The Leica M Typ 240 in 2025

Leica M Typ 240 Silver

A Camera That Stays

There’s something quietly reassuring about the Leica M Typ 240. Even in 2025, when cameras brag about autofocus so fast it could photograph a hummingbird mid-sneeze, this older beauty remains stubbornly, wonderfully slow. Pair it with your favourite focal length, and suddenly you feel like you can take on the world — or at least the quiet corner of it you happen to be standing in.

The Images Are Alive

The images it produces are crisp and alive. Textures feel real. Colors feel honest. Greens have a depth. Reds have a pulse. Skin tones breathe. And 24 megapixels? Plenty. Enough to print, crop, or tell a story without feeling the urge to overcomplicate things.

Holding the M240 is a tactile joy. The black version, with brass peeking through in the most-used areas, has a quiet charm. Every nick is a story. Every polished corner, a memory. It’s beautiful and functional.

Leica M Typ 240 Black

Quirks

Of course, the M240 has its quirks. Compared to modern cameras, its highlight handling feels like painting a canvas on a brilliant sunny day with only a tiny tube of white paint. The LCD isn't high enough resolution to check focus. It's heavy—the kind of heavy that makes you reconsider your gym routine. It’s slow—deliberate, meditative, sometimes frustrating.

And yet, that very slowness is part of its magic. It teaches patience. It forces you to notice. To feel. To think about the photograph instead of rushing for it. It turns photography into something more than just clicks and files. It turns it into a ritual. A conversation.

Another Leica M Typ 240?

Would I buy it again? Maybe. I already own silver and black versions. A monochrome variant at the right price? That could be irresistible.

For anyone new to Leica, the M240 is a fantastic entry point. Prices have softened, yet the images remain extraordinary. Professional? Absolutely. Convenient? Not always. But slowing down is worth it. Sometimes, slowing down is exactly what photography — and life needs.

Firsts and Lasts

I’ve taken 31,000 images on this camera. Thirty-one thousand little time machines. Weddings. First steps. First words. First time summiting Snowdon. Buying a first house. First time traveling abroad alone. First time discovering a new favourite location.

And some last times, too. Last moments with loved ones you didn’t know would be final. Last laughs before life changed. Last glimpses of people and places you later realise were irreplaceable.

At the time, you don’t always realise how powerful a camera can be. How much it can carry you back years later. Each image is more than pixels; it’s a vessel. A portal. A quiet way to hold onto both the mundane and the monumental.

Ultimately…

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what camera you have. If taking photos is what you want to do, you just need to find one that excites you, that you want to carry everywhere. That camera will capture your firsts and your lasts, the fleeting, irreplaceable moments with friends and family — the ones you’ll revisit years down the line.

Even in 2025, with all the new gear around, that is still what photography is really about.