If I get M11-M should I keep M10-M?

[BrettWayne]

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I’m hankering to get the M11-M this month before the January 10th price hike locally, but debating to trade in the M10-M or keep it.  The most practical upside to keeping it from my perspective - it gives me a cheaper camera to risk into more hostile situations, and gives me a backup. Other than that, is there enough difference between the M10 and M11  IQ that I might prefer one or the other in a given situation?  I don’t print very large, so the extra resolution isn’t a factor for output, but I guess maybe for cropping only. What happens if I trade it in and find I miss it? That’s what happened with my Q2 M. 

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[jps1]

The best thing is to get an M11 M.

In my Leica store (Marseille) I had one ready for 3 days.

I don't know the M10 M but charging the battery via USB C is really practical.

[Steadimann]

Why.  M11M is jaw droppingly amazing!

 

[Dazzajl]

If you don’t need to trade the 10 to get the 11, makes sense to have both for a while and then decide. 
 

No one really ‘needs’ a single mono camera, let alone two, so logic and reason are not going to help here. 

[DadDadDaddyo]

I kept my M10M when I got my M11M...

... just couldn't bring myself to sell it, so good it was, so special...

... until finally realizing it was simply gathering dust, month after month. 

With the M11M in hand, I was simply never reaching for the M10M. 

So, one day, I took a bunch of dust-gathering camera bodies and lenses, packed them up carefully, and shipped them off to KEH. The M10M was among them. Turned them into a couple of lenses I'd always wanted, and put the rest towards the full body-off restoration underway on my 50 year old Beetle.

I'm finding it's all good. 

 

[LocalHero1953]

On 12/30/2024 at 10:37 PM, BrettWayne said:

it gives me a cheaper camera to risk into more hostile situations, and gives me a backup

Insurance will replace the camera if it's stolen. Thieves won't distinguish between a M10-M and M11-M (and will see them both as valuable).

Does your usage demand an immediate backup? Do you use it professionally? Otherwise it's a waste of money.

But I expect you'll end up with both anyway, as with all such questions and threads .

[BrettWayne]

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Thank you everyone for your input. It sounds like there’s not an IQ reason for having both. Maybe another lens would be a better option. 

[BrettWayne]

8 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Insurance will replace the camera if it's stolen. Thieves won't distinguish between a M10-M and M11-M (and will see them both as valuable).

Actually, I wasn’t thinking about theft so much as I live in Japan, but more environmental damage from saltwater spray and sand, or banging the camera on the rocks. Insurance for that kind of damage isn’t possible here. I’m also considering a Pentax K-3iiiM for the beach though. 

[AceVentura1986]

No, at least I didn’t when I had a similar situation.

I had both an ME and an M9M when I bought a used M10M in December, 2023. I kept all three for a bit but then got an M10P in May, 2024. At that point, I briefly had four digital Ms (plus an M3 too!). Shortly thereafter I sold both my M9 platform cameras. The way I saw it, these would simply gather dust on my shelf and may spontaneously develop an electrical problem that would render them valueless. Better to cash out and defray the cost of the M10P and M10M. 

Of course, YMMV. 

Edited January 1 by AceVentura1986

[brickftl]

this of course may be construed as heresy, but given that both my M11P a few months ago and now my M11M just yesterday had to be sent to Leica for repair (the M11P bricked, and the M11M has been freezing up more than usual lately) . . . if I had it to do all over again, I'd probably have gotten the reliable M10M instead of the buggy M11M, and instead I'd wait for a M12M only after it's got a proven track record of not having problems. Of course that's just my take, and I'm sure most would disagree.

[Herr Barnack]

Keep the M10M if possible from a money/finances standpoint. 

It's paid for, costs you nothing to keep it and let's be honest:  If you trade it in you will lose your shirt in the process.

 

[SrMi]

I always regretted selling an M camera, even if it mostly collected dust.

[Ralf]

vor 12 Stunden schrieb SrMi:

I always regretted selling an M camera, even if it mostly collected dust.

+1

[Jeff S]

I certainly don’t regret selling all my film M cameras, as I no longer shoot film. Nor do I regret selling, in order, my M8.2 (2), M240 and M10. That’s because the M10 Monochrom and M10-R fill my current M needs.  But I’ve retained my original M Monochrom, even though it mostly gathers dust. Can’t clearly explain, but seems I might regret selling… so I don’t…yet.  No interest in the M11 platform, so that simplifies M gear decisions.  

[AceVentura1986]

I purchased an M10P and an M10M and traded in my ME and M9M. I didn’t see any reason to keep both, esp when a sudden and spontaneous electronic fails could render either one worthless. FWIW, I could’ve gotten about 20% more had I sold them on the private market, but just wanted to be done w it and get them off my hands. 

[Jeff S]

9 hours ago, AceVentura1986 said:

I didn’t see any reason to keep both, esp when a sudden and spontaneous electronic fails could render either one worthless. 

That’s why I maintain comprehensive insurance.

[ramarren]

Hmm. In 20+ years and 650,000+ exposures with digital cameras, I've not yet had one fail in any way that could not be repaired. Since I'm no longer taking jobs for pay, and have plenty of cameras to keep me shooting, I don't worry about having "backup" in that sense any more. 

I'm very happy with the M10-R and M10-M, to the point that I hadn't even looked at the M11 until the M11-D was announced. The M11-D appeals to me in the same way that the M-D typ 262 did ... a body without the intrusion of an LCD display just seems more like a "real" camera to me. Although I doubt that I'll do it, I'd replace the M10-R with the M11-D because there are moments when I feel the color camera could benefit from the greater Mpixel resolution ... but I somehow doubt that I will. The M10-M is just fine as it is, for me.

 In the end, do whatever makes you happy with respect to what you keep or sell. 

G

[costa43]

The M10M is all the monochrom one needs in my opinion, it is the peak of Leica M digital. Why risk a buggy M11 camera for little gain. My suggestion would be to hold off until Leica release the M12 and see if that is worth going for or maybe going for a nice new lens which will last you forever to scratch that itch. 

Edited February 2 by costa43

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[AceVentura1986]

4 hours ago, costa43 said:

The M10M is all the monochrom one needs in my opinion, it is the peak of Leica M digital. Why risk a buggy M11 camera for little gain. My suggestion would be to hold off until Leica release the M12 and see if that is worth going for or maybe going for a nice new lens which will last you forever to scratch that itch. 

Years ago, when I was exclusively a Canon shooter, I upgraded from the 4mpx 1D to the 8mpx 1D2 and genuinely thought that I’d never need to upgrade again. At the time, I thought 8mpx was more than adequate for most work. Years later, after much more experience with digital cameras I really haven’t changed my mind, at least not much. I still think 16mpx is more than enough for most avid photographers and anything over 24mpx is overkill and has the possibility of introducing blurring of the image occasioned by a shaky grip or shutter slap.

I now am fortunate enough to have an M10M (40mpx) and an M10P (24mpx) and still believe 24mpx is ample. My point is that, although the M11 platform has some really good upgraded features over the M10 platform (such as finally ditching the bottom plate cover) I believe the M10M is already more camera than most photographers will ever need. I kept my ME and M9M for twelve years and believe I’ll keep these two for at least the same amount of time, provided I can get replacement batteries by then (no longer a sure thing, unfortunately). I think the M10 platform is, as the quoted comment says, “peak Leica performance.” 

Edited February 2 by AceVentura1986

[Jeff S]

And remember that without the Bayer Array, something we never considered with early digital cameras, the 40.89 MP of the M10M ‘effectively’ produces even greater ‘resolution’ than color-based counterparts like the M10-R.