... blog post:
Choosing a camera is not about a relentless search for the one with the most feature rich function set nor indeed the latest leading edge technology. Rather it’s about finding a tool that is, as closely as possible, optimised to support the photographer’s favoured creative process or at least it should be...
As a stills photographer (remember us?) not a content creator nor a vlogger nor a videographer nor indeed a movie maker, modern so called "hybrid" mirrorless digital cameras that do both video and stills leave me cold.
Yes they are feature rich, yes they are highly specified, yes they contain the latest whizzy technology but, indeed there is a very big but, for a purely stills photographer you end up with a shed load of complex operational functionality that gets in the way of what you trying to achieve. Yuk!
Additionally you also get a whole set of features you neither want nor need and will never use which are a major contributor to the complexity of the operation of the camera (have a look at their menu systems for example). Ah now, there's the word I associate with them, complexity; yes they are overly complex for my requirements.
As a 'classical' stills photographer I value above all simplicity of operation in a camera that allows me to focus fully on the process of making photographs.
Not having to worry about what the camera is doing, what decisions it is making for me that I am unaware of or what button I have pressed accidentally to trigger a mode I can't undo without a deep dive into a menu that's hard to navigate, or maybe finding the AF system tracking faces when I don't want it to and not when I do, and on and on... in other words I want to avoid mind mangling complexity that leads to missed moments, ugh!
I need control over exposure, focus and composition. Exposure in turn means control over apertures, shutter speeds and ISO's. Together with manual focusing plus the ability to place frames around the subject that's all, neither more nor less. In my world everything else needs to shove off and leave me alone to get on with it. I do not need nor want the camera making decisions for me in my creative universe, that's my job as the photographer.
Enter my M10-R, being designed specifically for stills photographers like myself, making it unique; it has everything I need and nothing I don't. With its minimalist design, it has a directness of operation to it that allows me to concentrate fully on a more considered photographic process. Along with my handful of compact prime lenses, it makes for a highly mobile and lowkey outfit giving me super image quality if I do my part.
It has indeed that essential quality that speaks to me which can be described in the single word, simplicity. But with that comes the need for the knowledge to be able to get the best out of it, so it’s not for everyone. It also has its own operational constraints due to it being a rangefinder design especially for those who are into sports, action or nature photography. I understand all of this, but for me and the way I work it's perfect.