Sep. 02, 2024
Hardware
The Leica M11
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Jonathan Slack January 13th
The Logan Rock
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/400th f6.8 35mm APO Summicron M
Introduction
The Leica M10 was announced on January 17th , 4 days short of 5 years ago.
I was in Wetzlar for the launch, which was a wonderful affair, first of all we were wined and dined and then, after the presentation the store was opened and you could go and buy your own camera, I know several people who were so excited that they bought both a chrome and a black camera!
The M10 has been a sparkling success, with lots of variants over the last 5 years including the M10 Monochrom, the M10-D without a display screen the M10-P with a touch screen and quieter shutter, culminating in the M10-R with the improved 40mp sensor.
The Deck of the Daskiologiannis
Leica M11 ISO 320 1/160th f11 35mm APO Summicron M
I think that lots of people have been feeling that the M10-R is really the ultimate M, with a wonderful sensor, quiet and subtle shutter noise, the size of the M3 and a refined and accurate rangefinder. I must say, having been using the M10-R since I was very much feeling that nothing else was needed.
So how can Leica convince us that anything else is needed? Indeed, is anything else needed? I'm going to try and answer these questions during the course of this article.
I've been watching all the speculation (and leaks) about the M11, and people's responses to this has been very helpful in deciding what to write about in the article. I realise that my personal concerns aren't the same as everybody else's so it's been valuable to get a handle on what other people mind about.
I'm hoping that this will be a useful resource to anyone who is about to receive their new camera (or has just received it)
Please bear in mind that images were taken with a prototype camera and with early versions of the firmware.
- Generally speaking clicking on an image will open a larger sized jpg in a new window.
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The Children of Clint
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/200th f4.8 50mm APO Summicron M
Looking Around the M11
Lets start by looking at what Leica have changed with the M11 (and there is a lot!).
Hardware
The Body
Superficially the M11 looks very much like the M10, the dimensions are identical and everything appears to be in the same place. However a closer examination shows a lot of differences.
First of all, there is no base plate. This is quite an emotional issue for lots of M users (myself included). Removing the base plate to replace the battery or get at the SD card slot could be bit of a pain, but it was also different from any other modern camera and more often rather a pleasure.
Of course it also represented continuity with the very early days of Leica film cameras.
The base of the M11 holds a battery (and battery release switch which is the same design as that on the SL2 and Q2 cameras). The battery however is different. more about that later
Covehithe
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f4 35mm APO Summicron M
New Button layout
Just like the M10 the M11 has 3 buttons to the left of the LCD, but unlike the Live View / Play / Menu options on the M10 they have been changed to Play / Fn / Menu options like the SL2, The Fn key defaults to turning on and off Live View, but it can be configured to any other function as desired.
The rear plate has been tidied up a bit - the buttons are now separate from the LCD, and the LCD is flush with the top plate and base of the camera.
The front configureable button on the M10 has gone, but there is a new button on the top plate (in the position of the Video button on the M(240). Like the Fn (above) this button can be configured to default to any particular menu option (I have it set to magnification like the old front button on the M10).
Light at the end of the tunnel
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/200th f3.4 50mm APO Summicron M
The third function button is accessed by a press of the rear thumbwheel: A short press of either of the Fn buttons will bring up the last selected menu option. A long press brings up the menu of available menu options, if you choose this, then it will be used as the default next time. The thumbwheel itself can be set either to Focus Assist, or to Exposure compensation.
The 4 way rocker switch hasn't changed, but now it is only used for navigation and confirmation. Pressing the central button doesn't bring up the status screen as it did in the M10 as all the status information is now included on the Quick Menu screen.
To summarise, there are now 3 function buttons, each of which can be configured as desired and the thumbwheel can be used in the same way as the M10. I'll go into the Menu options in more detail later on.
The Best of Mates
Leica M11 ISO 1/125th f5.6 50mm Summilux f1.4 Asph
The Finish
Apparently the Black Chrome process has become un-ecological to continue with. So the new M11 comes with two finishes:
First of all a traditional Silver Chrome with a brass top plate, as before.
Secondly a Black Paint finish with an aluminium top plate. The new black paint is a modern solution and kinder to the environment.
The camera is also a a whole 20% lighter than the chrome version (532gm vs 660gm). This is quite a significant difference and will be relevant to many buyers. It also has a seriously tough finish.
After 7 months and trips to sandy beaches in Crete and in rainstorms in the UK, the finish only shows signs of being slightly shiny on the corners (with the same treatment the SL2 and my Q2 Mono looked decidedly worn, with worn corners and lots of bright points). I've been using a shoulder strap which rubs against the camera all the time (with no protector) and there is little sign of wear on the paint above the strap lugs. What's more the black finish is more 'grippy' than either the chrome or the old black finishes.
As I understand it the finish is the same as the 'reporter' editions of the M10 and Q2, except that it's black rather than green.
The Pink Lady's Tractor
Leica M11 ISO 800 1/80th f16 35mm Summilux f1.4 Asph
New Battery
One of the obvious shortcomings of the M10 was the battery life, especially when using the EVF. The new battery for the M11 is properly weather-sealed and fits into the base of the camera in the same way as the Q2 and SL2 battery (with a similar latch mechanism).
It would have been good if the new camera used the same battery as the Q/SL, but in that case they would have had to have a new compartment to hold the SD card, and as always with the M cameras space is at a premium.
On the Edge
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f2.8 35mm APO Summicron M
So the new battery leaves room for an SD card slot on one side of it, the only downside is that the release lever is obscured when the camera is mounted on a tripod, it would have been nicer if you could change battery/card without having to take the camera off the tripod. On the other hand, with the greatly improved battery life and the internal memory perhaps that isn't quite so relevant.
The battery life is a really much better (CIPA suggests 700 images per charge), On occasions I've used 3 batteries in a day with the M10, but on the M11 I've not ever exhausted a battery in a day's shooting, even with the power saving switched off, and using the EVF full time.
Sardines
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f2 35mm APO Summicron M
64Gb high speed internal memory
The internal memory is an alternative to two SD card slots (and presumably takes up less space).
If, like me, you are prone to grab a dog and a camera and head out into the world, only to find that you left your SD card in your computer, then the internal memory is a real bonus. The only downside is that you have to connect to the camera via the USB cable to get files from it, either that or else copy files from the Internal memory to an SD card (which is simple and works well).
Out of the Blue
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/400th f11 35mm APO Summicron M
In To the Blue
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/160th f4.8 35mm APO Summicron M
High Speed Shooting and the Buffer
The camera also has a 3Gb buffer, which is enough for 15 DNG images and as many as 100 JPG images. There are two high speed shooting modes, one at 3 frames per second and the other at 4.5
New Maestro processor
The M11 has the Maestro III processor which is used in the SL2 and the Q2 to allow much faster processing and better power consumption. To be fair, I never found the M10 to be slow, and the M11 doesn't feel very much faster.
Sunny Avocado Salad
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/250th f4 35mm APO Summicron M
New 60mp Sensor & Image Quality
The M11 has a new 60mp BSI CMOS sensor. The base ISO is 64, so that's an improvement as well. The DNG files from the M11 are a joy to work with in Lightroom.
High ISO is about 1.5 stops better than the M10-R (which is still very good), but there is generally more detail available as the resolution is higher. I'm happy to shoot at ISO , and is very usable and , whilst losing some detail still has good colour,
Statice on the Daskiologiannis
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/400th f5.6 35mm APO Summicron M
The M11 also shows noticeably less vignetting than the M10-R whilst the excellent colour feels more 'realistic' (although perhaps not so charming). Skin tones are excellent, in my opinion better than any previous M camera. I'm not a fan of Auto White Balance in daylight, but as a result of literally thousands of image samples being sent in to Leica during the testing period this works very well (in artificial light too)
The dynamic range seems to be very good (but I don't really have a way of measuring it); it is at least as good as the M10-R and probably a little better, although I found it very slightly easier to blow highlights than with the M10-R (the M11 is still much better than the 24mp M1o).
