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Leica M10 - Using it Professionally?

dave.gt

Well-known member
Yes, it is "only" 24mp but it seems to me that there are niche uses for the M10, where one can actually use it for professional paying projects. If one does not need huge files for large prints, it seems that the M10 would be a good choice.

It would be helpful to have an answer to:
Is anyone here using the M10 professionally?:)
 

KeithL

Well-known member
It's possible to use almost any camera professionally.

The true measure is the availability of easily accessible quick-turnaround servicing and rental outlets.

IMO
 

Bugleone

Well-known member
In mainland Europe there are lots of people using Leica rangefinder models and the "only 24 meg" is not a drawback for most. Larger sensors are wasted in many cases because European walls being smaller on average there is not the market for big prints like there is in 'The New World'. Leica is a popular book-illustrators/magazine camera and also for

The thing about Leicas is that it's a European design which chimes with a very different culture to much of the content on this and similar sites. As such it's about the last vestige of camera design which we (as Europeans, although I'm actually English!...a VERY different thing!)recognise as 'for us to use' rather than the wave of far-eastern stuff which is so often not what we really want.... In a nutshell; the Japanese like to get as many fleas onto the dog as they can and Leica folk like things as simple and discrete as possible.

Also, Leicas were never exactly 'durable workhorse' as I remember,....the rangefinders were always a touch delicate to the odd knock and getting them corrected was difficult and expensive. Plus; there is not the back-up kit which modern pro photographers seem to rely on...no tilt/shift, no real zooms,etc
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
In mainland Europe there are lots of people using Leica rangefinder models and the "only 24 meg" is not a drawback for most. Larger sensors are wasted in many cases because European walls being smaller on average there is not the market for big prints like there is in 'The New World'. Leica is a popular book-illustrators/magazine camera and also for

The thing about Leicas is that it's a European design which chimes with a very different culture to much of the content on this and similar sites. As such it's about the last vestige of camera design which we (as Europeans, although I'm actually English!...a VERY different thing!)recognise as 'for us to use' rather than the wave of far-eastern stuff which is so often not what we really want.... In a nutshell; the Japanese like to get as many fleas onto the dog as they can and Leica folk like things as simple and discrete as possible.

Also, Leicas were never exactly 'durable workhorse' as I remember,....the rangefinders were always a touch delicate to the odd knock and getting them corrected was difficult and expensive. Plus; there is not the back-up kit which modern pro photographers seem to rely on...no tilt/shift, no real zooms,etc
Ah, thanks, I can relate to the smaller wall space myself.:)

And therein lies the basis for my question..,

I have no doubt that there are some who actually have found a way to use M cameras in their business, making a living, not simply as a tool for art, pleasure, etc.

The days of enjoying my M3 and M6 are long passed. The M10 has what it takes to be used for a lot of work, I am just curious as to what kind of work.

Portraits for clients? Studio/environmental?
Landscapes?
Wall art?
Books?

My guess is that the Leica M will continue to increase in sensor size, but that is of no concern to me, just wondering if the M is actually being used in a profit-making capacity.

:):):)
 

airfrogusmc

Well-known member
Ah, thanks, I can relate to the smaller wall space myself.:)

And therein lies the basis for my question..,

I have no doubt that there are some who actually have found a way to use M cameras in their business, making a living, not simply as a tool for art, pleasure, etc.

The days of enjoying my M3 and M6 are long passed. The M10 has what it takes to be used for a lot of work, I am just curious as to what kind of work.

Portraits for clients? Studio/environmental?
Landscapes?
Wall art?
Books?

My guess is that the Leica M will continue to increase in sensor size, but that is of no concern to me, just wondering if the M is actually being used in a profit-making capacity.

:):):)
For my pro work I mostly do advertising and some corporate events. That includes annual reports, brochures, billboards, magazines, etc. 24 MPs is more than enough for what I shoot. Here are a few things that were on a highly traveled stairway wall in one of my hospital client stairwells. The size is approx 36 X 54 and you can walk right up to it. These were taken with an 18 MP Monochrom.




