I have to admit that the Leica Typ 109 in Solid Gray is one of the best looking cameras I’ve ever seen. I’m not saying good looking cameras take better pictures, but I do appreciate the esthetics of good design.

Up to this point, the Ricoh GR has been my little heavyweight. Big sensor, compact body, outstanding image quality, the Ricoh has it all. For most of my work the 28mm lens on the GR was perfect, but there were times when I wanted a little more flexibility, but don’t want to commit to a bigger camera. This is where the Typ 109 comes into its own.

Still a small body, large-ish sensor, outstanding image quality, BUT I get the convenience of a zoom lens and a few bells and whistles that Panasonic packs in there: face detection, panoramic sweep, double exposure, 4k video, etc… In the end it all adds up to a compact, neatly packaged solution.

I picked up the camera at FNAC while on a trip to Paris and used Paris as my initiation into the Typ 109’s world, it was perfect. Colorful Paris, Paris in black and white, Paris street photography, it seems this little camera can do it all.