The amount of detail at 60mp is quite startling and suitable for very big prints.
Pavlos Crab
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/250th f6.8 35mm APO Summicron M
Full Time off Sensor Metering
All previous M cameras with built in metering (with the exception of the M5) have metered off the shutter curtain. The M240 and M10 also metered off the sensor in Live View.
The M11 has dispensed with this, and now metering is only via the sensor, this has the advantage that the metering is much more accurate (with multi-point, centre weighted and spot metering options).
Live View metering is inherently slower as it means that the shutter must be open to take the reading and then shut and re-open to make the exposure: With the M240 and the M10 shooting was much slower than with Live View switched off (and metering off the shutter curtain), this isn't the case with the M11, but I'll deal with responsiveness later on.
Sfakian Sunset
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f4.8 75mm APO Summicron M
Electronic shutter
With the M11, like the SL2, you can choose
Mechanical
Hybrid
Electronic shutter
With the mechanical shutter you have the same limit of 1/th as the M10, Hybrid uses the electronic shutter when the speed required is over 1/, Electronic uses electronic shutter at all speeds. The Electronic shutter goes up to 1/.
Ulysses
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f2.4 35mm Summilux M
The electronic shutter is fantastic for using fast lenses in bright light, but not for capturing sports or fast moving action. The readout on the electronic shutter takes about 1/10th second (CMOS sensors read line by line). This means that if objects are moving fast through the frame then you get tilted verticals and you may also get banding in artificial light,(depending on the shutter speed and the light source,) but for static or slow movement when you want to shoot wide open in bright light it's a real asset. These issues are found in many cameras which have progressive electronic shutters.
Worth noting that if you have set the camera to electronic shutter and you want to select shutter speeds above 1/th then you need to set the shutter speed dial to B, and you can then select the desired shutter speed in the menu.
Tyre
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/320th f8 35mm APO Summicron M
USB - C
The Camera has a USB-C connector on the base at the extreme right (looking from the back). Not such a big deal you might think, but actually this is a real game changer. I'm going to discuss this at length later on in the article, (in Cables and Compatibility, and also in the Fotos section).
Enough now to say that it works really well for charging the camera (and quickly), and also for connectivity to computer / tablet / . There is no cover for it (just as there isn't in most modern phones), but it is weather sealed and dust doesn't seem to be a problem.
Briam
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/320th f2 35mm APO Summicron M
To connect to an iOS device with a lightning port you'll need Leica's special MFI compliant cable. To connect to most other devices a USB-c to USB-c cable works fine although I found difficulty connecting with an Apple USB-C thunderbolt 3 cable, all USB-C cables are not made the same! My feeling is that the M11 is less fussy than some of the other devices I've tried to attach.
Sweetwater Beach
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/160th f11 35mm APO Summicron M
The New External EVF
The new EVF is a 3.7Mp OLED display, which sounds very much like that in the Q2 and certainly it feels that good.
It's very nicely made out of metal, tilt-able, with magnets to stop it tilting when you don't want it to! It has clear and useful detents at 45 and 90 degrees.
It suits the camera really well, flush with the body at the front, and although it's bulky, it's not as tall as the previous EVF, which means it fits better in your bag. The hot shoe connection is much more positive as well, making it less likely to fall off - mind you, a lock would have been nice!
There is still some 'black out' after shooting, and so it isn't quite so good for continuous shooting as the Q2.
Comparing it to the previous EVF on my M10-R the image is much larger and brighter and more detailed.
In this case the proof is in the use. With my M10 I almost never used the EVF, but with the M11 I've used it extensively. I think those who are lucky enough to have Noctiluxes will be very happy with it as well!
The new EVF will also work with all M10 variants, there will be a firmware update to enable this function which is due in March ).
Cop Convention!
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/400th f6.8 35mm APO Summicron M
Firmware
Variable Sized DNG Files
This is an interesting idea, and I'm not aware of any other company doing the same thing. This is not a crop, it's a full frame image, but with a lower Megapixel count - with either 60, 36 or 18mp. They use Pixel Binning to achieve this.
3 different sizes
I've done some pretty careful test comparisons of the different image sizes, and although there is an improvement in noise levels with the lower pixel counts (as you might hope for), reducing a 60mp image in Post Processing software has a similar effect.
On the other hand I'm always reading about people who don't want the increased storage space of higher Mp files, and this gives you the best of both worlds in that you have the opportunity of more pixels, but you can shoot at lower pixel rates for less important shoots or when storage is at a premium.
If you shoot DNG+ lower resolution JPG files then the JPG files also have the lower resolution.
Stormy Suffolk
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/500th f4.8 28mm Summilux Asph
Digital Zoom (Crop Mode)
This works the same way as on the Q and Q2, and you need to use it in conjunction with the rear screen or the EVF.
This can either be chosen through the menu or it can be allocated to one of the function buttons - You choose 1.3 crop or 1.8 crop and Live View framelines are brought up separately for each crop. Whilst the EVF/LCD still shows the entire sensor.
If you are shooting with a 28mm lens that equates to approximately 36mm and 50mm, with a 35mm lens it will be approximately 45mm and 64mm etc. The EVF only shows the frameline for the chosen crop (1.3 or 1.8)
The DNG file shows as cropped in Lightroom: Using the crop tool will show the whole image with the crop lines. (Again, just as it does in the Q2)
If you have selected a Lower resolution DNG or JPG file and then you choose Digital Zoom the camera will revert to full sized DNG/JPG (quite right as well).
Starting Young
Leica M11 ISO 250 1/100th f1.4 50mm Summilux Asph
Apple MFI Compatibility and Fotos
MFI compatibility means that the M11 is the first Leica camera to be accredited by Apple to be compatible with iOS for both the iPhone and the iPad. this means that there will be much better GPS tagging using low power Bluetooth later on in the year.
The M11 already has the fastest WiFi file transfer to Fotos of any of the Leica cameras, and this will be improved further later on in .
In the meantime Fotos 3.0 has been released together with the M11, this allows connecting both by cable and by WiFi, and you can now filter selections by Favourites, and File Type, Downloaded / not downloaded.
Downloaded images can be transferred directly to Lightroom.
Remote control and 'Tethering' both work reasonably well with the M11, both with cable and with WiFi.
Miaou
Leica M11 ISO 641/320th f2.4 50mm Summilux Asph
However, this is all rather a work in progress, and an expected firmware update and some Fotos updates will improve things incrementally over the next year. Specifically , coming later in are:
5 GHz dual band IEEE802.11 Wifi
Bluetooth connectivity (low power)
GPS geottaging from your to the camera.
Cables and Compatibility
If you want to connect to your iPhone then the camera comes with a braided and branded Leica cable which is Apple MFI compatible. If you want to connect to an iPad or Android device then you will need a USB - C to USB - C cable or you can use the cable which comes with the charger. I've tried various cables and most seem to work okay (with the possible exception of Thunderbolt 3 USB-C cables). It's worth mentioning that lots of devices are fussy about USB-C cables (which are not all the same).
Pedney and the Logan Rock
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f8 50mm Summilux Asph
Connectivity via the USB-C cable to Lightroom and Photos will also be improved later in the year. You can select PTP or MFI for the USB mode in the camera settings. Later on if you select PTP you will be able to see the thumbnails for the DNG files (currently just a symbol).
PTP and MFI
PTP stands for Picture Transfer Protocol. This was developed by the International Imaging Industry Association to allow the transfer of images from digital cameras to computers and peripherals without the need for additional drivers. It shows the device within the application, but not in the Explorer/Finder screen.
MFI stands for Made for iPhone/iPad and is a licensing program for developers of hardware and software peripherals that work with iOS devices. Leica has passed the certification for this (it's displayed in the Camera Information / license information section of the menu.)
If you are planning to use the USB to connect directly to Lightroom or Photos on your computer then it's probably worth shooting DNG+JPG for the time being (until you can see the thumbnails in the DNG files).