I had a one man exhibit here in Chicago a year ago June and the images were all 12 X 18 and almost all shot with the original 18mp M Mono the looked great. Also had an exhibit in Hamburg Germany this past May. Here is a review of the exhibit. Just use google translate if you don't speak or read German:
https://www.kultur-port.de/index.ph...-other-observations-chicago-claus-friede.html

and some local press:
https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/5-28-2019/Streets,-alleys-and-other-captured-moments/

And some billboards and an L ad all shot with cameras (not Leica's sorry) under 24mps






 

dave.gt

Well-known member
For my pro work I mostly do advertising and some corporate events. That includes annual reports, brochures, billboards, magazines, etc. 24 MPs is more than enough for what I shoot. Here are a few things that were on a highly traveled stairway wall in one of my hospital client stairwells. The size is approx 36 X 54 and you can walk right up to it. These were taken with an 18 MP Monochrom.




I had a one man exhibit here in Chicago a year ago June and the images were all 12 X 18 and almost all shot with the original 18mp M Mono the looked great. Also had an exhibit in Hamburg Germany this past May. Here is a review of the exhibit. Just use google translate if you don't speak or read German:
https://www.kultur-port.de/index.ph...-other-observations-chicago-claus-friede.html

and some local press:
https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/5-28-2019/Streets,-alleys-and-other-captured-moments/

And some billboards and an L ad all shot with cameras (not Leica's sorry) under 24mps






Hey! Thanks so much!

That is exactly what I wanted to see and understand. There seems to be this pervasive idea that everyone using an M is a street photographer/journalist/world traveller, none of which appeals to me but I have always believed that once the 24mp threshold was reached, the M would shine and be used for many purposes and for paid work rather than simply websites, galleries and Instagram.

It is and should be regarded as a professional instrument. With a proper OVF and choice of black or chrome. No black tape please!!!:)

I really appreciate your sharing what you do!!!:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
 
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ptomsu

Workshop Member
The M was and still remains a 100% professional camera IMO. This was the case back in film days and still remains the case in digital age today.

For me it has reached a culmination point in the M10 and the only thing I do not like is that it does not offer at least some primitive video. I also think that 24MP is more than enough for decent even professional shooting in most situations.

Having said that I am pretty sure that Leica will get to something like 36MP or even 47MP in their next M incarnation. M lenses surely can handle that but I have my doubt in the accuracy of even their best RF system of the M10 for such a high res sensor. And I am not sure if Leica will finally dare to put an electronic version of their RF system in just to increase accuracy and reliability.

But these are my only concerns and I am looking forward to shoot my M lenses with a modern digital M body sooner than later again :thumbup:
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I've used almost every camera I've ever owned for some kinds of "professional" jobs, including my Leica Ms as well as my Minox B. I was just viewing the Apollo 11 movie (now available as an iTunes download) and there's a scene where the row of photojournalists with cameras includes one gentleman with an early Mamiya interchangeable lens TLR next to another gentleman who pretty obviously was using an M3 with a 35mm lens fitted ... you can see the goggles.

The vast majority of photographs published in the world are sized for newspaper, books, and magazines. Very few of these photos are ever printed to greater than 1x2 feet in size. Most are printed via a multilayer screened web press which is far lower resolution than any fine art Epson photo printer. A 24 Mpixel image is able to be printed to a size of about 13x20 inch image area at 300 ppi without any interpolative resizing. So why is 24 Mpixel an issue for "professional" grade work?

If the camera fits your shooting and output needs, use it. :)

G
 

Robert Campbell

Well-known member
In mainland Europe there are lots of people using Leica rangefinder models and the "only 24 meg" is not a drawback for most...

The thing about Leicas is that it's a European design which chimes with a very different culture to much of the content on this and similar sites. As such it's about the last vestige of camera design which we (as Europeans, although I'm actually English!...a VERY different thing!)...
Ahem! Those of us in Norn Iron/Norneverland/Our Wee Country or even in the South are both Irish and European!
 

