Hi Jonathan,
For some time now I'd been looking for a nice small(ish) camera in the digital age that I just could grab and go with.
I had an LX3 but yearned for something with a bit more capability in its sensor. Something with a fine optic and sufficient DR that could produce reasonably good quality prints (13 x 19 in a nice frame) in color through ISO 800 and BW as high as the sensor could muster (noise is grain in my book so even bad shots are as good as the best of the film era.)
The Sony RX100 I, II, & (now) III didn't do anything for me, even with the impressive EVF of the III. (Also, is it the tastes of the folks behind the RAW processing but why do the colors on the images that I've seen here, flickr and elswhere look so garish with those cameras?) I liked the Fuji X100 series but, despite its wonderfully conceived hybrid finder still fell short of a view I had with an M6. Viewing through some I had the opportunity to hold in person still seemed like peering into a peephole for me and despite having an EVF to confirm things, the focusing accuracy was always a concern when speed might be needed. The Ricoh, as fine as some of the shots I've seen here have been, also seemed to be lacking with it's lack of VF.
What I like so far: IQ, AF speed, optics, heft, optional grip, price, reasonable silence, UX (Replacing "P" with double "A's" has always been nothing short of brilliant in my book). 4K capability. And the ability to create images that could lead to quality prints as large and as well as the best of the 35mm film era.
Dislikes: None that I can tell at this time. (And maybe time will tell.)
I think I've found my first Leica since the Digilux 2!
Thank you for a terrific review.
P