Treat Time
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/750th f9.5 35mm APO Summicron Asph
Changed Menu System
The Menu system has been changed a lot to reflect the menus in the SL2 and Q2, this might not be to everyone's taste, but it has to make sense. I'm certainly grateful as it makes event shooting with the M11 and the SL2 much simpler.
Pressing the Menu button once brings up a touch screen quick menu just like that on the SL2 and Q2. Pressing it twice takes you to a favourites menu with items which can be switched off and on in the Customise Control / Edit Favourites. If nothing is chosen then the favourites menu is omitted and the second press of the menu button takes to to the menus themselves.
Redgrave Park Lake
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/750th f9.5 28mm Summilux Asph
With the M10 I found the favourites very useful, but with the M11 the quick menu really has everything you are likely to need quickly, and the main menus are better organised than they are in the M10 (at least, this is pretty subjective stuff, but I like them better).
The Quick Menu screen replaces the old status screen which was raised by pressing the centre button of the 4 way controller on the M10 (this only acts as an OK button for menu selections)
Treat Time
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f3.4 35mm Summilux Asph
The Lens Detection menu is much improved with an option to 'Edit list of M lenses' and also 'Edit List of R lenses'. When you choose this the list presents all the lenses just as it did with the M10, but you can switch lenses off and on. This means that if you just have a couple of uncoded lenses, when you choose Manual M you are presented with those lenses (with Edit List at the bottom). For example my list looks like:
35 f1.4 //
90 f2.8 /
50 f1.4 //
Edit List of M lenses
As before it remembers the last used uncoded lens and uses that as the default.
Dragon Trousers
Leica M11 ISO 100 1/160th f11 Wide Angle Tri-Elmar at 16mm
Wetzlar
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f3.4 75mm APO Summicron Asph
Things worth talking about
Startup time and Power Settings
I've compared the startup / wakeup times to that of the M10 as best as I can. If you are using Live View, then the image comes up on the LCD / EVF on the M10 about 1/2 second more quickly than on the M11. On the other hand, with Live View switched off on both cameras, if you hold down the shutter and switch on the camera then the M11 takes an image about 1/2 second before the M10.
However, the greatly improved battery life on the M11 proves to be a real life saver here. Under Menu / Camera Settings / Power saver mode I have Camera Standby set to Off, and Display Standby set to 30 seconds and I would recommend that you start off doing the same..
Sennen
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/160th f8 Wide Angle Tri-Elmar at 16mm
This works very well, wake up is almost instant, and the battery doesn't drain fast if you aren't shooting, even with the EVF attached (unlike the M10 where the EVF seemed to drain the battery incredibly fast).
During the testing period (7 months) I've only had one battery, and (as long as I remembered to charge it) I've never managed to exhaust it during a day shooting - even with the EVF attached and power saving turned off.
Full time exposure metering and shutter lag
The shutter lag using the M10 with Live View was noticeable, and significantly longer than with Live View turned off (because of the need to close the shutter before opening it for the exposure).
Always use a Tripod
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f5.6 75mm APO Summicron Asph
Field Maple
Leica M11 ISO 80 1/100th f4 Wide Angle Tri-Elmar at 16mm
The M11 is effectively in Live View all the time (even if the EVF/LCD are turned off). This means that the shutter must first close before opening it for the exposure (just like the M10 in Live View).
I wanted to find out whether the M11 suffered from shutter lag the same way as the M10 with Live view, but it's hard to measure shutter lag! In the end I devised an experiment which would measure the difference in shutter lag between the two cameras (rather than measuring the actual shutter lag which needs specialised equipment).
What I found was that the shutter lag on the M11 was effectively the same as that on the M10 with Live View switched off, and much less than the M10 with Live View switched on; which is good news.
Which lens does this element come from?
Leica M11 ISO 1/180th f4 90mm Elmarit M
Can Leica Lenses 'resolve 60mp'
I wonder how many times this question will be asked? I've resorted to help from the wonderful Roger Cicala at Lens Rentals for this (not because I couldn't say it myself, but because he says it so beautifully and so convincingly).
Roger's article "More Ultra High Resolution MTF Experiments" can be found here:
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog//10/more-ultra-high-resolution-mtf-experiments/
But in this context the real point is his appendix "Why Megapixels are Stupid" which he has very kindly allowed me to print here:
Appendix: Why Perceptual Megapixels are Stupid
I get asked several times a week if this lens or that is &#;capable of resolving&#; this number of megapixels. Some people seem to think a lens should be &#;certified&#; for a certain number of pixels or something. That&#;s not how it works. That&#;s not how any of it works.
<snip>
Further reading:
For more information, please visit M11 Live.
Look
Leica M11 ISO 1/180th f4 90mm Elmarit M
Lots of people think that will be &#;whichever is less of the camera and lens.&#; For example, my camera can resolve 61 megapixels, but my lens can only resolve 30 megapixels, so all I can see is 30 megapixels.
That&#;s not how it works. How it does work is very simple math: System MTF = Camera MTF x Lens MTF. MTF maxes at 1.0 because 1.0 is perfect. So let&#;s say my camera MTF is 0.7, and my lens MTF is 0.7, then my system MTF is 0.49 (Lens MTF x Camera MTF). This is actually a pretty reasonable system.
Now, let&#;s say I get a much better camera with much higher resolution; the camera MTF is 0.9. The system MTF with the same lens also increases: 0.7 X 0.9 = 0.63. On the other hand, I could do the same thing if I bought a much better lens and kept it on the same camera. The camera basically never &#;out resolves the lens.&#;
<snip>
Aldeburgh Evening
Leica M11 ISO 1/125th f4 35mm Summilux
If you have a reasonably good lens and/or a reasonably good camera, upgrading either one upgrades your images. If you ask something like &#;is my camera going to out resolve this lens&#; you sound silly.
Roger&#;s rule: If you have either a crappy lens or crappy camera, improve the crappy part first; you get more bang for your $. I just saw a thread for someone wanting to upgrade to the newest 60-megapixel camera, and all of his lenses were average zooms. I got nauseous.
I think this is beautifully put, simply speaking, using the M11 will improve your results from vintage glass as well as from the most modern APO lenses.
Maggie Hambling's Scallop Sculpture on Aldeburgh Beach
Leica M11 ISO 320 1/180th f16 Wide Angle Tri-Elmar at 16mm
Tough (oh yes) (don't do this at home!)
When I test cameras that is just what I do, they don't get babied because that isn't the point. On the other hand, generally speaking I don't test them by dropping them from more than a metre (say 4ft) from the back of our van onto a tarmac road, it doesn't seem fair. More than this, I don't do it when my own personal 35 APO Summicron is attached!
Except that's exactly what I did; My backpack tipped over, the top opened and the camera dropped out . . it rolled off down the road, I don't think I need to explain the pain that this caused me. I can feel hundreds of readers cringing as they read this.
There is a small chip on the corner of the top plate and a scuff on the ISO dial (which still works perfectly). This was from where it actually hit the road, there are no marks on the paintwork from where it rolled (just a bright mark and a ding on the lens cap for the 35 APO). Of course I was lucky, but still it shows that the camera is tough, indeed, I feel that the removal of the base plate has probably made the camera more rigid and resilient.
Lighting the way
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f2.8 90mm Elmarit M
This was a couple of months ago. Before that the camera had been on numerous dusty sweaty treks around Crete, and chilly wet ones in the UK.
For Christmas I was given a splendid modern waterproof jacket, and we went off to the Suffolk Coast to test it out it on a particularly nasty winter morning. It wasn't raining much to start with, but after 2.1/2 hours when we got back to the van I found that the jacket had actually become pretty waterlogged, I simply hadn't realised how bad the weather was. The M11 had either been over my shoulder or in my hands (I took a lot of photos, it's an atmospheric place!). It had been switched on for the entire time.
When we got home I dried off the outside of the camera (which was very wet) I then checked in the battery/SD compartment and the lens mount and everything was completely dry. My coat weighed almost a kilo more than it did when we started!
Of course you shouldn't try this (and I didn't mean to), but I think this shows that the M11 is really tough - really really tough.