Shashin

Well-known member
If one does not need huge files for large prints, it seems that the M10 would be a good choice.
About the largest printer that is practical for most is 42". (There is a 60" large-format printer available, but that is really overkill.) I have printed files smaller than 24MP on a printer that size, basically 60" prints. I have also done 24mp images too. They were beautiful. One of the biggest myth in photography is that pixel resolution limits print size. It doesn't: wall space does.
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
About the largest printer that is practical for most is 42". (There is a 60" large-format printer available, but that is really overkill.) I have printed files smaller than 24MP on a printer that size, basically 60" prints. I have also done 24mp images too. They were beautiful. One of the biggest myth in photography is that pixel resolution limits print size. It doesn't: wall space does.
Ain't that the truth? Along with decor, wall color, and, ahem... the artistic taste of a Significant Other.:):):)

That is why our tiny spare bedroom is now a Leica Cave.:LOL:
 

vieri

Well-known member

JohnBrew

Active member
Leicas were never exactly 'durable workhorse' as I remember,....the rangefinders were always a touch delicate to the odd knock and getting them corrected was difficult and expensive. Plus; there is not the back-up kit which modern pro photographers seem to rely on...no tilt/shift, no real zooms,etc
Do you have personal experience with Leica M’s or are you merely repeating myth? Because what you say is simply not true. After owning and heavy use of 9 M’s I only had one go out of rangefinder alignment. I’ve dropped them on concrete and other surfaces with no effect. Plus rangefinder alignment can be done by any individual with a little time and patience, it’s not rocket science.
 

Bugleone

Well-known member
John,...either you were very lucky or I was very unlucky! I can't claim 9 specimens to judge from but only 2 M4's and an M3...none were mechanically impressive, were expensive to have anyone look at. The M3 I never bonded with and both M4's failed mechanically at least once while I was required to use them!

...All of the above is, of course, a very long time ago now when I was much younger with less wisdom, but my distinct impression is that the Leicas were nowhere nearly as nice to use as my wifes nikon d3300 which is a much more intuitive and 'natural' image making tool even if it lacks the style and stature. To be fair, the Leicas were 35mm cameras which is a medium that i always dsliked and never made a good image with despite 4 separate attempts to bond various systems....medium format was, and remains, my favoured 'size' and with which I made most of my best work.
 

algrove

Well-known member
John,...either you were very lucky or I was very unlucky! I can't claim 9 specimens to judge from but only 2 M4's and an M3...none were mechanically impressive, were expensive to have anyone look at. The M3 I never bonded with and both M4's failed mechanically at least once while I was required to use them!

...All of the above is, of course, a very long time ago now when I was much younger with less wisdom, but my distinct impression is that the Leicas were nowhere nearly as nice to use as my wifes nikon d3300 which is a much more intuitive and 'natural' image making tool even if it lacks the style and stature. To be fair, the Leicas were 35mm cameras which is a medium that i always dsliked and never made a good image with despite 4 separate attempts to bond various systems....medium format was, and remains, my favoured 'size' and with which I made most of my best work.
So let's think about your experiences with M's. M4 and M3 were sold what years? How many years ago? The M10 (to pick the current model) is so much more refined than your M4 and M3 there is no comparison with todays models IMHO.
 

JoelM

Well-known member
All of the wartime photographers using Leica M cameras seemed to do just fine. In my 40+ years of Leica M use, I never had a lens or camera failure. Rugged little bloody tanks. I only made it to the M8 is my disclaimer.

Joel
 

richardman

Well-known member
If "pro" means sports or macro, then probably not. Everything else? I am sure there is an iconic image of every category, INCLUDING sports and macros, that have been done with a Leica M.

Speaking of which, my M9 has the sensor corrosion and I don't have the fund to fix it. Eff my life. Back to the M7 then.
 
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