It is not unusual that the
introduction of a new Leica camera is met with immediate discussions of its
merits. This has especially been the
case with the new Leica M-D. A digital camera
without the customary viewing screen in the back seems almost sacrilegious to
many. Yet there was a good reason to
market the camera. Especially among
Leica users there is a large group that is holding on to film cameras for various
reasons, a major one being that these cameras force the user to think, simply
because there isn’t the instant feedback of the viewing screen. This is the point of the following article…
By Marc Menningmann
How to test something that cannot be tested
or:
“My not-testing of the Leica M-D”
Thanks to the Leica shop in Berlin I had some days with the newly released
Leica M-D. If you have not heard about the rumors before release, this camera
is a digital Leica rangefinder M-type camera, but without a display on the
back. The lack of a display of course is the reason, why this camera comes with
no menu for selecting from a set of options, with no review option after
releasing the shutter, and with no film or live view capabilities. Instead of
the display as it can be found on all other M cameras like the 240 or the
Monochrom, the Leica M-D has a large ISO-dial similar to what can be found on
analog Leica film cameras.
As the sensor of the M-D
is the same as you find in the Leica M 240 there is nothing to test here. As
there are no menues, because there is no display, there is no software that can
be tested. As this camera basically lets you only set ISO and exposure time,
the only thing to tell is that the dials are working great. But well, do you
really need to test this on a Leica? As all M cameras, this Leica M-D is with
the same overall quality as any other “Made In Germany” M Leica. It is perfect.
Period.
So what do I do with this camera? Well…
How about taking it with
me and take some photographs? You may have forgotten, but this is what cameras
are usually made for. Go out and shoot. There is no Bible-thick manual to read
through before being able to switch this thing on. If you know the basics of
photography (exposure, aperture, ISO) this camera is a no brainer.
Although I am not chimping
a lot (or better: I thought I don’t do it a lot) it was a little strange at the
beginning. I know the feeling to not be able to see the picture you just took
immediately from my analog M6, but when you take out a digital camera it seems
like every photographer demands instant results. It takes a while. A few hours
for me, but after that I completely forgot being out with a digital camera. I
started to see the photo I want to take BEFORE pressing the shutter button and
reviewing the result. I painted the pictures I want to take, before even having
the camera in front of my eye.
You invert the process of
the work with a digital camera. You skip the trial and error part and go
creative immediately. This camera is not a gimmick. It is a real tool that
forces you to take pictures again. Not to “try to take a picture and try again
if the first one was not so good”. You can not review. So you can not see if
the picture you just took was good. You have to imagine the picture first, then
take it, and after that hope that you got the three parameters to meet your
basic idea of the picture.
I took less pictures. When I tried
to find the best composition with a series of several photos when I using other
digital cameras, I now went through the options before even touching the M-D.
And then I took one picture. To take more than one simply does not make sense.
I would love to use this camera for my HANDS project, too, by the way.
And then you go home, load
the files into your computer and find much more “keepers” than ever before. And
that you didn’t test a camera, but only tested yourself. I found out that I do
not think enough about the result before pressing the button, although I
thought I do. I love this camera, and If I would be in need of a camera that
takes color pictures, this would be my choice. But I had to learn that I only
want to do black & white photos. So Leica, if you do a Leica Monochrom M-D
please be sure to send one my way. Until then I try to avoid using the display
too much…
And as I said above, the
image quality – when pairing the Leica M-D with a decent Leica glass – is
without any question. Here are some examples.
________________________________________________________________________________________
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Excellent review, you understand the essence of the MD.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your expression of "the essence of the M-D." It is exactly that what escapes many of the nay sayers, totally ignore the fact that Leica is the ONLY company that caters to that segment of digitalis photography.
ReplyDeleteExcellent non-review review. I agree with you 110%.
ReplyDeleteI use the original M Monochrom as ,y primary camera, and am fortunate to have this new M-D for color work.