Search the Community

In a recent interview in Austrian Der Standard Peter Karbe was asked which camera and lens would be his preferred choice. The answer was "not an easy one", but it would be M11 and APO-Summicron 35. "STANDARD: One last question: If you had to choose a combo, what would be your camera and your lens of choice? Karbe: The M11 and APO-Summicron 35mm. But that's one of those questions... which of your children do you like best? If I had to choose, I would use this combination." Here is the link to the full (unlocked) Peter Karbe Der Standard interview (in German) by Mickey Manakas, where he speaks about the compromise in building the Noctilux f/0.95 and its evident flaws, the "Leica Look" myth, his views on smartphone photography, his pride in personally calculating the optical formula for Summilux 50 ASPH and many other cool topics: https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000144541043/leitender-optikexperte-bei-leica-wir-waren-vorreiter-bei-der-digitalisierung

In a recent post, I shared my experience of going on a Leica Journey, starting with the Leica Q and then moving to the Leica M10. On January 14th, the next step in my journey came to fruition with the delivery of an M11. Actually, I ordered three M11s for delivery on launch day! One for myself, one for my partner and one for a colleague. In this post, I’ll share my thoughts after using the camera for over a month. The full review with images and more content can be found here. It's a long post, so I'll do my best to summarize the key points below. Introduction It must be a huge challenge for the designers at Leica to come up with a new M model. There’s always the tussle between the purists that want to keep to a film-like experience, while the modernists are looking for Leica to move to a hybrid rangefinder/EVF solution, with more exposure aids and conveniences to be relevant in a modern world dominated by mobile phones and social media. I can imagine the conversations at Leica HQ where every small change is debated to ensure that the M stays true to its roots, while still changing enough to attract a new generation of customers. After using the M11 for a few weeks, I strongly believe that the M11 will go down in history as a bridge to the future of the M system, similar to how the M8 was a bridge into the digital world. Why Upgrade? No camera (or electronic device for that matter) is perfect. When using the M10 over the past 4.5 years, there were a few areas that I wished could be improved: Highlight recovery Battery life and charging Weight Resolution Metering Connectivity Size & Weight For the M11, this section should be titled Silver Brass vs. Black Aluminum. The M10 was available in only one type of metal arrangement, brass top with magnesium body. The M11 however is available with two options: Silver with brass top and magnesium body, weighing 640g with battery Black with aluminum top and magnesium body, weighing 530g with battery I had originally ordered a silver M11 because silver looks absolutely incredible on Leica cameras, however, in this case, I ended up with black. I didn’t choose black, but black chose me. I ordered three M11s for launch day, with two silvers and one black. My colleague and I wanted silver and my partner wanted black. However, Kai Wong leaked a YouTube video a few days before the launch where he disparaged the new black finish; this resulted in many Hong Kong buyers switching their orders from black to silver. Since I was already being greedy in wanting three M11s on launch day, the shop notified me that I’d have to wait a few weeks to get two silvers. Not being the patient type, I decided to go for one of the plentiful black M11s. When I was packaging the M10 for sale, I really thought I made a mistake in accepting the black M11, having internal debates on whether I should have just waited to get the colour I really wanted. However, with use, I’ve come to love the black, not so much for the colour, but because of the weight savings. Usability Live View Metering The M11 takes a huge step forward in usability with multi-field metering being the standard setting. The multi-field metering means that the sensor takes into consideration the full scene and tries to apply exposure settings that will result in a properly exposed image. Typically, cameras try to expose so that the average of the image equals ~18% grey, and the M11 now operates much in the same way as any modern digital camera. While the screen is not active with this new metering mode, the sensor is always exposed and on. When you take an exposure, the shutter now has to close, expose and then re-open. The whole process feels laggy with an uninspiring shutter sound; however under controlled testing, the shutter lag is actually very minor compared to the M10. I’m hoping that Leica can introduce an Electronic Front Shutter Curtain mode so that it reduces the lag and improves the shutter sound. If you have an M11, go into the Fotos app and please submit a request for this feature. 64 Base ISO Another big improvement is the base ISO coming down from 200 to 64. This makes it much more convenient to shoot lenses wide open in bright conditions without having to use an ND filter. If the shutter speed does not come down to a sufficient level wide open, the next improvement in usability may help, with the introduction of the electronic shutter. Electronic Shutter If 64 ISO is not sufficient to bring the shutter speeds down, the electronic shutter will help. The new electronic shutter can be used from as slow as 60 seconds to as fast as 1/16000 of a second. The new hybrid mode engages the mechanical shutter between 60 minutes and 1/4000 of a second and electronic from 1/4000 to 1/16000 of a second. Battery Life With the M11 always being in live view mode (albeit with the LCD screen off), I was worried about battery life, but it has thus far not been an issue. I have yet to exhaust the battery in an outing. However, and I think this is due to some firmware bugs, I’ve experienced inconsistent and excessive battery drain at times. I can go out with 100% and come back