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Night Shooting with the M240
The M Type 240 can be used successfully for low light shooting with high image quality, but with two key disappointments*:
- Maximum exposure time limited to 60 seconds, less as ISO is raised.
- No way to set an exposure time longer than 8 seconds.
The sensor retains very nice quality at 60 seconds, hence the 60 second limit is surely an arbitrary Leica decision (“who would want do that?!”), one of many little design niggles with the M240 that make little sense and show sloppy attention to operational detail**.
Exposure
The manual exposure time limit of 8 seconds relates to the dial for shutter speed (goes to 8 seconds). Since exposure compensation is ignored in manual mode, that could have been but is not a solution. This is easily fixed as a firmware change of course, but Leica has intransigent design thinking that leave issues unresolved for years.
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Diglloyd Guide to LEICA contains in-depth coverage of Leica M system cameras and lenses, with additional coverage of Leica M Monochrom, Leica Q.
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Leica M240 + 50/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH