Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-02-22)

46 22 February 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

The near-silent shutter makes the

camera perfect for candid shooting

Leica Apo-Summicron M 50mm f/2,

1/60sec at f/4, ISO 500

features when they’re
genuinely useful. Pressing
the LV button on the back enters
live view, which enables more
accurate focusing and composition
than the optical viewfinder. It also
brings an expanded range of
metering options, including
multi-pattern and spot. The LCD is
touch-sensitive for changing
settings and browsing images, and
Wi-Fi is built-in for transferring
images to your phone using the
Leica Fotos app, although
Bluetooth is absent.

Build and handling
The Monochrom is based on
Leica’s current top-end M10-P
rangefinder, and is built like a tank,
with a die cast magnesium alloy
body shell and brass top and base
plates. Everything about it exudes
quality, with all the controls
operating with satisfying precision.
It has the characteristic M-series
styling and layout, with curved
ends and a stepped top-plate.
Compared to its Typ 246
predecessor, it’s 20g lighter and
3.5mm slimmer, which makes it
feel surprisingly more svelte. One
welcome concession to modern
design is the addition of a small
thumb ‘hook’ on the back, which
provides a nice secure grip.
External controls are kept to the
essentials, with analogue dials on
the top-plate for shutter speed
and ISO, and mechanical aperture
and focus rings on the lens.

Exposure compensation is applied

by pressing a button on the front of

the body and spinning an electronic

dial on the back. The power switch

surrounds the shutter button, and

a frameline selector lever is found

beneath the viewfinder window.

That’s all you generally need to

operate the camera.

The ‘digital’ controls are

likewise pared right down to a

minimum, with a d-pad positioned

under your thumb, and a column

of three large square buttons

running down the left side of the

LCD. Leica has done a great job

of simplifying how these buttons

work without restricting access to

core functions; for instance in

playback, the menu button

essentially becomes the delete

key. So despite the simplicity, it

never really feels as if any buttons

are missing.

Meanwhile the touchscreen

gives quick access to secondary

settings such as metering and

drive modes, via an onscreen

status display. However you can’t

necessarily then change these by

touch, which is about the only

jarring experience I found when

shooting with the camera. The

touchscreen also can be used for

browsing through your pictures in

playback, and checking the focus

by double-tapping anywhere

within an image.

The Monochrom sports a

handsome matte black chrome

plated finish, with more subdued

styling than the M10-P. The lens

release and shutter button are

finished in black rather than silver,

while the A marks on the top-plate

dials are painted a muted grey,

rather than red. As befits the name,

it’s all very monochrome, with the

only flash of colour appearing

when you lift up the ISO dial to its

unlocked position, revealing a slim

red surround.

The overall result is a camera

that’s as beautiful to behold as it is

simple and intuitive to use. It really

does reduce photography down to

the essentials, giving a very

different shooting experience to

modern auto-everything marvels.

It’s absolutely not an all-rounder

in the manner of current high-end

DSLRs and mirrorless models;

instead the manual operation

imposes a slower, more

considered approach on your

photography. Whether this is a

good thing or not is purely down

to personal preference.

Viewfinder and screen

As always for a rangefinder

camera, the M10 Monochrom

employs a direct-vision optical

viewfinder, meaning that you’re

not viewing the image as seen

through the lens. Instead, the field

of view is indicated using bright

framelines in the finder window

that are displayed in pairs and

selected automatically by the lens:

50mm and 75mm, 35 and

135mm, and 28 and 90mm.

They’re parallax-corrected,

moving diagonally across the

frame as the lens is focused, and

in principle indicate 100% of the

lens’s field of view at a focus

distance of 2m. At longer

distances you’ll get more in the

frame, and at closer distances

you’ll get a little less.

The viewfinder is bright and

clear, and at 0.73x magnification,

of a very decent size. But you do

need to squeeze your eye close to

Rangefinder focusing takes a bit of

practice, but gives accurate results

Leica Apo-Summicron M 50mm f/2,

1/125sec at f/2, ISO 1600