Leica M Typ 240 Review | 108 Data compared

The Leica M (240) is a digital camera that bridges traditional rangefinder shooting with modern mirrorless features, building upon its predecessor, the M9. As a classic rangefinder, the camera introduces major internal refinements, including a faster processor, larger buffer, quieter shutter, and weather-sealed body, all while retaining the intuitive menu system and simple aesthetics from earlier film and digital models. Its ergonomic updates are particularly successful; the thumb wheel has been efficiently relocated to an integrated metal thumb-grip, and the new two-stage shutter release offers a silky smooth, purposeful, and nearly inaudible click. Image quality from the new CMOS sensor is highly malleable, providing richer base ISO colors, expanded dynamic range, and a 1.5-stop improvement in high ISO performance, making images shot at ISO 3200 look excellent with natural skin tones. However, the camera falters when operated strictly as a full-frame mirrorless camera via Live View or the electronic viewfinder (EVF). Users face an annoying one-second screen blackout after capturing an image, and the slow 30 fps refresh rate causes visual "tearing" when panning or tracking moving subjects. The lack...

The Leica M Typ 240 is a mirrorless full-frame camera that provides a highly improved, emotionally engaging shooting experience over its predecessor, the M9, making it a viable tool for professional wedding and portrait photography. A standout feature is the addition of a responsive Live View mode with precise focus peaking, which allows the reviewer to confidently shoot moving subjects completely wide open at f/0.95 using the heavy Noctilux lens. Furthermore, the camera introduces weather sealing, vastly superior battery life capable of lasting a full wedding day on under a 50% charge, significantly better ISO performance that delivers highly usable images at ISO 6400, and a modernized menu system. Clients also respond positively to its classic, quiet aesthetic, which helps foster a more artistic mindset and ensures discretion during sensitive moments. Despite these major upgrades, the camera comes with notable drawbacks, chief among them being its insanely high price point that makes it a poor choice to buy on credit. While the body is weather-sealed, the benefit is neutralized because Leica M-mount lenses lack weather sealing. Ergonomically, the camera requires...

In this comprehensive review, Patrick evaluates the Leica M Typ 240 as a worthy, highly refined successor to the M9, celebrating its shift from a CCD to a 24-megapixel CMOS sensor. The author heavily praises the camera's exceptional, dense build quality, noting that it introduces long-awaited features like a durable, higher-resolution 920k-dot 3-inch LCD screen, an integrated thumb rest, and weather sealing. He finds that the new electronic editions—including Live View, focus peaking, three advanced metering modes, and automatic LED-lit framelines—significantly modernize the shooting experience without sacrificing the core analog essence of a traditional rangefinder. Ultimately, the review emphasizes that the CMOS sensor delivers richer, smoother, and incredibly sharp images alongside drastically improved high ISO performance up to 3200 and 6400, rendering it his favorite M camera. Despite his overwhelming enthusiasm, Patrick highlights a few distinct drawbacks regarding the system's design and functionality. On the physical side, the camera body is noticeably thicker and slightly heftier than previous digital M models. From a performance standpoint, there is a short delay during startup, and while the addition of a 1080p movie...

The PCMag review highlights the Leica M (Typ 240) as a highly refined digital rangefinder, featuring a 24-megapixel CMOS sensor that delivers excellent image quality, live view with focus peaking, and a robust, weather-sealed build. While praising its versatility with legacy lenses, the review also notes the bright optical viewfinder, sharp rear display, and the option for an electronic viewfinder as major strengths. Conversely, the camera is limited by a high $6,950 MSRP, slow startup times, and manual-focus-only operation. Additional drawbacks include lackluster 1080p video quality with noticeable rolling shutter and a peculiar auto ISO quirk where manual shutter speed changes disable it without proper display feedback.

In this professional review, wedding documentary photographer Jimmy Cheng evaluates the Leica M Type 240 after six months of extensive real-world testing across weddings, portraits, and street photography. He praises the camera's unrivaled, hand-built all-metal construction and its discrete, retro appearance, which prevents subjects from feeling intimidated during candid shoots. Proponents of the system will appreciate the exceptionally quiet shutter, vastly improved battery life that competes with modern DSLRs, and a bright, large rangefinder window that lets you see outside the frame lines for optimal timing. Additionally, Cheng highlights the introduction of Live View with focus peaking and LED frame lines, which greatly enhance focusing accuracy when using longer, fast telephoto glass or legacy lenses. However, the reviewer balances his praise with several specific drawbacks, noting that the camera lacks the absolute solid feel of vintage 1950s M2 or M3 models and behaves with a slight operational lag. Major performance complaints include a slow continuous burst rate, a sluggish buffer write time, and an annoying 2-to-3-second screen blackout period when taking successive shots in Live View or EVF mode. He...

The Leica M Typ 240 is a digital rangefinder camera that offers an organic, film-like raw file rendition resembling fine-grained slide film, avoiding the sterile and overly clean look of competing systems. Its robust, weather-sealed brass construction handles extreme weather conditions exceptionally well, and the device boasts class-leading battery life alongside a simple, highly responsive menu layout that keeps the camera out of the photographer's way. Furthermore, its native compatibility with compact, high-performance M-mount lenses allows users to seamlessly swap glass between modern digital bodies and traditional film cameras. However, the camera suffers from several distinct operational flaws, most notably an inaccurate auto-white balance system that struggles heavily under mixed and indoor artificial lighting. Out-of-the-box raw files processed in Adobe Lightroom suffer from a frustrating red or pink skin tone cast, while its unreliable exposure meter frequently under-exposes in landscape orientation and over-exposes by a full stop when flipped into portrait mode. Additionally, mechanical issues like camera lockups when using the electronic viewfinder and rangefinder misalignment require factory servicing, and eyeglass wearers will find it nearly impossible to fully see...

