have had it, the surprising and wonderful M10 Monochrom which was released in January this year (www.slack.co.uk/leica-m10- monochrom.html). So, we’ve had the wonderful M10, the premium M10-P the minimalist M10-D, and the 40 megapixel M10 Monochrom, now we have to wait for the announctement of the M11 right?
Wrong!
It doesn’t require sixth sense to realise that if Leica can make a 40MP Monochrom sensor, then they can make a colour sensor at that resolution as well, and of course they have, so let’s welcome the M10-R, or should we welcome it? Let’s face it, the 24 mp of the Leica M10 is really quite enough for almost any photographic project, be it a brochure or a billboard.
I’m going to have a look at whether the extra resolution is worth it, and also at differences in character and performance between the existing M10 sensor (in all the other colour M10 variant cameras) and the new sensor, and there really are differences.
THE CAMERA
The camera itself looks like the original M10, it has none of the M10-P engravings and it has a normal red dot rather than the screw. Indeed it is only the sensor which has changed, However, the motherboard, buffer, processor, menus etc. are identical to the M10-P.
Leica has already maxed out the buffer size for the processor, so there isn’t a larger buffer, and of course the larger files mean that the camera is a little slower processing, and that the buffer is effectively smaller. Having said this, I never lost a shot, and I’m not seeing many complaints from M10 Monochrom users about the speed.
THE SHUTTER
The shutter is the quiet version from the M10-P, which has been extremely popular with many people.
In common with some fashion and portrait photographers, I prefer the slightly louder M10 shutter as I like my subjects to know when I’ve taken a picture, it makes a good way to control the flow of a shoot. The perfect situation would be a ‘normal’ shutter sound like the M10 with the option of a silent electronic shutter, but I understand that the read-out speed of the M10 sensor is too slow for this.
I’ve shot wedding ceremonies from close up with the original M10 and never disturbed anyone with the noise. Personally, I prefer the sound of the quieter shutter, but it imposes limitations on shooting which the original M10 did not.
THE RESOLUTION
So the exchange is that you get more resolution and a different sensor in return for a moderate decrease in shot to shot speed and buffer depth – is it worth it? Absolutely yes! That was certainly my first response, and after nearly a year with the camera, it still is.
Maybe a little explanation – I have been really happy with 24 megapixels. It seemed to me to be the sweet spot (and I know I’m not alone) – quite enough for a sensible amount of cropping, big enough for decent sized prints, fast processing and reasonable storage requirements.
Testing the Q2 slightly modified my opinion. It was great to get the higher resolution for the crop factors, but hey, I didn’t want an APS-C or Micro Four Thirds Leica. I like full frame! I think that this is why in the final analysis, I decided not to buy a Q or a Q2 – lovely to have a compact, full frame 28mm camera, but the crop factors were not so attractive and I often like to shoot at 50 and 75mm.
Using the SL2 and the M10-R has really convinced me of the value of extra resolution – it’s nice to have it for printing. It’s also nice to have it for cropping (if you need to), it also encourages you to default to a slightly wider angle lens, in the knowledge that if you really do need to you can crop it later on. I tend to carry one less lens in my bag as a result of it. It’s also wonderful for landscapes with lots of detail.
I have used the M10-R with the following lenses:
16/18/21 Tri-Elmar-M Asph
28mm Summaron-M f/5.6 (modern version)
28mm Summicron-M f/2
Asph 28mm Summilux M f/1.4
Asph 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 Asph
50mm Summilux-M f/1.4
50mm Asph 50mm APO-Summicron-M f/2
50mm Noctilux-M f/1.2 (Thanks for the loan- you know who you are!)
60mm Macro-Elmarit-R f/2.8 75mm APO-Summicron-M f/2
All these lenses worked really well with the camera and I haven’t seen any evidence of them being challenged by the extra resolution.
VIGNETTING
Rather like the M10 Monochrom the M10-R shows more vignetting than previous digital M cameras. When shooting portraits (or still life or close up) wide open, this can be a positive advantage. If you’re shooting landscapes however, then you will probably want to stop down enough to make the vignetting insignificant. It seems to be more noticeable with wide angle lenses (as you would expect). If it’s undesir- able, then it’s easy to fix in post processing, but with the risk of creating more noise in the corners.
