The New Leica M-E sporting the phenomenal 50mm Summilux in silver
Yesterday was a big day here at Unique Photo for Leica shooters. We received our first shipment of the new Leica M-E for stock and display in our superstore. While some are speculating that this model is just a placeholder until the new Leica M (M10) is released, Leica has definitely made a great followup to the widely successful M9 & M9-P.
So what changed from the M9? This is a question I've gotten a few time so far since we've had the camera on display in the store. The easy answer is "not much." In almost every way, the Leica M-E is the same camera we have used for the past few years. This fact becomes even more evident when you load an image into a program like Adobe Lightroom. Under the Metadata the Leica M-E is still listed as the Leica Camera AG M9. This made me curious to say the least. What had Leica really changed with this camera to make it $1,500 cheaper?
The new Anthracite Grey color with Leica's new choice in Leather for the M-E
To start, Leica has made some obvious aesthetic changes to the traditional Black or Chrome color choices for the M series. The change to Anthracite Grey is a nice touch for this minor refresh, but some people may be turned off by the color. Leica has used the Silver and Black look since the beginning in 1954 with the M3. Along with the new color scheme, the leatherette has been updated to a more fine textured finish. This small, seemingly insignificant change has made the camera feel much more comfortable than the M9 in Black we've been using at the store and in our rental program.
Color and leatherette are not the only changes to the new Leica M-E. Leica has decided to remove the preview leaver from the camera as well. After a quick survey around of the staff, this change seems to be overall accepted. While having the ability to preview your shot without changing lenses has been a nice feature, the times where it would be useful are few and far between in most responses I've gotten. As someone who has owed an M3 Double Stroke Non-Preview, I can say that a preview lever is like anything else on the camera; If it's not there, you don't miss it. The way I look at it, if it helps lower the cost of the M-E, then why not? The Leica philosophy of making a camera that is unobtrusive and all about the shooting experience is completely evident in this new offering.
Note the missing USB port under the finder window
There are really only two more changes to the M-E from the M9; The lack of a USB port and surprisingly the rear LCD screen. According to Leica, the rear LCD screen is the same 230k dot screen as the M9. The weird thing is that a few of us at the store have noticed that the screen on the M-E seems to render skin colors and the overall image more accurately. Putting the M9 and the M-E next to each other we have noticed the the M-E is able to render the reviewed image incredibly faster than the M9 could. What I cannot put my finger on is if this is something that Leica has been able to improve as a side effect to some other changes in the camera.
Since Leica has implemented the same 18MP CCD sensor as the M9, we can expect to have the same image quality and ISO performance from the M-E.
Concentration on the essentials is part of the M-System philosophy. This also applies to the Leica M-E: it consciously declines to offer everything that is technically possible, but rather limits itself to what is essential to photography
Leica is, and has always been, about the photograph. Their cameras may not be the most technically advanced when compared to the rest of the market, but that's not what the M system is about. Making an image and using the most inconspicuous camera to do so is key. Leica has concreted this thought throughout their line with the M-E's addition to the M system. We will see what happens when the Leica M Type 240 is released to the public sometime in the next few months. Adding video, live view, audio recording, and a 24MP CMOS sensor will bring some major changes to the Leica line. I am interested in seeing what happens to the awesome Leica R lenses that are floating around the used market over the next year. After owning a few Leica R lenses a short while back, I can say that they were some of the best manual lenses I've ever used on an SLR camera. In the mean time, stop into the store to see the M-E on display and check out our rental department where you can try out the Leica M9 in Black paired with any of the Leica lenses we have available.
Want to discuss Leica with me? Feel free to send me a friend request here: Facebook Just picked up a new Leica camera? Get a lesson on your camera from me here: One-On-One Instruction
** Update**
After more shooting with the M-E, The original posting about the improved rendering speed has been proven to be false. The internals of the M-E are identical to the M9. The render speed has not been improved. I still feel as though the LCD screen reproduced better color for the skin tones compared to our M9 (which has the most up to date firmware). I will update this post if I find any other anomalies from our demo M-E when compared to the M9.