Connecting M11 to Mac via USB cable

[LBJ2]

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23 hours ago, maxpachernigg said:

It worked for me.

1. Switched to PTP

2. Connected the USB-A to USB-C cable that came with the M11 to my (M1) MacBook using an adapter.

3. Opened Lightroom import dialogue

4. Switched the camera on – then the photos showed up.

For some reason there where no previews available during import.. that's a real downside. Maybe to be improved some day.

 

 

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https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211241

Apple does not yet support the Leica M11. Once it does then we can see the M11 previews. Until then the you can still import and work with the files as you have described, just no previews. 

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[SrMi]

3 minutes ago, LBJ2 said:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211241

Apple does not yet support the Leica M11. Once it does then we can see the M11 previews. Until then the you can still import and work with the files as you have described, just no previews. 

@maxpachernigg talked about previews in Lightroom (import window), which are independent from Apple support.

[Quickrider]

vor 23 Stunden schrieb digitalfx:

You just need a USB-C to USB-C cable...They come in a dozen flavors, so make sure to get a USB-C 3.1 or 3.2 Cable. This will supply power and give you the ability to transfer images to the Mac at best speeds.

 

But note, you can also use the Mac USB-C Power cable, assuming you have the previous generation MBP. This will supply power only, no data.

Well, I have tried several (good) USB C to USB C cable (also the original Apple Macbook one), but hooking the camera up to my Macbook Pro, will not charge it with any of them. I ordered another USB C to USB C 3.2 from amazon today and will try again tomorrow... 

[SrMi]

14 minutes ago, Quickrider said:

Well, I have tried several (good) USB C to USB C cable (also the original Apple Macbook one), but hooking the camera up to my Macbook Pro, will not charge it with any of them. I ordered another USB C to USB C 3.2 from amazon today and will try again tomorrow... 

Computer ports may not provide enough power. Typically they provide 5V/0.5A, Leica's charger provides 8.4V/1A.

[digitalfx]

On 1/26/2022 at 3:34 PM, SrMi said:

Computer ports may not provide enough power. Typically they provide 5V/0.5A, Leica's charger provides 8.4V/1A.

 

On 1/26/2022 at 3:17 PM, Quickrider said:

Well, I have tried several (good) USB C to USB C cable (also the original Apple Macbook one), but hooking the camera up to my Macbook Pro, will not charge it with any of them. I ordered another USB C to USB C 3.2 from amazon today and will try again tomorrow... 

Im charging from M1X MacBook Pro no problem...I haven't checked how long it would take as Ive not actually fully charged this way, but the light on the bottom of M11 flash indicating its charging and I get the icon in the display.

 

AND AN UPDATE:

Its actually faster via MacBook USB-C Port than using the actual battery charger.

[simonjegleave@mac.com]

It took me a while on my mac pro and LRC.  Finally it only worked with a thunderbolt cable!

[digitalfx]

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6 hours ago, simonjegleave@mac.com said:

It took me a while on my mac pro and LRC.  Finally it only worked with a thunderbolt cable!

I find TB cables to transfer data much slower than USB-C 3.1 cables...YMMV

[tashley]

On 1/14/2022 at 3:40 AM, SrMi said:

Got it to work with Lightroom . Must quit Android Transfer App which starts automatically.

For those of us in the apple ecosystem who neither know nor care what Android Transfer is, it seems confusing to state that it needs to be ‘installed’ and then (correction) Quit and then “Must quit Android Transfer App which starts automatically.”

So which is it? Installed then quit? Or need we bother with it at all, whatever it is?

Edited February 4, 2022 by tashley

[tashley]

On 1/24/2022 at 10:30 PM, maxpachernigg said:

It worked for me.

1. Switched to PTP

2. Connected the USB-A to USB-C cable that came with the M11 to my (M1) MacBook using an adapter.

3. Opened Lightroom import dialogue

4. Switched the camera on – then the photos showed up.

For some reason there where no previews available during import.. that's a real downside. Maybe to be improved some day.

 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

I only got a lightening to usb-c cable with mine…

[SrMi]

30 minutes ago, tashley said:

For those of us in the apple ecosystem who neither know nor care what Android Transfer is, it seems confusing to state that it needs to be ‘installed’ and then (correction) Quit and then “Must quit Android Transfer App which starts automatically.”

So which is it? Installed then quit? Or need we bother with it at all, whatever it is?

Sorry, work in progress :). 
If you want to transfer files manually, you need Android File Transfer. When you connect the M11 to your Mac, Android File Transfer starts up automatically and allows dragging the folder or files from the camera to your local disk.
If you want to import directly into Lightroom, there is no need to install Android File Transfer.

[digitalfx]

51 minutes ago, tashley said:

I only got a lightening to usb-c cable with mine…

Thats all they include

 

1 hour ago, tashley said:

For those of us in the apple ecosystem who neither know nor care what Android Transfer is, it seems confusing to state that it needs to be ‘installed’ and then (correction) Quit and then “Must quit Android Transfer App which starts automatically.”

