Leica ASC special edition M10-P

Leica has produced a special edition model of its M10-P ‘digital rangefinder’ camera.

Leica ASC special edition M10-P

Despite its simple external appearance, the M10 is a highly capable camera with a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor behind the conveniently shallow M-mount and full manual controls.

To commemorate the centenary of the ASC, the special edition M10-P is produced. The package includes the camera, electronic viewfinder accessory and the much-loved Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 lens. The combination represents the small, practical and highly capable end of modern digital photography (no video mode) and is decidedly manual.

A Leica M to PL mount converter is also included, and there are sensor crop modes to suit cine lenses; it’s very much designed to function as a cinematographer’s scout camera. Given that the M10-P also has a famously quiet shutter, we might be tempted to think in terms of photographer’s cameras on set, but to be fair, that kind of situation will want effective autofocus.

Is the electronic viewfinder an accessory? The M10-P camera has an LCD screen on the back and there is a live view mode, but it is really a digital implementation of a rangefinder from the 1970s (or earlier) with an optical parallax viewfinder. Live view is possible on the LCD, but the magnifier viewfinder, which is on the slipper, is a useful concession to practicality, given that many of us now expect accurate framing and at least some idea of exposure and white balance.

The camera’s basic specs are what we would expect from a high-end digital still camera. Twenty-four megapixels in full frame work at around 6K by 4K resolution, shooting DNG or JPEG with 16 buffer images.

If you want to learn more about it, do not hesitate to visit its official website.