Leica had decided to give one of its most popular new digital cameras an analog redesign. And the iPhone plays a crucial role.
The camera company revealed a new variant of the M10 today. It completely ditches the rear LCD display and replaces it with your smartphone via a new app, making it free of digital distractions so you can just shoot.
The new M10-D has a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor and quieter shutter. Most of the exposure settings can be accessed from the dials, but in order to see your shots, you’ll have to bust out your iPhone.
Photo: Leica
Instead of using a rear LCD with viewfinder, Leica created a new Fotos app. From the app, you can change the white balance, JPEG or DNG formatting and other exposure settings. You can view photos and download them for editing and sharing. Leica’s Fotos app also acts as a remote trigger.
Leica replaced the LCD display with a circular dial that adjusts exposure compensation and a ring to turn on WiFi. The Verge got to spend some time with the new camera and said that while the new camera looks great, giving up the convenience of being able to quickly look at shots isn’t worth it. Connecting to the camera’s WiFi can take a minute, and using the app to constantly view pictures drains your battery.
Still, the idea of having a digital camera that looks like a film camera will probably appeal to a lot of photography lovers. If you’ve got a bunch of money to throw at a new toy camera, this could be for you. Pricing for the Leica M10-D is set at $7,995. The Fotos app is available on Android and iOS for free.