home with 85% battery remaining, and then do the same thing the next day and come home with only 45% battery remaining. At first, I thought this was due to the battery taking some time to calibrate, however even with a few weeks of use, I don’t feel fully confident in the battery or the reading. Regardless, 45% battery remaining is still very good after a day’s shooting. Battery and SD Card Access This usability section has become really long, but it’s clear that Leica made improvements in a number of areas to improve the usability of the camera. Another big step forward is the elimination of the traditional bottom plate, a cool relic from the film era. As in the introduction, I can only imagine the debates at Leica HQ around the decision to stick with the purists or move to something more modern. The M11 brings this great improvement to everyone with the elimination of the bottom plate and aligning with Leica’s other models in having a clever battery that also forms part of the bottom of the camera. A nice (and rather intense) release mechanism ensures that the battery ejects only enough so that you must push it back in slightly to release it fully from the camera. It’s something that only Leica would do and it’s implemented to perfection. If I wasn’t concerned about wear and tear, I’d latch and unlatch the battery all day just for the satisfaction of feeling its wonderful mechanical precision. Internal SD Card Leica has done something that makes me scratch my head as to why other camera companies have not done this. Leica now includes 64GB of memory in the camera as standard. It can be used to mirror images, save RAW or JPEG formats onto each card, or as an extension of your inserted card. The idea is right, but the implementation is a bit cumbersome. As of firmware 1.2.0, the only way to import the images from the internal card on MacOS is to use the clumsy “Image Capture” app. There are rumours that Leica will implement a better protocol to allow MacOS Finder to see the camera so that they can be imported more efficiently. Overall Performance The M11 has an improved Maestro III processor, which provides the camera with a tangible improvement in how quickly the camera responds to inputs. This is especially noticeable in reviewing images, moving around the image, making changes in menus or any other normal interaction with the camera. You’d never know that this camera has more than twice the number of pixels as the M10. The only interaction that feels laggy is the shutter, but that’s due to reasons noted above. Build Quality If you’ve owned or held an M10, the M11 will feel very familiar. In regards to build quality, nobody can touch Leica at the volumes that they sell. Whether you choose the lighter black or the hefty silver, you’ll be rewarded with the best build quality of any camera on the market. The M11 really does feel like it’s built from one block of machined metal. Controls Leica perfected the controls on the M series of cameras starting from the M10. The M11 takes that and evolves it slightly with the movement of a button from the front to the top. Leica seem to have further improved the touch interface in the M11 from previous cameras with the touch interface being responsive and intuitive to use. It’s far better than the ones in my Fujifilm cameras, and for many functions (zooming in and deleting images), has become my go-to interface. I love the new menu system (taken from the SL and Q series) and how easy it is to find items. Leica are the masters of taking something very complex and simplifying it, while still offering a rich set of options to choose from. I absolutely love the touch screen grid layout that first appears. The ability to click on an item and easily adjust it is very intuitive. I wonder why other companies like Fujifilm don’t allow touch in their similar Q Menu. Connectivity Being able to share images on social media or with friends has become a basic requirement in the modern world, however most camera companies have yet to figure out how to make this seamless for the user. Leica is making great attempts at closing that gap, but the Leica Fotos app is still a work-in-progress. There are times where it’s brilliant and transfers images quickly, and then there are times where it seems to freeze or operate very slowly. It’s so inconsistent that I can’t rely upon it at this time. The MFI or Made for iPhone cable gives me some hope, but we’ll have to wait and see once Leica Fotos is out of beta with the M11. Image Quality If you’re coming from an M10, the image quality will knock your socks off. However, if you’re coming from a Fujifilm GFX100S like I am, the image quality will be excellent, but not up to Medium Format levels. At the pixel level, with super sharp lenses like the Voigtlander 50MM APO or any Leica lens stopped down to F5.6, the detail is pretty much the same as the Sony A7R4 when using GM lenses, but a slight step down from the GFX100S using Fujinon lenses. The M11 takes two big steps forward over the M10: High ISO is now totally usable up to 12,800 without any fear of the image detail being swamped by noise or grain. The highlight recovery is now on par with the best cameras on the market. I think a 50-100MP sensor is the sweet spot for photography for the coming decade. While higher resolutions provide the ability to crop or downsample noisy images, the extra resolution starts to introduce sloppy technique and/or intentional odd framing in order to extract multiple compositions from the image. On my Fujifilm GFX50R, I often had issues in getting sharp images and needed to increase the shutter speed from 1/1xFL to 1/2xFL or even 1/3xFL. To my surprise, I haven’t found this to be as much of an issue as I expected. I almost didn’t buy the M11 because it lacks In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS), but I’ve found that 1/2xFL is sufficient for tack sharp images. It also helps tremendously that the Leica M mount has many wide aperture lenses which provide fast shutter speeds in even low-light situations. One area I don’t think Leica chose wisely was there investment of engineering