Leica M11 -purplish tint ???

[don daniel]

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My M11 is back from service. The magenta tint issue with the white balance has been fixed. I'm absolutely thrilled!

[Lev55]

Very happy for you. Did they explain the problem and how they solved it?

[don daniel]

As I understand it, calibration data for white balance was uploaded onto the camera during servicing. This intervention goes deeper than a firmware update, and therefore won't be undone by future firmware updates. It took two attempts at the service center for this to work properly—that is, to be correctly understood and executed. You can see the results not only in the actual images but also in the tint values displayed by LR for the DNG files. Additionally, the JPGs from the camera now also reflect these new values, making them directly usable for me.

The automatic white balance didn't become perfect for every lighting situation. In sunny conditions, it can be rather cool (around 4800K). However, the magenta cast that I experienced previously has been corrected across all settings — both AWB and fixed presets. The "Sunny" setting now reliably gives me a temperature of 5050K and a tint of +11 (instead of +25, as was previously the case with my M11!). I haven't yet done extensive photography, but I've tested several lighting situations.

Important: Personally, I would have considered it good and appropriate to receive this calibration directly from the factory when the camera was new, and I'm very happy that I have it now. Of course, one might see this differently. There's no reason to be unhappy about something if it doesn't bother you.

[Photoworks]

5 hours ago, don daniel said:

As I understand it, calibration data for white balance was uploaded onto the camera during servicing. This intervention goes deeper than a firmware update, and therefore won't be undone by future firmware updates. It took two attempts at the service center for this to work properly—that is, to be correctly understood and executed. You can see the results not only in the actual images but also in the tint values displayed by LR for the DNG files. Additionally, the JPGs from the camera now also reflect these new values, making them directly usable for me.

The automatic white balance didn't become perfect for every lighting situation. In sunny conditions, it can be rather cool (around 4800K). However, the magenta cast that I experienced previously has been corrected across all settings — both AWB and fixed presets. The "Sunny" setting now reliably gives me a temperature of 5050K and a tint of +11 (instead of +25, as was previously the case with my M11!). I haven't yet done extensive photography, but I've tested several lighting situations.

Important: Personally, I would have considered it good and appropriate to receive this calibration directly from the factory when the camera was new, and I'm very happy that I have it now. Of course, one might see this differently. There's no reason to be unhappy about something if it doesn't bother you.

happy to hear that, can this be the problem for many M11 photographers?

Can you talk about what was involved: time and cost?

just in case someone would like to follow your steps.

I have been happy with my colors, and don't need any change.

[don daniel]

vor 32 Minuten schrieb Photoworks:

happy to hear that, can this be the problem for many M11 photographers?

Can you talk about what was involved: time and cost?

just in case someone would like to follow your steps.

I have been happy with my colors, and don't need any change.

It's good to hear that you're satisfied with the current calibration. Many others are as well. As for my experience with this service case:

I don't think the time it took to complete my request would be meaningful to others. It really depends on how the Leica branch in your country handles such requests. I live in Switzerland, and just transferring the camera to Germany — a transfer from a non-EU country to an EU country—can take several weeks due to customs formalities, which apparently no one likes to deal with. With the ongoing trade war, I can't imagine this situation improving anytime soon. However, in my case, after an initial unsuccessful attempt, a solution was found that allowed the Leica service center in Switzerland to install the software directly onto the camera. All this was done under warranty or as a goodwill gesture, so I didn't have to pay anything. I had purchased my M11 two years ago in February.

If you ask me what I would suggest as the most sensible approach, I'd recommend this: First, clarify with the Leica branch in your country whether they have the ability and willingness to install correction data for the white balance. These corrections should result in tint values in the range of +10 – +12 when viewing DNG files in Lightroom, both in automatic white balance (in daylight conditions) and in fixed white balance settings (except, of course, in the specific settings for artificial lighting). It's essential to provide these exact details; otherwise, they might not understand what you need. The Leica service center can then reach out directly to headquarters in Wetzlar.

I must say, I would have been willing to pay for this myself. Leica lists the "repair" as requiring one hour, including sensor cleaning and functional checks.

I don't know how Leica generally intends to handle requests like these. To those who give it a try, I wish good luck. My request was met with great understanding, and I'm very satisfied. However, it did require some patience and persistence. I'm all the more grateful now that it actually worked out.

[CDodkin]

6 hours ago, don daniel said:

As I understand it, calibration data for white balance was uploaded onto the camera during servicing. This intervention goes deeper than a firmware update, and therefore won't be undone by future firmware updates. It took two attempts at the service center for this to work properly—that is, to be correctly understood and executed. You can see the results not only in the actual images but also in the tint values displayed by LR for the DNG files. Additionally, the JPGs from the camera now also reflect these new values, making them directly usable for me.

The automatic white balance didn't become perfect for every lighting situation. In sunny conditions, it can be rather cool (around 4800K). However, the magenta cast that I experienced previously has been corrected across all settings — both AWB and fixed presets. The "Sunny" setting now reliably gives me a temperature of 5050K and a tint of +11 (instead of +25, as was previously the case with my M11!). I haven't yet done extensive photography, but I've tested several lighting situations.

Important: Personally, I would have considered it good and appropriate to receive this calibration directly from the factory when the camera was new, and I'm very happy that I have it now. Of course, one might see this differently. There's no reason to be unhappy about something if it doesn't bother you.

