Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition’

Today, Leica has announced a new special edition camera set. The Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition' commemorates the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers, the oldest and one of the most prestigious associations of cinematographers and filmmakers. Featuring unique customizations for cinematographers, the camera is the result of the close collaboration between Leica Camera and an advisory group of members from the ASC.

The set includes an M10-P, 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH lens, PL lens adapter and Visoflex 020. With the PL mount adapter, almost any current PL-mount cine lens can be used on the camera to preview capture. It's worth noting that the M10-P doesn't record video, so the look preview is limited solely to still images.

The special M10-P is trimmed out in black chrome and features blacked-out control dials and buttons, a black-on-black ASC logo engraved on the top plate and a diamond pattern leatherette wrap akin to the one on the Leica Q2. The 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH is styled in a new gold anodized finish with all black engravings for DOF scale, focus and aperture. Even the alignment dot is black, rather than the traditional red. Rounding out the set is the gold push-on lens cap, which is adorned with the classic ASC seal.

The gold-on-black aesthetic is an homage to Oscar Barnack's original Ur-Leica. And this holds special significance. Barnack, the inventor of the Leica camera and 35mm still photography, was an amateur filmmaker himself. He first created the camera to test out motion picture film emulsions before lugging his heavy wooden 35mm movie camera to a location. Here, the ‘ASC 100 Edition' is designed with similar purpose.

Built around the current M10-P digital rangefinder, the ‘ASC 100 Edition' has some unique software improvements in addition to exclusive physical styling. These are designed to help filmmakers use the camera as a lightweight pre-visualization tool, capturing stills through different lenses, experimenting with varying lighting or blocking shots.

Unique Custom Cine Looks

Based on extensive testing from top ASC cinematographers, two unique JPEG looks are available in the camera. Both are applied in-camera, previewed in Live View, displayed in Playback, and captured in the recorded JPEG file.

The ASC Cine Classic Look is inspired by traditional cinema tones, featuring higher contrast in the mid-tones and lower contrast in the highlights and shadows. In the ASC's words this look is “more focused on beauty than reality.” The ASC Contemporary Look, on the other hand, in informed by more recent trends in movie making. More open shadows and realistic tones match up closer to top-end digital cine cameras.

Cinematic Live View Frame Lines

Also custom on the M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition' software is the custom cine framelines available in Live View. Standard presets now include Theatrical Wide-screen of 2.39:1, Theatrical Standard of 1.85:1 and Standard of 16:9 / 1.78:1. All of these framelines can be applied in either Full Frame view, or in Super35 as many cine cameras use the smaller Super35 frame size. There is also a custom setting where the user can input the desired width and height in millimeters for non-standard frame sizes.

Pricing, Availability and Ordering

The Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition' is limited to only 300 sets worldwide and comes with a price tag of $17,500. Initial deliveries start soon. If you are interested in picking one up, you can do so at Leica Store Miami by clicking the button below, calling 305-921-4433 or sending an email to info@leicastoremiami.com.

Press Release

Wetzlar, 11 February 2019. With the M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition’, Leica has created a fitting tribute to the world of cinema on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the American Society of Cinematographers. Comprising a Leica M10-P camera and a Leica Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH. lens, the set offers two specially tailored cine-look modes that make it an exclusive and professional tool for cinematographers and filmmakers. The set also includes a Leica VISOFLEX electronic accessory viewfinder and a Leica M-PL-Mount Adapter that enables the use of almost all PL mount cine lenses available on the market on the camera.

Founded in 1919, the American Society of Cinematographers is the world’s oldest association for filmmakers, and unites the best professional cinematographers of our times. Just like Leica, this extraordinary society has influenced and shaped how people around the globe see and perceive real and imagined worlds for more than 100 years. In February 2019, the ASC will be presenting its prestigious awards for the 33rd time – an ideal occasion on which to present an exclusive tool for filmmakers: the Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition’. 

The authentic Cine Looks that can be chosen from the camera menu have been developed by Leica in collaboration with some of the world’s most influential cinematographers and members of the ASC. While the ‘ASC Cine Classic’ mode simulates a classic, analogue 35 mm cine film look, the ‘ASC Contemporary’mode delivers the current digital look of contemporary movies. Aspect ratios used in cinematography can also be selected from the menu. Once activated, the selected aspect ratio is displayed as a bright-line frame in Live View mode. The Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition’ enables cinematographers and directors to view and assess scenes with any desired lens before shooting begins.  

Together with the Leica FOTOS App, location scouting can, for example, also be made much easier, as results can be shared and discussed immediately with all parties involved in the filming project.  

The modern interpretation of Oskar Barnack’s original vision of the ‘Ur-Leica’ as an aid to cinematography is reiterated in the unique design of the Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition’: consistently reduced to essentials, the engravings on its black chrome surfaces are also completely in black, and the technical-functional look is carried forward in the leathering, which is similar to that also found on the Leica SL. In contrast to the design of the camera, the gold-coloured anodised finish of the version of the LEICA SUMMICRON-M 35 f/2 ASPH. lens contained in the set reinterprets the brass of the lens of the original ‘Ur-Leica’ in contemporary guise. The unique looks of the Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition’ are further complemented by the ASC logotype on the top plate.

The combination of the electronic viewfinder, PL-mount cine lenses, the Cine Looks and aspect ratio options enables the use of the camera as a director’s viewfinder and makes it an extraordinarily versatile and useful tool for filmmakers.

The Leica M10-P ‘ASC 100 Edition’ will be available from autumn 2019.