dante

Been using that feature since it came out - as well as DxO Viewpoint - and I can't say I've found the sacrifices minimal. They are acceptable if you have pixels and margin around the subject to burn. That's often the case with a loosely framed picture taken with a wide lens (like shooting a 50mm lens on 6x9 and scanning to 96mp); not so much fun for tighter work, where you can lose the top or bottom of the subject due to the crop constraints. D

I'll answer my own questions here, at least as much as I can as of today. I ended up taking a 21-35/3.4-4 M-Hexanon. This turned out to be an inspired choice because (1) it covers the actual useful range, (2) you never have to take it off the camera, and (3) it's really sharp (notwithstanding some barrel distortion at 21mm). You can also get away with eye-shifting using the viewfinder to guesstimate the 21mm coverage. Between the weight, lens changing, and other things, I think I would have gone crazy with my Summilux 35 ASPH and 21 Super Elmar. That said, Venice presents nothing (that I can ascertain) that calls for a fast lens for a b/w camera that comfortably shoots at ISO 5000. Unless your jam is taking interior b/w pictures of mosaics and Renaissance paintings, which seems like a real waste. Would the 35 ASPH and 21 SA be sharper? A little more contrasty, no doubt, given my pre-trip tests, but not worth the (literal) lift. I have seen no call for longer lenses for b/w shots here. The one thing I really wish I had was my 15/4.5 Laowa shift lens or even my 28/3.5 PC-Nikkor (each obviously with an EVF-2). Perspective correction - not necessarily superwides - are what would help in a place like this with very tight sightlines. Unfortunately, PC lenses are big and heavy and would have to be switched out. I would also bring a grad ND and/or a polarizer. Skylight and buildings seem to be very close tonally, and contrast filtration is not always helping. As to the M246 itself, I will report back later, but one immediate comment is that I hate EVFs, but after a few days shooting in difficult-to-control conditions, an M Monochrom is probably the strongest candidate of any M for a built-in EVF, between the narrow overexposure latitude and general challenges around using contrast filters. The Q Mono doesn't seem like such a weird idea now. D

No. That's an Olympus-specific connector. No one had ever cracked it, though it's probably some absurdly simple modification of HDMI.

I would suggest some loctite to keep the diopter screwed down. I'd also put aligned dots of gold paint on the camera and the diopter (both) so you can see when they are starting to unscrew. As to fog, for people who claim never to have experienced it, yes, it's real. It's just condensation that happens when the glass is colder and dryer than the environment (or the eye pressed up against it). Is this happening by bringing a camera out of an dry, air-conditioned environment into the Florida air? D

Ok - weird question. I am headed to Venice soon and unlike a lot of places, I am having trouble figuring out how tight the spaces are. I usually take a medium-format camera on trips for b/w work* (usually a GA645), but I am seriously considering taking my M246 instead due to size (20 rolls of 120 actually takes up a lot of space), immunity from CT scans, and the ability to shoot basically in the dark. The GA has a 35mm-equivalent lens; I am sensing that the "wide" spaces of Venice may need something a lot wider - and in the case of San Marco, something "brighter." For my Ms, I have 18s (ZM), 21s (Super Elmar and others), and even a 21-35. The only things I have significantly wider than 35mm FOV for medium format are on cameras (like a Horseman SW612 or Fuji G690) that are probably too heavy. I'd love to see some of your pictures with an identification of the focal length of lens used. Also, has anyone found the touchiness of M246 exposure to make using it in a place like this "not fun"? It's been fine in most circumstances. Thanks! *For color, it could be anything - an M240, an RX100M5, A7r2, a Light L16...