Sean Reid (www.reidreviews.com) is going to look at this in more detail with specific lenses if it’s something likely to cause you concern.
Checking Out the Ocean. Leica M10-R + 50mm APO-Summicron-M at ISO 100
Busted! Leica M10-R + 50mm APO-Summicron-M at ISO 250.
Leica M10-R + 50mm Noctilux-M f/1.2 at ISO 100
Leica M10-R + 50mm APO-Summicron-M f/2 ASPH at ISO 100.
HIGH ISO
I’ve done a lot of ISO comparisons between the M10 and the M10-R. This is made more complicated by the difference in resolution, making it hard to do a proper comparison. My feeling is that looking at the M10-R files at 100% the noise is roughly equivalent to the M10 at 100%. Considering the difference in resolution, I think that probably works out at a one stop improvement. It's also worth mentioning that the noise on the M10-R feels more organic and less regular.
The high ISO on the M10 is pretty good, and you might expect that increasing the resolution would make the noise worse rather than better. So this is a real improvement for the new sensor. I’ve been quite happy to shoot at iso 12500.
Cretan dragonfly on a sea squill. Leica M10-R + 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH at ISO 100.
Asparagus. Leica M10-R + 75mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH at ISO 160
DYNAMIC RANGE
The base ISO for the M10 was not iso 100, but something like iso 160. There is also an issue with ugly roll-off on overex- posed areas. This is worse at iso 100 (pull), I wrote about this here:
https://www.slack.co.uk/m10- highlights.html.
Leica changed the base ISO for Auto ISO to 200. This was rather a masterful move, as it meant that people wouldn’t accidentally get ‘blown’ highlights, whilst still allowing use of iso 100 where it was appropriate. My feeling is that however good this was, you still have to be very careful of losing information in highlights with the 24 megapixel M10 sensor at any ISO.
The base ISO for the M10-R actually is iso 100, but more to the point, for the M10-R, Leica has completely solved the problem with over exposed highlights. With the M10 even a quarter of a stop of overexposure would irredeemably blow highlights. In the same scene with the M10-R, I’ve managed to gain good detail from an image overexposed by two stops.
At first sight, the files from the M10-R may look a little flatter than those from the M10 straight out of the camera, but they are much nicer to work with in post processing, and there seems to be more scope for pulling detail out of the shadows as well as the headroom with the highlights.
Whether the M10-R actually has more dynamic range will probably be established in a DXO report. But from a practical photographic point of view, the files are a real step forward and much easier to post process.
Brother. Leica M10-R & 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH at ISO 100.
Shoes. Leica M10-R + Leica M10-R & 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH at ISO 16000
Sister. Leica M10-R + Leica M10-R & 28mm Summilux-M ASPH at ISO 100
Diagonals in pink and blue. Leica M10-R & 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH at ISO 100.
CONCLUSION
So, It’s an M10 with a higher resolution sensor, a quieter shutter and an effectively smaller buffer in a discreet ‘no frills’ body. Put like that doesn’t sound too exciting.
However, the sensor in the M10-R isn’t just higher resolution. It’s much better than the sensor in all the other colour M10 variants. It has better high ISO, more Dynamic Range, nicer noise characteristics and the raw files are much nicer to work with in post processing. In practice the slightly slower shot- to-shot times and smaller buffer didn’t cause me any problems (and experiences with the M10 Monochrom suggests that it doesn’t cause others problems either).
Generally speaking, I get the first iteration of each new M camera and miss out the Monchrom and 'P' variants, and so far that’s happened (although I still rather hanker after an M10-D). This time it’s different, and I’m saving up my pennies to grab myself an M10-R as soon as they start shipping.
This is a real photographer's camera - in my opinion it has the best image quality of any M camera ever made, and it’s a pleasure to use. It’s hard to see how Leica can really improve on it without making radical changes in the M11.
We shall see!