resources into the variable resolution capability. The M11 has a unique feature that allows the user to select 18MP, 36MP or the native 60MP for both the RAW and JPEG files. On the surface, this would appear to have some advantages, but in practice, I haven’t found any difference in image quality, noise or dynamic range. I think Leica introduced this feature to placate the traditionalists that often complain on Leica forums that anything more than 24MP is sacrilegious and a waste. I don’t see myself using this feature much, if at all, and I wish that Leica had instead put this engineering talent towards introducing an Electronic Front Curtain Shutter or improving the buggy firmware. Packaging For anyone that has purchased a Leica M prior to the M11, you would have experienced one of the coolest unboxing experiences out there. The outer shell systematically unravels itself to expose a beautifully built box with a magnetic flap hiding the camera, and well defined cardboard drawers encasing user manuals and cables. It’s an unforgettable experience and makes the first interaction with the camera really special. Unfortunately, likely due to environmental reasons, Leica has moved away from this packaging and now has a very basic box with foam inserts. The camera sits in the foam insert as do the cables. The user manual now sits on top of the foam under the very normal and uninspiring outer box. When I first opened the M11, I asked the shop for the “real box” instead of the shipping box, to which I was saddened to hear, “this is the real box”. Improvement Opportunities Firmware For people new to Leica that come from other quality brands, there are some things that may surprise you. For both my M10 and now the M11, the firmware straight out of the box has felt unpolished. I assume the new processor and menu system required a rewrite of the firmware. The M10 used to freeze up now and then, especially when using the EVF, but the M11 freezes in many more situations, and often at random. Shutter The shutter feel and sound on the M11 is really rather poor. I can understand why Leica appears to have put no engineering time into the shutter. This goes back to the introduction in that I see the M11 as a bridge into the future. The future M12 will likely have a fully electronic shutter so there would be little benefit to investing R&D into a dying mechanism. Leica Fotos I won’t go into detail on the issues with this app because it’s still in beta for the M11 and that wouldn’t be fair. However, I think Leica can take this app in an interesting direction. With the MFI cable, we have the opportunity for high speed data transfer. With that capability, it would be great if Leica could allow in-camera RAW editing in the way that Fujifilm does. Conclusion The M11 is a big step forward over the M10, and a bridge to the future. It has just enough traditional characteristics to keep long-term conservative enthusiasts onboard, and just enough modern technology to bring new customers into the Leica fold. As great as this camera is, and I’m very happy to have upgraded, I really do see this camera as a stepping stone to where I think Leica really wants (and needs) to go with the M cameras. This is not the end-game M camera for me; what would make it end-game is where I think Leica is taking the M system. I’ll make some bold (and perhaps foolish) predictions of what the future holds for the M system for M12 and beyond: Hybrid Rangefinder / EVF – One of the great little known joys in the photography world is using a Fujifilm X-Pro2 with a manual focus lens and the excellent “Digital Rangefinder Patch” in the OVF. With Leica’s incredible engineering talent, I’m sure they can come up with an even better solution than this already excellent one. There are hints of this coming with the introduction of close focusing lenses like the 35MM APO, that focuses down to 30cm instead of the rangefinder’s limit of 70cm. Electronic Shutter – As much as I love the noise and feeling of a mechanical shutter, it’s obvious that the future is fully electronic. The technology exists today to have a fully electronic shutter at resolutions up to ~50MP. By the time the M12 rolls around in ~4 years, there should be scanning rates sufficient to support higher resolutions. High-speed Connectivity – Leica has taken a step forward with the MFI cable. I think they truly appreciate the need for a modern camera to have the capability to connect and transfer images seamlessly to a mobile device. I think Leica will find a way to make this simple and easy for the end-user by using high speed wireless technologies instead of a proprietary cable. If they can also add in-camera RAW editing, that would be the perfect end-to-end solution for instant sharing. In-Body Image Stabilization – For many people, the lack of IBIS is a dealbreaker for the M11; I was of the same mind before actually using the camera. As noted above, I haven’t found it difficult to get tack sharp images at 1/2xFL, which is easily achievable given the wide variety of F1.4 (and even F1-F1.2) lenses available for this system. However, it’s been my experience that there’s really no downside to IBIS, so I think Leica will eventually implement it once they move to an electronic shutter, which would make room inside the body to add other technologies such as IBIS. To wrap up this review, there’s a lot to love about the new M11. The lighter weight, higher resolution, excellent battery life, elimination of the cumbersome bottom plate and vastly improved highlight recovery make for a compelling upgrade from the M10. However, if you’re coming from an M10-R, I think the decision becomes a lot more difficult. The M10-R has more than enough resolution and also doesn’t have the highlight recovery issue of the M10. If you can get a like-new condition second hand M10-R, it might be the current sweet spot for M cameras; then in four years’ time, you can upgrade to the M12 which I think will re-write the playbook for what an M camera should be. The full review with images and more content can be found here. The above is a summary of the full review.

