I have been using Leica probably for more than one and half year and I got it because I wanted to buy a range finder camera and I ended up with M240. I have only one lens and thats all I have been using. So this is my minimalist setup for shooting. I am gonna share with you what has been my experience and settings I use.

So why range-finder? Unlike many reviewers I have actually not shot too many cameras in my life. I have started with Leica D-lux 109 and the reason back then was… I really liked the design and it came together with a free copy of Lightroom and that kinda justified the price. More I was reading about cameras I actually felt like every company it trying hard to chase the Decisive moment - with higher and better ISO performance, more frames per second or faster autofocus. And then there was Leica M. I kinda felt like - when you go out fishing. You can either take an old fishing rod and do everything manually and you are risking to miss a lot of things but it takes some skill and you really have to think about the process and the settings and so on.

Now... I am not saying you don't need a skill  to shoot DSLR but for me it kinda felt like having a shotgun in comparison with an old fishing rod and you just shoot and spread and then pick one shot out of the burst. And it depends you know... I definitely like, the cameras like Sony A9 where you do those 20 frame per second and I would definitely think about that in case I would go let’s say to the olympics and had to deliver. So i guess it pretty much depends on what you are using your camera for But for me for what i use it Its jus not the case at the moment.

So, why M240? When you want to get into the Digital m system you actually have a several options. It starts with M8 and ends with just recently released M10D. 

So, I knew I wanted to get a used Leica and I also knew I don't want to get too narrow with my lens. Not more than 50mm. So when I actually found a great deal and got a 50mm lens I didn't consider getting the M8 because of its cropped sensor. So, I was deciding between M9 and M240 and I actually found an M240 that was just slightly more expensive than M9 AND it was actually almost new. So thats why we can probably all agree the M is a beautiful camera. The design is based on M3 and it remained more or less untouched and It has this retro look, especially this chrome finish

Now when you look at the camera you can see there are 3 basic settings outside. Focusing. Aperture ring and shutter speed. Those can be set even when the camera is turned off. 

Unlike the old Leicas, this is full of electronics so when you remove the bottom plate you will find your memory card slot and the battery. The camera will actually not work in case the bottom plated is not connected to the camera.

When we are talking about battery, I have actually never run out of battery. I think I get more than 600 shots on a battery charge but it also depends on a temperature or if you use the live view, video and so on. You get this charger to charge your battery when you buy the camera. It comes together with a cable. One thing I have figured when I am travelling and I don't want to take too many cables with me, you can actually use a part of your iPhone or mac charger. Plug it in and use it like this.

One thing to note is this camera does not have electronic shutter but I would say its pretty quite. especially on the street. You can set it all to way to 4000 or you can use Auto. Lot of people actually dislike the auto mode, but I mean those functions are there to help you and I also use it some times when I am unsure or just to figure out what the camera suggests at the moment.

M240 actually has a video button and to be honest. I dont really know why you should want a video in this type of camera. It doesn't not have an image stabilisation, no HDR, only 25 frames while shooting 1080, no mic impute, no headphones, no HDMI port. No Flat profile. But you know it's there and the best camera is the one you have with you.

The cool thing is you can actually use the manual focusing to create nice focused to out of focus shots. not like you can not do that with an iPhone. I like it has microphone even thou I would place it to the bottom probably or somewhere where it is not visible and distracting . I mean. You will probably never use it as your main audio source. but its nice to have it for audio synch in the post.  

The ISO has its dedicated button and you can change it using this wheel WHILE holding the ISO button. It was actually little confusing at the beginning.

So the base iso is 200 but when I was watching Thorsten Overgaard he said the dynamic range tops at 400. So thats good to know.

When you check the view finder you will notice you are not looking true the lens and that  why what you see is not what you get due to the parallax -There are  3 types of marks in the viewfinder, left arrow right arrow and dot. What they show you is you are either under or over exposed. At the beginning I had little problems to remember whenever I should over or underexpose so actually thought myself a little trick. When you see the red arrow pointing the the left. You either has to move the upper part of your aperture ring to the left or move your shutter ring to the left. If that makes sense to you.  Or vice versa if it points to the right. Or you have to change your ISo.

The focusing is actually little tricky at first but after some time you will quickly figure it out. As for the focusing you have few options to approach it.

The easiest one is to bump up your ISO and use for example  F8, f 11 Together with that when you set your focus to infinity you can use your camera as kind of point and shoot for distance 5 meters and longer.

You can also use zone focusing where figure out the distance according to the f stop you  use and you actually see on the lens what distance is in focus for each F stop.

When you are focusing what you actually see is this small rectangle with a “ghost image”. The key is to line up both - what you see and the ghost image. also little tip here when you need to move your ghost image to the left, you can imagine you need to move the upper part of the focusing ring to the left. Great way to focus on the moving subject is actually start at infinity and then slowly as your subject moves you move the focusing ring to the other side. Considering you are trying to focus on subject moving toward you. Since I think thats gonna be 90% of your shots. 

When you look at the back you can see this camera has its dedicated  Live view button. I actually find Live view quite useful. Especially for those low angle shot but it also works for me as an light meter. I ofter just turn it on and figure-out what is the right speed for the shot I want to create. I would not probably use EVF since i think it kinda kills the whole point of having the rangefinder and especially when you have the option of live view. Whats cool about this viewfinder is - you actually see around the borders of what you are shooting. Its also little similar when you are using the life view. except what you see on the screen is actually what you get.

So what is my setting when I go out to shoot. I usually go out when there is plenty of light so my typical setting is F8 ISO 800 and then I am adjusting either shutter speed or if I am getting under 180 I am adjusting ISO.

I rarely shoot at night but when I do I shoot only wide open with high ISO. Otherwise it does not work for me.

As I said I have only  50mm lens and  I use it mostly for street photography, portraits but I mean you can actually also use it for landscapes. It's just not that convenient because. you know, its not a wide lens.

When I want a wider shot - I move a little back. When I want little tider shot - I move closer. So, lets talk about some pros and cons

This camera is Heavy. I mean you will find out as soon as you hold it in your hand. But again Its probably lighter than a big DSLR. I think my combo of body and lens is like 1kg. So it’s like - you will feel it a little once you carry it for the whole day. Not the end of the world but still…

It does not have an autofocus -  I mean that’s obvious and  its expensive. Even though if you do not need the latest greatest you can find used ones for pretty great deal.

Now on the other hand - This camera is quite small when you consider it is a full frame. It's Great looking - no doubts about that. It’s actually pretty Easy to use. It does not have an auto focus. I know I have mentioned it as a minus but I think its also actually a good thing. Let’s say it would have the same option as Leica Q or in my case the D-lux. To have and auto together with manual focus. To be honest, I would probably never used the manual focus. I mean. How many of you are using the manual focus except for like situations like staged portrait or macro. By not having the option this camera actually forces you to learn it.

So should you get Leica M?

So, If you are totally new I would probably recommend you to loan one before you buy it so you know what you are buying. You can get a cheap option with Leica M8 and Voidlander lens but it’s hard to recommend this since I think M8 is already discontinued and It would be expensive to repair it eventually.

In my opinion if you can find M 240 for a great price it actually still great even tho it has been released 6 years ago. With every new M they introduce, every generations gets slightly better, lighter, faster but it is also more expensive. So it's up to you how much you want to spend.

Can this be your only camera? I mean. It can … if you don't purchase any other camera… In my case I have been using this one and my iPhone for video and that pretty much it. So it depends on what you need the camera for.

The last thing I want to point out this camera will not make you a great photographer. Thats something you actually have to learn. Let me know in the comments do you have Leica M, how do you like it or are you considering getting into the M system?