Which Leica M body

[bscott]

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I have several Leica M lens that are from 1950 through 1970. that are good on my M3.  I would like to have a digital M body but I am not sure which body would be the best for my lens.  For example, I would not want to purchase the M11 when a M 240 would be better for my old lens. I would like your suggestions on the best combination of old and new digital body.

[Bliz]

I still feel the m10/m10p is one of the most balanced digital Ms. I own a m10r and feel zero reason to upgrade to whatever they may release, let alone a m11 variant. Be mindful quite a few old lenses had problems with digital sensors in the corners (italian flag, smearing). It looks like things went better with backside illuminated sensors, on my m10r i didn’t experience problems with my 25mm snapshot Skopar and 21mm color Skopar f4 other than a bit of soft corners.

Edited September 18 by Bliz

[Topsy]

8 minutes ago, Bliz said:

I still feel the m10/m10p is one of the most balanced digital Ms. I own a m10r and feel zero reason to upgrade to whatever they may release, let alone a m11 variant.

I'm happy with my M9s but I agree the M10 series IMO is as far as Lieca needed to go, still everything an M should be. Once they moved on to the M11 series I lost interest. Hopefully my M9s (all with certified corrosion free sensors) will see me out but if not I won't be looking for anything later than the M10-P. @bscott I'd say an M9 with good sensor or  less risky M10/10-P, as you can see I have a varied set of lenses age wise and all are fine on my M9s plus the 18MP CCD Sensor is less clinical than the later CMOS itterations.

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[TomB_tx]

I also use mainly old lenses from the 1950s-70s on my digital M bodies. Both the M9 & M10 are fine with them, but the M10R has almost no colored corner effects with the old wide angles, However, the color corners on M9 & 10 are not a major problem. Overall the M10 is my favorite digital.

[Topsy]

Just to add to my previous post, the M9 has the old fashioned frenzel window to show frame lines so nearer the film M experience but the M10 is more like the film M in the hand. I prefered the daylight illuminated framelines over the body width and am happy with that choice.

[Bliz]

1 hour ago, Topsy said:

I prefered the daylight illuminated framelines

I use my m4 80% of the times so when i pick up the m10r which went to sleep I always have a couple of seconds of “wtf are the framelines?” and then i remember to half press the shutter.

[Derbyshire Man]

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I'm sure the older cameras are fine.

I've very much enjoyed using the M11P, M11D and M11M however!

[jakontil]

The M10 would suffice, but if i have the fund, i’d go M11 .. your old lenses will perform just as good

[Chris W]

I'm using 80's lenses on an M11 and the results are gorgeous. However, before the M11 I had an M10 and it was very nice indeed, I actually felt sad selling it.

[lct]

On 9/18/2025 at 6:00 PM, bscott said:

I would not want to purchase the M11 when a M 240 would be better for my old lens.

This will never happen, if it can reassure you. The M11 is unbeatable with lenses suffering from color shifts on previous M cameras. Especially wides and ultra-wides like Super-Angulon's 21/4 & 21/3.4, Skopar 21/4, Biogon 21/4.5, Heliar 15/4.5 v2, Heliar 12/5.6, etc. M11 and M240 user speaking.

• S-A 21/3.4 on M240

• S-A 21/3.4 on M11

[250swb]

I vote for the M10.

[costa43]

Everyone will have a favourite digital M, usually emotionally linked. Mine is the M9M. The sensors have improved though in each iteration so on a technical level, newer is stronger. Whether you like the base colour profile, the base plate, the sound of the shutter, the menu, the bigger batteries, dynamic range, iso performance, screen no screen etc is an often discussed talking point. Your lenses will work well on all of the digital bodies, if you are after the strongest camera objectively then start at the M11 and ski downwards unless some of the subjective variables are important to you. 

Edited September 28 by costa43

[Chris W]

6 hours ago, costa43 said:

Everyone will have a favourite digital M, usually emotionally linked. 

I've had the M8, M240, M10 and M11.

The first one that was a keeper was the M10. I decided to go for an M11, which I really like, but felt quite sad selling the M10 to fund the M11.

[costa43]

19 hours ago, Chris W said:

I've had the M8, M240, M10 and M11.

The first one that was a keeper was the M10. I decided to go for an M11, which I really like, but felt quite sad selling the M10 to fund the M11.

We get emotionally attached to these bodies, I regret selling every M camera that I’ve sold but I’d be out the door if I kept them all!  But the only one I truly regret is the M9M. I made a mistake there. 

Edited September 29 by costa43

[Chris W]

55 minutes ago, costa43 said:

We get emotionally attached to these bodies

That was my point, I've never been emotionally attached to a camera body. I felt a bit sad about the M10 because it was a really good camera, but I'm perfectly able to recommend an M based on my experience rather than being emotional about it.

Edited September 29 by Chris W

[pgh]

At this point, I am probably a bit emotionally attached to my M10. I've never been too sentimental about digital cameras, but it's the one I've owned for the longest duration, ever - since new. Though my favorite is the M10D, I've just had that less time so maybe less attachment. 

That said, I still think that for most users in most circumstances, the M10 (or maybe M10p) is still actually the best digital M, despite the M11 having a few upgrades (solutions to non-existent problems for the most part). The sensor is objectively better in the M11, which is not a panacea with old lenses, and has arguably low to non-existent utility printing below a certain size (say somewhere around A2) - with the possible exception of better detail throughout the range of tones in a scene with very dynamic lighting. I don't disagree with everyone says the M11 is newer and therefore basically better. It's just a question of better how and for whom and how useful is this? Things like internal memory and USB charging are cool and also totally unnecessary for me and I wouldn't pay a dime for them in a feature set - but probably would use it if it were there. 