Hello all, I shoot DNG nearly exclusively. I noticed that when I bring the files shot with the internal M11 Monochrome profile, that once imported into Lightroom, they are no longer black and white. The M11 profiles do not seem to be available in Lightroom. Has anyone solved this? Thanks, Dave

M11, 35 Summilux FLE

M11, 21mm Super-Elmar

Hi Everyone. I'm a decade-long Fujifilm user who switched to a Leica M11 three weeks ago. There were a lot of feelings about using a Leica, and I was baffled initially (no EVF). But more than that, using an X100V previously, I share my experiences and thoughts. It's a 5000 words extended essay, and I covered things like my lens of choice, M11 vs. X100V, why I love the M11, and many other things. I thought some of you would be interested in it: https://arslan.io/2023/01/06/from-fujifilm-to-leica-my-experience-with-the-m11/

Hello everyone, I made a reservation for the Leica M11 at the end of May. While making a reservation, there was an issue where all the digital red LEDs at the bottom (red LEDs) looked blurred when viewing the viewfinder in the store. I wore -3.25 diopters of glasses with all my eyes and it looked blurry while wearing them, and when I used the -2.0 and +0.5 Correction lens in the store, the -2.0 looked relatively clear.(With glasses on!) The question here is, isn't the Correction lens an accessory for astigmatizing users to use without glasses? I still don't understand exactly why Leica's viewfinder is -0.5. -0.5 Is it a diopter, so it looks 1.0 for a person with a frameline and focus area (victitious 2m) and has a bare-eye 1.0 vision?

Hi everyone, sorry this is a question that pops up regularly but I've been debating this for 3 month I want to make the purchase this weekend. I'm about to purchase my first Leica M camera. I'm trying to decide between the M11 (8.820€) & the M10R (8.215€) Which one would you choose and why? I'd appreciate any input.

