M11 or M10P and MP

[B0tt0mline]

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Hi guys,

i know that there will be no „right“ answer to my question, but I am thinking about it since days and maybe you can help me

I am thinking of buying a mechanical MP (never tried film before) or selling my M10-P and use the money to upgrade to the M11.

So it is basically M11 or M10-P and MP. BTW: I also have a Q2 and obviously extreme GAS

What would you do?  I just use the cameras for fun, no commercial work

 

Thanks for your inputs and best wishes,

Alex

[a.noctilux]

Hello Alex,

To try film, owning MP is not enough to like/love film.

Film can be much more demanding and learning curve can be long.

Otherwise if you don't try you would never know.

[Photoworks]

3 hours ago, B0tt0mline said:

(never tried film before)

What is film?

[mediumformula]

Every Leica M owner should own a film M.  Get the MP and start a new journey.  

[a.noctilux]

Not to be negative here, MP why not 😉.

 

Not impossible but not so easy to appreciate film practice.

I can add that using film without doing film processing can give more unsatisfied results than good results.

Relying on others for processing would be miss or hiss.

 

Film processing needs another learning curve, for me even harder and will take time to learn.

[Ba Erv]

I would recommend keeping the M10-P and adding Ativan.

[shirubadanieru]

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MP for sure, nothing beats film. 

[mon10a]

What Arnaud said ^^

[SrMi]

I have all three cameras. If I had to pick one, it would be M11.

[harmen]

Film will give you a new way to enjoy photography.  An upgraded digital camera will give you a better version of what you do already.

Here are some things I personally like about (also) using film

• Choosing the look before you shoot instead of during editing.  I pick a film I like and barely edit afterwards.
• Happy ‘accidents’ in family photos where some people in the picture may not smile or not look where I would have wanted them to.  Taking 3 digital shots I would have deleted the accidental ones.  Seeing the 1 film shot weeks later, I realize how much I like the wrong one.
• Black and white for 37 shots, fully committed
• Taking a reading with a handheld meter of incident light and then leaving the shutter and aperture unchanged for a number of shots.
• Grain and the beauty of seeing the impression, but not all the details.  It leaves something to the imagination.  It adds a texture and feel that I welcome.

That said, since I have a few analog cameras, I chose to exchange my 240 for an 11.

Enjoy!

Edited February 13, 2022 by harmen

[kkochheiser]

Or keep the M10-P and get a Q2 Monocrom which will give you a very different view without the learning curve of film.  I shot film for decades until my Nikon D1 in 1999.  Never shot another roll of film again.  By the way, Q2 and Q2M make great complements to M cameras.

Kent

[shirubadanieru]

Also, the think I forgot to add, film cameras don’t drop in value, they keep increasing, and you can literally keep it forever and even give it to your family members one day; in 3y when the M11P or M12 are out, the M11 price would have dropped to about half and the technology would be ‘old’. 

By the way a good way for me to differentiate use cases between film and digital is to make one of the bodies mostly for B&W (if digital, then MM is the best option) and one for color (I honestly prefer the colors from film over anything out there). For me making B&W digital files look like film B&W files is much easier than trying to do that with color. 

That being said, I feel M11 has the best color out of any leica camera so far, so you might enjoy it. 

Finally, my kit is M11 and MP so I have both and enjoy both. Over the long term, MP sees more use, but currently because the M11 is a new toy the M11 sees more use

[Ouroboros]

6 hours ago, B0tt0mline said:

Hi guys,

i know that there will be no „right“ answer to my question, but I am thinking about it since days and maybe you can help me

I am thinking of buying a mechanical MP (never tried film before) or selling my M10-P and use the money to upgrade to the M11.

So it is basically M11 or M10-P and MP. BTW: I also have a Q2 and obviously extreme GAS

What would you do?  I just use the cameras for fun, no commercial work

 

Thanks for your inputs and best wishes,

Alex

Questions like this say a lot about the person who starts the thread and the first thing you need to do is get your GAS under control.  There is no point in buying an expensive film camera like an MP until you understand a little about film photography.
 

If you’ve never used film before, I suggest you buy a cheap used film camera and use some film before you do anything else.  
 

As for ‘upgrading’ your M10-P to an M11, only you can decide, but it will only be an upgrade if your photography will genuinely improve by using an M11.  
 

You have two very capable cameras with your M10-P and Q2.  Put your GAS aside and put your energy into improving your existing skills with what you have and try film alongside your current digital cameras.

When you understand a little more about the craft and the processes of photography, you will be better placed to make decisions for yourself instead of asking others what to do or how to spend your money.

[roma]

If you really want to have a great time with film, find a way to print in a darkroom. No digital experience comes close to watching your images (especially when time passes and you forget what’s on your negatives) appear in a tray of developer.

Scanning film is ok, but real fun is in darkroom printing. 

[TomN]

M10-P and Rolleiflex 3.5f. I have digital and film M's and Rolleicord and if one had to go it would be the film M.

[tom0511]

I love film images, but I allmost never use my film Ms. Why? Too lazy to get the films develop, scan,...

So as someone else reports: Try to find out if you really would USE film, or if you just think its cool.

If you just want to try, why not get a M6 for a much lower price, which gives you allmost as much camera as the MP (ok, MP maybe feels a little more solid, but M6 does the same).

So you can see how much you use it, and then either keep or sell in 6 months.

What do you miss with your M10-P which makes you want replacing it with M11?

[Sean ASA]

When I had a digital M9 and a Film M, I always took the Digital M with me, when I wanted the RF experience. When I wanted to shoot wildlife, motor sport or I wanted to be in the photo's I took Fuji X (though I would choose Canon R for that purpose if choosing today). So the film M was never used. I also had a Medium formate Film camera so would use occasionally if I really wanted a film experience. Subsequently I sold my digital M, with a plan to upgrade to a newer Digital M. But I found that when I wanted the RF experience I shot my film M and the Fuji X when I needed digital. Yesterday a family day out at a historical building and I took the film M. Now I should mention that in the 80's I was a professional film retoucher and I learnt photography with film, so I don't have a learning curve as such. Is there a learning curve, well only that you meter for the shadows and add some. I've my original M3 (bought used in 1984) with an external light meter set 2 ISO lower then the film stock ISO. Now I'm going to through a curve ball, film resolves to about 18MP, the M11 (and 10r) are the first M's to really offer something out of reach for film. So my recommendation is to get the M11, it on my list and might be the M that puts the M3 back in the cupboard for a while.  

[B0tt0mline]

Got the M11, thanks