As I've said before, I was mad at the M10 sensor for the first few years it came out, but as I kept shooting and kept printing with it, I realized that the superior dynamic range of my Sony that I carried alongside it was, when it came to the final prints, not the significant difference I thought it to be. Same for the M11. 

The M11 has the drawback of needing to shoot with a higher shutter speed at a given focal length to get sharp images - at least for many users. The reasons for this have been debated ad nauseam (it's quite clear to me, but some like to deny the reasoning, fine). Whatever the reason, I find this diminishes the real world IQ advantage in many situations because it is the difference between needing to shoot a scene at IS0 400 on the M10, or ISO 1250 on the M11. So, would you rather ISO 400 for a 24 mp image, or ISO 1250 for a 60 (or 36, or 18) mp image? That's up to the individual user, and if you're one that has rock iron hands and does still life pictures of cars and flowers this might not come into play. The m11 sensor resolves better, for sure. But how useful is it if your car tops out at 100 mph vs 140 mph when you never in your life go past 80 mph?

Yes, some people go past 80, (this answer is not directed at them) but way more people envision that they will than actually do. Same with the photographic equivalent. You already well know if you're investing regularly in producing prints that are 50" wide. I think if you really need an M11, you know why you do. And if you're not sure if you do, you almost certainly don't and might even suffer a bit from it due to its heavyweight resolution in a light, handheld body. 

Edited September 29 by pgh

[Jeff S]

On 9/29/2025 at 2:32 PM, pgh said:

 

That said, I still think that for most users in most circumstances, the M10 (or maybe M10p) is still actually the best digital M, despite the M11 having a few upgrades (solutions to non-existent problems for the most part). The sensor is objectively better in the M11, which is not a panacea with old lenses, and has arguably low to non-existent utility printing below a certain size (say somewhere around A2) - with the possible exception of better detail throughout the range of tones in a scene with very dynamic lighting. I don't disagree with everyone says the M11 is newer and therefore basically better. It's just a question of better how and for whom and how useful is this? Things like internal memory and USB charging are cool and also totally unnecessary for me and I wouldn't pay a dime for them in a feature set - but probably would use it if it were there. 

As I've said before, I was mad at the M10 sensor for the first few years it came out, but as I kept shooting and kept printing with it, I realized that the superior dynamic range of my Sony that I carried alongside it was, when it came to the final prints, not the significant difference I thought it to be. Same for the M11. 

The M11 has the drawback of needing to shoot with a higher shutter speed at a given focal length to get sharp images - at least for many users. The reasons for this have been debated ad nauseam (it's quite clear to me, but some like to deny the reasoning, fine). Whatever the reason, I find this diminishes the real world IQ advantage in many situations because it is the difference between needing to shoot a scene at IS0 400 on the M10, or ISO 1250 on the M11. So, would you rather ISO 400 for a 24 mp image, or ISO 1250 for a 60 (or 36, or 18) mp image? That's up to the individual user, and if you're one that has rock iron hands and does still life pictures of cars and flowers this might not come into play. The m11 sensor resolves better, for sure. But how useful is it if your car tops out at 100 mph vs 140 mph when you never in your life go past 80 mph?

Yes, some people go past 80, (this answer is not directed at them) but way more people envision that they will than actually do. Same with the photographic equivalent. You already well know if you're investing regularly in producing prints that are 50" wide. I think if you really need an M11, you know why you do. And if you're not sure if you do, you almost certainly don't and might even suffer a bit from it due to its heavyweight resolution in a light, handheld body. 

The M10-R (and M10-M) have completely different sensors than the M10/M10P or the M11.  I find them the sweet spot for my M digital shooting, with new or old lenses.

[pgh]

2 hours ago, Jeff S said:

The M10-R (and M10-M) have completely different sensors than the M10/M10P or the M11.  I find them the sweet spot for my M digital shooting, with new or old lenses.

They do, and the M10 a completely different sensor still.

I've got a pair of M10-M's, and it's a fantastic camera. Part of why it's fantastic is that it resolves better than the M10-R because of the lack of bayer filter.

For color, idk, I still prefer the M10. I've tried an M10-R and it's great, I know the sensor is better on paper, but I go back and forth on whether or not to pick one up. There's something about the rendering I don't like quite as much, and the resolution, while not as cumbersome as with the M11, is still a little problematic - 1/60 on the m10 requires 1/125 on the M10R, basically - and in situations with borderline amounts of light this is the difference between an ISO bump or not, which can eat into the resolution advantage of the R. Where you can simply bump up the ISO with the M10-M because it's that much better with resolving detail, it's not really the same with the R. These are just marginal details of course, but my large prints from an M10 (or my M10D) I've never really found lacking. It's enough to where I'm torn at best on whether the M10-R is better than the M10. For me, it's not at all clear. 

[Jeff S]

55 minutes ago, pgh said:

They do, and the M10 a completely different sensor still.

 

Yes, I wrote also different than M10/M10P,  meaning M10 or M10P.  I prefer the M10-R for my files/prints to the M10 that I previously owned.  But lately I use my SL2 more than my M system, and when I do use the latter, it’s mostly the M10M.  So, despite my appreciation for the M10-R, it mostly sits unused. And since it’s a clean BP version, I should sell it while the market is favorable.  

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Hallo,

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