Leica has announced a purer, more affordable addition to its M rangefinder series.
Leica M (Type 262) is essentially a stripped-back version of the existing Leica M (Type 240), which launched back in 2012. It comes with the same basic design, the same 24-megapixel full-frame image sensor, and the same optical viewfinder.
However, Leica has cut out some of the extraneous features to form a more straight-forward rangefinder that will no-doubt please the Leica purists no end.
The Leica M (Type 262) cannot record video footage, for example, unlike its older brother. It also lacks the Type 240’s live view feature, which has the knock-on effect of making the menu system much cleaner, and providing quicker access to settings.
Leica has also cut back on the construction materials of the Leica M (Type 262), employing aluminium instead of brass for the top plate. This has the effect of making the camera 100g lighter.
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Elsewhere, the Type 262 has a shutter that’s “hardly audible,” which plays into the Leica brand’s peerless history as the street photographer’s choice. As part of this, the Type 262 also has a shutter cocking system that’s considerably quieter than its predecessor.
The final advantage of stripping things back is that the Leica M (Type 240) will be more affordable than its brother. Of course, using the word ‘affordable’ in conjunction with any Leica is somewhat laughable – it’ll still set you back $5,195 (just under £3,400) when it launches at the end of November.
But when you consider that the Type 240 costs $6,950 (around £4,540), that’s quite a saving.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.