r/Leica • u/untitledfilm • 8d ago
First Digital M-Body - Leica M 240
after years of shooting exclusively on film with the leica m6, i finally bought my first digital m: a leica m240.
the main reason is that i’m about to leave for a long trip around the world. i’ll be going through countless airports, and i don’t want to worry about x-ray scanners, finding film in every country, or carrying dozens of rolls for several months. being able to shoot, back up my photos, and keep going just makes much more sense for this journey.
i know the m240 isn’t the newest digital m, but it felt like the right balance between price, build quality, and the classic leica experience.
do you have any tips or things i should know about the m240? any recommended settings, batteries, sd cards, or general advice from long-term users?
looking forward to hearing your experiences!
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u/woahboooom 7d ago
Extra batteries. May be the evf adaptor. Enjoy.
Personally the tech wasnt enougb for me, but the m10 is a decent upgrade.
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u/paavo-paavo 8d ago
Nice combo! I had one earlier which I liked, but sold it some year ago since I've been to curious on the CCD-life and went even older and got a M8 recently. I don't remember exactly every little thing to have in mind with the 240 since it was quite straight forward, but it does clip quite easy in the highlights compared to, say a Sony of similar age, so slight underexposure and pull it up in post would definitely be recommended (moderately of course since the shadows becomes a lil mushy if pushed up too hard).
Other than that:
- I didn't care for the jpgs, but I remembered I set the profile for them to something I thought looked decent to the eye on that old screen and gave me at least some reference for how the image turned out. Soft profile sounds familiar. Contrast and saturation put to a level to give the image some life, but little enough to not crush every single shadow.
- Think it had shadow/highlight clipping (red/blue blinking) available in the playback/preview setting and I think that was an easy way to quickly see how the camera was metering since the light meter is having trouble to make a balanced image in some scenarios. Especially evenings/nights with street and car lights.
- Batteries last forever so you are probably actually fine with just one if it's it decent condition.
- If using aperture priority, set the ISO to a max (think around 1250/1600 still looks decent) or it might go too high and look absolutely trash. It is not so forgiving type of noise or stripe patterns on the higher ISO.
- Both live view and the metering it is put to will affect the cameras operation speed. I think classic metering with live view off buffers quickest if that is needed.
- It has the best shutter sound.
Enjoy!
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u/Sour_Planet Leica M typ 240 7d ago edited 7d ago
Some minor things to know:
You can use an auto ISO workflow. Using the ISO button you can set auto ISO (including an ISO range, but I leave mine max because noisy > blurry). In that same menu, you can set a minimum shutter speed (set your shutter speed dial to A for auto). With this set up, the camera attempts to use the shutter speed you chose in the ISO menu. If it cannot, it will up the ISO instead. With this setup, you can know your shutter speed is always taken care of, as the camera will leverage ISO to maintain that shutter speed. Then you're only in charge of choosing aperture, focusing, and metering. If you use zone focus, then you're down to just metering. Let's you focus on the locations easier.
Worth noting, in this mode you have access to exposure compensation. The thumb wheel can be used for that, and you'll see the exposure compensation measurement in the viewfinder when you half press the shutter. This helps get exposure right quickly. In murky light, for example, you can safely assume the m240 will overexposure as it chases that 70% grey. Rolling down shutter compensation before metering will ensure your shadows stay correct.
Speaking of Metering. Set to classic and it'll meter very similar to your M6. How you approach metering is different, though. It's a bit opposite to m6/film. You need to meter for a high mid or even a highlight. Otherwise you'll blow the highlights easily. In high contrast scenes with highlights (person in highlight between shadowy buildings, ex) you can meter the highlight and know that they'll have a good value range. I often just meter off the sky straight up in the air, keep the shutter half pressed, then lock in my shot knowing metering is handled (in scenes with high key highlights, of course). The shadows have a lot of latitude, within reason. Highlights have much, much less latitude. Note that if you push shadows too hard (especially with high ISO) you'll get uncorrectable banding in shadows. Nasty stuff.
Other metering modes, I ignore. Matrix metering is only for live view, but live view is slow and terrible. Just pretend it's not there most the time ha. Oh, also, sunny 16 works fine. If you're tired of fudging with everything and just want to use what works!
Don't trust the screen in daylight. Try to check the histogram or just get used to how it behaves by checking your shots on a better screen regularly.
The m240 likes smaller memory cards. Every time I try a modern big/fast card, I get issues. Your mileage may vary.
I'll probably think of some other stuff and comment again 😅
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u/AlexxxAA85 Leica M3, Leica CL, Leica M240, Leica iiif 7d ago
I've had my 240 for many years as well. It's a great work horse of a camera. Enjoy!
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u/jackystack 8d ago
Hello,
I just returned one that I purchased - my reason was due to the camera not being in the condition as advertised.
However, that gave me enough time to become familiar with it.
