Core of the digital M

[LocalHero1953]

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FWIW.....when I tried the M11 in the Leica store I was concerned about what the extended shutter action meant for reaction times and lag, since direct view, direct control and responsiveness are the core of the M system (😉). Panning the camera rapidly across a scene and pressing the shutter at a predetermined point, I could not discern any shutter lag from the moment I pressed the button. From which I infer that the image is captured as near the start of the shutter noise/feel as makes no difference. The bulk of the stapler action appears to happen after the image has been captured.

I still disliked the stapler sound/feel!

[adan]

10 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

From which I infer that the image is captured as near the start of the shutter noise/feel as makes no difference.

True - people sometimes forget that the "shutter" sound of the digital Ms is actually a "shutter + recocking" sound.

Back with the M8.2 (and retrofittable to earlier M8s with a firmware upgrade), Leica offered the option of "Discreet Shutter" mode. Continuing to hold down the shutter button after an exposure delayed the recocking (and its sound) until releasing the pressure on the button (presumably after sticking the camera under one's jacket for additional muffling, or until the ambient sound increased enough to mask the recocking sound).

Wouldn't work very well with the inherently "double-cocking" shutter of the M11 (close - open - close - open), or similar cameras using live-view and/or off-the-sensor metering.

I've had an inherent dislike for the squishy/rubbery sound of damped camera operations going all the way back to SLRs 40+ years ago. When it was usually a mechanical damping of the mirror movement and shake, rather than the shutter per se. Especially noticeable with the Olympus OMs and the Leica Rs (not 'flexes) as they tried to be "more Leica M-sounding." Any exposure at a faster speed than 1/15th second still sounded as though it was made at 1/15th second - "thud-ummp" rather than "snap."

But I expect I would get used to it eventually.

Edited July 2, 2022 by adan

[LocalHero1953]

3 hours ago, adan said:

True - people sometimes forget that the "shutter" sound of the digital Ms is actually a "shutter + recocking" sound.

Back with the M8.2 (and retrofittable to earlier M8s with a firmware upgrade), Leica offered the option of "Discreet Shutter" mode. Continuing to hold down the shutter button after an exposure delayed the recocking (and its sound) until releasing the pressure on the button (presumably after sticking the camera under one's jacket for additional muffling, or until the ambient sound increased enough to mask the recocking sound).

Wouldn't work very well with the inherently "double-cocking" shutter of the M11 (close - open - close - open), or similar cameras using live-view and/or off-the-sensor metering.

I've had an inherent dislike for the squishy/rubbery sound of damped camera operations going all the way back to SLRs 40+ years ago. When it was usually a mechanical damping of the mirror movement and shake, rather than the shutter per se. Especially noticeable with the Olympus OMs and the Leica Rs (not 'flexes) as they tried to be "more Leica M-sounding." Any exposure at a faster speed than 1/15th second still sounded as though it was made at 1/15th second - "thud-ummp" rather than "snap."

But I expect I would get used to it eventually.

I had a surprise in the last few months when I went Leica retro. The first one, a M4, had a nice snick, though not particularly quiet. Then I bought three different Barnacks, and all three have the sort of heavy metal-on-metal sound that you would wish to keep your fingers away from. No question of rubber damping there!

I had the M9 and disliked the shutter sound intensely; even the first part (pre-recocking) wasn't particularly quiet.