Leica M11 -purplish tint ???

[graphlex]

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In bright Southern California sunlight, I see a trace of the dreaded porphyria in my new M11.  Maybe I can send it to a Swiss clinic for a cure.  If not, I will need to teach myself to play the Adobe/C1 sliders like a xylophone. I’d rather take up the violin again and enroll in a solfège-for-seniors class.  

Missing my M10.  Dynamic range is overrated.

Edited July 17 by graphlex

[jirapatpum]

On 7/17/2025 at 5:41 AM, graphlex said:

In bright Southern California sunlight, I see a trace of the dreaded porphyria in my new M11.  Maybe I can send it to a Swiss clinic for a cure.  If not, I will need to teach myself to play the Adobe/C1 sliders like a xylophone. I’d rather take up the violin again and enroll in a solfège-for-seniors class.  

Missing my M10.  Dynamic range is overrated.

I think this might be helpful for you. I did some comparison between my calibrated M11 and M10r. White balance had been set through a spectrometer for each camera. These are jpeg output strait out of each camera. I know that lighting is not ideal as I did this for fun. M10r is my favorite M10 iteration and I think M11, once calibrated, render the color even better. It's very accurate, rich and bold. (M10r on the top, M11 bottom) 

I think having to manually adjust white balance for each scene for M camera is not how it supposed to be. M system , to me, should be very simple and minimalist. Non calibrated M11 with manual white balance through grey card still can't render the color accurately. In reality, neutral grey isn't supposed to look neutral as sunlight is not white. It surely can act as a reference point but much time is needed on  white balance fine tuning for each image. Even with spectrometer, there is no tint adjustment in M11 so it's almost impossible to get the color right from non-calibrated M11 camera.

If I have to carry all the grey card or go though bunch of color grading workflow, I'd rather take my SL, Hasselblad or Phase one out for shot instead of M, as output from M system will never be as good as those system. I mean M is all about enjoyment. Having color balance issue take out my enjoyment with the camera completely. 

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Edited July 21 by jirapatpum

[lct]

Is it me or is there some significant cyan cast in the M11 photo?

[jirapatpum]

1 hour ago, lct said:

Is it me or is there some significant cyan cast in the M11 photo?

I think it just different lighting - reflection. I took them 5-10 mins apart due to having to swap memory card between cameras. 

[lct]

Just a matter of WB to me. A bit of cyan cast can be appreciated by some photographers though. May i ask if you had your M11 calibrated by Leica? Just curious.
Without WB correction
With WB correction

[don daniel]

Is this supposed to be an evening scene, or why is it so dark? The color temperature seems too cold to me. Normally, the magenta cast of the M11 is most noticeable in bright daylight, regardless of whether it’s sunny or cloudy. In low light and under artificial lighting, there’s almost no problem with the auto white balance (AWB).
My M11 has been recalibrated as well. The white balance still isn’t perfect: the magenta cast is gone (the tint has been corrected), but in bright, sunny conditions, the white balance is too cold, resulting in a blue cast. In these situations, I often select a fixed “Sunny” setting, which gives better results. I would say that my recalibrated M11 now has an AWB performance similar to that of my previous M10-R.

[M11 for me]

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vor 14 Stunden schrieb jirapatpum:

I think this might be helpful for you. I did some comparison between my calibrated M11 and M10r. White balance had been set through a spectrometer for each camera. These are jpeg output strait out of each camera. I know that lighting is not ideal as I did this for fun. M10r is my favorite M10 iteration and I think M11, once calibrated, render the color even better. It's very accurate, rich and bold. (M10r on the top, M11 bottom) 

I think having to manually adjust white balance for each scene for M camera is not how it supposed to be. M system , to me, should be very simple and minimalist. Non calibrated M11 with manual white balance through grey card still can't render the color accurately. In reality, neutral grey isn't supposed to look neutral as sunlight is not white. It surely can act as a reference point but much time is needed on  white balance fine tuning for each image. Even with spectrometer, there is no tint adjustment in M11 so it's almost impossible to get the color right from non-calibrated M11 camera.

If I have to carry all the grey card or go though bunch of color grading workflow, I'd rather take my SL, Hasselblad or Phase one out for shot instead of M, as output from M system will never be as good as those system. I mean M is all about enjoyment. Having color balance issue take out my enjoyment with the camera completely. 

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That must be Basel the tower of the Marienkirche . . . Or is this really another continent?

Edited July 22 by M11 for me

[don daniel]

Yes, and this must be Basel, too.

 

[dav3]

On 7/15/2025 at 4:25 PM, jirapatpum said:

I have 4 M11 in various editions and no matter what I do they all have magenta/purple tint. I sent in 2 of my them for color-calibration and it came out magenta free. Now the color is amazing and much better than my previous M in my opinion. The color is very close to my Hasselblad X2d on the same scene.

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What was the turnaround time? Cost?

[Ne314satel]

8 hours ago, dav3 said:

What was the turnaround time? Cost?

Leica asked me to send a file with a daytime photo of blue sky and greenery (they know the problem very well) and confirmed that my camera requires deep color correction.

