
It is time to sell your gaffer tape stocks, because Leica has just introduced the new version of its very popular M10 full-frame digital rangefinder camera, the Leica M10-P, which is noticeably devoid of the famous red dot brand logo on the front of the body—so there's no need to cover the Leica logo with black tape. Like the P versions of its beautiful film rangefinders, and the P-versions of its more modern digital cameras, the mission here is to not broadcast the camera's iconic lineage, but to allow the street and reportage photographer to blend deeper into the background while capturing decisive moments. The Leica branding is relegated to the beautiful scripted logo on the camera's top plate and a simple "Made in Germany" engraving on the back—all featuring one of my favorite typefaces of all time.
Internally, the M10-P is identical to the M10, with the following exceptions. The M10-P features Leica's quietest shutter… ever. Quieter than your father's M4. Quieter than the film MP. Quieter than anything Leica has made before. This isn't an electronic shutter "silent mode," this is beautifully quiet mechanical-shutter perfection that still gives you the full tactile experience of firing off a frame along with the satisfying, yet unobtrusive, auditory click-thump from inside the magnesium-alloy and brass chassis. In the New Yorker magazine, in August 2007, writer Anthony Lane wrote about the famously quiet Leica shutter. "With a Leica, all you hear is the shutter, which is the quietest on the market. The result—and this may be the most seductive reason for the Leica cult—is that a photograph sounds like a kiss." With a redesigned shock-absorbing shutter mount, the new M10-P takes that kiss to new levels of seduction.
Also new to the M10-P is a touchscreen LCD that allows you to scroll through your images while chimping, pinch to zoom to check focus, tap zoom, and more. Those accustomed to all of the touch controls of a smartphone will find that the touchscreen features of the M10-P are very basic. Live view on the M10-P now features an artificial horizon or, as Leica calls it, a "Level Gauge." This is a great feature for those carefully composing their shots on the LCD. And, as a finishing touch to the minimalist design of the M10-P, a body-colored hot shoe cover protects while smoothing out the camera's top plate.
The Leica M10-P is available in black or silver.
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