Similar to the problems reported in other threads (here and here) my M11 (new late Sept) no longer works with Visoflex 2. The M11 no longer recognises the presence of the EVF and the EVF controls in the menu remain greyed-out when either EVF or EVF Extended have been selected and yes - I have gone through all the checks and actions associated with the issue. The Visoflex 2 works perfectly with my M10M so unfortunately (and most annoyingly) a four month old camera costing £7500 will have to be returned to the UK dealer. Will ring them in the morning (Wed) to discuss the issue.

Was out shooting today when I noticed that the level indicator froze. When moving from landscape to portrait, the green level line rotated as well, creating a vertical line. The central up/down indicator had disappeared as well. The camera remained otherwise operable. Took a few shots, but when the problem refused to clear, I popped the battery and things were back to normal. Problem didn't reoccur for the rest of the day. The other interesting thing of note was that all of the frames taken while the level was frozen wound up upside down on import into LR. Not a big deal problem, minor nuisance really, but its likely another data point which suggests there's some subsystem locks that aren't being freed. Figured I report it. Latest firmware, btw.

Hello guys, I’m coming back to game after few years pause from shooting with only Canon bodies (from 1D II to 1DX over years) which was really reliable work horse’s and never let me down. Now I would like to take different approach and want to start my Leica journey. I read forum and saw most of YouTube about M11 and I was about ready to buy one but then I saw thread “M11 freezing Issue” and postponed the purchase until it will be fixed. How this issues evolved? Does software [1.6] helped and solve most of problems with freezing a lockup’s please? I really appreciate all your feedback’s and observations, i can’t even imagine that I may have to swap between 2-3 bodies until I find not even perfect working example only better then before… thanks a lot!

Hello Everyone this is my first post here. Let me quickly introduce myself. i‘m reto, living in Switzerland and do photography as a hobby for about 6years now. Started with fuji and then switched to sony (a7riii). Love the camera but after 1 year I noticed that i only shoot M mount lenses eith the adapter.. the camera itself produces nice pictures but doesnt make any fun to use (at least for me). I have a Voigtlander Besa R2M which i love.. but doesnt use that often since film is so expensive.. my current gear: Sony A7rIII voigtlander 35mm 1.7 Ultron Zeiss Sonnar 50mm 1.5 My concern now is: I would love to own a Leica since more than 3 years.. but couldn’t afford any until today. Now I have the wallet to afford my first M. I mostly photograph during travels (Bikepacking, Backpacking), lifestyle portraits and Landscape (hiking, climbing) and I do love astrophotography (milkyway) I dont want to carry more than 2-3 lenses. 21mm for landscape (have to buy a 21 first) 35mm for everday use and 50mm for portrait. I want to buy my first leica M now. what would you go for? I can get… M11 used for 7200€ M10R for 5750€ M10 for 4000€ I factor thos things as most important to me: - battery life (i‘m spoiled with my sony!) i dont want to carry 2-3 spare batteries plus a charger.. - image quality (DR, and iso performance, shutterspeed, since i like to shoot at 1.5f in bright daylight) i dont need 60mp.. would ratter use 38mp or max 40mp on the m10r. - reliability. The camera will be a tool for me.. i will use it during bikepacking, climbing, etc. M11. go all in on the m11 (but i read that there are some issuses with freezing and so on). If i get the m11 i cannot buy another lens for a while. M10R. I save a few bucks if i get the m10R instead of the M11.. can safe that money for another lens.. but maybe have the feelings I‘m missing out because I dont get the newst camera. M10. Is by far the cheapest at 4k. I can easily buy a lens and camera at the same time. What would you go for? i dont really know in which direction I should go. Is the M11 really that much better or is it just my GAS. Would the M10R be a good compromise? many thanks for your advice & have a great one! reto

