The M11 is actually a great camera!

[pedaes]

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18 minutes ago, pippy said:

C'mon M11 Users! A mere 56 Posts?

It is what happens when the 'neys have it''! A highly vocal few moaners puts others off saying 'no problems here, great camera'.

 I will go on record again saying "great camera".  So let's be havin' you - to quote a one time owner of Norwich City FC.

Up to 57!

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Tseg]

Option B: Most love it, but many cannot afford it

 

I'm on my 8th month owning an M11-D and (knock on wood) it has been flawless.   The only improvement I would wish is to be able to access a 2 second delay from the camera when on a tripod vs. having to access the app to add the delay... but clearly insignificant knowing the root goal can still be accomplished. 

[JNK100]

3 hours ago, pedaes said:

It is what happens when the 'neys have it''! A highly vocal few moaners puts others off saying 'no problems here, great camera'.

 I will go on record again saying "great camera".  So let's be havin' you - to quote a one time owner of Norwich City FC.

Up to 57!

I love my M11. It has been faultless and wonderful to use.

Used as designed : it has no equal.

It is human nature that people raise perceived issues more than satisfied users praise.

I remain convinced that most reported issues are due to faulty or not correctly formatted cards.

As for additions for an M11, there is nothing else I need or wish for.

 

 

[fenykepesz]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb pedaes:

It is what happens when the 'neys have it''! A highly vocal few moaners puts others off saying 'no problems here, great camera'.

 I will go on record again saying "great camera".  So let's be havin' you - to quote a one time owner of Norwich City FC.

Up to 57!

 

vor 5 Stunden schrieb pippy:

C'mon M11 Users! A mere 56 Posts?......😸......

'no problems here, great camera' !  i am absolutely in love with my M11-D - don't need anything else, no other camera body in the future in case my m11d holds for another decade or two.  but i had expressed my opinion anyway already in other threads & posts here at LUF...

up to 60 ?

[Tseg]

M12 Mono/IBIS/EVF/Black Paint/$20K USD or bust.

[Derbyshire Man]

21 hours ago, hillavoider said:

my usb charging has never worked since new and i've tried every trick in the book except sending it back 

Plugged in turned on battery in, pop battery out (still on) then remove USB.

Wait 10 seconds,

Turn off, battery back in, turn on, plug in USB,

Flashing green light?

[Derbyshire Man]

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I love mine too, all three of them. Shall I do a post per camera🤣

M11P

M11M

M11D

[jakontil]

1 hour ago, Derbyshire Man said:

I love mine too, all three of them. Shall I do a post per camera🤣

M11P

M11M

M11D

Yes pleaseeee 🥲🥹

[hillavoider]

2 hours ago, Derbyshire Man said:

Plugged in turned on battery in, pop battery out (still on) then remove USB.

Wait 10 seconds,

Turn off, battery back in, turn on, plug in USB,

Flashing green light?

tried that while walking backwards reciting an our father and wearing nothing but a loin cloth 

[Kiwimac]

12 hours ago, Peter49 said:

Absolutely – the M11 is a highly capable camera. But when I compare it to how previous generations used Leica gear, I can’t help but reflect a bit more critically.

My grandfather bought an M3 in the early 1960s. That single camera served him faithfully for decades — without firmware updates, without compatibility issues, and certainly without needing to budget for the next model every few years. It was built for permanence.

Nowadays, we're seeing high investment in increasingly shorter cycles. And while technological refinement is part of every industry, the pace and pricing at which Leica is moving raises questions — especially when the upgrades often come with trade-offs (e.g., battery life vs IBIS, EVF limitations, file sizes, etc.).

Would an M12 be interesting? Possibly. Would it be essential? Unlikely. Improvements like better color profiles, white balance, or even internal IBIS are welcome — but they don’t change the core experience dramatically for many of us who value the simplicity and tactile focus of the M system.

Personally, I’d rather put the money into lenses — tools that age gracefully and shape the image far more directly than most digital body updates do.

Just my two cents — and yes, I’m still enjoying my M11 (when it’s not tempting me to reflect on analog days too much), and I feel the same way about my M6.

People often say film is expensive today, but truth be told, film was always expensive. The difference? Back then, you didn’t shoot endless frames of throwaway moments. You thought, you composed, you made the shot count.

And when I look at the price of a new M11 — let alone a future M12 for well over €9,000 — I can't help but calculate:
That’s hundreds of rolls of film, beautifully developed and scanned, and years of shooting with a mechanical camera that doesn’t need firmware fixes or charging.

