Introduction

Ease of Use

Leica has used the same design and materials for the M10-P as for the older M10, which means it has a brass and magnesium alloy body. The result is something which has the classic good looks of a Leica, as well as feeling extremely solid and well-built. It’s a little on the heavy side, but if used in conjunction with one of Leica’s smaller “M” lenses, the overall weight is not too bad.

This is by no means a pocket camera, but you should be able to fit the M10-P into a small bag, ready to bring out for street shooting when you need it. One of the most noticeable design differences between the M10 and the M10-P is the removal of the iconic red dot from the front of the camera – but if you’re at all worried that people won’t know you’ve got a Leica, just flip to the top plate to see the large LEICA engraving to reassure you.

The Leica M10-P is a rangefinder, which means it is manual focus only. In a world where autofocus, and autofocus speeds, are king, getting used to this rather old-fashioned way of working can take quite a bit of time to get used to. Add in the unusual way in which you focus a rangefinder lens, and it can all feel completely alien to the uninitiated.

Front of the Leica M10-P

In order to focus a rangefinder lens, you look through the viewfinder, lining up the image you see in a central box with the image superimposed on top of it by twisting a ring on the lens you’re using. Once the outlines match, hit the shutter release and you should have created an image which is perfectly in focus. There are a couple of problems here – first of all, if anything is on the outer edge of the frame, it’s difficult to judge the focus, and second of all, if you’re photographing a subject which appears on a fussy background, it can be hard to distinguish what’s happening in the viewfinder.

One way around this is to use the M10-P’s Live View capability. With this, you can take advantage of an enlarged view and focus peaking to make it easier to get your shot in focus. When you’ve been using a rangefinder for a long time, it also starts to become a little more intuitive as to where to stand at what focal length to achieve good focus.

Front of the Leica M10-P

Speaking of the viewfinder, this is the same finder as you’ll find on the original M10, which was an improved version of the one found on the M Typ 240. It has a magnification factor of 0.73x, while its design means that the widest focal length it covers is 28mm, meaning you’ll need to use the LCD screen, or the optional EVF if you’re working with wider lenses.

The overall design of the M10-P, like the original M10, is extremely minimalist. There are just a few dials and buttons, but there is pretty much everything you need to take most shots. On the top plate there’s a shutter speed dial, which contains speeds from 1/4000 – 8 seconds, as well as offering the choice of “Bulb”. You can also leave it in the “auto” position, to have the camera work out shutter speed for you. A secondary, smaller dial can be used for adjusting ISO speed – but you’ll first need to lift the dial before you can twist it around – a design which prevents accidental unwanted changes. Again, you can also leave it in the automatic setting to have the camera work out the relevant ISO speed for you. The dial only shows ISO 100 – 6400, so if you want to use a higher ISO value, you’ll need to set the dial to “M” and choose a higher value in the main menu.

Rear of the Leica M10-P

Aperture is controlled via the lens itself – we have been using the M10-P with a 35mm f/2.0 Summicron M lens, on which the aperture dial allows you to choose full and half stops between f/2.0 and f/16.

Head to the back of the Leica M10-P and you’ll find just three buttons alongside the new touch-sensitive screen. These buttons are “LV” for switching on Live View, “PLAY” for seeing your images in playback, and “MENU”, where you can access further settings that are not available through the camera’s dials. When you press the menu button, you’ll see a list of favourites – you can customise this list to include all the settings that you use most frequently.

Top of the Leica M10-P

To the right of the screen is a four way navigational dial. You can use this in conjunction with Live View to set the area where you want to examine critical focus, as well as using it for navigating around your images in playback and around the menus. Lastly, there’s a small scrolling dial, which you can use to adjust exposure compensation by default.

Adding touch functionality to the screen is one of the new features that the M10-P brings over its predecessor. Leica says that adding touch sensitivity to an M series camera may be shocking to some, but it’s a relatively discreet addition that can be completely ignored in favour of using the buttons if you prefer. With the touchscreen you can pinch to zoom, double-tap to quickly zoom in to check critical focus, and swipe between shots. In Live View, you can tap around the screen to choose a magnification point, or double tap to quickly jump to the magnified view.

The Leica M10-P In-hand

Another new feature relating to the screen is the addition of a spirit level, or virtual horizon. This can be very useful in helping to ensure your shots are straight, but is not something that can be used with the optical viewfinder. If you choose to purchase the optional electronic finder, the level can be displayed in that.

In a nod to Leica M film cameras, the entire base plate comes off the camera – just as it would when you needed to insert new 35mm film. These days, you’ll find the camera battery and the SD memory card slot underneath the base plate. It’s a cute idea, but it’s a little bit of a faff if you need to quickly change the memory card. A warning is displayed on screen should you accidentally forget to replace the base plate.

Just like the original M10, the Leica M10-P has inbuilt Wi-Fi. With it, you can connect wirelessly to a smartphone or tablet. With Leica’s app you can transfer your images and remotely control the camera.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 24 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 9Mb.

As is to be expected from Leica, the images the M10-P can create are fantastic, especially once you get used to its operational quirks. As the sensor and processor is the same as found in the existing M10, image quality should be the same.

