M system tips for new user

[Velo-city]

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If you could give just one tip for someone new to the M(11) system, what would it be?  Just whatever you think’s the most important from your experience  - technique, settings, anything. 

 

 

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[spydrxx]

Read the manual, read the manual, read the manual. No kidding. Many question are answered by reading the manual - this applies to all cameras, not just the M11. And congratulations on your purchase.

[caf]

Practice practice practice! and have fun. Oh yes, and get yourself a bigger case, you'll end up with multiple bodies and lenses.

[RF’sDelight]

Don’t listen to people in online forums.

[lexffm]

Always remember, the subject must find you. Enjoy...

[Henners]

Remember that pulling the focusing tab on your lens (assuming your lens has a tab) to the left brings the focus closer, pushing it to the right is therefore obviously for stuff further away.

One tip I'd give is to just sit somewhere comfortable and practice pre-focusing on stuff around you without using the viewfinder. After chosing an object, focus the lens to where you think is correct, then bring the camera up to your eye and see how close you were using the rangefinder patch. Rinse and repeat this for close and far things until you surprise yourself how accurate you are without using the viewfinder.

Now when you do use the viewfinder for normal photography you should find getting the moment a lot easier and tracking moving subjects should give you a much higher hit rate.

Edited November 3, 2024 by Henners

[Henners]

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1 minute ago, Al Brown said:

Only true for Leica lenses. Some aftermarket lenses work in an opposite way.

ah interesting, I didn't know that. Seems like a bit of a nightmare.

[Velo-city]

5 hours ago, spydrxx said:

Read the manual, read the manual, read the manual. …. And congratulations on your purchase.

Thanks. I will definitely do that. Compared to the sort of technology I usually use it seems very basic - I’d been through the settings in about 3 minutes (and some people apparently say it has ‘too many’ features 😂😂)  - but I’m sure I’ll learn some things I don’t know from reading. 

4 hours ago, caf said:

Practice practice practice! and have fun. Oh yes, and get yourself a bigger case, you'll end up with multiple bodies and lenses.

Famous last words but it’s going to be one body and one lens for me! 😄

1 hour ago, RF’sDelight said:

Don’t listen to people in online forums.

Agreed. 

1 hour ago, Quarterpounder said:

Buy a M12

I seriously wanted to hold out for the M12 (I actually think Leica might surprise a few people and as early as next year) but I want to start with a used one first anyway. 

1 hour ago, lexffm said:

Always remember, the subject must find you. Enjoy...

That one could use a bit of extra help understanding. 

1 hour ago, Henners said:

Remember that pulling the focusing tab on your lens (assuming your lens has a tab) to the left brings the focus closer, pushing it to the right is therefore obviously for stuff further away.

One tip I'd give is to just sit somewhere comfortable and practice pre-focusing on stuff around you without using the viewfinder. After chosing an object, focus the lens to where you think is correct, then bring the camera up to your eye and see how close you were using the rangefinder patch. Rinse and repeat this for close and far things until you surprise yourself how accurate you are without using the viewfinder.

Now when you do use the viewfinder for normal photography you should find getting the moment a lot easier and tracking moving subjects should give you a much higher hit rate.

Thank you that’s solid info and  very helpful - exactly the kind of info I was looking for - I’ll definitely do that. 

I watched a YouTube where someone recommended reaching for something and knowing the distance to your fingers for close work. 

1 hour ago, Al Brown said:

Only true for Leica lenses. Some aftermarket lenses work in an opposite way.

I’ll be using a Voigtlander initially. 

[lct]

If you have to ask the price don't buy 😉

[Derbyshire Man]

Often when focussing I do 99% of the focussing using the tab, the last 1% or as a subject moves I do by moving my head slightly backwards or forwards. Stops any tendency to focus hysteresis.
 

Also be like many autofocus cameras and decide where your balance is for perfect focus or better shot, I’ll often take an initial shot as soon as I reach the 99% focus point and another half a second later when think I’ve finessed it. Sometimes due to person moving or randomness the first shot is better anyway!

[Henners]

Also, get a memory card that's recommended and compatible with the M11 just to save any potential headaches.

https://alikgriffin.com/best-memory-cards-leica-m11/

 

[Lee S]

To fix any freezes remove and replace the battery from the bottom.

