It’s no great secret that an M10-version of the Monochrom is scheduled for release sometime in 2020. Even without the many rumours, it would be a logical progression in the usual Leica schedule — M10, M10-P, Monochrom.
We saw it with the M9 and again with the M240, so it’s no big surprise that an M10 Monochrom model is in the offing. If anything, it is a little overdue.
What is interesting, though, is that the new Monochrom will have a larger sensor. According to Nokishita and Leica Rumors, the Leica M10 Monochrom will feature a 40.9MP sensor. For a long time, there have been whispers that the M11 would have a new sensor which would be over 40MP but not as dense as the 47.3MP chip already used in the SL2 and Q2.
Indeed, there would little point in launching an M11 with another 24MP sensor, however much improved it might be in terms of dynamic range or low-light ability. The impending M10 Monochrom, therefore, is a clear steer on the future. It rather turns the usual line of succession on its head, leapfrogging its parent in one surprising move.
Interim M10?
Yet if this M10 Monochrom does have the larger sensor, and it seems to be almost certain, we are left wondering about the current M10 and how long it can survive with the 24MP sensor. While almost all owners profess to be happy with the current sensor, the march of progress demands more.
The form factor of the M10 is widely seen as the apotheosis of the digital rangefinder. Virtually identical in size to the M7 film camera, the M10 ticks all the boxes. There is no demand for it to be made smaller and the ergonomics are ideal rangefinder fare.
At the moment, therefore, it is difficult to imagine what genuine improvements could be made in the M11 other than the use of the larger sensor.
Either the arrival of the M11 is nearer than we thought or Leica will produce an interim model, an M10 with the larger sensor. It would certainly keep the pot bubbling and remove the pressure to produce a wholly new M11. This time around, we could be waiting until 2022 or even later for a complete upgrade.
24Mp is all I need and is more than adequate for my A3 prints.
Leica needs to grasp the nettle and produce an M with an IBIS. To produce an M with 40+ million pixels and no IBIS is asking for trouble. Especially if the competition , Sony, Nikon etc are moving to 60+ million pixels and Leica needs to keep up with the traffic. The thorny question is of course , can Leica buy-in the tech? Do not protest about the body size. Pentax / Ricoh can do it in the GR. Sony in the A7 series. Nikon in the Z7… (don’t know anything about the Canon R)
Just some thought on the possible future of the M.
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No stabilisation in the Canon R (..we’ll, not in mine anyway..) as they build that into (some of) the lenses.
oh a larger sensor, so larger files – whoppee – I can hear the Hard Drive, and Storage solutions makers rubbing their hands together in glee at another storage filling camera coming to the market.
On a more sensible note, I am glad you clarified the image – I thought it was that special offer afternoon tea at Macfilos towers.
That, believe it or not, was a street performer in Piccadilly Circus whom I encountered about four years ago. The detail and effort was quite remarkable and well worth the £1 I put in his teacup for allowing me to take the picture. An ideal subject for the Monochrom, I thought: Madcap camera meets the Mad Hatter.
Yes it is remarkable how much effort is in that costume, and set up. Worth the £1, and suits Monochrom. It certainly does the camera justice.
I was momentarily excited about a medium format sensor M camera as well and then realized that does not make sense so then I thought it might be UK 🇬🇧 english that is confusing me. All I can figure out is that something exciting will eventually happen. Or is Mike now doing click and bait posts to drive up traffic like Dpreview?
“..a larger sensor..”..? Larger than 1½x1″ ..I mean 36x24mm?
Oh: more megapixels. A greater number. A higher number. A larger number of pixels. Gotcha. Just for a minute there I thought we were getting a ‘medium-format’-size sensor in an M camera.
I use larger in the colloquial sense, David. Lots of people say this without visualising a greater area. Did I not also refer to denser, as in more pixels on the same 36x24mm?
Ah, I must be the one who’s denser!