Leica Club

Leica Club Welcome Pack – Digital Leica M Cameras

Hello and welcome to the Leica Club! To help you enjoy your new purchase I’ve listed some information below to get you started and answer some of the common questions I receive.

Pack Includes:

  • Leica M camera accessories – Top 11
  • 5 tips for using your Leica camera
  • Best lens for your Leica M camera
  • Leica M camera YouTube videos
  • Join a Leica community
  • Photo editing tips
  • Leica services and recalibration
  • Remote Leica support
  • Leica photowalks
  • Master your Leica

Leica M camera accessories – Top 11

After buying your Leica camera there are certain accessories you may want to get. Here are my top 11 –

1. Spare Battery

This is a must have. You can use Leica branded batteries or 3rd party batteries. I use both types.

2. LCD Screen Protector

A simple plastic matte finish screen protector transforms the camera. No more annoying finger prints! For more protection you can get glass screen protectors. Check eBay UK or eBay COM.

3. Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) – See on YouTube

These are a gamechanger! When using a Leica M camera with an EVF (Visoflex) you can now focus non-rangefinder coupled lenses such as Leica R lenses and even Nikon lenses. See the lens adapters section below*.

4. Soft Release Shutter Button

An affordable way to customise your Leica camera is with a custom shutter release button. I have red buttons on some of my Leica cameras.

5. Strap (Neck Strap and/or Wrist Strap)

Your Leica camera is supplied with a neck strap. A new strap is another easy way to customise your camera. I use wrist straps for street photography and a neck strap for events. Basic Peak Design products are a popular quick release camera strap system that work great if you use multiple cameras. If you prefer something more premium I use these leather cameras straps which offer the option of both Peak Design anchors AND your initials embossed! Very cool.

6. Leica Viewfinder Magnifier – See on YouTube

These are a must have for me if I want to accurate focus a fast 50mm, a 90mm or 135mm lens via the rangefinder. The diopter screws into the eyepiece of your Leica M camera and magnifies the view making the focus patch appear larger. Available as 1.4x and 1.25x. I use 1.4x version.

  • Leica M8, Leica M9, Leica M240 – Leica viewfinder magnifier will fit – Check eBay UK or eBay COM
  • Leica M10 models, Leica M11 – You will need the Leica adapter to fit the smaller diameter legacy magnifier

7. Thumbs Up Grip Support

Do you need a thumbs up grip support for your Leica? If you use on camera flash or triggers on the hotshoe then I would avoid the thumbs up grip as it blocks the hotshoe. If you use larger heavier lenses then it definitely adds comfort and helps balance the camera.

8. Camera Hand Grip

Leica M cameras are not really designed to fit the hand. If you want a more secure grip and/ or use larger heavier lenses a grip adds comfort and helps balance the camera.

9. Half Case or Camera Bag

As with camera straps half cases and camera bags are a personal choice. Ona and Billingham are popular brands and in the past I used Billingham bag. After almost having my bag stolen in Lisbon I’ve now upgraded to a more discrete camera bag system. Read my best bag for Leica cameras article or if you’re pushed for time I would recommend the 2L bag for a single Leica M body + standard size lens or 3.5L bag for multiple bodies and lenses. (Link below).

*If you want the absolutely smallest camera-lens combo bag read the above mentioned article as depending on what lens you use there is an even smaller super discrete bag option for M users. (I love mine!)

10. Leica M lens adapters

The Leica M8 and Leica M9 are not ideal for adapting non-rangefinder coupled lenses as they don’t have Live View. All later M models can be used easily with Leica R lenses and other lens brands. Here are some adapters I use –

11. SD Memory Cards

My preferred memory card brand is SanDisk. It’s all I buy. To backup my files I use SanDisk portable SSD hard drives. Super small and recommended.

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Tips for using your Leica M camera (x5)

In addition to carrying a spare battery (with the Leica M10 cameras especially), here are some tips you might find useful –

  1. To see light better I set the camera to B&W JPEG mode giving a B&W preview (even if capturing DNG only colour files)
  2. Live View is great if you want to compose a lens wider than 28mm and don’t have an EVF/ Visoflex (and for shooting from the hip)
  3. Live View let’s you accurately focus at less than 0.7m without an EVF/ Visoflex (and/ or let’s you check your rangefinder focus accuracy)
  4. Leica M cameras are particularly great paired with small 28mm and 35mm lenses (less optimised for fast 50mm, 90mm and 135mm)
  5. Tape up your camera red dot logo for a more stealthy street photography setup

Best Lens for your Leica M camera?

Best is different for everyone depending on your needs. Check the big list of Leica M mount lens reviews (written reviews and YouTube). You can enjoy any rangefinder coupled lens and focus via the built in Leica M viewfinder/ rangefinder. If your Leica M camera has Live View you can also use non-rangefinder lenses such as Leica R lenses or Nikon F lenses (mounted via an adapter). You will need to focus these lenses via Live View/ an EVF. For rangefinder coupled lenses here is a very simplified summary –

  • Premium Leica M mount lenses – from Leica M, Voigtlander VM, Zeiss ZM
  • Cheaper Leica M mount lenses – from TTArtisan, 7Artisans, Lomography
  • Premium vintage screw mount lenses (“LTM, L39”) via LTM-M adapter – from Leica
  • Cheaper vintage screw mount lenses via LTM-M adapter – from Canon, Nikon, Voigtlander
  • Cheapest vintage screw mount lenses via LTM-M adapter – Soviet rangefinder lenses: Jupiter and Industar

If you are still not sure what lens to buy make use of my Leica support service.

Leica M camera YouTube videos

If you want to see Leica YouTube reviews from other photographers see the Leica YouTubers directory.

Watch my Leica M camera YouTube playlist here –

Join a Leica Community

If you are new to Leica you might want to find a friendly Leica community. You can find Leica groups on Facebook and you can also join our Patreon group where we have a private Facebook group and 2 monthly Zoom calls.

Buy and sell used Leica gear

BUY / SELL LEICA

Photo Editing Tips

If you don’t enjoy editing I recommend setting your camera to JPEG mode. JPEG can be posted and shred without any editing. To capture more detail set the camera to DNG. To use DNG files you will first need to process the files via software such as Adobe Lightroom. If you use Lightroom, give your DNG files a finished look in as little as 1-click by applying MrLeica LR Presets (colour and B&W).

Lightroom Presets – GAME CHANGING!

Leica Services and Recalibration

The most likely problem to occur with your Leica M camera is the rangefinder patch will be knocked out of calibration (vertically, horizontally or both). You can adjust this yourself with the correct tool or send it to a Leica service centre near you.

Remote Leica Support

Struggling with your new Leica camera? Use my Leica support service to quickly resolve the issue. See the Zoom testimonials section.

Leica Photowalks

Join a small group of fellow Leica photographers for a photowalk workshop with MrLeica.Com.

Master your Leica

To get the most from your Leica camera book a 1:1 workshop with a Leica expert. Teaching Leica workshops worldwide since 2014. See the workshop testimonials.

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Do you use other Leica cameras?

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