The House on the Hill
Leica M11 ISO 320 1/th f4.8 35mm Summilux
Shooting 60mp with a rangefinder
I've seen a lot of people saying that the antiquated rangefinder is not good enough to focus with such a high resolution sensor. If you're planning to focus on the third eyelash from the left in low light with your 0.95 Noctilux wide open then I might agree, but that's pretty tough with an EVF as well!.
I still find focusing with a rangefinder a thing of beauty and wonder, and extremely efficient, and I haven't changed my mind after thousands of shots with the M11; there are times when I like the EVF, but if I want to shoot quickly with the M11 then the rangefinder does a great job, just as it always has. Added to which it's such a pleasure focusing with a rangefinder!
Of course, if you are planning to print your 60mp shots 6ft by 4ft then you need to be a bit more careful with the focus, but that was always the case whatever the resolution of the sensor.
Tractor Time
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/th f2 50mm Summilux Asph
Pulling it all together
Superficially the M11 looks like an M10 with higher resolution, but actually it's quite a revolution in terms of image quality, connectivity and functionality. To sum up:
Roo
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/160th f3.4 Voigtlader 50mm f1.5 Heliar Classic
That's a big list of improvements!
Murmuration of Redgrave Park
Leica M11 ISO 500 1/250th f4.8 75mm APO Summicron
Should I buy one?
Yes, I should (me, personally), more relevantly, should you buy one? I think that if you've got an M10-R, and you are happy with the image quality, resolution and operation, then the only really good reasons for upgrading are the internal memory, the electronic shutter, the better battery and the USB-C functions. If you are shooting with an earlier M10 or a previous digital Leica then the improvements to image quality and resolution are really very compelling.
Scarlett
Leica M11 ISO 160 1/60th f2.8 90mm Elmarit M
Conclusion
Leica have worked hard during the 5 years since the launch of the M10 and they have managed to produce a camera that is improved in so many ways whilst still retaining the fundamental essence of the M camera (Messsucher). I'm sure that lots of people will be sad to see the demise of the baseplate, but you quickly get to like the idea that you no longer have to worry about it dropping on the floor!
The M11 is a camera which is suitable for any photographic assignment where autofocus is not required, but it's much more than that, the image quality is now up to medium format standards and the much improved EVF allows for critical focusing where it's absolutely necessary. The electronic shutter gives extra scope for shooting fast lenses wide open in bright light. The internal memory gives the extra security that photographers usually get with dual SD card slots.
Frosty Sunburst
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/100th f9.5 35mm APO Summicron M
Although the M11 is not quite the smallest full frame camera with interchangeable lenses, it certainly is if you factor in the size of the lenses.
You might say that the M11 is the EVF based M mount camera that so many Leica aficionados have been asking for: They might complain that it's external, but it works so well, and you still have the advantage of having a proper rangefinder camera.
But for me the real purpose of any M camera is the ability to work with a rangefinder, and with the fantastic Leica lenses, both old and new. The M11 adds proper multi point metering without any speed sacrifice, improved image quality and less vignetting.
At first glance one might be tempted to think that the M11 is a small step up from the M10, but a longer look shows that it is improved in almost every respect. The changes may be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, but of course, that's what every existing M user really wants. On the other hand the much improved EVF and the added connectivity is likely to please existing users and to attract new ones.
A New Beginning (Sunrise over Middle Fen Cottage)
Leica M11 ISO 250 1/80th f6.8 35mm APO Summicron M
Acknowledgements
First of all to Emma, who has to put up with me spending hours testing, and telling her important things (which she is always polite about!). Also to Oscar, Scarlett and Roo for being such patient models.
Secondly to the guys at Leica; Stefan Daniel, Jesko von Oeynhausen and Viktor Weigant who have patiently answered questions and been generally great to work with.
Then to the other guys on the LUF Beta Forum (you know who you are). What a great bunch of people, it's been really fun working with you all and lets hope we can meet up for that beer later on in the year!
Thank you Evris at Rock 'n Roll Straps for producing great straps - especially the new LHSA 'Film' strap pictured on the M11 below. Click on the link to see more.
Finally to all the denizens of the Leica User Forum who have informed this article by speculating on what the camera would be (and what it would not), and thus helping me to decide what to talk about.
The Images
On each of the images in the article I have provided click through to full sized (but slightly compressed) jpg files in case that is helpful. I know people want to zoom in and look at the nitty gritty, but it is worth making a few points.
I always shoot DNG, and then process the images in Lightroom, all of these images have been processed one way or another, mostly by exposure and contrast adjustments and by cropping, In daylight I usually shoot Sunny White balance, and I rarely change the colour in post processing, but these images are definitely not 'out of the camera'.
When I chose the images to go with the article, I did not zoom in to see if they were sharp or had motion blur or were out of focus. I chose them because I like them, not because they are technically good. Obviously I do my best to make every image technically good, but I don't let that get in the way of a good photo!
Links
My old friend Sean Reid at (reidreviews.com) will be publishing a series of articles starting today with his field review it is a pay site but well worth taking a look.
This is what he has planned:
1. A field review of the M11 with speed and performance tests
2. Color studio tests comparing the M11 to the M10-R: color rendering, noise levels at various ISO settings (and, for the M11, at all three DNG sizes), color moire, infrared filtering effectiveness
3. Black & white studio tests comparing the M11 to the M10 Monochrom: tonal rendering, noise levels at various ISO settings (for the M11, at all three DNG sizes).
4. Tests of two 35 mm lenses on the M11, M10-R and M10M: resolution, luminance vignetting and color drift.
5. Tests of a 21 and a 28 mm lens on the M11, M10-R and M10M: resolution, luminance vignetting and color drift.
6. Tests of highlight headroom and useable dynamic range: M11, M10-R and M10 Monochrom
Amitava (Chats) Chatterjee and I have had long discussions about the M11. He has posted his first impressions here
Isn't it Wonderful
Leica M11 ISO 100 1/80th f5.6 35mm APO Summicron M
Another Sunrise or Redgrave Fen
Leica M11 ISO 64 1/80th f5.6 35mm APO Summicron M
The Leica M11 with the International Leica Society 'Film Strap'
Leica M10_R ISO 500 1/125th f5.6 75mm APO Summicron
Oscar
Leica M11 ISO 250 1/100th f9.5 35mm Summilux
The Leica M11 is the latest all-manual-focusing digital rangefinder camera from Leica. While still holding onto the timeless roots of the rangefinder style, Leica managed to pack in some pretty significant upgrades, including a new 61MP sensor, a much-needed upgrade to the processor, and even an improved screen.
But is it worth it?
In this review, I&#;ll review some of the great features and downsides of owning a Leica M11. I also want to add that I want to compare this camera to other digital cameras on the market, where they are with their features, instead of just comparing them to the previous Leica M10. Leica is absolutely a monster at innovation, but often, they underperform with the most basic features.
NOTE: New firmware 2.02 just came out. So I would say there aren&#;t as many Glaring Problems anymore, but, still a few. There is also a new M11P that adds some more features.
They fixed a lot of my big complaints. This includes adding the ability to bracket photos with a countdown timer and the ability to turn off the touch screen. Both are huge features. I still get some crashes occasionally, but this camera is sensitive to what memory cards are used, and usually, these crashes come from that. Likely why they added more memory in the M-11P. Using your internal memory will probably mitigate most crashes.
What Leica does with these cameras is they release an M11, or M10, let the community use it for a few years then take in all the feedback then update with an P camera that fixes a lot of the issues and adds some features to make the camera better for professional settings. Like the CAI technology that adds your personal ID to each photo. The M11P also added more internal memory.
Available At: Amazon / Adorama / B&H
Best Memory Cards Leica M11 &#; Use this guide to find compatible SD cards for the M11 &#; Very important.
Also, check my roundup of the best accessories for the Leica M11, and the list of lenses for the Leica M Mount.
If you&#;re thinking of the Visoflex 2 check out this review to learn how to not let it get destroyed by dust.
