Leica M10-R

Back in January, Leica introduced the M10 Monochrom, a rangefinder camera that shoots only in black & white. At the time, the big surprise lay in its sensor, which unlike the firm’s previous mono models, clearly wasn’t based on an existing colour design. Now the M10-R (for ‘Resolution’) explains why. It sports what is in effect a colour version of the same 40.9MP full-frame sensor, which has been custom-built for use with M mount lenses.

As a result, the M10-R offers the highest resolution yet from a conventional M-series camera, surpassing the M10-P with its 24MP chip. This finally puts the M system on a similar footing to full-frame mirrorless models such as the 45.7MP Nikon Z 7, or Leica’s own SL2, which employs the same 47.3MP sensor as the Panasonic Lumix S1R. The only full-frame camera with a clear resolution advantage is the 61MP Sony Alpha 7R IV.

This matters, because one of the biggest selling points of Leica’s rangefinders is the uncompromising quality offered by its M-mount lens range, and the M10-R should be able to exploit this better than ever before. It is, of course, very expensive, because Leicas always are. So is this camera an overpriced anachronism, or the best Leica M yet?

Features

First of all let’s look at why Leica has used a new sensor, rather than the one it employed in the SL2 and Q2. The firm explains that this is essentially down to size: with the smaller dimensions of the M10 body, it had to develop a specific, ‘super compact’ sensor for its latest generation of rangefinders. This in turn has allowed it to optimise the pixel and microlens architecture for use with M-mount lenses, many of which were made for use with film