For some time now, there’s been an itch for an M body, especially for lighter weight in a daily carry. And for simplicity. And for a shutter that fires when I push the button, not half a second later…or never.

Much as I love the CL, it’s been like a little brick in my bag these past few months. Fast glass loses something on crop sensor, so it didn’t see much action. And so it put at least a nominal dent in my cost of entry into the M world.

Trouble with M for me is that my first few tries with rangefinder focusing yielded mixed results, which made me more than willing to corrupt the M process and aesthetics with full-time use of an accessory EVF. This time, EVF use is allowed only when R glass is in use. At least for the time being.

Shock! The shot below is one of just a few that I misfocused with rangefinder today. And that was without my correction diopter attached. Could it be that I had an out-of-calibration rangefinder on my previous three M cameras? A dirty patch? Or was it that I was just too lazy to persist?

Whatever the case, something started to click today, both figuratively and literally. I thoroughly enjoyed a camera that was ready to shoot before I brought it to my eye. And it was a pleasure having a shutter that fired instantly when I clicked the button. Having fewer controls made me, if nothing else, more engaged in the process of image acquisition.

So tomorrow? Dunno. Maybe the EVF will get mounted before noon. Or maybe it’ll become the next little brick in the bag . . .

M10/75mm Summilux-M . . .