The M10 is the digital Leica M most people should buy first, and we've said so before. The problem is that "M10" is really three cameras: the original, the quieter M10-P, and the 40MP M10-R. They share a body, a finder and a battery, and the price gap between the cheapest and dearest is roughly the cost of a very good used lens. Here's what each one gets you.
The short answer
Buy the M10 or M10-P if…
- You want the classic digital M at the best price (M10)
- Shutter noise bothers you, or you shoot in quiet rooms (M10-P)
- 24MP is plenty, and it is for most people
- You'd rather own a second lens than more pixels
Buy the M10-R if…
- You crop a lot or print large
- You want the P's quiet shutter and touchscreen plus 40MP
- You can't stretch to an M11 but want its resolution direction
- You plan to keep this body for a long time
Spec sheet, the parts that matter
| M10 (2017) | M10-P (2018) | M10-R (2020) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensor | 24MP full-frame CMOS | 24MP, same sensor | 40MP full-frame CMOS |
| ISO range | 100 – 50,000 | 100 – 50,000 | 100 – 50,000 |
| Shutter | Standard M10 mechanical, to 1/4000s | Quieter, damped mechanical, to 1/4000s | Same quiet shutter as M10-P |
| Rear screen | 3" LCD, 1.04M dots, no touch | 3" touch LCD, 1.04M dots | 3" touch LCD, 1.04M dots |
| Level gauge | No | Yes, in the finder and on screen | Yes |
| Red dot | Yes | No, script engraving on top | Yes |
| Burst | 5 fps | 5 fps | Roughly 4.5 fps |
| Storage | SD card under removable baseplate | Same | Same |
| Battery | BP-SCL5 | BP-SCL5 | BP-SCL5 |
| Typical used price | Roughly $3,500 – $4,500 | Roughly $4,200 – $5,200 | Roughly $5,500 – $6,500 |
Used prices shift month to month. Check what the M10 and M10-R have actually sold for before you settle on a number, and the M10-P has its own page too.
What all three share
This is the same body. Same film-M thickness, same 0.73x rangefinder with the same frame lines, same ISO dial on the top plate, same BP-SCL5 battery, same SD slot under a removable baseplate, same three-button back. If you've handled one, you've handled them all. The lens-detection coding, the menus, the live view and the EVF accessory are all shared. Whatever M lenses you own work identically on any of them.
"The M10-P is the camera the M10 should have been on day one. The M10-R is the same camera with more pixels."
What the M10-P fixes
The shutter. The original M10's shutter is not loud by DSLR standards, but it has a distinct clack that carries in a quiet room. The M10-P's shutter is noticeably softer and more damped, quiet enough that you stop thinking about it. For street, weddings, theatre or anywhere you don't want to announce yourself, this is the reason the P exists. People who have shot both rarely go back.
Touchscreen. The M10's screen is not touch-sensitive. The P adds touch, which mostly matters for pinching to check focus in playback and for tapping to move the magnification point in live view. It isn't a transformation, but it removes a small daily friction.
Level gauge. The P adds an electronic level visible in live view and on screen. If you shoot architecture, or just hate fixing horizons in post, it's a real convenience.
No red dot. The P drops the roundel for a script engraving on the top plate, the same treatment Leica gave the M9-P and later the M11-P. Some buyers pay the premium mostly for this. Fair enough; just know that's what you're paying for.
What the M10-R adds
The M10-R takes the M10-P's quiet shutter, touchscreen and level, puts the red dot back, and swaps the 24MP sensor for a 40MP one. Base ISO stays at 100, the top end is the same, and burst rate drops slightly. In the files, 40MP is a meaningful step: you can crop a 35mm frame to a 50mm field of view and still have a 20MP image, and the extra resolution shows in large prints. Dynamic range is a touch better than the 24MP sensor too, though not dramatically.
The cost is file size and editing speed, and used price. If you don't crop and you don't print bigger than about 20 by 30 inches, the extra pixels will mostly sit there. If you do either, the R is the only M10 that offers them. It's also worth saying that the R was the last of the M10 line and ran until the M11 arrived, so there are plenty of low-shutter-count bodies around.
The other M10s. Two more exist and they're worth a sentence each. The M10 Monochrom uses a 40MP black-and-white-only sensor with no colour filter array, which gives it extraordinary sharpness and clean high ISO, and makes it a terrible choice for anyone who ever wants colour. The M10-D removes the rear screen altogether and adds a fold-out thumb lever, the direct ancestor of the M11-D. Both are specialist cameras bought by people who already know they want them.
Buying used: what to check
On all three, the rangefinder is the first thing to verify: focus a vertical edge at infinity and at close range and check the patch lines up cleanly both times. Look through the finder for haze or separation. Inspect the sensor at an angle under a bright light for scratches. Check that the baseplate lock turns smoothly and the battery contacts are clean, since the baseplate is the M10's one mechanical weak point. On the M10-P and R, test the touchscreen in playback. On the R, ask for a sample DNG and look at the corners with your widest lens; 40MP is less forgiving of a lens that's been knocked. On any of them, ask for the shutter count if the seller can provide it, and expect honest wear on a camera that's been used rather than babied.
Our condition guide explains how sellers grade bodies on the site, and the rangefinder listings are where these turn up.
Our take
For a first digital M, the M10-P is the one. It costs a bit more than the original, but the quiet shutter and touchscreen are the two things M10 owners most often wish they had, and the P keeps its value well. If the budget is tight, the plain M10 is the same camera with a louder shutter and no touch, and that's a perfectly good trade for the savings. The M10-R makes sense if you know you need 40MP, or if you want a modern M but the M11's price is out of reach; read our M10 vs M11 comparison if you're still deciding whether to skip the M10 line altogether.
When you're ready, the Leica listings on Aperture.market are posted by photographers rather than resellers, with zero commission and a seller location on every listing so you can meet in person and check that rangefinder yourself.