Leica told me up to 18 weeks and 140 euros minimum. To be honest, money is not the main thing. But 4 or 5 months is too much. Maybe if I like the new x2d-II, I'll take it and send my M for color correction. Or sell the M11)) Or, if I'm still angry with Leica, I'll finally initiate a claim to the EU court. And for my m9 and for the m11)))

Edited July 23 by Ne314satel

[elmars]

When was that? Leica has worked hard on its processing times and shortened them considerably. A friend got his M10 back last week after a good week.

[pedaes]

2 hours ago, Ne314satel said:

140 euros minimum.

Is it out of Warranty?

[Ne314satel]

1 hour ago, elmars said:

When was that? Leica has worked hard on its processing times and shortened them considerably. A friend got his M10 back last week after a good week.

2 days ago. 

I even wanted to go to them in Wetzlar - I asked if you could do it in a couple of days. But... 18 weeks would be too sad for me in Germany.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, pedaes said:

Is it out of Warranty?

Yes. I have the first issue of m11 - 3 years.

Edited July 23 by Ne314satel

[justj]

4 hours ago, Ne314satel said:

Leica asked me to send a file with a daytime photo of blue sky and greenery (they know the problem very well) and confirmed that my camera requires deep color correction.

Can you post those two images here so that people can see examples of what constitutes a serious magenta shift that requires calibration?

[Ne314satel]

13 hours ago, justj said:

Can you post those two images here so that people can see examples of what constitutes a serious magenta shift that requires calibration?

I don't think this can help anyone.

I prefer to shoot in black and white. But sometimes color shots from the M11 irritate me - even after processing in Photoshop, the color rendition is still much inferior to the X2D.

 

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Edited July 24 by Ne314satel

[Smogg]

40 minutes ago, Ne314satel said:

I don't think this can help anyone.

I prefer to shoot in black and white. But sometimes color shots from the M11 irritate me - even after processing in Photoshop, the color rendition is still much inferior to the X2D.

 

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The X2D has noticeably better colors, a fact that is recognized by almost everyone. It is not without reason that many Leica owners have acquired it in their arsenal. But, unfortunately, its size is also noticeably larger than the M11. For example, I usually take 2 M11 with different lenses on a walk, but it is difficult to carry 2 X2D with me (I tried). In addition, the X2D attracts more attention on the street and people react more nervously to it when you point the camera at them.

I think M12 is just around the corner (a year max) and we don't have to wait long. I'm sure Leica won't repeat their mistake. 
The M11 is a pretty good camera, considering the fact that there is no compact alternative yet.

[Ne314satel]

14 minutes ago, Smogg said:

The X2D has noticeably better colors, a fact that is recognized by almost everyone. It is not without reason that many Leica owners have acquired it in their arsenal. But, unfortunately, its size is also noticeably larger than the M11. For example, I usually take 2 M11 with different lenses on a walk, but it is difficult to carry 2 X2D with me (I tried). In addition, the X2D attracts more attention on the street and people react more nervously to it when you point the camera at them.

I think M12 is just around the corner (a year max) and we don't have to wait long. I'm sure Leica won't repeat their mistake. 
The M11 is a pretty good camera, considering the fact that there is no compact alternative yet.

Yes, it is. Although the weight of 907x 100c is equal to M11. But for me the main convenience of M11 system for street shooting is manual focus of rangefinder and auto ISO. I can't shoot as fast with X2D (and especially with 907X). For me X2D is architecture that won't run away. Sometimes I need color with M11, otherwise I would have chosen M11 monochrome long ago.

[Smogg]

11 minutes ago, Ne314satel said:

Yes, it is. Although the weight of 907x 100c is equal to M11. But for me the main convenience of M11 system for street shooting is manual focus of rangefinder and auto ISO. I can't shoot as fast with X2D (and especially with 907X). For me X2D is architecture that won't run away. Sometimes I need color with M11, otherwise I would have chosen M11 monochrome long ago.

The 907 doesn't have a viewfinder, so I couldn't shoot with it in sunny weather (nothing is visible on the screen) and gave it up. The X2D, although it has a viewfinder, has a very noticeable and annoying pause when switching from the external screen to the EVF, which caused me to miss a shot more than once. In addition, there are no blinking overexposures and full-frame exposure metering, so you have to take a picture, look at the overexposures, then adjust the exposure and shoot again, which is unacceptable in a dynamic situation. 

[don daniel]

vor 4 Stunden schrieb Ne314satel:

I don't think this can help anyone.

I prefer to shoot in black and white. But sometimes color shots from the M11 irritate me - even after processing in Photoshop, the color rendition is still much inferior to the X2D.

 

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It's what we see often here. AWB is too cold. I guess temperature in LR must be around 4800. And there is the magenta cast. Tint could be around +25.

Edited July 24 by don daniel

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[la1402]

Yeah, meanhwile people know how to quick correct in LR. Few cameras are really good in out of the box colour balance,  but it would be nice if the M11s baseline would be a bit more neutral.