When I reviewed Leica’s new no-frills M (Typ 262) just after introduction I based it on an in-store play at Red Dot Cameras. Leica UK still hasn’t released the press fleet so I’ve been starved of a longer dalliance. This has not been the case for my friend Jim Arnold in Ohio. He was quick off the ball and managed to borrow a camera from Lensrentals. Since then he’s been into a lot of detail and has produced the first real test of an M262 in the wild. It’s an excellent assessment of the new beast and well worth reading. I relied on him for menu screen shots and other details in my brief overview. Thank you, Jim.
The comparison with his own M9-based M-E is illuminating; as is his decision to sell the M-E and invest in a new M262 which he hopes to get next week.
Like the M-E of 2012, this M 262 is a way to prolong the shelf-life of aging components. This is a good thing, as just with the M-E, they are very good components, and the simplified model is also the purest.
I recently purchased a brand-new M-E for about the same price as a clean, used M 240, and couldn’t be happier with that choice.
Couldn’t agree more, Andrew. The M9/M-E will still be taking great pictures in ten years’ time provided Leica have learned their M8 lesson of stocking spare electronic bits. Similarly, the M262 is a digital rangefinder for the next decade. Leica should concentrate on minor tweaks and leave the innovation boys to the SL/T/Q etc. This way they can keen both worlds happy.
I have the M262, recently purchased at Red Dot Cameras on Old Street. I use an MP and an M7 so this is my first digital Leica. It’s a beautiful piece of kit and I’m pleased that Leica understand that less is more when it comes to a rangefinder. Some commentators have described the M262 as an "entry level" Leica but I think the lack of live view and video, which do nothing to enhance the use of a rangefinder, has resulted in a better camera than its digital predecessors.