So which is it? Installed then quit? Or need we bother with it at all, whatever it is?

Android Transfer is a hack shared by a user. Its only partially working as its designed for Android.  Its an option to work around the fact that Mac and iPads aren't supported yet. It will be available in a Fall update

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[SrMi]

12 minutes ago, digitalfx said:

Thats all they include

 

Android Transfer is a hack shared by a user. Its only partially working as its designed for Android.  Its an option to work around the fact that Mac and iPads aren't supported yet. It will be available in a Fall update

<snip>

To make it work with Mac, Leica needs to provide Mass Storage USB mode. Hope it happens in the fall update.

[jonoslack]

17 hours ago, SrMi said:

To make it work with Mac, Leica needs to provide Mass Storage USB mode. Hope it happens in the fall update.

Well, PTP will work if the DNG previews show up properly in LR - which shouldn't be so much of a problem.

But I've asked for mass storage as well!

[LBJ2]

21 hours ago, SrMi said:

Sorry, work in progress :). 
If you want to transfer files manually, you need Android File Transfer. When you connect the M11 to your Mac, Android File Transfer starts up automatically and allows dragging the folder or files from the camera to your local disk.
If you want to import directly into Lightroom, there is no need to install Android File Transfer.

I'm wondering about this Android File Transfer app to transfer photos from a camera to a mac computer too.  Are you sure you can't transfer files from the M11 to your mac desktop without Android File Transfer ( outside of LR) ?

Can anyone else confirm if they can or can not  transfer M11 files from the camera to a mac computer desktop without having to use this Android File Transfer?

OTOH, maybe you found a workaround until the M11 includes mass storage option. 

2 hours ago, jonoslack said:

Well, PTP will work if the DNG previews show up properly in LR - which shouldn't be so much of a problem.

But I've asked for mass storage as well!

I don't have access to an M11 to test. But I do have the SL2 and when I switch it to PTP and open Lightroom on M1 Mackbook I don't see the SL2 files on the Mac desktop, but I do see them ready for import in LR Classic. My guess is this the same for M11 PTP. I've never used PTP only mass storage. So this PTP is new to me. FWIW mass storage transfer to LR Classic on the mac seems a lot faster than PTP.

[LBJ2]

I also wonder why Leica didn't include mass storage option with the Leica M11? Maybe the thought process included:

1. Most people use the SD card to transfer camera files to a computer not a cable from their camera 

2. The new Leica Fotos cable or Apple's USBC cable provides a faster transfer from the M11 to iPhone/iPad than wireless Fotos app transfer without mass storage function.

Again, just wondering the rationale. 

[Hanno]

On 1/26/2022 at 11:02 PM, digitalfx said:

AND AN UPDATE:

Its actually faster via MacBook USB-C Port than using the actual battery charger.

This is due to Leica’s charger (like many others) having a built-in feature to preserve battery life. The speed of charging a battery slows down significantly once the battery has reached 80%. When using the MacBook USB C connection, the speed of charging remains constant and fast even after 80% charge. It works well when in a rush but if used all the time you will reduce your battery life more so than when using the charger.

Edited February 4, 2022 by Hanno

[mboerma]

Maybe this has already been mentioned, but make sure to use the right port on your Mac. Some of them will not support charging. On my iMac M1 there are four USB-C/Thunderbolt ports. Only the two closest to the center of the computer are useable for both charging and transferring the files. Just used a cheap Amazon cable with a Thunderbolt logo on it.

[scott kirkpatrick]

On 1/14/2022 at 10:01 PM, digitalfx said:

Has anyone got this working? I tried the instructions in post 1 and get an error "Cant Access Device Storage"

I couldn't find Android Transfer in the App store, so I installed something called Photo Mechanic, which says you will be able to see the files on your media source device in Finder.  But I couldn't.  Went to the help and it required that the source device be set to what sounds like Storage mode, which Leica doesn't yet offer.  And I stopped paying Adobe for LR a while ago, so I guess I'l have to wait on this one.

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[SrMi]

7 minutes ago, scott kirkpatrick said:

I couldn't find Android Transfer in the App store, so I installed something called Photo Mechanic, which says you will be able to see the files on your media source device in Finder.  But I couldn't.  Went to the help and it required that the source device be set to what sounds like Storage mode, which Leica doesn't yet offer.  And I stopped paying Adobe for LR a while ago, so I guess I'l have to wait on this one.

Android File Transfer download:

https://www.android.com/filetransfer/

[ELAN]

Just got the Anker USB-C 3.1 Gen2 cable and it indeed downloads significantly faster than the Apple USB-C cable.  M1 MBP downloaded from M11 internal memory 750 images at 60 MP (51 GB) in about 12 minutes.