I don't give Leica that much credit, though a $200 battery does make you wonder a lot more than a $50 one. The only reason I was thinking of a meter reset was that (1) the voltage and the % capacity stated seem to be way off* and (2) things like cell phones have instructions for calibrating meters. It's totally possible that Leica's meter is based on something else entirely. *Where a battery contains cells in series at a nominal 7.4v, there seems to be no way mathematically that it can be at 0% at 7.8v. If they are in parallel (or series and parallel), maybe the controller has decided that something is finito. But if that's the case, why isn't the battery shown by the camera or charger as having a fault? And do these really get a few thousand cycles? Most Li-ion batteries seem to max at 500. At some point, I may crack this open (carefully) just to see what's in it. It's probably not worth the risk to try to re-cell it. Re-celling may come if the stock of new batteries dries up or becomes unreliable. I've got a bunch of these batteries; it's just weird how this one has gone off the deep end. Dante

What's the procedure for fully draining the battery, or at least getting it down to the voltage level where the % meter should be reading zero? - With the battery in question, there is no battery fault warning on the camera. The Nitecore ULM240 charger, likewise, reads this battery as "good." - Battery reads fully charged on the Leica charger when it stops charging (and lights the 80% LED already when it starts) - Battery reads 8.2 and END on a Nitecore charger when it stops charging. I did notice that it tells you how many mah it thinks the battery needs, but the sum of that plus the mah actually charged goes down very quickly (total goes from 900 to 800 to 700 to 600 within 10 minutes). - Maximum the camera will read is 15%. Yes, I know, "buy a new battery" - but buying a decade-old, old-stock Li-Ion battery is a dicey proposition, and not a cheap one. Is there some way to run the camera past "0" - or slow-drain it until the battery's low-voltage cutoff kicks in? Like say using a Multifunction handgrip?

May you all live to see the Leica you wish for every time a new one comes out.

Hi there - having looked at the M11M image thread, most of what I see is shot with super-modern lenses. Curious to see if anyone has used it with ZM, Canon, Konica, or MS lenses... or basically any M or LTM lens that is not some current-production, super-APO, steel-rim exercise. Looking for an excuse to upgrade my M246... so take your best shot (hehehehe....). Dante

Fuji did exactly that with the X100 and X-Pro series. In fact, they can overlay a split-image rangefinder patch (drawn from the phase-detect sensors on the sensor) over an optical viewfinder picture - or switch to full EVF. But Leica probably doesn't have licensing for the Fuji hybrid VF.

Except, you know, when Leica was selling tens of thousands of M240-series cameras and proclaiming that a multifunctional, modular M was the future. Ironically, by virtue of continuous OTS metering and LiveView, the M11 is effectively a video camera from which you are making stills.

In trying to figure out whether this is an interesting camera as in "sell the house, sell the kids" or "not yet," I have compiled my top 20 questions on this camera. Would anyone who actually has an M11 be able to share the answers (if there are any yet)? What is the relative shutter lag to a Sony A7rii or iii? Answered below - thanks! Does the monitor brightness have a reasonable number of gradations (i.e., not "coarse" like the M240)? Answered below - thanks! How long is the EVF (Visoflex) blackout when you shoot a frame? Answered below - thanks! Can you magnify an off-center focus point in the EVF? Answered below - thanks! Is there GPS in the Visoflex? If not, in the camera? Answered below - thanks! Is Visoflex stabilization useful? Answered below - thanks! Does the pattern metering take color into account? Does it work well with UHS-1 cards too? Answered below - thanks! Does the touchscreen get activated by your nose if you are left-eyed? Answered below - thanks! What is the black variant's bottom cover? Aluminum? Brass? Zinc? Else? Can you shoot with the camera tethered to USB-C for power? How well does a 35/1.4 ASPH or 75/1.4 hold up on the sensor? How do your other lenses perform? Any unexpected front/back focus issues? Does the Zeiss ZM 21/4.5 exhibit color shift? Or did the new cover glass fix that? Do symmetrical wideangle lenses still have corner smearing? Better than before? Same question on the cover glass. How is the overall experience relative to an M240 if you had one? Answered below - thanks! Is the rangefinder adjustment bolt (in the body "throat") still a 2mm hex? Have you experienced any differences in reading 6-bit lens codes applied to non-Leica lenses and LTM adapters? How (if at all) is the top plate protected from strap hardware? Have you found an Arca or similar plate that would allow dismounting the battery without removing the plate? Answered below - thanks! Thanks!

Does this have the automatic perspective correction for JPGs?

Zero surprise. The Kodak 14n had binning like this, and it was always better to reserve downsampling for later - processing software is looking at the individual pixels just like the camera would.

I'll buzzkill the buzzkill. An M Monochrom (246) is spectacularly challenging camera to use - due a lot to the lack of forgiveness for highlight blowout.