M11 menu navigation - feature/change request (firmware 1.6)

[Jarjan]

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Hi!

So I've been using my new M11 for a little while now and there's one thing, one annoyance, that I can''t get used to. That's the way you navigate the menus. I cannot understand why* navigating between the different menu pages has to be done with the menu button (to move one page to the right) and the left button (to move one page to the left)... Surely I should be able to move left and right across the pages with the left & right buttons? And why is there an inconsistency between the Play and Menu buttons? Pressing Play again turns the screen off, why cant I turn the screen back off with te Menu button?

Can we get Leica to re-think this in some way please/pretty please? My ideal:

- Press Menu once - opens on the quick menu, subsequent presses toggle to the favorites page (if on), then to the full menu and (this is important)  a next press turns the screen back off.

- Left-right move left-right in the quick menu, and toggle between pages in the full menu (including the favorites menu). This could, or could not include the quick menu in the "rotation", but I'd prefer not. My preference would be that only the menu button switches you between quick menu - favorites page - full menu - screen off, that keeps it simple and consistent (to my mind at least).

- The middle button does what it does now, execute/toggle options and opens the sub-menu pages.

That can't be that hard? And it get's rid of the infinitely confusing mix of functions between the right/left buttons and the menu button.

/end of rant 😉

 

Anyway, do others agree? And if so, how do we get Leica to look in to this?

Thanks!

* Ok, yes, I do think understand why this is. I'm guessing it's either related to the use of the left/right buttons when you're on the quick-menu page. (But since that page has a "hamburger"/menu button already that should be an easy fix?) Or it's related to Leica using a right-arrow for their sub-menus and somehow wanting the same right-press to go in to the sub-menu. (But I still find that confusing and inconsistent.)

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[Photoworks]

52 minutes ago, Jarjan said:

Anyway, do others agree?

not at all.

I think the menu is just right, designed with factions in mind between different camera systems.

Unlike other cameras where you can to click go get into the submenu first, Leica has designed it to go left and right without pushing the center button to enter first. faster navigation, unlike fuji, Sony 😡, and most other brands.  you don't have to click menu to advance pages 1-2-3... you can just go up and down.

The quick screen has full touch support.

[maxpower]

I'm actually pretty satisfied with the menu and how it works, to me it felt simple and intuitive to use so I don't see myself in these complaints.

[scott kirkpatrick]

I think Leica has made great strides towards keeping the menus simple and consistent across all current models, at least as consistent as possible, given the different functionalities.  But the rant about keeping some symmetry between go left and go right commands and separating navigation deep in the menus from the step of just entering menu-land from the quickmenu has some logical elegance.  That's necessary in cameras that have a tree structure, in which each setting is at least two steps down in a memory hierarchy.  I think Leica is trying to reduce the number of button presses, not requiring "confirm" steps, for example.

[Jarjan]

Thanks for the replies! Interesting to see that so far no-one seems to agree with me 😄 maybe I need to give it a little more time to build that "muscle memory"...

To be clear, I love the fact that the menu is so short and simple. I come from a Nikon Z6, and while that's a great camera I felt the camera and all it's options distracted me from the actual photography. (The number of menu pages and menu options on those things is mind-boggling...) So very happy to see a short, simple and easy menu. (And of course extremely happy to be back to an optical viewfinder, to have the 60Mpix, the compactness of the camera, the choice of amazing compact prime lenses etc. etc.)

I just think that there is this inconsistency with the right button on the 4-way pad doubling up the function of the middle button. (And the Menu button esentially being a "forward" button, as well as a "select between types of menu"-button.) I don't think changing that would increase the number of button presses needed? It would just change the button press from right-arrow to middle button. And it might even make it quicker as you can then use the right button to quickly flip forward through the pages with one thumb, and you'd always be back at the quick menu with 2 presses of the menu button?

I have to say I don't own, nor have used, any other Leica camera's, so I don't know in what ways this might mess with the consistency between cameras...

Anyway, I'm still wondering if there's others that share my view 😄

 

[Kwesi]

WHAAAT!? Menus on an M? What is this world coming to? 😀

Just pulling your leg Jarjan, pretty soon you will settle into hardly ever needing to dive into the menus. I remember playing with the menus when I first got the M11 and appreciating the improved navigation. Since then, I can't say I've been back.

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Kwesi

[lct]

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7 hours ago, Jarjan said:

Can we get Leica to re-think this in some way please/pretty please?

Thanks no thanks sorry. It took me a little while to get used to the status menu and I would place Shutter Type and File Format in page 1 of the main menu but otherwise it works well for me. YMMV.

Edited January 6, 2023 by lct

[Harout62]

I think the menu on the M11 is just fine , if you have been with Leica M digital through the generations it has been a nice progression over the years to the point that you don’t even have to think about reading a manual  

[ianforber]

As others have said, I prefer the current approach to the menu - minimal and as similar to my Q2 as possible. I also rarely use the menu these days. Once I’d played around with the camera and set a few user profiles, all I need to do is change profiles when I want to change settings, and I change profiles by clicking the wheel rather than pressing the icon on the screen. 

[DenverSteve]

Well, welcome to the forum.  As for menus, for me, the Leica menus (on the 4 systems I use) are about perfect.  Not perfect but close.  Compared to Canon and Sony........ they are fast and a breeze to navigate.  

[sdk]

On my M11 if I press The menu button 2X it gets me to the first page of my favorites menu, and pressing it 4X it gets me to the #1 page of the main camera menu. You can scroll through all your favorites to get to the main menu, but you don't have to do it that slower way.