First off, thank you Leica for addressing a lot of my firmware issues! I think almost everything that can be fixed with firmware has now been fixed.
Pros: Built like a tank, amazing sensor and resolution, very responsive processor and live view, responsive touch screen, multiple resolution sensor, great dynamic range, very nice rear screen, rangefinder manual focus is the best, good battery life, USB-C connector on bottom is great, built-in 64GB of memory, Leica is amazing at addressing problems with firmware.
Cons: Memory Card Compatibility Issues (this is likely just a hardware issue, unfortunately), (Lack of some customizable controls needs the ability to turn off the touch screen &#; fixed), poor AWB performance, poor auto exposure performance, shutter always feels slow, (sometimes slow or inconsistent shutter release &#; this maybe feels better), focus peaking is not great, overpriced battery, sometimes shutter won&#;t even release (only happened to me with high temperatures, although no heat indicator that I&#;ve seen) &#; this may have been fixed, I haven&#;t shot in 100+ degrees yet, no countdown timer when using exposure bracketing &#; fixed, cheap wall charger and packaging.
See Fujifilm GFX100 II and X-H2 accessories to really see what premium is, Fujifilm has set the bar, Leica should be at that level.
Personal Notes: It&#;s a fine camera it just needs a better processor, which would fix almost all of the cons above. And it seems their memory interface for reading and writing to memory cards just isn&#;t super compatible with what&#;s out there. This happened a lot with older Panasonic cameras, so these companies just need to ditch whatever company is making that component. This affects all camera brands a little, by Leica struggles the most right now.
I still think the camera is worth it, especially with the latest firmware. I really like it, it just could be a little better seeing what the Nikon Z8 is what Sony is doing with the A9III how amazing those sensors are, and how amazing Fujifilm is with their whole packaging and ecosystem of gear surrounding the camera. All these companies should learn from each other. This camera is older than those flagships, so it&#;s not fair to compare. The M12 will be a monster, surely.
The camera and the M11P are absolutely wonderful and are Leica&#;s most versatile M camera ever. The firmware has improved dramatically fixing a lot of the little issues that made the camera difficult to use. I don&#;t have too many complaints now other than the AWB and Auto Exposure don&#;t feel super cutting edge, as we are seeing with the latest flagships from other brands, except Fujifilm. Fujifilm AWB feels good, but their Auto Exposure never seems right, so there is always something to nitpick.
ISO 800, f&#;, 1/180Leica M11 Review &#; Impressions
This is the first digital Leica I&#;ve owned, and I will approach this review as someone who has owned most of the brands of mirrorless and DSLR cameras and has moved over to the Leica system for the first time.
This isn&#;t a naked review of a Leica camera compared to nothing. This reviews the Leica M11 compared to what other brands are doing, where they are with technology and accessories, and how Leica is positioned.
Now, I&#;m not entirely sure why no one ever really reviews Leica cameras. Everyone gives Leica a free pass, and most reviews feel like advertisements. It&#;s odd to me because there is a lot to talk about with the Leica M11, some great pros, some cons, and some general problems&#;most of which have now been addressed by firmware.
ISO 64, f4, 1/400 ISO 64, f5.6, 1/350 ISo 400, f11, 1/180 ISO 64, f4, 1/160Some of the new Sepia looks from my Core Color presets. Shot with the Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 II and the 35mm f2 Type-II
At first, using the camera was a little difficult to get used to. I have M film cameras, so I&#;m ok with the range finder system, but it still does take some time to adjust to the faster pace of shooting with digital, and it takes a while before you really trust yourself with the range finder patch.
Now that I&#;m used to it, I just don&#;t know how I will go back to anything else for shooting manual lenses. I used to think focus peaking was great, but the range finder system for focusing is just so easy and faster and a pleasure to use. Especially when shooting at higher apertures, like f8, which always made focus peaking difficult to work with. Plus, you even have the option to add an external EVF.
As with any camera, it took me a while to get used to the response time and feel of it. It&#;s pretty heavy and blocky, so I had to figure out how to naturally hold it and have it feel good in the hands which took some time, adding a case has helped, actually, I&#;ve tried two now. Also, you have to always be careful to not cover the second range finder window with your right hand.
One of the big things that I noticed right away is the shutter lag, it&#;s not terrible but then sometimes it will be actually really long. I&#;m not sure why, maybe the camera coming out of sleep mode or something, but from time to time it&#;s up to a full second from when you press the shutter to when it engages. And the thing is, you can&#;t always tell when the camera is in sleep mode if you&#;re just using the range finder, well you can, but I&#;m not always paying attention. Then, once I couldn&#;t even get the shutter to engage, it was hot outside, probably about 105 degrees, so maybe it was restricting me but it never gave me a heat warning or anything.
&#;- All these shutter issues may have been improved or fixed with firmware. I&#;m not noticing these issues as much now.
Shot with the Voigtlander 35mm f2 Ultron Type-II &#; Not a good 35mm for portraits, really distracting bokeh.Size & Weight
In terms of size, the M11 and M11p is a little larger than the Leica MP and Leica M6 and I actually like this a lot. For those smaller film cameras, I often have nowhere to rest my fingers and am constantly blocking the small range finder window with my right hand and I don&#;t have that problem nearly as bad as this larger digital camera.
Overall, I&#;m really loving the camera. It delivered in all the areas I was expecting.
ISO , f4, 1/160 ISO 10,000, f4, 1/160I still do this coloring mostly by hand. No presets yet. Shot with the Kipon 50mm f2.4. I really like this lens for classic-style rendering.
Build Quality
The Leica M11 comes in two colors: silver chrome on brass or black on aluminum. I&#;ve seen complaints about fingerprints with black and silver from earlier reviewers. There is some sort of coating that they have on the cameras when they are new that causes a lot of fingerprinting to show. After a few weeks, this residue, whatever it is, goes away or wears off, or it&#;s just losing its pristineness, and you don&#;t notice fingerprints as much. Or maybe the whole camera just becomes one big fingerprint smudge, so you don&#;t see it anymore.
Build quality is great. The ISO dial pops up to adjust it with full stops. The shutter dial adjusts with half stops and a tighter click into &#;Auto&#; so you can feel it when you&#;re not looking.
As far as the silver vs black debate. I&#;ve had the camera since it came out in silver, I&#;ve never had one person ever comment on the camera except for some bro at the beach half drunk slurring &#;Is that a film camera?&#; I was in San Clemente and South Orange country is riding the film trend harder than anywhere else in the world right now.
On the top of the camera, you have a focus assist button on the top that is customizable if you press and hold it, took me 3 months to figure that out. It would be nice if you could also customize this button from the menu but you can&#;t.
You have a rear dial that also functions as a button, which can also be customized by pressing and holding, but you have no ability to customize the button through the menu like with every other camera that&#;s ever been made. The dial can be changed from exposure compensation to focus assist. On the other side of the camera, you have a viewfinder that&#;s rimmed with hard plastic. Below that a few buttons, and on the other side a D-pad with a center button. None of the buttons are customizable, but you can press the FN button a few times to cycle through your user screen settings, which is pretty smart.
The menu works like this &#; Press it once and you get to the quick menu, press it twice and it pulls up the favorites menu, press it three times and it drops you into the full menu screen.
The screen is a 2.95&#; 2.3m-Dot touch screen &#; It&#;s really nice.
A new base on the camera with an ejectable battery that has a weather-sealed rubber gasket built into it. It&#;s cool that the battery has a rubber gasket built into the design so if it ever gets worn out or damaged, you can just replace the battery and get a new seal.
The bottom is not replaceable like previous Leica M cameras, so once you get a scratch, as you can see here, you&#;re stuck with it forever.
Overall, the build is amazing.
8 Great Features Of The Leica M11
ISO 64, f1.5, 1/350 &#; Voigt 75mm f1.5This is a cool feature that I used a lot at first and now don&#;t really use so much because the grain always just looks better at 60MP.