The Leica M Typ 240 is a refined digital rangefinder camera that marks a significant evolution over its predecessor, the Leica M9, primarily due to its transition from a CCD sensor to a full-frame 24 MP CMOS sensor. Key advantages of the camera include enhanced operational speed, a smoother and quieter shutter mechanism, drastically improved battery life yielding 500 to 750 clicks per charge, and a much sharper 3-inch 921,000-dot rear LCD screen that remedies the slow image review times of older models. In terms of image quality, the M Typ 240 excels with a robust 13-stop dynamic range at base ISO and a 1.5-stop improvement in high ISO performance, producing highly malleable DNG files that resist color banding. Additionally, the camera introduces bright, LED-illuminated framelines and introduces Live View functionality alongside Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) capability. Despite these clear upgrades, the reviewer highlights several notable drawbacks, particularly regarding the execution of its new electronic capabilities. The Live View and EVF implementation is described as highly disappointing, plagued by a jarring 0.5-second shutter lag, a shaky 30 FPS display prone to...

The Leica M Typ 240 remains a compelling, value-for-money option for photographers seeking the unique rangefinder experience without paying the premium for newer models like the M10 or M10-P. The reviewer notes that its handling is fun and straightforward, particularly for those transitioned from film rangefinders like the Leica M6. Key strengths (pros) of the M240 include its unique, character-rich image rendering—especially regarding skin tones—which the reviewer actually prefers over the "cleaner" and more modern output of the M10. Additionally, it offers an uncompressed DNG (RAW) file option and features Full HD video capabilities at 30 FPS, a feature completely removed from its successor. However, the camera shows its age when contrasted with newer generations. Its notable drawbacks (cons) include a bulkier build that is 4mm thicker than the M10, and a smaller, lower-magnification viewfinder (0.68x vs 0.73x) that lacks highly usable focus peaking for off-angle shooting. From a usability standpoint, adjusting exposure compensation requires a somewhat clunky multi-button sequence, and ISO changes must be made via a rear button rather than a dedicated top dial. Finally, the older Maestro...

In his review for 35mmc, Hamish Gill shares his experiences using a chrome-finished Leica M [typ 240] as a temporary replacement camera. As the first digital M body to adopt a CMOS sensor, this camera introduced new features like live-view tracking and 1080p video recording to the rangefinder ecosystem. A key pro highlighted in the review is the inclusion of live-view, which surprisingly won Gill over by facilitating easier focusing on uncoupled lenses at close distances (down to 40cm) and allowing him to maintain peripheral vision awareness during street shoots. Structurally, the camera remains highly praised for its familiar, robust ergonomics, a relatively straightforward menu layout despite expanded capabilities, and a seamless transition for users accustomed to traditional Leica bodies. YouTube ·Sebastian Oakley Conversely, the review presents distinct cons regarding the camera's display performance and added multimedia functionalities. Gill identifies a major issue with the rear LCD screen, which renders images in cool, unsaturated tones that offer an unappealing and inaccurate preview of the final shot, contrasting poorly with the warmer screen of the newer M262. Furthermore, he explicitly dismisses...

This review of the Leica M Type 240 focuses heavily on its video and movie-making performance, noting that while it is a stellar 24MP digital rangefinder for still photography, its video capabilities suffer from significant engineering oversights. On the positive side (pros), the camera delivers a high-quality still output and captures video that is comparable to the Canon 5D Mark III in ideal settings. It boasts an exceptional battery life that can withstand hours of operation in the field, a very sharp and useful Visoflex EVF2 electronic viewfinder for pre-shoot framing, and the ability to mount some of the finest, most exotic light-strong lenses in the world to create stunning, artsy depth-of-field effects. However, the camera's cons present serious hurdles for professional videographers, revealing that Leica failed to consult video experts during its development. The CMOS sensor produces a severe rolling shutter effect ("wobble" or "skew") that makes panning or capturing fast-moving objects highly problematic. Furthermore, crucial functions are locked while recording; users cannot use the magnification zoom feature to adjust focus on the fly, and the camera lacks exposure...

The Leica M Typ 240 marks a significant, high-performance evolution from its predecessor, the M9, by shifting from a CCD sensor to a highly capable 24-megapixel CMOS sensor. Acclaimed photographer and reviewer Thorsten Overgaard highlights that while the camera maintains Leica's legendary cornerstone of physical simplicity, robust craftsmanship, and minimal external controls, it significantly amplifies operational versatility. The camera excels by introducing an improved continuous frame rate of 3.5 frames per second, a much deeper and tougher buffer system for seamless workflow, an expanded maximum light sensitivity of up to ISO 6400, and a fully weather-sealed chassis carved out of a single piece of metal. This model fundamentally unlocks the ability to pair vintage M-mount optics with state-of-the-art digital tools such as Live View framing and 10x Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) focus peaking, creating a uniquely flexible shooting environment for portraiture and ambient travel photography. Despite its powerhouse performance, the M Typ 240 introduces certain ergonomic and technical drawbacks that require user adaptation. Its greatest workflow obstacle stems from a heavily cluttered menu system and confusing button reassignment—such as the "Live...

The Amateur Photographer review highlights the Leica M (Typ 240) as a robust, weather-sealed, and beautifully engineered digital rangefinder, marking a significant evolution with its 24-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and useful Live View functionality. Pros include exceptional build quality, improved functionality via focus peaking for adapted lenses, and reliable image quality that bridges traditional heritage with modern, versatile technology. Conversely, the review notes significant drawbacks, specifically that the Live View and EVF options cause a frustrating, near one-second lag between shots, hindering fast, spontaneous photography. The camera is also described as heavy, and its blocky design is less comfortable than traditional, lighter alternatives. Amateur Photographer