Enabling the digital zoom feature of the M11 with the rangefinder

[hdmesa]

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Currently the 1.3x and 1.8x zoom (crop) function of the M11 only works in live view, and there is no way to use this crop mode while using the rangefinder. I'm sure Leica wanted to prevent confusion with frame line mismatches and/or accidentally forgetting to turn the zoom off. However, it would be great to have the option to use the rangefinder with the digital zoom enabled even without any notification in the rangefinder that the camera is in crop mode. Why? Because if I mount a 40mm lens like the Leica/Minolta 40mm f/2 or the recent Voigtlander 40mm f/2.8, the 50/75mm frame lines are activated. These frame lines are exact 1.3x and 1.8x crops of 40mm. I'd love to be able to activate the 1.3x zoom mode and shoot my Voigtlander 40mm using the rangefinder 50mm frame lines and get a 50mm FOV final image, even if it is a crop. The equivalent smaller sensor size and resulting file size of a 1.3x crop from a 60mp full frame image is still very useful.

I'm going to email Leica a feature request for this. If anyone else wants to join, please email info [at] leica-camera [dot com]

I know there may not be a huge interest, but if you think this might be nice to have the option, please consider emailing Leica with me. Please use the following as the email subject line: Feature Request: Enable M11 digital zoom with the rangefinder

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In the meantime as a workaround for shooting my 40mm using the 50mm frame lines: I'm going to set a 1.3x crop preset in Capture One, which will allow me to either apply this manually to one image at a time or batch-apply the crop to a set of images at the time of import.

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[Photoworks]

That is a quite particular request. I never got the 40mm because of the missing frame lines. I never got the Leica CL film camera because I could not use the 35mm correctly.

But, coming back to your case. I have the little button to activate Zoom on my camera. Why not just turn it on and ignore the Screen?

I can see Leica not going for it as it creates confusion. I may work well in your case, but if you have a different lens mounted, let's say 28mm, you don't get any crop lines but 28 and 135mm

[hdmesa]

1 hour ago, Photoworks said:

That is a quite particular request. I never got the 40mm because of the missing frame lines. I never got the Leica CL film camera because I could not use the 35mm correctly.

But, coming back to your case. I have the little button to activate Zoom on my camera. Why not just turn it on and ignore the Screen?

I can see Leica not going for it as it creates confusion. I may work well in your case, but if you have a different lens mounted, let's say 28mm, you don't get any crop lines but 28 and 135mm

There are other lenses that work with the zoom + frame lines such as 21mm being ~28mm with the 1.3x zoom. I realize it’s an obscure request, but its implementation would be simple. It would be off by default, so it wouldn’t be any different than it is now for most people.

Leaving the screen on while using the rangefinder would work, but the light of the LCD can be too bright in dim lighting when my eye is right up to the camera. Perhaps setting the LCD to its lowest brightness could help.

Edited September 7, 2023 by hdmesa

[jaapv]

I cannot say that I can follow this reasoning. Framelines are not a command to be followed blindly, they are an indication. There is nothing holding you back from framing a bit inside or outside the lines. In fact, this is something that must be done to maintain accuracy with focusing a frameline- matched lens. 

 

3 hours ago, Photoworks said:

That is a quite particular request. I never got the 40mm because of the missing frame lines. I never got the Leica CL film camera because I could not use the 35mm 

 

[Mogen]

Would love to have this feature! Imagine it also set the framelines as well to the closest focal length- would be a great feature

[hdmesa]

18 hours ago, Mogen said:

Would love to have this feature! Imagine it also set the framelines as well to the closest focal length- would be a great feature

The framelines in the rangefinder window are set mechanically by the lens that is attached. They can also be toggled between different focal length options by flipping the frameline selector lever on the front of the camera. But it couldn't be done electronically in firmware, unfortunately. 

[Rollei35]

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For CV 40mm, get a LTM mount, and then buy a 35/135 adapter, then use 35mm frameline to frame. It's closer than 50mm, and gives a bit room of margin.

The feature you requested is not even feasible.

[DrM]

Personally, I don't care about the OVF icw the digital zoom. However, I would welcome an option to used the whole EVF/Display with the digital zoom as addition to displaying just the framelines. 

[Derbyshire Man]

My personal and vaguely related plea would be when using EVF to allow the use of the back screen to move the zoomed area of the image and focus point for zoom while looking through the viewfinder. I can do this on my Q2M and find it very useful.

[luizfcoimbra]

On 9/7/2023 at 3:22 PM, hdmesa said:

There are other lenses that work with the zoom + frame lines such as 21mm being ~28mm with the 1.3x zoom. I realize it’s an obscure request, but its implementation would be simple. It would be off by default, so it wouldn’t be any different than it is now for most people.

Leaving the screen on while using the rangefinder would work, but the light of the LCD can be too bright in dim lighting when my eye is right up to the camera. Perhaps setting the LCD to its lowest brightness could help.

Absolutely! I’ve bough the 21mm SEM and it could double as a 28mm lens with 42mp. I’ve been really disappointed that the 1.3x crop is disabled when the EVF is turned off - I would love to use the rangefinder 28mm framelines (that are automatically selected when I mount the 21mm). Come on, Leica!

[jaapv]

This kind of stuff has completely lost track of the concept of an M camera. As far as I am I concerned Leica should make the M12 an M3 with the best possible sensor and dump all this kind of digital frippery into an M mount EVF camera. 

[luizfcoimbra]

On 4/18/2025 at 8:38 PM, jaapv said:

This kind of stuff has completely lost track of the concept of an M camera. As far as I am I concerned Leica should make the M12 an M3 with the best possible sensor and dump all this kind of digital frippery into an M mount EVF camera. 