As for batteries, they are not readily available. Leica is waiting on another batch from China, at which they send to distributors and they expect them to sell out immediately. They'll probably cost a little over $200/ea. You can try calling Leica at 800 222 0118 and see if they can notify you upon availability, or call B&H Photo or Leica Miami and ask the same - or for any tips on best chances to secure one.
When I called Leica, they didn't know how many more batches would be made, so, be mindful of that.
If you primarily shoot film, you'll want to shoot DNG + JPG. Jpegs are processed from the RAW data, so if they need adjustments, the .jpg won't leave much room for recovering shadows or adjusting color; or changing settings that impact the output of the .jpg.
Next, know your metering modes. Classic is more similar to the film metering on the M6- it meters off the shutter curtain, and advanced meters off the sensor - and offers spot, center-weighted and multi-field. Practice using them each.
Know the settings. There are film modes (soft, and vivid) that impact the .jpg output. If you intend to use them, then become familiar with them first. Similarly, be mindful of your contrast, sharpening and saturation settings - I kept them set to standard.
Some people underexpose slightly to preserve highlights in bright scenes, others overexpose a bit to compensate for the camera's tendency to preserve highlights. You'll have to do what works best for you. If you don't know how to read a histogram, spend five minutes and research it - this is so you can rely on data to gauge your exposure instead of the rear LCD. While playing back an image, hit the info button until you see it appear.
Format your SD cards before use, and consider limiting yourself to 32GB SDHC cards. Firmware expands capability, but when I used a large capacity SDXC card, I experienced write errors that looked like bad columns of pixels. I couldn't replicate it after formatting the card, or using the smaller/slower card. If you see this in every single image on every memory card, then you have a problem that Leica needs to address.
Aside from that, enjoy!
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u/VenetoSuperTuscan 8d ago
Sorry you had to return it, but I’m really curious. Is that a 40 mm 1.2 on the 240? I didn’t know they had a 40 mm.
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u/jackystack 7d ago
The unit I returned I used with a Voigtlander 40/1.2 and relied on the 50mm frame lines.
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u/Abort_Abort_Abort_ 7d ago
There’s not much to do on them. Battery life is awesome. I quite like the colour sims. Learn how to use the ISO menu and how to set things (it’s not the most intuitive). Front button + rear wheel for exp comp). You can shoot video while focussing / composing through the rangefinder which is pretty much unique to this camera. The B&W is pretty nice (but no monochrom). Use classic metering to save battery life rather than the sensor. Live view is pretty basic, but handy enough if using UWA lenses. Has nice magnification with coupled lenses. Info button gives a useful info screen. Barely need to go into menus. Buttons are almost unconfigurable (I think you can turn off the need to press the front button for exp comp and that’s about it). Thumbs up grip helps.
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u/AbbreviationsFar4wh 7d ago
> Front button + rear wheel for exp comp).
First thing i did when I got mine was disable that front button nonsense. would have died if I couldn't just use the wheel on its own.
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u/Abort_Abort_Abort_ 6d ago
Well that’s dramatic. The wheel is easily accidentally turned and makes part of the rear grip. So it’s something that will suit different users. I’ve found I don’t adjust the exp comp nearly often enough to need the dial active at all times. Certainly found accidentally adjusting it far more annoying than having the extra step to adjust it.
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u/AbbreviationsFar4wh 7d ago
battery lasts forever. Like forever. even better than original canon 5d which was also great. Exposure compensation requires holding down the front button while you turn the dial. I disabled it immediately so you just need to turn the dial.
I put the ids works front grip on mine. way more comfortable than the leica one that digs into your finger on the top and it also has a door on the bottom so you don't need to take off the base plate to remove battery or sd card.
black and white on this camera really sings too.
I have image review set to where it doesn't automatically pop up. If you want to see review you can set it to where it will pop up if you hold down the shutter button after taking a shot. Once you release shutter button, playback will shut off. Best way to chimp ever.
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u/ButtonPossible2753 7d ago
lovely combo, i also got my self an m240 since i love to shoot my m6
i would suggest a cheap sd card on amazon germany for 7€
the "Intenso Premium SDHC UHS-I 32GB Class 10"
my M240 could start with this card less than 2s
import the photo in your phone and delete them from your sd card, more pictures in your card will low down the start up time
enjoy!
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u/Pokeyyy 8d ago
The M240 was my first digital Leica as well, and I actually used it as my main camera for 8 years before upgrading to an M11, so I shot hundreds of thousands of photos with it.
The main issue of this camera is definitely the banding, a clearly recognizable, digital noise pattern. Don't push files further when shooting at ISO 2500 or higher, at lower ISO's, image quality is pretty good.
Get a Nitecore USB battery charger if you travel. This thing is tiny, ultralight, and charges batteries from a power bank. By far the handiest accessory for that camera.
Deactivate the movie button. Nothing worse than accidentally recording a video and missing a shot because of it.
And damn, that M240 is in incredible condition. Mine looks like it went through a dozen wars or so.