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Leica M11 Review by Jono Slack


jonoslack

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18 minutes ago, Chaemono said:

A car analogy. I’d say there is some truth to that. People who can afford a Porsche 911 probably can also afford an M.

Hmm. Well, the interior restoration fund for my Lancia Fulvia Coupe walked over and nicked all the funds out of my 'buy more photo equipment' piggy bank.. 🤪

I'll see how long it takes to refill the camera fund.

G

 

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6 hours ago, adan said:

A couple of questions (may have been mention, but hard to find in the tsunami of posts). I can't find pictures of the camera that are definitive.

- during a lens change, does the shutter open and close in protective mode? Or is the sensor uncovered?

- with the deletion of the internal meter cell in the shutter chamber, has the floor of the chamber been lowered compared to the M10s?

One of the few things that bugged me about the M10 was an increased tendency for flare patches from internal camera reflections off the "tight" walls and floor of the shutter chamber. (For some reason mostly with 90mm lenses, and even with a lens hood).

Or did Leica simply recycle the meter space for other electronics?

In my short experience with the M11 (one week) I did notice that when the camera is switched on and you change lenses, the sensor is exposed. I believe this was not in Live View mode, just normal camera switched on mode. When the camera is turned off, the sensor is covered for lens changes. I know it is bad practice to change lenses with the M10 with the camera switched on. The sensor, even though covered, attracts more dust while switched on I am told. I tried to get an image of the area in the camera where the meter used to be, but being black on black, not too successful. The area in the shutter box is much like the pre-M6 cameras, and looks rather naked compared to the M8 through M10 camera generations.

Here is a picture of it.

Edited by derleicaman
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vor 7 Minuten schrieb ramarren:

Hmm. Well, the interior restoration fund for my Lancia Fulvia Coupe walked over and nicked all the funds out of my 'buy more photo equipment' piggy bank.. 🤪

I'll see how long it takes to refill the camera fund.

G

 

Now that’s more like an M.

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36 minutes ago, Chaemono said:

A car analogy. I’d say there is some truth to that. People who can afford a Porsche 911 probably can also afford an M.

The analogy has got nothing to do with pricing.

It's a reference to a manufacturer (Porsche, and Leica) respecting the lineage of a product, incrementally improving it over time, without losing sight of the essence and history of the product. It's a fine line as you have to both listen to and ignore the desires of your customers, who may think they know what's the best way forward, and quite often, don't.

The 911 and the M are unique siblings in this regard.

(The Lancia Fulvia hasn't been manufactured since 1976 by the way).

 

Edited by trickness
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1 hour ago, trickness said:

Great review, Jono, and the images as always are fantastic.

I don’t see it mentioned often enough, but the M really is the Porsche 911 of cameras, and I am really glad Leica seems to view it as such in how they evolve it.

 

Two sad eras: the 911 and M became grand touring. 

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vor 30 Minuten schrieb trickness:

All we need to do is take a stroll through that 6000 post long thread "M11 - Your next camera" to see evidence that Leica is wise to ignore at least SOME of it's customers 😆

The M11-S will meter off the shutter curtain. 

Edited by Chaemono
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18 hours ago, adan said:

I think the spec for film Ms was/is 20 milliseconds (2 hundredths of a second). Assuming one doesn't hesitate at the metering half-press point.

But film SLRs at their best were 50-60 milliseconds With a few of those with lots of mirror-damping (I'm looking at you, Leica R4 ;) or Olympus OM) even longer (> 100 milliseconds).

If the 10 and 11 are indistinguishable, that'll be fine.

As far as I remember, the M7 was the M-series camera with the shortest shutter lag (closer to 10 ms)

On the M10M the shutter lag does not really bother me, though I sometimes feel the reaction time could be better (unless it my reaction time that went worse ;)).

 

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21 minutes ago, didier said:

As far as I remember, the M7 was the M-series camera with the shortest shutter lag (closer to 10 ms)

On the M10M the shutter lag does not really bother me, though I sometimes feel the reaction time could be better (unless it my reaction time that went worse ;)).

 

As an aside, the camera with the longest shutter lag I ever used was the Olympus mu 2. Sometimes it was over a second.  A beautifully small camera but not the swiftest to us win a hurry.

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I think the removal of the bottom plate is akin to the switch in the 911 from an air to a liquid cooled motor - sacrilege to the faithful but a necessary improvement. Or perhaps that analogy is better attributed to the significance of the switch from analog to digital M’s???? 

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7 hours ago, tightsqueez said:

Two sad eras: the 911 and M became grand touring. 

Unlike the 992, the wheelbase of the M11 has remained the same. If you insist on a Porsche analogy its more along the lines of the Cayman/Boxster going to the turbo 4. Faster and more efficient, but people dissed it for the shutter...er... exhaust sound. 

Edited by Tailwagger
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I received my camera this evening and truly my first impression is one of astonishment.  I've shot all my Ms with an RRS which somewhat brings the M up to adult size as a camera. It's been a while since I've actually held an M without one. Forget about everything else, cost, shutter sound, whatever little or big niggle has you annoyed.  That a camera this small and light... yeah I had to take black... packs this much of a punch is simply unbelievable. When you factor in that some 20% of the camera is taken up by the rangefinder and another 20% or so for the battery, it is simply magic. I know some folks are disappointed by this or that, but I mean, my god, just look at this thing. I know the form factor hasn't changed, but dang there's 64gb, BSI, 60Mpx, 2x or more the battery life... and in retrospect, I'm nearly as astonished by the 10-R.  Grab a cup of evening tea, find a quiet spot, turn the lights down, mount a 'cron and lay the thing on the table.  Zen moment.   

I've only made a test shot or two so and while I'm very encouraged, its certainly possible any number of disappointments will surface over the next couple of days. That said, if I had one wish for the M11, it'd be that my Hasselblad loving/Leica hating father was still alive to hold and shoot with this thing. It really is mind blowing. I'm sure even a Leica hater like him would have loved it. 

Edited by Tailwagger
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25 minutes ago, Tailwagger said:

Unlike the 992, the wheelbase of the M11 has remained the same. If you insist on a Porsche analogy its more along the lines of the Cayman/Boxster going to the turbo 4. Faster and more efficient, but people dissed it for the shutter...er... exhaust sound. 

Thankfully Porsche brought back the NA 6 cylinder, maybe Leica will do the same :)

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