Leica removed the bottom Plate and designed the quick release battery for this use case in mind.  

[aficionados]

When a new version of M comes out, don’t buy, wait for the next generation.

For example now you should buy m10-r. When m12 comes out you should buy m11

[Jewl]

Underexpose by 1/3 or 1/2 stop in bright situations (if you are using automatic exposure/iso). 

[Velo-city]

12 hours ago, Henners said:

Also, get a memory card that's recommended and compatible with the M11 just to save any potential headaches.

https://alikgriffin.com/best-memory-cards-leica-m11/

 

Thanks. I hadn’t seen this. I’ve been shocked about a few things I’d already read about Leica technology but u found this pretty hard to swallow on an £8k body that’s meant to be the pinnacle of the range:

“What I think is happening is many new memory cards are no longer compatible with the legacy hardware the Leica M11 is using. It looks like the Leica M11 is using very old protocols to communicate with the cards. This is a problem we were having when testing the Panasonic GH4 back in the day. The Leica M11 looks like it’s using similar hardware as that 9-year-old camera based on how it’s performing.”

Yikes. 

[newtoleica]

21 minutes ago, Velo-city said:

Thanks. I hadn’t seen this. I’ve been shocked about a few things I’d already read about Leica technology but u found this pretty hard to swallow on an £8k body that’s meant to be the pinnacle of the range:

“What I think is happening is many new memory cards are no longer compatible with the legacy hardware the Leica M11 is using. It looks like the Leica M11 is using very old protocols to communicate with the cards. This is a problem we were having when testing the Panasonic GH4 back in the day. The Leica M11 looks like it’s using similar hardware as that 9-year-old camera based on how it’s performing.”

Yikes. 

No, it's a case of what is required. No video, No fast burst shooting. No need for the fastest cards.

[newtoleica]

The pre-focussing tip earlier is great. my addition. Really get a feel for using a physical control manual camera before going for auto exposure or auto ISO. Take a bunch of shots at different aperture settings and get an instinctive feel for the depth of focus and rendering of the lens you are using. Also be able to judge the angle of view without looking. Likewise that will you expect exposure wise in different lighting. You should be able to set the camera by feel and take a shot from the hip/chest and it work fine. Like this one with an M10-M and 24 Summilux. Budapest last week.

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[Velo-city]

50 minutes ago, newtoleica said:

No, it's a case of what is required. No video, No fast burst shooting. No need for the fastest cards.

Don’t want to derail my own topic with all these helpful tips including yours (thanks) - but I’d have to strongly disagree with that. It’s just bad product design and poor engineering to use such outdated underlying tech in a new camera at this level. The camera ‘not needing it’ is no excuse as the article clearly states it causes unreliability. Same for older gen usb. 
Same for anything else that doesn’t work properly. 

I haven’t had any issues with any decent brand name memory cards in any camera for probably decades. The first time it becomes a consideration is when purchasing a camera which retails at circa £8k and claims to be the pinnacle of rangefinder digital engineering from one of the most legendary brands in the world. Even the internally memory is apparently slower than an SD card.  And it seems even a compatible good V90 card runs relatively slowly in an M11. 
Leica should do better, and should be called out when they don’t if they want to preserve their brand reputation. Even more so than the mainstream brands. The last thing they need is users defending them. 

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[pedaes]

36 minutes ago, Velo-city said:

poor engineering

I think you do not understand what a Leica M is about. They don't try to be what they are not. And they are not for everyone.

If you want the latest tech etc it is available in other cameras - why bother with a M (which I don't think you have yet) and then complain it hasn't got what it doesn't pretend to have. Even the pre-digital film M's were behind the curve in terms of supplementary features.They have always been about the essentials only, and will hopefully continue that way.

 If you are continuing your Leica M journey, you will find a lot of help in the "Frequently asked questions' section of the Forum

Edited November 4, 2024 by pedaes

[pedaes]

38 minutes ago, Velo-city said:

 And it seems even a compatible good V90 card runs relatively slowly in an M11. 

Oh dear. Please report your own experience.