Leica M11: Totally locked up, can not start (or reset)

[rsh]

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I agree with all of Japp’s posts on this subject.

[IkarusJohn]

7 hours ago, jaapv said:

M240 in all its variations was a sales succes and is quite popular on the used market. M5 was unlucky. It got caught up in the SLR tsunami from Japan. 

And yet, the M10 replaced the M(240) with a return the the traditional M camera.  Do you care to share the sales figures for both series?

Edited October 3, 2023 by IkarusJohn

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[jaapv]

The dropping of video for the M10 had but one reason: The smaller body could not handle the heat dissipation. And one marketing spin: customer demand 🤣

[IkarusJohn]

18 minutes ago, jaapv said:

The dropping of video for the M10 had but one reason: The smaller body could not handle the heat dissipation. And one marketing spin: customer demand 🤣

Come now, Jaap.  Your disappointment over the loss of video is well documented.  There were considerably more changes with the move from the M(240) - the Swiss army knife base plate, size of the camera etc etc.

Now, you commented on the sales success of the M(240).  If you have the figures, it would be interesting to know them; particularly in the context of the success of the M9 (drawing attention to the full frame digital M) and the relative success of each digital M model in terms of their respective shares of camera sales (to make any sense).  Otherwise your assertion of the success of the M(240) is meaningless.  

Without any inside knowledge of Leica’s sales figures, I can point to the facts of the M5 debacle (a fine camera, apparently), followed by the re-release of the M4 by Leica Midland, and the release of the more restrained M10 following the M(240).  

I agree that the Japanese SLRs put Leica’s M5 under pressure (the Nikon F starting in 1959 and the Pentax Spotmatic in 1961), but it was the cost size and shape of the M5 which turned off Leica M buyers, compared to what they already had and the available alternatives.  The M4, M4-2 and M4-P kept the M system on life support until the M6 was released.  People were still buying those when the SLR cameras were well established.

The attraction of the M9, for me anyway, was its elegance compared to the bloated dSLR alternatives.  I don’t think I was alone when I bought mine in 2010 instead of the Canon and Nikon alternatives.

The M system is now in an attractive position, don’t you think?  Mirrorless, legacy lenses, hip (for want of a better word) and refined.  The temptation is for Leica to compete directly with alternative offerings - competing with Sony would, in my view, be a huge mistake.  It would almost be repeating trying to sell the M4 in 1966 against the Nikon F and Spotmatic, released 5 years earlier and well on the way to huge market share.  I’m pretty sure the market damage was done in 1971 when the M5 was released.  I got my Canonet for Christmas in 1969, and was hugely disappointed it wasn’t a Nikormat.

If you’re going to raise sales figures, let’s hear them.  This isn’t about video, it’s about where the M11 appears to be taking the M digital.

[jaapv]

I was quite happy with my 240 yet I reverted to the M9 and M9M. Both still going strong 😀

[wattsy]

Yes, I'm not sure what was so wrong with the M240. I bought one at the end of its run (it was going fairly cheap) and it's been fine. It's not inspiring and I don't care much for the colour it produces but it works pretty much exactly as you'd expect a digital M camera to work. It might be because I use it in full manual mode (it's how I use all cameras – can't stand AE) but I don't feel it works any differently to my M-A.

[jakontil]

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M240 was superb, not to discrediting the M9, but during my m240 i enjoyed everything i could ever imagine with an M, until the M10 came, it’s all i ever asked from an M digital, great and reliable sensor, better experience with iso dial and less button cluttered, and hence the M10D is the greatest of all in my book though i sold it regrettfully, didnt think quite enough at that time 

anyway, it’s entirely my personal opinions, the only thing i missed frm m240 over my M10 was its battery life, that being said, the M10’s aint no slouch either

However the M11 answered it, even better in terms of overall user experience, though i encountered another rare freeze after fw 1.6.1 in combination with uncoded lens but this was too rare to notice lately, hope with fw fixe it will only get better and better and as reliable as my m240 in a way