The 60MP sensor that lets you pixel bin into different resolutions is fantastic. At first, I didn&#;t want a 60MP in an M camera because I shoot a lot and don&#;t like buying new hard drives all the time. I&#;m also on a Synology server, and upgrading hard drive space is very expensive and difficult. So having the ability to bin down to 36MP or 18MP is really nice, especially since you gain a little dynamic range from doing so.
This was actually one of the reasons I bought this camera. I can shoot most of the time at 36MP or 18MP, which supposedly gives you more dynamic range, but I can also now use this camera for landscape photography on a tripod with that 60MP sensor and a relatively compact full-frame system.
There is a lot of debate with regards to 60MP being worth it when shooting handheld, but one positive is you do get finer grain at 60MP and I do find it easier to clean up when shooting at high ISO compared to the lower resolutions. There is something weird about the grain when shooting in 36MP or 18MP and it&#;s difficult to clean up without things looking smeary. I was hoping doing the binning pixels down to 18MP or 36MP would give me a cleaner image as you would expect from a Nikon Z6 or A7III, but that&#;s not fully the case here since the grain is not as pleasant at those binned resolutions.
ISo 200, f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 35mm f2.4The processor and sensor are so good now that you won&#;t really ever need more in terms of image quality from this point unless there is some huge breakthrough in the technology &#; like the Sony A9III now has a global shutter, maybe that could be useful in an M body, maybe it&#;s not.
I saw this camera and realized where it is, it should be able to last me at least 10 &#; 15 or even 20 years. What more could you really need? Yes, a faster burst, an electronic shutter, a stacked sensor, and a more dynamic range would all be nice, but what the M11 offers is enough for any general photography in the foreseeable future. We haven&#;t really needed more in terms of image quality since the Sony A7rII back in .
This new processor adds display stabilization, which helps focus off the screen on long lenses and perspective control, and it all works seamlessly and overall improves the shooting experience. Plus, it just does it all behind the scenes.
They could have used a stacked sensor and removed the shutter completely, but this would have come at a small cost of dynamic range, and I&#;m not sure Leica fans are ready for that yet.
Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 II &#; If this lens was a touch sharper wide open it would be a legend.2.95&#;, which is fine for how small the camera is, but I really like the 2,332,800 Dot display, and it has all the tech built-in to guide your preview, like it can stabilize your view digitally or correct your distortion lines.
You also have auto levelers you can turn on, frame guides, and histograms. The screen also feels like it&#;s made of tough glass, as most other cameras have a plastic-feeling screen.
The Leica M11 and M11P black versions use a lighter aluminum body and the M11 and M11P silver bodies use a heavier brass body or top plate. I believe a good portion of the bodies are Magnesium Alloy. I have a Leica MP and a Leica M6, and the zinc build of the M6 is considerably lighter, although the new M6 is now made of brass.
Sometimes I feel like the MP is too heavy, and I don&#;t want to deal with it. It just slowly wears on. You have a long day, and that little difference in weight savings does help. That being said, I got the brass M11 because I like the look of the silver Leica a little more and am willing to deal with the extra weight.
The Leica M11 lets you run the camera with different crops. 1.3x which is basically APS-H, and 1.8x which is a hair tighter than Canon APS-C. These seem like weird numbers, but they actually push your in-between focal lengths into standard focal lengths. For example, at 1.3x, your 28mm lens becomes a 36mm lens, and at 1.8x, it becomes a 50mm lens.
If you&#;re on a 40mm lens, the 1.3x becomes 52mm, and the 1.8x becomes 72mm. So it&#;s kind of borrowing some love from the Leica Q2 system.
I never really thought I would use this, but I often carry the Voigtlander 21mm f3.5 and love that lens at 28mm with a 1.3x crop. So, I find myself using that lens a lot now with the 1.3x crop. Some of those Voigtlander lenses like the 21mm and 28mm have a lot of issues along the corners and edges and running them with the 1.3x gives great results.
When shooting DNG, the files come into Lightroom already cropped, but you still get the full 61MP image, so you can always expand it out and re-adjust the composition if you miss by a little.
The same works with perspective control. If shooting DNG, the images in LR come already cropped with the Guided Transform setting defined by the camera, but you can always revert back to the full sensor image.
Voigtlander 21mm f3.5 set to 28mm with a 1.3x crop.
ISO , f4, 1/160 ISO , f4 1/160The Leica M11 is fully set up with all the useful features a landscape photographer could want &#; well almost. You can set up the camera to bracket your exposures all with a countdown timer, and it even has a built-in intervalometer which is really nice when shooting star trails or fireflies as well as any sort of timelapse photography.
Since I bought the Leica M11 partly as a landscape camera, it was reassuring when I opened up the menus and discovered these settings.
With firmware version 2.00, you can also use your bracketing with the countdown timer simultaneously.
For a 60MP sensor, I was expecting bigger files, but it looks like Leica is using some sort of lossless compression with their DNG files.
If you&#;re wondering how big the file sizes are with the Leica M11 &#;
For the 60MP mode, files are about 60-70MB in size, at 36MP the files are roughly 35-40MB in size and for 18MP they are about 20MB in size.
ISO , f3.5, 1/125 &#; Megacrop on the Voigt 21mm f3.5Battery life is fine. It&#;s pretty good if you&#;re using the OVF mostly, but then it&#;s just ok if you&#;re using the live view a lot and doing long exposures.
If you shoot with Liveview or with an EVF a lot, you may need two batteries to run a full day. I was out shooting landscapes with Liveview using the LCD screen, and I burned through close to 40% of my battery during the sunset while shooting a lot of long exposures.
When I go out shooting street photography for maybe about 4 hours, I can use almost half a battery or less and I still use Liveview often.
If you&#;re shooting mostly with the range finder, then the battery will last you days.
The way I typically shoot, if I go out for a full day and shoot maybe around 500-600 images with RAW+JPG set, I usually end the day with about 20-30% battery.
It has only an mAh battery; the Sony FZ100 has mAh, by comparison. Granted, the M11 doesn&#;t have an IBS system to power, so it isn&#;t as demanding.
So far, I haven&#;t needed more than one battery.
ISO 64, f1.5, 1/350Firmware 1.6.0 really upgraded the FOTO app and how the camera interfaces. It&#;s very easy to set up now. The camera now uses Bluetooth to communicate with your , so once you are set up, all you do is open the app on your and tell it to connect to the camera, and this usually works without having to interface with the camera at all.
This is probably the best camera App I&#;ve ever used for this very reason. It works very well. However, it does give me trouble with the 5Ghz Wi-Fi connection, so I have to leave it at 2.4Ghz. I&#;m not sure if this is my or the camera being funky.
Also, what&#;s really cool is that you now have location tagging through the GPS device on your . This works like a smartwatch: Every minute or so, it will ping your for the location data through Bluetooth, even if you&#;re not connected directly with the camera app at the time. If this works the way I think it works, it&#;s cool.
ISO 64, f1.5, 1/ ISO 64, f1.5, 1/500 ISO 64, f1.5, 1/500These were shot on the Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 Nok II &#; A really nice character lens for softer portraits like this.
15 Problems Of The Leica M11
The firmware has improved a lot since the initial release.
At first, it was probably the worst camera I&#;ve ever used when implementing digital features, except for the first-gen Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras. With where this camera was with AWB and Exposure and some basic features missing, like &#;flicker reduction,&#; the camera felt like it was still living in .
M11 is not the first-gen product, actually, the Leica M system was one of the first mirrorless systems ever made, so there is kind of no excuse here.
I&#;ll just make a list, some of these things are not so bad and kind of a fundamental feature of what rangefinders are, I&#;ll just mention and share my thoughts on everything.
Remember, this is compared to other cameras, not necessarily compared to older Leicas. How does the $9k Leica stack up to something like a Sony A7rV, minus IBIS, AF, and other video features you wouldn&#;t expect to see in a Leica M11.
The box and the packaging are not very good (Sorry, I don&#;t have any pictures, the box is not with me).
Historically, Leica has always had nice boxes and packaging. Maybe they are trying to save on materials and waste even though paper and cardboard are mostly renewable resources, but it feels like they didn&#;t even try. After only a few months, the outer casing box is already starting to come unglued and fall apart. Not only that, it&#;s built with very thin, cheap paper that is extremely easy to tear.