I'm not sure I understand your post. You want Leica to dump all the digital frippery while adding an EVF? I just wanted to be able to have a digital crop that's equivalent to the 28mm frameline that is engaged when I mount my 21mm Super-Elmar to the M11. I don't see it as `digital frippery` but rather some good use of 60mp, since the 21mm lens can effectively double as a 28mm lens with 42mp resolution. 

[Stef63]

To each their own, but I’ve never really understood the real benefit of an in-camera crop or digital zoom feature—especially on a rangefinder. 

[jaapv]

Nor I Cropping in post gives far more creative control. 

[costa43]

Would this request not require a dual magnification OVF? If so, my preference would be for it to be able to zoom out so the 28mm and 35mm framelines are closer to the 0.58 finder in the film Ms. I’d also like to see Leica implement singular frame lines somehow like in the M2 in the next M, possibly with a kind of hybrid viewfinder that permits some electronic readout. Having singular lines will greatly improve the shooting experience for me. If there is some way of having menu based de/selectable framelines that would also allow us to select 40mm etc. It could also potentially encourage Leica to release lenses in different focal lengths. Something that may be of interest to them, especially with an EVF M on the way where the framelines are largely irrelevant and any adapted glass will work fine. 

Edited April 21 by costa43

[luizfcoimbra]

On 4/20/2025 at 6:46 PM, Stef63 said:

To each their own, but I’ve never really understood the real benefit of an in-camera crop or digital zoom feature—especially on a rangefinder. 

On 4/20/2025 at 7:16 PM, jaapv said:

Nor I Cropping in post gives far more creative control. 

It really does, but it would be somehow difficult to match the cropping to the framelines in which the picture was originally composed, wouldn't it?

Hopefully Leica has sorted this out: when I select the "Digital Zoom" option, the raw files (at least the ones imported through Lightroom) are already cropped, though cropping can be undone. In other words, I'm getting the full 60mp raw cropped to 42mp - or, considering the 21mm Super Elmar, to approximately 28mm (matching the wider frameline of my M11). 

I would see no benefit at all in this feature if the in-camera crop left me with an effective focal lenght totally unrelated to any frameline. However, considering that I'm using the 21mm that engages the 28mm frameline, I think that is quite useful to be able to use this frameline for composition with the matching crop suggestion in the raw file. 

Thank you all for the kind discussion.

Best,

Luiz

 

 

[jaapv]

I normally compose before I put the camera to my eye. Framelines are fairly irrelevant if one crops in the computer. 

[luizfcoimbra]

On 9/7/2023 at 2:31 AM, hdmesa said:

Currently the 1.3x and 1.8x zoom (crop) function of the M11 only works in live view, and there is no way to use this crop mode while using the rangefinder. I'm sure Leica wanted to prevent confusion with frame line mismatches and/or accidentally forgetting to turn the zoom off. However, it would be great to have the option to use the rangefinder with the digital zoom enabled even without any notification in the rangefinder that the camera is in crop mode. Why? Because if I mount a 40mm lens like the Leica/Minolta 40mm f/2 or the recent Voigtlander 40mm f/2.8, the 50/75mm frame lines are activated. These frame lines are exact 1.3x and 1.8x crops of 40mm. I'd love to be able to activate the 1.3x zoom mode and shoot my Voigtlander 40mm using the rangefinder 50mm frame lines and get a 50mm FOV final image, even if it is a crop. The equivalent smaller sensor size and resulting file size of a 1.3x crop from a 60mp full frame image is still very useful.

I'm going to email Leica a feature request for this. If anyone else wants to join, please email info [at] leica-camera [dot com]

I know there may not be a huge interest, but if you think this might be nice to have the option, please consider emailing Leica with me. Please use the following as the email subject line: Feature Request: Enable M11 digital zoom with the rangefinder

--

In the meantime as a workaround for shooting my 40mm using the 50mm frame lines: I'm going to set a 1.3x crop preset in Capture One, which will allow me to either apply this manually to one image at a time or batch-apply the crop to a set of images at the time of import.

I found your post/discussion recently having bought a 21mm Super Elmar and wanting to use it as a 28mm (with 42mp and the 28mm frameline in the M11). For whatever reason, even if the images are not actually cropped by the camera when Live View is off, I'm getting all my raw files with the crop when I import them with Lightroom. It can be reversed if I reset the crop while editing (in other words, I'm still getting the full 60mp raw). 

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[luizfcoimbra]

18 minutes ago, jaapv said:

I normally compose before I put the camera to my eye. Framelines are fairly irrelevant if one crops in the computer. 

You're right. I usually position myself and compose before raising the camera to my eye - but then again, I'm very used to my 35mm lens (or 80mm with the 503, 45mm with the GFX... you've got the picture). With this new 21mm, though, I like having the viewfinder to compose. Such a wide (and new) perspective!  

[hdmesa]

4 hours ago, luizfcoimbra said:

I found your post/discussion recently having bought a 21mm Super Elmar and wanting to use it as a 28mm (with 42mp and the 28mm frameline in the M11). For whatever reason, even if the images are not actually cropped by the camera when Live View is off, I'm getting all my raw files with the crop when I import them with Lightroom. It can be reversed if I reset the crop while editing (in other words, I'm still getting the full 60mp raw). 

To be clear, you're saying that when you play back the JPEGs in camera, they are not cropped – but in Lightroom, the markers are there and are honored?

Edited April 22 by hdmesa