Images have a superb amount of detail and sharpness, while they also have a “filmic” quality that is hard to quantify in words but is typical of shooting with a Leica. Noise is well-controlled throughout ISO 100-1600, with a little acceptable noise creeping in at ISO 3200. At ISO 6400 and above, images remain usable up until around ISO 12500, but it’s best to avoid ISO 25600 and above.

Colours are well saturated, with a good amount of vibrance and pleasing tones. On the whole, exposures are well-balanced when relying on the all-purpose metering option (Leica calls it “multi-field”), while automatic white balance does a good job when faced with different kinds of light sources.

As well as creating JPEGs, the M10-P shoots in the universal DNG raw format, meaning you can open the files without any need for the latest updates from Adobe, or proprietary software. From the raw files you can draw out additional detail and tweak the colours towards your own personal preferences.

Noise

There are 10 ISO settings available on the Leica M10-P. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and RAW files.

JPEG	RAW
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)
ISO 6400 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)
ISO 12500 (100% Crop)	ISO 12500 (100% Crop)
ISO 25000 (100% Crop)	ISO 25000 (100% Crop)
ISO 50000 (100% Crop)	ISO 50000 (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Leica M10-P camera, which were all taken using the 24 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Leica M10-P enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Leica RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Product Images

Conclusion

The Leica M10-P is a beautiful camera, crafted with precision to be incredibly well made. The images it’s capable of taking are equally beautiful. But it also costs £6,500 (body only) – it’s clearly not going to be for everybody, making it a relatively niche proposition.

Upgrades have been made to the M10-P, but it’s more of an incremental evolution rather than complete overhaul of the previous model. The most visible difference is the removal of the classic red dot, while the addition of the quieter shutter is an advantage for street and discreet photographers. That said, it’s not silent, and with the invention of modern electronic shutters which make absolutely zero noise, it’s perhaps not quite the plus point it once might have been.

Using a rangefinder takes quite a lot of getting used to, and again, it’s not for everybody. Once you get the hang of it, getting shots accurately in focus becomes easier – although of course it will never be as easy as using autofocus. For this reason, if you don’t quite know what you’re doing, it’s easy to miss shots and become frustrated with the process. Pre-focusing the lens before you want to take the shot can help that, but it’s a pretty old-fashioned way to work.

Being able to shoot via Live View with the M10-P, especially with the new touchscreen controls – makes the whole proposition a little more straightforward though, so it’s nice to see Leica mixing modern technologies with older ideologies.

Whether or not you’re tempted to buy a Leica M10-P very likely has little to do with whether you actually need one or not. As the sensor and processor has been brought over from the original M10, making image quality identical, if you’re not bothered about the quieter shutter or the touch-sensitive screen, you could save yourself some money by going for that model instead. But it seems unlikely that anyone contemplating any sort of Leica is on a tight budget.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	5
Features	4
Ease-of-use	3.5
Image quality	5
Value for money	3

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Leica M10-P.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Leica M10-P from around the web.

Specifications

News

The Leica M10-P digital rangefinder camera is exceptionally discreet and concentrates entirely on the most essential camera functions. The Leica M10-P has an extremely low noise level of its shutter, the quietest shutter release of all M-cameras ever made. In addition the camera has no Leica red dot logo on the front and features only discreet Leica lettering on its top plate.

The Leica M10-P is available from today from authorised Leica UK stores and authorised Leica dealers and is offered in a choice of black chrome and silver chrome finishes for £6,500 including VAT / $7995.00 USD.

Leica Press Release

Leica M10-P: a new level of understatement

Wetzlar, 21 August 2018. With the Leica M10-P, Leica Camera AG presents a further model in the Leica rangefinder camera range. Based on the M10, the M10-P offers all the technical advantages of the Leica M rangefinder system and, in details, focuses on the characteristic core features that are particularly appreciated by M-photographers.

Exceptionally discreet and concentrating entirely on the most essential camera functions, the Leica M10-P embodies the essence of the M-philosophy and retains the celebrated understatement of previous incarnations.

The new and outstanding features of the Leica M10-P include the extremely low noise level of its shutter, the quietest shutter release of all M-cameras. This makes it the first digital M-camera that is even more discreet than its analogue predecessors. The almost inaudible sound of its shutter release makes it the ideal tool for capturing authentic photographs from the heart of life itself – especially in situations where quiet is essential. In addition, the design of the Leica M10-P is as minimalist as the camera’s functionality itself. The camera has no Leica red dot logo on the front and features only discreet Leica lettering on its top plate. Its hot shoe cover in metal merges seamlessly into the design of the top plate.

The Leica M10-P fulfils everything that discerning photographers expect from a Leica M and, through the concentration on essential functions, follows the lead of all past and present Leica M-cameras. A new addition is the touch-function that enables faster checking of the plane of focus in Live-View and Review mode, more convenient browsing in Review mode and faster access to all the most important functions. The M10-P also has an integrated spirit level that enables perfect orientation of the camera and avoids the need for laborious corrections in post processing.

All other features, functions, construction materials and the finishing of the Leica M10-P correspond to the same high standards as those of its sister model, the Leica M10.

