There’s one thing quietly rebellious about promoting a 14-year-old Leica… solely to interchange it with one other 14-year-old Leica. In a world obsessive about spec sheets, stacked sensors, and firmware updates that promise to vary your life, I discovered myself doubling down on one thing far less complicated. I swapped my beloved Leica M-E Typ 220 for the Leica M240. On paper, it feels like a lateral transfer. In actuality, it looks like I’ve lastly discovered my good digital M.
My Leica M-E Typ 220 was, and nonetheless is, a good looking digital camera. That 18-megapixel full-frame CCD sensor has a rendering that borders on legendary. The colours have a Kodachrome-like heat that feels nearly filmic straight out of the digital camera.
Reds glow. Blues deepen. Skin tones really feel alive. It by no means chased dynamic vary charts or excessive ISO bragging rights. Instead, it gave you character – that unmistakable CCD chew that made each body really feel intentional. Shooting it felt like loading a roll of slide movie and trusting your instincts.
But as a lot as I adored the M-E, I began craving just a bit extra flexibility. Not extra megapixels for the sake of it. Not extra frames per second. Just extra usability with out sacrificing soul. Enter the Leica M240.
The Leica M240 retains all the things I really like concerning the digital M formulation and gently nudges it into the fashionable period. Its 24-megapixel CMOS sensor is, to my eye, the candy spot. It provides you simply sufficient decision to crop with confidence, print massive, and retain stunning element – with out tipping into the medical hyper-clarity of immediately’s 40- and 60-megapixel monsters. Files are strong however forgiving. They have depth. They breathe. And not like the CCD, the CMOS sensor provides me higher high-ISO efficiency when the sunshine drops, and I refuse to.
What really modified all the things for me, although, was one function I as soon as dismissed solely: Live View. For years, I used to be a purist. Rangefinder patch, body strains, executed. The concept of utilizing an EVF on a Leica felt like betrayal. I even stored my distance from the devoted Leica EVF programs previously. But with the M240, Live View isn’t a gimmick — it’s a quiet revolution.
Live View means I can mount my glorious 1960s Nikon 50mm f/2 Non-AI lens, a piece of glass that is, frankly, a chef’s kiss, and critically focus with precision. It means my Leica 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M becomes not just usable, but enjoyable.
With the EVF attached via the hot shoe, I have the best of both worlds: the purity of the optical rangefinder with its bright frame lines, and the clinical accuracy of magnified focusing when I need it. It’s no longer either/or. It’s a choice.
And here’s the thing: the M240 feels right in the hand. Its design is, to me, flawless. Slightly thicker than earlier Ms, yes, but reassuringly solid. The shutter sound has that muted Leica thud. The brass top plate wears in beautifully. And the battery? It lasts a lifetime between charges. In a world where mirrorless cameras seem to chew through batteries before lunchtime, the M240 just keeps going. Day after day. Shoot after shoot.
There’s a strange irony in declaring a 14-year-old digital camera “perfect” in 2026. But perfection isn’t about being the newest. It’s about being enough. The M240 gives me 24 megapixels – the sweet spot. It gives me CMOS flexibility without losing Leica character.
It gives me Live View and EVF adaptability without taking away the magic of the rangefinder. It lets me shoot vintage Nikon glass one moment and classic Leica M lenses the next.
So yes, I replaced my 14-year-old Leica with another 14-year-old Leica. And I’ve never been happier. In a time where cameras are becoming ever more complex, the Leica M240 reminds me that photography is about feel, intuition, and connection. For my needs, it isn’t outdated. It isn’t compromised. It’s perfect.
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