Don, glad that they were a) able to see that your issue was in fact real, and b) do something about the base calibration for AWB. - Probably should be a recall on a whole bunch of M11s, but I'll tag that has highly unlikely to happen because of the time/cost, and the bad press! Your experience does however point to a huge hole in Leica's QC process. If they can take the time to fix it, they could, as you noted, have done it correctly the first time. 

Edited March 10 by CDodkin

[R4p70r]

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11 hours ago, Photoworks said:

happy to hear that, can this be the problem for many M11 photographers?

Can you talk about what was involved: time and cost?

just in case someone would like to follow your steps.

I have been happy with my colors, and don't need any change.

Leica have done it under warranty and my camera came back after few weeks from Wetzlar. I am residing in Germany. 

Hence someone purchased a M11 series camera and the magenta tint is apparent, write a email to Leica Customer Service and they will do their works on it.

Edited March 11 by R4p70r

[Robert Blanko]

Does this mean that if you would buy two M11s they could deliver photos with different color tint, unless you would send the M11s to Leica for calibration?

[don daniel]

vor 10 Stunden schrieb Robert Blanko:

Does this mean that if you would buy two M11s they could deliver photos with different color tint, unless you would send the M11s to Leica for calibration?

If one of the two M11s is mine, yes. Otherwise you will get the standard magenta edition, I guess.

[Smogg]

20 minutes ago, don daniel said:

If one of the two M11s is mine, yes. Otherwise you will get the standard magenta edition, I guess.

For some unknown reason, Leica produces cameras with incorrect calibration. It is possible that when they perform repairs, they replace the standard incorrect WB-sensor with a WB-sensor from another manufacturer, of which they have few, so there is not enough for all the cameras.

[dav3]

On 3/9/2025 at 6:58 PM, don daniel said:

My M11 is back from service. The magenta tint issue with the white balance has been fixed. I'm absolutely thrilled!

What was the service timeline for you?

[Derbyshire Man]

2 hours ago, Smogg said:

For some unknown reason, Leica produces cameras with incorrect calibration. It is possible that when they perform repairs, they replace the standard incorrect WB-sensor with a WB-sensor from another manufacturer, of which they have few, so there is not enough for all the cameras.

Is there such a thing? I always assumed that it looked at the image on the sensor and tried to work out what was going on from there with firmware thence through a look up table, no? I don't really know.

[Edax]

9 hours ago, Derbyshire Man said:

Is there such a thing? I always assumed that it looked at the image on the sensor and tried to work out what was going on from there with firmware thence through a look up table, no? I don't really know.

Well, to come up with purple-tinted fixed in-camera WB settings one can safely assume no WB-sensor is needed... So there is more going on.

[Derbyshire Man]

1 hour ago, Edax said:

Well, to come up with purple-tinted fixed in-camera WB settings one can safely assume no WB-sensor is needed... So there is more going on.

My guess is they are calibrated in factory with a LUT leaning towards magenta which is the ‘look’ they wanted. When the camera comes back they redo the calibration via altering the LUT towards the green and overall more ‘neutral’. This being an individual calibration rather than simple firmware change. 
 

As someone who’s experiencing enormous waits with lens repairs and others with camera repairs it would be nothing short of a disaster if everyone sent back their camera for this when it can be ‘solved’ with a shot with something white in it (or grey card) and fixed in post anyway. It’s a matter of taste rather than an actual defect. 
 

Without meaning to criticise any individuals as we are all bugged by different stuff. 

Edited March 12 by Derbyshire Man

[Photoworks]

18 hours ago, Smogg said:

For some unknown reason, Leica produces cameras with incorrect calibration. It is possible that when they perform repairs, they replace the standard incorrect WB-sensor with a WB-sensor from another manufacturer, of which they have few, so there is not enough for all the cameras.

if you look at the videos on how the camera is made, you will notice one step where each sensor gets calibrated to the cameras.

After that, the next tech will check it.

individual calibration happens in many camera products. take SL lenses, each lens has a unique firmware that is generated by the calibration.

[Smogg]

1 hour ago, Photoworks said:

if you look at the videos on how the camera is made, you will notice one step where each sensor gets calibrated to the cameras.

After that, the next tech will check it.

individual calibration happens in many camera products. take SL lenses, each lens has a unique firmware that is generated by the calibration.

So what is the reason that all 4 cameras that I have had (2 M11, 2 M11-P) had incorrect white balance, producing purple pictures? And why does Leica fix this defect as part of warranty repairs for some lucky ones?

[pedaes]

37 minutes ago, Smogg said:

for some lucky ones?

It could be you - but be mindful of time scale.

[Smogg]

3 minutes ago, pedaes said:

It could be you - but be mindful of time scale.

I'm not ready to stay without a camera for half a year. It's too high a price to pay for correct white balance. I have to wait until something else breaks in the camera😃

[pedaes]

20 hours ago, Smogg said:

with incorrect calibration

Is it incorrect, or a calibration that doesn't suite everyone. The number of M11 owners raising issues here must be way less than 1% compared to total cameras sold.

Edited March 12 by pedaes

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[Smogg]

3 minutes ago, pedaes said:

Is it incorrect, or a calibration that doesn't suite everyone. The number of M11 owners raising issues here must be way less than 1% compared to total cameras sold.

The other 99 percent think it's the famous Leica look😜