considering buying M11M and trading in my M10

[Alexander108]

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If I were you, instead of trading the M10 for a M11M I'd go for a preowned M10M and keep the M10.

I got my first Leica M, an M10 Monochrom a few weeks ago and I am so impressed with the image quality and going to ISO 25000 no issue.

I did not have any M lenses so I spent the amount I paid for the M10M for three used lenses and one new lens. I now have a Summicron 35 and 50, the Elmarit 24 and the new Voigtländer 15 f/4.5 (amazing). I also own a Q3 since 1.5y. I now miss a color M. It's not the latest but c'mon 42MP is great and, again, the IQ is just amazing. Because I don't have unlimited financial resources I may go for a preowned M10 as a color camera. This way I could use my Visoflex (the round one) for both.

Just a thought.

[LeAlain]

5 minutes ago, Alexander108 said:

If I were you, instead of trading the M10 for a M11M I'd go for a preowned M10M and keep the M10.

I got my first Leica M, an M10 Monochrom a few weeks ago and I am so impressed with the image quality and going to ISO 25000 no issue.

I did not have any M lenses so I spent the amount I paid for the M10M for three used lenses and one new lens. I now have a Summicron 35 and 50, the Elmarit 24 and the new Voigtländer 15 f/4.5 (amazing). I also own a Q3 since 1.5y. I now miss a color M. It's not the latest but c'mon 42MP is great and, again, the IQ is just amazing. Because I don't have unlimited financial resources I may go for a preowned M10 as a color camera. This way I could use my Visoflex (the round one) for both.

Just a thought.

Well, your thoughts are kinda similar, I tend to go that way. If I do get the M11M I would have to sell the M10 for financial reasons, the M10M is slightly cheaper.

 

Edited September 16 by LeAlain

[S Maclean]

The M11, Q3(28 or 43) and SL3 will all give you incredible conversions to B&W, so it is worth considering getting any of those to have more flexibility.  This said, I got the M11M and the images are clearly superior.  

Yes, it take a small minute to change both the shooring style and the deelopment priocess with a monochrome, but once you "get it" the images are without par. BUT, the conversions of any of the color cameras will give you equally incredible images (just not quite the same).

I struggled justifying getting a monochrome, it seemed like an indulgence when so many of my conversions from my M11 etc where so darn good....and then I got the M11M and now thinking n getting a Q2M to complement (waiting to see if some version of the q3 comes on monochrome.

I find focusing with an M actually can often be faster than AF, specially at events, street etc, where the AF can get a little confused between subjects. That being said; when a Q or SL auto focus well, the images are crisp as hell. And under challenging situations like shooting one handed at open apertures they can make a big difference.

I took this and a few other portraits on the M11M at a funeral in NYC. Natural light, indoors and outdoors, fast and unplanned.  A few of them where awarded by LFI, and all of them are some of the best portraits I've ever made. All with 50 Lux.  I had the M11 (non M) setup with a 28 for group shots. Almost none good.  This camera just "synched" with my intention and vision 100%. And it was the first time I used it on an actually demanding environment.

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[S Maclean]

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[LeAlain]

22 minutes ago, S Maclean said:

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Sergio,

 

Thank you for your more than interesting and warm communication.   It makes the choices even harder. Coming from the film age, the one day test of a M11M last year, somewhat reminded name of 120 film, little similar, it is also what I see in your portraits.

 

 

I took this and a few other portraits on the M11M at a funeral in NYC. Natural light, indoors and outdoors, fast and unplanned.  A few of them where awarded by LFI, and all of them are some of the best portraits I've ever made. All with 50 Lux.  I had the M11 (non M) setup with a 28 for group shots. Almost none good.  This camera just "synched" with my intention and vision 100%. And it was the first time I used it on an actually demanding environment.

I didn't get what you meant by 'the camera just synced'.

 

Love the way you take your portraits, inspires me to do it even more often.

 

 

[S Maclean]

8 minutes ago, LeAlain said:

I didn't get what you meant by 'the camera just synced'.

Not a technical term, I meant it just alligned with me in a very organic way.  The shots I envisioned, the intention I wanted to convey, immediately trasnalted into a capture. And about 90% of the captures where good.

This is clearly a personal thing though, but, as many have said before, in a world full of excellent and incredible technical equipment the question is not so much "what is best, or better" but rather, what inspires you, or "synchs" with you so that your images are better, not becasue the camera is better, but because you;re better with it.

There's a great photogrpaher (in my opinion) Paul Reid. He shoots almost exclusively, and quite successfully, with a Q2 Monochrome, and before that with a series of Q's.  He publicly chose to switch to the M11M to expand on his lens choices, and to get a "lighter" setup. He "upgraded". It did not work for him, it just didn't. He documented everything on his channel and explains his reasons to switch to one, and then back to the other.  In short, he went back to a smaller sensor, an older system, a more limited setup becasue that system just "worked" for him. (worth seeing some of his videos, it may help with your choices)

So, all you choices are good, all will allow you to get great images, Images you can hang in a gallery, win awards with, publish or simply enjoy your time with...just need to find what works for you and not worry too much about what works for others.

[Eoin]

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Best advice I can offer is... try to keep the M10 for "colour needed" moments, then add a M10M. If you still had funds to spare, upgrade the M10 to a M10R, job done!.

I say that as a M10R/M11M user, less deep shadow noise and smoother files at the same ISO and of course extended battery life are the M11M's slight advantage. But a M10R & M10M would be a matched pair for life, nothing more needed. 

[Olaf_ZG]

20 minutes ago, Eoin said:

But a M10R & M10M would be a matched pair for life, nothing more needed. 

Needed not, but all too many times more is wanted 😇

[eaharman]

I'm a relative Leica newbie and bought my M11P almost 1y ago and am amazed at the image quality, and in particular the amount of latitude there is in the shadow areas allowing a finer balance of contrast to be achieved particularly when the lighting conditions aren't ideal.

For portraiture I tend to shoot with either a 90 or 50mm lens and find focussing the former challenging without a 1.4 mag dioptre however good results can be obtained using EVF, and I too like the flexibility of colour converting to B&W albeit I've not shot an M11M for comparison.

Here are a couple of shots with both -

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328239-the-leica-m11-images-thread/?do=findComment&comment=5819274

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/328239-the-leica-m11-images-thread/?do=findComment&comment=5863858