The inner box is just cheap cardboard, and it all feels like it was designed by an intern working from home while binge-watching Netflix. Overall, it&#;s very disappointing. It&#;s a box, yeah, but anytime you buy a luxury product (as people call these cameras), it always has a nice box and packaging.
If you think I&#;m being too harsh here, go look at the Fujifilm X-H2s and the whole unboxing and packaging experience that comes with that camera. Fujifilm is getting very close to Apple regarding making you feel like you have a special product and how good their accessories feel. Leica is not even close here.
Leica feels about on par with a DJI product. I&#;m not kidding. It&#;s sad.
Again, the wall adapter and charger are on par with what DJI is doing. The cable is high quality but way too stiff and thick.
The battery feels light and cheap although it does have weather sealing built-in since it has to sit flush with the body.
By the way, the battery costs around $200. It&#;s not handmade in a factory in Germany; it&#;s made in China. It feels like Chinese mass production quality, and the price gouging here is silly. A Sony battery feels amazing and well-built, with a hologram on it to let you know it&#;s genuine. But it&#;s a battery, and it fits flush with the camera, so I can&#;t be too picky here, except it costs around $200.
This is all concerning to me because Leica is supposed to be a premium designer brand, but they are so far away from attention to detail here, with simple stuff that a company like Apple could pump out in their sleep&#;it&#;s all kind of concerning.
It&#;s as if they only cared about the details of the camera, neglecting all the little experiences surrounding it.
I wouldn&#;t be as critical here, but the camera was $9,000 dollars at the time of launch, and the whole thing is &#;handmade in Germany,&#; the store clerks even wear white gloves when handling the cameras and lenses like it&#;s some fine jewelry. Then they dump a bunch of cheap accessories out of China into a poorly made Toys &#;R&#; Us box with zero interesting design.
If you&#;re not testing other cameras constantly, you&#;d likely never know the difference, so maybe this doesn&#;t matter all that much.
ISO 64, f4, 1/320 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4This is not a big deal and doesn&#;t count as a negative, but I&#;ll mention it.
I see a lot of people talking about stabilization; I put it here because we need to talk about it. In general, the lack of stabilization isn&#;t a problem at all. Even with stabilization on Sony cameras at 60MP, you still get micro motion blur. 60MP is great for reproductive work on a tripod and that&#;s why we buy 60MP.
I look at 60MP as being for tripod use and all the other formats are what you would use handheld, and for me, this is fine. You&#;ll still see some very subtle shake at 36MP when handheld at high shutters but it&#;s acceptable, this is part of the look of these cameras. But, we&#;re forgetting that at 60MP the grain is very fine and small, more on this later.
I think we all have a question: could they have squeezed a little 3-Axis IBIS in there? Maybe they could remove the shutter by going with a stacked sensor. However, they would likely still have to push the mount out a little more, which would make the camera uglier when no lens is attached, and then maybe push the screen back out even a little more. Would all those design compromises be worth it? I&#;m not sure.
If they wanted 5-axis IBIS, they would have to electrify all the lenses so that they communicate focus position unless they just programmed the camera&#;s range finder clutch to do that. Considering that the M11 does not have electronic contacts for the lenses, you can ensure that there are no plans in the future to expand the technology of the lenses for anything like 5-Axis IBIS. 3-Axis IBIS, however, doesn&#;t require a focus position.
With only an mAh battery, IBIS would ruin battery life, or they would need a bigger, heavier battery. IBIS just isn&#;t something Leica can do right now while keeping the design aesthetic.
The electronic shutter is an interesting feature that&#;s been in cameras for over a decade but is new to Leica. It comes in handy when you set the shutter to auto and use fast lenses in bright situations. Then, the electronic shutter takes over and allows you to still get proper exposure. It has a noticeable rolling shutter, so you don&#;t want to use it except in these situations or if you need a silent shutter.
Unfortunately, the Leica M11 has no internal speaker, so when the camera switches to the faster electronic shutter in bright conditions, there is no audible indication that a picture is being taken, which can be confusing if you&#;re not expecting it when the shutter mode is in auto.
This feature is not uncommon with most camera brands. I think Canon and maybe Nikon also don&#;t have a sound option for using the electronic shutter. Fujifilm does; I can&#;t remember if Sony does.
This is probably a sin to say this, but no video options are built into this camera.
Some basic video features would be nice. I know Leica historically has not been great at implementing video features in M cameras and ultimately gave up because M cameras are more photo purist machines. Makes sense.
I&#;m not going to film a movie or YouTube video on a Leica M, but sometimes it&#;s nice to run some video for something spontaneously happening. I actually use video a lot for utility purposes for this website, and now it means when I travel, I have to bring a second camera.
They&#;ve released new versions of the 50mm, the 35mm, and the 28mm now. So this issue has been getting attention.
There are not a lot of very sharp Leica M lenses (especially from the third party) that resolve 60MP very well. Some Leica lenses are great, of course, and some of these new Voigtlander lenses are nice, but so many of these smaller lenses are not super sharp, wide open, but then get hit very hard by diffraction very early on, like at f8. I&#;m not sure if that&#;s a byproduct of the lenses being so small, but diffraction is pretty heavy with a lot of lenses I&#;ve tested at f8, even at 38MP. This could just be me and the lenses I have, so I&#;ll have to continue testing here.
The good news is that Leica has already started updating lenses with a new 35mm f1.4.
ISO 200, f2.4, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4I&#;m not sure about the full limitations of DNG vs. a custom RAW, but it seems like DNG can do a lot, but RAW can do more. I do know that we&#;re still missing a lot of custom settings that can carry over to LR as we get with Nikon. With a Nikon camera, you can adjust your contrast, sharpness, profiles, etc., and this information carries over to your LR settings.
Some people love DNG because it can be used in most editing programs without an update. But would having a RAW format allow Leica to further advance the technology of its lens and system?
Also, the Leica in-camera image and the LR Leica profile are quite a bit different. I think Leica does some extra magic with their JPGs, especially with how they are rendered.
This is all not a huge deal, but it would be nice if there were more in-camera functions to adjust the look of the image, active D-Lighting, WB shifts, etc. I think you might need RAW to do that, not the more limited DNG.
I will say that the perspective control and the crop modes do pass through to Lightroom, which is pretty cool. So if you shoot in 1.3x crop mode, which I like to do with my 21mm lens, then it comes into LR as a 21mm image pre-cropped to 28mm. So, it looks like there are some capabilities there to expand the communication of the DNG files with the editing software.
But again, Nikon and Fujifilm are quite a bit ahead with what they offer and how some of the camera&#;s customizable settings can pass to LR.
Many of the brands are now offering HEIF, which is a JPG on steroids.
If you&#;re using third-party lenses you don&#;t have the option to program in your focal length or aperture like every other camera brand, you can only pick from the list of Leica lenses.
Leica cameras will try to guess your aperture and populate EXIF information, which is pretty cool, but it&#;s never fully accurate with third-party lenses. I wonder if allowing more customization here would help.
Currently, on the Leica M11, you can&#;t set a countdown timer at the same time as using exposure bracketing.
If you&#;re a landscape photographer and don&#;t want camera shake from pressing the shutter while on a tripod, but like to bracket your exposures, you&#;ll have to use a mechanical shutter release of some sort, or just do one exposure at a time manually.
The FOTO app also won&#;t allow you to use the bracketing when used as a trigger.
ISO 64, f2.8, 1/750 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISO 125, f6.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4There is now an option in the menu to disable the touch screen.
As it stands this is a design flaw because if you want to use live view for focus assist, your right thumb almost always touches the top right corner of the display setting the focus assist point to that area. Focus Assist is nearly unusable, or at least very cumbersome to use because there is no ability to disable this section of the screen or to at least disable the touch screen completely.