Digital has its place, no doubt. But the simplicity, the intention, and yes — the joy — of shooting film with a Leica M is still unmatched.

Agreed - although of course the film vs digital part applies to all camera brands. 
 

It’s perhaps time for some out of the box thinking. The digital cameras (again, all of them) have multiple aspects of planned obsolescence. Batteries, for one. Failed circuit boards, components etc for another. Very few digital devices in general have the longevity that their analog counterparts had. Mobile phones, for example. My parents had the same landline handsets for well over 30 years. I can’t see many 30 year old iPhones being in use. 
 

Perhaps digital cameras should be like mobile phones? Many networks around the world offer customers subsidised upgrades or even free upgrades. 
 

Perhaps we should be able to get new cameras on monthly leases like cars, mobile phones etc. 

Perhaps Leica should guarantee support of new cameras for - say - at least 10 years from purchase  

 

I cannot see a world in which M cameras become ever increasingly expensive and still retain market viability. Perhaps they are destined to become unattainable-for-most luxury items like Patek Philippe watches or Rolls Royce cars?

 That would be a great shame but then there are plenty of examples of once affordable brands that have become luxury items, valued as much for the display of wealth they afford the purchaser as they are for any function that they have. 

[MauroRau]

Hi everyone,

I’ve owned an M11 since November 2023 and had no issues whatsoever – no freezes or other problems – until January. About a week into a three-month business trip, I attempted my first firmware update using the Leica Fotos app and unfortunately bricked the camera.

I had to wait until I was back in Europe to get it looked at. I brought it to a Leica Store, where the service staff were professional and courteous. The camera was repaired under warranty and I had it back within a month.

Since then, it’s been working flawlessly. The image quality remains excellent, and the camera is still a joy to use.

Cheers

Mauro

 

Edited June 13 by MauroRau

[jakontil]

2 hours ago, hillavoider said:

tried that while walking backwards reciting an our father and wearing nothing but a loin cloth 

Did you try other charger? During my early days of M11 vanilla chrome, i had issues too, being picky bout the charger and cable used to charge

[Peter H]

I've had all the mainstream digital Ms except the M8 as my main camera, and used them all extensively both for my personal use and for commissions and events. I've owned other cameras along the way, but none has really stuck except a few old film cameras, largely for sentimental reasons and because they're nice things, but get used hardly ever

The M11, 3 years in now, is my favourite digital Leica (along with the M11M, an astonishing thing) , and the first one that hasn't made me even a little impatient for the next iteration.

No camera is perfect, but it's pretty close to perfect for me.

I shan't bore you further with the details!

 

[Jeff S]

2 hours ago, Peter H said:

I've had all the mainstream digital Ms except the M8 as my main camera, and used them all extensively both for my personal use and for commissions and events. I've owned other cameras along the way, but none has really stuck except a few old film cameras, largely for sentimental reasons and because they're nice things, but get used hardly ever

The M11, 3 years in now, is my favourite digital Leica (along with the M11M, an astonishing thing) , and the first one that hasn't made me even a little impatient for the next iteration.

No camera is perfect, but it's pretty close to perfect for me.

I shan't bore you further with the details!

 

Peter, did you own the M10-R and M10M?  If so, what’s been the most significant improvement(s) for you with the M11 counterparts?

[Smudgerer]

To answer you Jeff before Peter gets to it, yes I had both the M10-R and the M10-M and earlier this year traded both up to the M11-M and the M11-D, ( skipped the M11/M11-P but I did keep a M10-P because I do like it's colour files ).

With the M11's I really do appreciate the larger battery and the USB-C charging facility that you can top-up / charge anywhere, I also like very much the 3 choices of resolution, 18-36-60 mp, although either camera has yet to move off of the 18mp setting as I like the look of the images with that low res'.

Better Foto's connectivity I don't give a toss about as I have never used it beyond the first setting up of the M11-D. I hate the idea of having to carry a smart phone around to fiddle with the cameras or review snaps.

Otherwise I find there's little real difference for me between the output /quality of the M10-M and the M11-M, ( 90% of what I photograph is in B&W ), yes you can see more in the shadows with the M11-M files, but that's nit-picking. I had the M10-D prior to the M11-D and I find the M11-D superior in handling and better at 18mp than the output of the M10-D at 24mp, all subjective of course.

