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Leica M11 Sensor review


zone5

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There are so many M11 Reviews available now. I have been busy reading all these reviews.

However, there  is no review that reviews sensor deeper than just spec and sating it is very good at low light.

When we had M10 first time there are so many detail reviews about sensor technology including how the sensor design optimized for M lens by thin  thickness of glass, micro-prism design ....

Color rendering, comparing with M240 and M9 CCD sensor etc.

Now M11 reviews are mainly about spec, minor design change, buttons ..... I know these are important but some very important information is missing.

It is like car reviews about exterior interior design and headlight shape , information system but without detail about engine and transmission technology and driving performance and ride.... 

I am using Leica M10P , M10 mono and SL with Leica glasses and I am interested in this new M11 and want to learn about this camera especially about sensor technology besides just specs,

I am wondering wether this is Sony sensor variant or not (this is matter to me since I used multiple sony system before and I do not like sony sensor rendering personally), I want to know how different this M11 sensor to compare with M10 and M10 R....

Please let me know if there is any review that will explain all of these questions about M11 sensor.

Please forgive me if I say something wrong but my biggest  fear for Leica's future products as Leica Enthusiast is adapting Sony sensor for all of future cameras.

I do not have any way to prove this but Sony sensor  have their own look and even though they produce detail and sharp images  I do not like that look.

Again, I do not want to offend anybody with this statement but that is jus my personal view.

 

H Jung

 

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12 minutes ago, zone5 said:

 my biggest  fear for Leica's future products as Leica Enthusiast is adapting Sony sensor for all of future cameras.

Not being much of fan of Sony rendering, I understand you concern, but the best color SooC I've experienced so far comes off of the Sony sensor embedded in the X1Dii. As more reviews appear with DNG downloads, its probably best if you pull some samples and decide for yourself.  DPReview has a number of them up you can download. 

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1 hour ago, zone5 said:

There are so many M11 Reviews available now. I have been busy reading all these reviews.

However, there  is no review that reviews sensor deeper than just spec and sating it is very good at low light.

When we had M10 first time there are so many detail reviews about sensor technology including how the sensor design optimized for M lens by thin  thickness of glass, micro-prism design ....

Color rendering, comparing with M240 and M9 CCD sensor etc.

Now M11 reviews are mainly about spec, minor design change, buttons ..... I know these are important but some very important information is missing.

It is like car reviews about exterior interior design and headlight shape , information system but without detail about engine and transmission technology and driving performance and ride.... 

I am using Leica M10P , M10 mono and SL with Leica glasses and I am interested in this new M11 and want to learn about this camera especially about sensor technology besides just specs,

I am wondering wether this is Sony sensor variant or not (this is matter to me since I used multiple sony system before and I do not like sony sensor rendering personally), I want to know how different this M11 sensor to compare with M10 and M10 R....

Please let me know if there is any review that will explain all of these questions about M11 sensor.

Please forgive me if I say something wrong but my biggest  fear for Leica's future products as Leica Enthusiast is adapting Sony sensor for all of future cameras.

I do not have any way to prove this but Sony sensor  have their own look and even though they produce detail and sharp images  I do not like that look.

Again, I do not want to offend anybody with this statement but that is jus my personal view.

 

H Jung

 

I try M11 vs M10P @ISO 12.5K, as we all know that with M10P from ISO 10K up, there are a little color shift, especially in the shadow (skin tone shift towards green). And M11 at ISO12.5K will feel like ISO 6400 at M10P. maybe there are a 1 or 1,5stops improvement in High ISO (color and noise) vs M10P. 

For the color rendering, using beta firmware... M11 is a little bit flat than M10P. Hopefully Leica will improve it with the release firmware, but so far i dont like what i see...

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3 minutes ago, Artin said:

Trust me it is nothing like a Sony A7R 4 sensor.  It has the Leica pop the colour rendition is unlike anything we have seen before, what I see is a SL2 IQ on steroids. 

hopefully... 

with beta firmware, the orange and red is more subtle than what i've used/like to see....

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I assume that reviewers where working with beta firmware until the launch. You cannot make reliable color, etc., judgment until the final software is out. Sean Reid is a preparing a series of articles that will likely answer your questions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

a) It is a Sony sensor.

b) It is from the same family as the SL2-S sensor hence why it looks similar as Leica is likely sharing electronics/code.

c) A sensor converts light into a voltage. It doesn't tell you what colour that voltage represents.

d) Sigma FP-L, Leica M11 and the Sony A7R4 use this sensor but have very different colour profiles.

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One thing that I haven't seen explained is how Leica is able to have wider base ISO vs. the Sony (64-50000 vs 100-32000) with the same sensor, even if the glass/electronics/color rendering is a little different. Is Sony just cropping off achievable ISOs because they don't fit within the multiples of 2? Or has Leica actually gotten a slightly better version of the sensor?

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Am 14.1.2022 um 05:12 schrieb Artin:

Trust me it is nothing like a Sony A7R 4 sensor.  It has the Leica pop the colour rendition is unlike anything we have seen before, what I see is a SL2 IQ on steroids. 

And I see the 3D thing that normally only Leica has. NEW now in the Leica M11.

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12 minutes ago, wdahab said:

One thing that I haven't seen explained is how Leica is able to have wider base ISO vs. the Sony (64-50000 vs 100-32000) with the same sensor, even if the glass/electronics/color rendering is a little different. Is Sony just cropping off achievable ISOs because they don't fit within the multiples of 2? Or has Leica actually gotten a slightly better version of the sensor?

Or better firmware...

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1 hour ago, wdahab said:

One thing that I haven't seen explained is how Leica is able to have wider base ISO vs. the Sony (64-50000 vs 100-32000) with the same sensor, even if the glass/electronics/color rendering is a little different. Is Sony just cropping off achievable ISOs because they don't fit within the multiples of 2? Or has Leica actually gotten a slightly better version of the sensor?

There’s more to sensitivity and base ISO than just the naked sensor.

  • the microlens array might be different / built to different spec
  • Bayer filter might be different (have different transmissivity)
  • the filter stack in front of the sensor might be (we know it is) different
  • dual amp gains might be set up and spaced differently (they are, it’s visible on the photons to photos charts)
  • sensor might have the same resolution, but might be an altogether different SKU
  • who knows what else
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1 minute ago, orcinus said:

There’s more to sensitivity and base ISO than just the naked sensor.

  • the microlens array might be different / built to different spec
  • Bayer filter might be different (have different transmissivity)
  • the filter stack in front of the sensor might be (we know it is) different
  • dual amp gains might be set up and spaced differently (they are, it’s visible on the photons to photos charts)
  • sensor might have the same resolution, but might be an altogether different SKU
  • who knows what else

Very good points. When I listened to a Leica talk about the M11, they mentioned that the filters on top of the sensor were new and thinner.  Sorry to be so vague, I did not hear that part well, but I do remember they said they had  a new thinner dual layer filter (UC/IR) and a new color filter array in order to have better color reproduction. They said that either they have patented the technology or they were going to do so.

 

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3 minutes ago, Daedalus2000 said:

a new color filter array in order to have better color reproduction. They said that either they have patented the technology or they were going to do so.

 

I think i’ve seen mention of that in a couple of places too. Unfortunately, no detail was provided - i’m wondering if that means just different arrangement of color filters (not very exciting, about all of them were tried at one point or another, industry ended up with Bayer because it’s optimal), or perhaps something more exotic like dramatically changing the actual peak wavelengths of the filters, which would be super interesting.

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