Leica M System

M System 10 / 11Closer to the critical moment The rangefinder system allowsnatural pictures to be taken at the heart of everyday life. The photographeris part of events and uses the rangefinder to frame what hewants to capture – a scene, an atmosphere, a moment. He can alsokeep an eye on what is going on outside the viewfinder frame. Thisallows him to anticipate the critical moment and capture it at exactlythe right instant – typical of the Leica M. The Magnum photographerElliott Erwitt said: “With a reflex camera, you create the image in thecamera. With the Leica rangefinder, you need to see the picture, recognizeit and then frame it.” Leica M pictures convey effortlessness andauthenticity because they are composed in advance and captured inthe blink of an eye. The photographer can still see his subject duringthe exposure and even in very difficult available light situations, thebright and high contrast viewfinder allows extremely fast and accuratefocusing. Combined with the short shutter delay, the rangefinder principlemakes Leica M cameras the fastest in the world.The rangefinder system is an optical masterpiece, created for cutting edge photography.Unlike with a reflex system, where you have to focus through the lens and the focal lengthand speed determine the accuracy of the measurement, with the Leica M rangefinder themeasuring basis remains constant regardless of the lens. This makes it many times moreaccurate at short focal lengths. The high-contrast focusing images in the center of the viewfinderfield guarantees fast and precise focusing with pinpoint accuracy, even in very poorlighting conditions. The image field selector enables the photographer to simulate the effectof a different focal length and thus to choose the right lens in advance. The six bright lineframes always show the exact framing as the automatic parallax compensation automaticallyadjusts their position depending on the distance setting. All the information that is relevantfor achieving a perfect result can be seen in the bright-line frame viewfinder, along with thesubject’s surroundings – ideal for spontaneous, inconspicuous photography.