Edited June 13 by Smudgerer

[Peter H]

3 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Peter, did you own the M10-R and M10M?  If so, what’s been the most significant improvement(s) for you with the M11 counterparts?

Hello Jeff

No, I hopped directly from the M10 to the M11. 

I do appreciate the higher resolution but at the time of the M10 I was also using Fuji GFX 100 and 100S so the M10R didn’t feel compelling.

When  the M11 came along it felt to me that it combined the best of both worlds, (M & GFX)  and I no longer felt any need or desire for the  two systems.  
 

The M11 resolution hike was significant for me, even though I don’t always need it. But I’ve always preferred rangefinder focussing and handling, and the small M lenses, so the choice between the two systems, and the Hasselblad HD which I also tested fairly thoroughly, wasn’t a very difficult one. 

Had I picked up an M10-R, things might have turned out differently but features like the battery life, connectivity, metering flexibility (unless I’m now misremembering the M10 meter) and resolution flexibility were more than enough enough to make it an easy decision for me.

And sometimes a camera just feels right. The M11 is, finally, the digital Leica that does that for me.  

 

[kiwidad]

23 hours ago, Derbyshire Man said:

Plugged in turned on battery in, pop battery out (still on) then remove USB.

Wait 10 seconds,

Turn off, battery back in, turn on, plug in USB,

Flashing green light?

I have discovered all USB-C cables are not created equal! my Apple Watch on a third party charging base which is connected via usb-C only charges with some cables! all the cables I ever used on my M-11 triggered the "I am charging" signals but not all actually charged!

The power brick from leica or an apple iPad charging brick with an apple cable or the leica cable have worked 100% of the time. So maybe for many having usb charging issues its. case of just because it fits doesn't mean it will work!

Edited June 13 by kiwidad

[marchyman]

21 minutes ago, kiwidad said:

or an apple iPad charging brick with an apple cable

This is what I have used without issue with my M11. My power source is rated for 5V @ 3A or 9v @ 2A, so 15 or 18 watts -- not the most  powerful power source around.  Things might charge faster if I used one of my 30 or 35 watt units, but I'm rarely in a hurry when charging camera or iPad.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Jon Warwick]

4 hours ago, Peter H said:

When  the M11 came along it felt to me that it combined the best of both worlds, (M & GFX)  and I no longer felt any need or desire for the  two systems.  

 

It was my M11 (and M11M especially) that equally catalysed my decision to part ways with my GFX100S. I did quite a lot of testing of identical scenes including many landscapes - all tripod mounted, f5.6, self timer etc - between the 3 cameras, and made test prints off both Lambda and Epson printers at 300dpi at c 50” wide. I simply couldn’t perceive enough difference to continue with my 100mp camera. (Separately, zooming in on a 27” imac screen at 100-200%, I concluded the M11M faithfully recorded more detail than the 100mp color sensor, due to less aliasing). The printed output was why I liked the M11 universe as much as the GFX100, but the decision was also helped by the small and light M system (even if I still often carry an RRS 3-series tripod!), simple menus, same lenses across M11/M11M/SL etc 

[costa43]

I own both. Let me start by saying that both the M10-R and M11-P are more than capable to last you a lifetime of rangefinder shooting but since buying the M11-P, the M10-R has sat on the shelf. The experience between the two cameras is very similar in everyday shooting but the biggest real life benefits that I’ve experienced is being able to shoot fast lenses wide open in super bright conditions. This is really fun for me and the 3 stop ND is a thing of the past as it’s rarely motion that I shoot so the electronic shutter coupled with a base ISO of 64 stack up fine for slow moving subjects and stationary. I shot 300 frames the other day and the battery was at 75%. This is another really big benefit for me, it allows me to have no standby on the camera so the wake time is pretty instant (a big plus again) The USB C is helpful as I carry a power bank for my phone so in a pinch I can charge the camera while having a coffee if needed. I’m not a big cropper. I print a lot but not very large so the sensors in both are more than I’ll ever need. I don’t use live view often at all but when I’ve tried it, it’s a fair bit quicker to go in and out of it on the M11-P. 

Before purchasing the new camera, I was worried about the added bloat, the change in bottom plate design and the firmware. I have to say that the additions actually have had the opposite effect of what I was expecting and they help the camera get out of my way. Ive set it up once and not gone into a menu since unless I’m selecting an uncoded lens.

Firmware wise, the M10-R has frozen on me a few times, the M11-P has been faultless. I will keep the R as a backup for now until the M12 is released. 
 

 

Edited June 14 by costa43