From a design perspective the compact camera systems underwent a revolution between the 2006-2016 period. When we look into just how comfortable and convenient it was to carry a camera around, the Leica design certainly sat the standard for comfort of carrying a camera around on daily basis.
Leica screw mount of the 1930s were compact in design and very comfortable to carry around. With the introduction of the M system in 1950s Leica sat a totally new standard of reliability. The Leica M3, although slightly bigger than the screw mount system, continues to be one of the most collected professional compact film systems followed by success stories of M4 and M6.
Leica M6 was the longest running M in production lasting some 20 years in production and followed by the only M that accommodates the user with an apatur priority mode (A), viz., Leica M7. Today with improvements in scanning technology many professionals consider Leica M7 as a highly capable fast shooter, especially with professional grade black and white film that can be pushed a stop or two hence making the M7 and fast lenses, such as the Leica Summilux line, a great all around camera.
With technological advancement of late 1990s Leica also had to make the move to the digital line as other camera manufacturers were already way ahead of Leica in production of digital cameras. Nikon D100 of the 2002 is a good example of a high grade digital camera with exceptional build quality and relatively easy to carry around.
The relatively compact cameras design of the time, more or less, took their cues from Nikon D100 until 2006 when Leica took its most serious step into the digital age and introduced the Leica M8.
As Leica celebrates the 10th anniversary of the digital M in 2016 and the same year’s Photokina in Cologne promises more advanced digital Ms, from a design perspective the decade between the M8 and Leica’s Type 262MD deserves considerable attention because in the same period we also see major advancements in other camera manufacturers’ design. Some of the hallmark of this period in terms of design are as follows:
(1) Olympus and Panasonic introduction of the Micro-Four Third sensor and camera design in 2008. Olympus’s legendary 2012 OMD-EM5 with its revolutionary 5 axis sensor stabilizer system (basically a sensor mounted on a moving frame that constantly keeps the sensor stabilized relative to the movement of the camera in the user’s hands).
(2) Fujifilm’s 2011 introduction of an unprecedented hybrid optical and electronic viewfinder as implemented in X100 and X-Pro lines,
(3) Sony’s 2013 introduction of RX1, the world’s smallest full frame (FX) camera with a Carl Zeiss 35 f2 lens almost touching the surface of the sensor hence producing image quality that easily competes with Leica Type 240 image quality. A year later Sony then went on to produce Sony Alpha 7 which became very popular given its light weight and compact design.
(4) Leica’s introduction of an lcd-less digital M, the Leica Type 262 MD is one of the most interesting design innovation in the digital camera market. Leica promotes the Type 262 MD as the hallmark of purist design implemented in a digital M.
(5) Fujifilm’s introduction of a considerably more advanced X-Pro, viz., the X-Pro 2 with a sophisticated optical viewfinder and an electronic rangefinder that now allows Leica M lens owners optical view of the subject with a build in electronic rangefinder for impeccable manual focusing with their M lenses on the X-Pro.
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