Hi everyone, I'm new on the forum and this is my first post, but have been a Leica M user for a number of years now. I'm a hobbyist and use the camera for documenting family life, travel and the occasional street / landscape shoots. My current lineup is M11 & M-A with 21 SEM, 28 Elmarit ASPH v2, 35 FLE, 50 APO, 90 Macro Elmar. I value simplicity and I'm looking to downsize/optimize my lens lineup, balancing creative opportunities with avoiding excessive overlap across focal lengths. I'm thinking about trading in my 28 Elmarit ASPH v2 + 35 FLE for a used 28 Summicron ASPH v2. My thinking so far: - I could miss the size/stealthiness of the 28 Elmarit, but the 28 Summicron isn't that much bigger and it has an extra stop of light that's useful on film/creatively - The 28 Summicron won't have the same magic rendering of the FLE, but should be smaller/lighter/easier to handle and achieve precise focus even wide open. I like the rendering of the FLE but don't love its handling. I find it too big at times, and also think I tend to shoot it wide open more often than I should just to justify having the 1.4. That's the same reason why I opted for the 50 APO vs 50 Lux. - 28 and 35 are relatively close - just one/two steps away really (I know this may sound heresy to many). I generally prefer 28 to 35 and the new high-res M11 sensor makes owning the two feel more than I really need. Is there anyone that has owned the three lenses (35 FLE, 28 Elmarit, 28 Cron) and can offer an opinion? Thanks! Andrea

Made for a very pleasant walk in the local wood on Wed afternoon. M11, VM 35mm Nokton III f1.2

Yodobashi Camera's top ten best-selling interchangeable lens digital cameras for the first half of November 2022 have been posted on CAPA CAMERA WEB. CAPA CAMERA WEBに、ヨドバシカメラの2022年11月上期のレンズ交換式デジタルカメラの売れ筋ベストテンが掲載されています。 >>Data collection period: November 1st to November 15th, 2022 データ集計期間 : 2022年11月1日～11月15日 第1位　ニコン Z 9 ボディ 第2位　ソニー α7 IV ボディ 第3位　キヤノン EOS R6 ボディ 第4位　キヤノン EOS R5 ボディ 第5位　 ソニー α6400 ダブルズームレンズキット 第6位　ソニー α7S III ボディ 第7位　キヤノン EOS R7 ボディ 第8位　ソニー FX30 ボディ 第9位　ソニー α7 IV ズームレンズキット 第10位　ライカ M11 ボディ ライカのレンジファインダー機「ライカ M11」がトップ10入りを果たした。ライカブティックがあるヨドバシカメラならではの結果といえよう。 >>Leica's rangefinder "Leica M11" entered the top 10. It can be said that this result is unique to Yodobashi Camera, which has a Leica boutique. あと、ライカM11のランクインは驚きですね。 >>Also, the ranking of the Leica M11 is surprising.

Statue on Poole Quay, Dorset of the founder of Scouting. M11, 50mm Noctilux f1.2

Hello, I'm trying to get my M11 and 24D to get along. I'm using a Nikon SC-17 cable, and while the flash will fire in TTL mode, I cannot seem to get a proper exposure so it seems to me that TTL is simply not working. I checked the batteries and they have plenty of power in them. I've told the flash what aperture setting I'm using, and set the ISO on the camera to 800. The shutter speed is set to the flash sync setting (lightning bolt). It simply does not appear to be working as a TTL flash. I'd appreciate any advice. I'm open to the possibility of needing to buy a more modern TTL flash but am hoping that won't be necessary. Thanks!

In a position to purchase my first digital M series camera and am wondering which camera, the M11 or the M10R? Any advice and opinions would be much appreciated.

Nachdem ich schon lange passiv hier umschleiche, habe ich am Dienstag meine M11 bei Meister in München abgeholt. Daneben habe ich schon länger eine M6 um den Hals. So nun zu meiner Frage: Meine M11 tagged alle Bilder mit den Koordinaten 0/0, also irgendwo im Meer vor dem afrikanischen Kontinent. Das ist insofern umständlich, da ich erst diese sinnfreie Koordinate löschen muss, um dann in Lightroom mit meinem GPS Track die richtigen GPS Koordinaten zuzuweisen. Kann man das umgehen? Über die Photos App geht das GPS tagging ja wohl noch nicht.

Will it even be able to resolve to 60megapixels? Does anyone have any experience with this?

As seen last week on a local woodland trail. M11, 75mm Summarit f2.5