The Leica M10-P is available from today from authorised Leica UK stores and authorised Leica dealers and is offered in a choice of black chrome and silver chrome finishes for £6,500 including VAT.

TECHNICAL DATA

Camera name: Leica M10-P

Camera type: Digital camera with rangefinder system

Lens mount: Leica M bayonet

Compatible lenses: Leica M lenses, Leica R lenses via adapter

Sensor: CMOS chip, active surface approx. 24 x 36 mm

Storage media: SD cards 1-2 GB / SDHC cards up to 32 GB / SDXC cards up to 2 TB

Viewfinder: Large, bright-line frame rangefinder and automatic parallax compensation

LCD panel: 3” TFT LCD, 1.04 MP, touch control available

Power supply

(Leica BP-SCL5): 1 lithium-ion rechargeable battery, rated voltage 7.4 V; capacity 1100 mAh, max. charging voltage/current: 1000 mA DC, 7.4 V; operating conditions (in the camera): +0 to +40°C;

manufacturer: PT. VARTA Microbattery, Made in Indonesia

Charger

(Leica BC-SCL5): Inputs: 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 300 mA with automatic switch-over or 12 VDC, 1.3 A, output: DC, rated voltage 7.4 V, 1000 mA / max. 8.25 V, 1100 mA, operating conditions: +10 to +35°C, manufacturer: Guangdong PISEN Electronics Co.Ltd., Made in China

Housing: Full metal housing: Magnesium die-cast, synthetic leather covering

Top cover and bottom cover: Brass, black or silver chromeplated finish

Dimensions (WxHxD): 139 x 38.5 x 80 mm

Weight: approx. 675 g (with battery)

First Impressions

In another busy month for the brand, Leica has revealed a new ‘stealth’ version of the M10 in the near-silent shuttered, logo-free M10-P. Photography Blog attended the M10-P’s London launch…

Ssshh… Leica Unveils Whisper-quiet M-10P

Following on from the Leica M10, the premium-build German camera brand has launched what it’s claiming is the ‘next innovation’ in its ‘M’ rangefinder series. Unveiling the brand new M10-P, Leica’s UK MD Jason Heward told PhotographyBlog: “The letter ‘M’ is one that means a lot to Leica and has done since 1954 and the launch of the M3; it stands for timeless design and an iconic camera.”

As the model name indicates, the manual focus M10-P is very much a sibling to the existing M10. The cameras share the majority of their technical specifications as well as classic outward design – indeed Leica confirmed the same materials (brass and magnesium alloy) have been used in its build – though there are also some notable differences that we’ll come on to.

For example, the newer model is described as the ‘stealthiest’ M camera ever made. Part of this is attributed to the fact that, unlike the regular M10, the new M10-P deliberately omits the iconic red Leica badge from its faceplate. It’s also the manufacturer’s first ‘M’ camera it says, to ‘broaden its usability’ via the adoption of a touch screen at the rear – a feature also found on its SL and CL cameras – though said screen is fixed, rather than being angle adjustable. The monitor can be intuitively controlled via a swipe of the finger or a double tap, while users can also ‘pinch in’ to check focusing. When Live View is deployed, users also have access to an integrated spirit level/virtual horizon. Naturally there’s also an eye level viewfinder for photography purists.

Discreet but not a total wallflower

Plus, while the unobtrusive and understated camera is logo-free at the front, the M10-P isn’t a total wallflower; its top plate features an attractively florid engraving of the brand name in classic script, as well as providing a metal hot shoe cover in a matching finish to its bodywork – yet another point of difference from the existing M10.

At the launch, Leica reiterated that the M10-P is all about being discreet and subtle, enabling photographers to get in and amongst whatever is happening, leaving them free to observe life as it’s happening – and without a loud shutter sound alerting onlookers to the fact that photos are being taken.

Indeed, the M10-P has been declared by its maker as not only the stealthiest, but also the quietest ‘M’ camera ever made – even quieter than its analogue forebears, and with a shutter sound more silent still, claims Leica, than not only most of the competition (including, it claims, the Sony A7 III and Nikon D850), but also the Leica M-A, M6 and standard M10.

In conclusion, the Leica M10-P’s touch function screen and spirit level are pretty much the two major differences between it and the M10, along with the quietness of its shutter (and lack of iconic red badge on the faceplate).

Available in a choice of either black or silver finish, sales are due to commence August 21st, the day the camera is officially announced. While the M10 retails at £5,850, the price tag for the M10-P is a slightly higher £6,500.

www.leica-camera.com

Hands On

Want to see exactly what the new Leica M10-P digital M-system rangefinder camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Leica M10-P digital M-system rangefinder camera.

A gallery of hands-on photos of the Leica M10-P digital M-system rangefinder camera.

Image Gallery

Click on a thumbnail to see the full version.

Preview Images

Ahead of our full review, here are sample JPEG and Raw images taken with a full production version of the new Leica M10-P digital rangefinder camera.

A gallery of sample JPEG and Raw images taken with the Leica M10-P digital rangefinder camera.

Leica M10-P Sample Images

Sample RAW Images

The Leica M10-P enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Leica RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Your Comments