upgrade to M11 glossy black paint or 35 apo summicron

[Marley]

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Hello again,

I little input from all fellow Leica lovers here. I will be going to Europe next month and I am planning of upgrading my Leica system while there to take advantage of the tax rebate and overall buying experience. I have a silver M11 with 50 summilux  and a Q2M. 

Here are my options: 

1) trade in the M11 silver, Q2M for the M11 glossy black paint and a 35mm FLE II

2) Stick with my M11 silver and trade in my Q2M for a 35mm APO summicron 

3) Trade in M11 silver, Q2M for the glossy black paint plus a 35mm APO summicron

I am torn between options 1 and 2. The net price is quite similar. I won't be selling my 50lux. I don't have any problems with my silver M11 except that I think the black paint looks better. 

I hope not to splurge on option 3. But you never know what they could offer me. Happy to hear your thoughts and opinion on this. Please feel free to suggest other options as well. 

Thanks

 

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[Kim Dahl]

I have the APO 35. It's good but there's also the 35 f1.4 ii. I would choose the M11 glossy paint and the new 35 f1.4. The M11 for aesthetics and value, I think glossy paint holds its price better in the long run. But it must also be because you like glossy paint. A difficult choice. I chose the APO 35 and kept my Leica MD - and today I would like to "upgrade" my camera but don't know exactly what.

[Ricky2024]

In your situation I would rather invest in glass.

The BP m11 is really nice (have it myself) but can do nothing extra to your silver m11.
Having a 50mm i would look for a 28mm lens. Yes the apo 35mm is stunning. 
For me the 35mm is when i only want to carry one lens. 28mm and 50mm when it is 2 lenses.

[jakontil]

Hard to justify going from m11 silver to BP unless you really desire to have one in which no other opinions would stop you from

As for lenses.. i used to have both and they were great… the apo have definitely an advantage in minimum focusing distance and the FLE wider open aperture..both are on the same level of desire

[Elliot Harper]

I traded in a m11 black chrome to the m11 black paint when it came out last year.

 

[la1402]

M11 to M11BP would make little sense to me. You would spend thousands on camera  body looks only.  

I have both the APO and Lux 35 and prefer the APO for better compactness, closer MFD and smoother bokeh. On the latter, the Lux can be unpredictably harsh.

I think Option 2 is the only one making sense.

[Smogg]

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It depends on what's more important to you: how your photos look or how you look with a Leica camera around your neck😀

[bcaslis]

Unless you have a burning desire to get scratches and brassing on the camera, I would go with option 2. I recently bought an M11 GBP and while the camera looks beautiful the finish is very delicate, much more than the M11. I had a black M11 for over two years with no scratches or marks. In less than a day a got a scratch on the bottom (I still don't see how it was only on soft materials) and a scratch on the top from putting a Visoflex 2 on and off (carefully). If any dealer near me had had one for demo, I would not have bought it seeing how delicate the finish is. And feature wise it's exactly the same as your M11.

 

Edited March 27 by bcaslis

[T25UFO]

What about option 4 and option 5

Option 4: keep everything and buy the 35mm APO anyway.

Option 5: sit on the fence and hope the M11-V is announced before you travel.

 

[mhasman]

#6 flip the coin 

[Marley]

19 hours ago, Ricky2024 said:

In your situation I would rather invest in glass.

The BP m11 is really nice (have it myself) but can do nothing extra to your silver m11.
Having a 50mm i would look for a 28mm lens. Yes the apo 35mm is stunning. 
For me the 35mm is when i only want to carry one lens. 28mm and 50mm when it is 2 lenses.

Also, I'm afraid the M11 glossy black might give me freezing issues. So far my M11 has been working perfectly. Will also consider the 28 focal length but so far not a fan while using the Q2M.

[Marley]

17 hours ago, Elliot Harper said:

I traded in a m11 black chrome to the m11 black paint when it came out last year.

 

How is your experience so far? HAppy with the trade? 

[Marley]

17 hours ago, la1402 said:

M11 to M11BP would make little sense to me. You would spend thousands on camera  body looks only.  

I have both the APO and Lux 35 and prefer the APO for better compactness, closer MFD and smoother bokeh. On the latter, the Lux can be unpredictably harsh.

I think Option 2 is the only one making sense.

Thank you! This is the only reason holding me back. I can't justify the price to upgrade for cosmetic purposes only. I have tried the FLE II and I don't like the handling for the lens. Too fat for my taste. 

[Marley]

13 hours ago, T25UFO said:

What about option 4 and option 5

Option 4: keep everything and buy the 35mm APO anyway.

Option 5: sit on the fence and hope the M11-V is announced before you travel.

 

No option 4 unfortunately. I will have to trade my Q2M, I am enjoying the M11 experience better than the Q2. 

Option 5: Hmmmm, let's see but I am not inclined to using an EVF on an M body. 

But thanks for the suggestions! 😀

[Marley]

17 hours ago, Smogg said:

It depends on what's more important to you: how your photos look or how you look with a Leica camera around your neck😀

I really like a black camera. Maybe my next M body would definitely be a black one. Of course I like to look at my camera while using it too. and I like how people look at my camera or face

while I take their picture 😄

[Marley]

14 hours ago, bcaslis said:

Unless you have a burning desire to get scratches and brassing on the camera, I would go with option 2. I recently bought an M11 GBP and while the camera looks beautiful the finish is very delicate, much more than the M11. I had a black M11 for over two years with no scratches or marks. In less than a day a got a scratch on the bottom (I still don't see how it was only on soft materials) and a scratch on the top from putting a Visoflex 2 on and off (carefully). If any dealer near me had had one for demo, I would not have bought it seeing how delicate the finish is. And feature wise it's exactly the same as your M11.

 

This is my worry also. There seems to be no display of a black paint camera from the stores I visited so you will have to buy blind (in my case). Thanks for your input! 

[jaapv]

Stores often have no demo as Leica customers tend to refuse open box cameras and despite the high price the margin on a Leica can only be described as average. Your best chance is with a Leica Store. 

[DrM]

Never prioritise the camera over the lens. The 35 apo is great, but it depends on your shooting if you get more out of it than the current setup. Personally I like the closeup  option and the stunning apo quality in the images. However, in most street photos you don't see the difference. So, I would go for the versatility and save your money for the trip.

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[Elliot Harper]

4 hours ago, Marley said:

How is your experience so far? HAppy with the trade? 

Not happy and not unhappy either.

I just don’t like the m11 black chrome sandy feeling. Black paint is much nicer and I didn’t pay to trade in. So I’m just neutral 

[Marley]

19 hours ago, DrM said:

Never prioritise the camera over the lens. The 35 apo is great, but it depends on your shooting if you get more out of it than the current setup. Personally I like the closeup  option and the stunning apo quality in the images. However, in most street photos you don't see the difference. So, I would go for the versatility and save your money for the trip.

I'm leaning towards this exactly for the purpose you mentioned. I am lacking some wide angle, small form factor, and zone focusing for street which the APO clearly can shine. Just cant justify the high price, but with tax rebate and trade in of Q2M, it is now more affordable 😄