So to use live view with focus assist (when the camera punches in for fine focus adjustments), it almost always defaults to the top right of the screen, then you have to set the point back to the center of the screen and try again. It&#;s very cumbersome. Let me just turn off the touch screen on the edges of the screen, I think Fujifilm does this, or let me disable the touch screen completely when in live view. Or, give me an option to just lock the focus position in the center, then I can push a button to unlock it if I want to move it.
This is crazy to me. Currently, on the Leica M11, if you want to delete a file, you have a menu of Delete single, Delete all, Delete all without *, Add *, etc.
It looks like this.
This menu can be touchscreen, and if you accidentally touch and click down and &#;Delete all,&#; and are tired and press ok without thinking, you are essentially formatting your card. It&#;s just right there, that easy to do. I&#;ve done it once already by accident when not paying attention and it was not good.
Just remove &#;Delete All&#; and &#;Delete all without *,&#; or move them to the bottom of the menu. I don&#;t understand why you would need two Delete All commands when there is a Format command in the quick menu. This reminds me of the Windows operating system, where there are multiple ways of doing the same thing, which just clutters up the settings and design aesthetic.
This is also a strange inconsistency in the camera&#;s design language. They have multiple ways of formatting your card, in the menu, on the quick menu, or on this playback screen, but then you can&#;t customize your top right buttons through the menu, only by pressing and holding.
The Leica M11 sets the EXIF data with a null GPS location, so all your photos are tagged with coordinates linked to NULL Island.
Update: This can be fixed in Firmware 1.6. Now, you can connect the camera to your and have it stay connected, populating the location data of each photo. This latest update also introduced Bluetooth connection and power-saving connection options with the Leica Photos app, which actually works very well.
The camera can be center-weighted, multi-weighted, spot-weighted, or highlight-weighted. I can&#;t see any major difference between any of them except Spot.
Center, Multi, and Highlight weighted all seem to perform almost exactly the same as far as I can tell, and they all seem to be mostly working as a Highlight Weighted focus meter, but then sometimes it doesn&#;t. There seems to be some inconsistency here for me.
It would be cool if they actually borrowed some tech from the Leica SL2, and tracked faces for exposure and AWB purposes only. That would be an amazing feature. Fujifilm actually does this and I think Canon will too. Track faces and set your exposure to where the face is at.
As mentioned above, the Photometry settings just don&#;t work very well, and your exposure can bounce around by a whole stop if you&#;re not careful since the camera seems overly sensitive to any or specular highlights no matter what mode you&#;re in. Again, this might just be a bug because sometimes it works better than other times.
In addition, AWB does not perform very well, and it often bounces around a lot when you&#;re shooting within the same scene. This kind of forces you to use WB manually, which I almost always do anyway.
Regarding AWB and Auto Exposure, this is probably the worst camera I&#;ve had in the last maybe 8 years. It&#;s about as bad as the first Sony mirrorless cameras.
I know many Leica shooters who shoot manually, and while I don&#;t want to speak for the entire community, I think this isn&#;t a huge deal, but it&#;s something Leica could work on.
Also, all the camera brands now give you further options for the AWB.
With Nikon, you can shoot with AWB &#; Natural Light Auto, Keep White, Keep the overall atmosphere, and Keep warm lighting colors. Most brands have something similar, but Leica is behind. Fujifilm actually even lets you add WB shifts, which are pretty cool for building custom JPG styles.
I set my shutter limit to 1/125. However, no matter what, the camera always shoots at 1/160 or 1/180 as a minimum. It&#;s the same if I set the shutter limit to 1/60. It always shoots at 1/80. My guess is this is just a bug.
I&#;m still not sure why this doesn&#;t work correctly.
Some Bugs
As mentioned above, Leica added highlight exposure priority, but it does seem like all the other exposure settings heavily prioritize highlights. Even when I&#;m center-weighted, if any highlights show up in the scene, the image drastically shifts to protect them, which just makes using the auto-exposure system difficult.
All modes are Center Weighted + Highlight Priority, Multi Weighted + Highlight Priority, Full + Highlight Priority. Then they also give us Highlight Priority. Seems redundant. I wish the camera worked more like other brands here.
And again, it does seem to perform normally sometimes, so I guess there are still some bugs here.
There is a strange bug when focusing off the LCD screen &#; you press the exposure focus assist button on the top of the camera, and the image flashes brightly for a second before going darker. It doesn&#;t feel like it&#;s associated with the correct exposure and is very distracting. I actually wish it stayed bright because once it pops darker, it&#;s harder to see.
Sometimes if you have a busy bright background with the live view engaged, the camera will go crazy on the auto ISO or shutter settings and flicker with a strobe-like effect.
I still get a lot of lockups. I don&#;t think it&#;s from the memory card because I was even getting them when shooting internally. Sometimes the camera even stalls when coming out of sleep mode and the shutter will often have huge delays when trying to take a picture after the camera is sleeping.
Also, the camera once would just not let me shoot at all. It was about 104 degrees out in the California desert ( a normal day in the California Summer), and I could not get the camera to take a picture. I&#;m thinking it overheated, but it didn&#;t give me any overheating warning. So adding an overheating warning would be nice.
UPDATE: Firmware 2.01 is said to have fixed some of the lockups. Now, we are on version 2.02.
Also, Now that summer is over winter is here and it&#;s a lot colder outside, I haven&#;t had any lockups in a while. This makes me think the lockup issue might be entirely heat-related. This could also be why some people have issues with some memory cards and not others; some cards can get very hot and further add to the heat issue.
I&#;m using an older Sony G card (not tough).
ISO 200, f2, 1/160 &#; Voigt 50mm f1.5 ISO 500, f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 35mm f2.4A Poorly Made Digital Interface But Getting Better
The initial launch of the M11 was a bit of a mess, but they&#;ve done a pretty good of improving the digital interface to the point where it feels in line with other cameras, and the M11P launches with all of these issues addressed. That&#;s great because the &#;P&#; versions are supposed to be the more professional model.
Some things Leica does they do it better than any other brand like the FOTO App and the perspective control, and then some things like Exposure and AWB just feel a little behind.
The good news is, most of the problems with the camera are just the software, and it&#;s possible for Leica to fix all the little issues, and they have been doing a great job with it so far.
ISO 64, f8, 1/180 &#; Voigt 35mm f2 Ultron Type-II &#; Good lens for this kind of handheld travel photographyLeica Color Science
Back to some good stuff.
The Color DNA Of Leica
Every camera brand has its own signature look or DNA in the way it renders, and they all are constantly improving and changing. It&#;s not just coloring; sometimes, it&#;s more tonal. Nikon images, for example, generally render colors with a softer, more pastel feel, whereas Canon images feel a little more punchy with high clarity.
It&#;s a popular belief that once you shoot RAW, you can change the colors to whatever you want. While this is true at the basic level, the basic DNA of the camera&#;s look usually still shines through.
And I actually like the Leica M11 DNA a lot here.
Straight Out Of Camera JPGs
JPGs are very nice. It seems Leica cameras do some additional processing on them, and they look quite a bit different from shooting RAW and loading the M11 profile in Lightroom.
Cameras have various JPG looks, from Standard to Vivid to Natural. These are the Standard look. All the colors are very well balanced, with a nice contrast overall and deep shadows for a signature Leica look.
These are straight out-of-camera JPG shots on the Kipon 50mm f2.4 lens.
ISO 64, f5.6, 1/200 ISo 64, f2.4, 1/250 ISO 64, f2.4, 1/200 ISO 64, f2.4, 1/Leica&#;s colors are pretty good, especially if you shoot JPG. They remind me a little of a Fujifilm Provia look, but the greens are a little more realistic. The contrast is really pronounced, and the shadows seem to be a little deeper with a little more contrast than most brands. What I don&#;t love is the blues, which are maybe a little too deep and strong, but it&#;s easy to adjust.
When I edit my photos, I get a vibe very similar to what I get when I edit with my Fujifilm cameras&#;very natural-feeling images with great tonality in the mid-tones.
Overall, the Leica M11 has really nice DNA from which to start your edits, but the JPGs also usually look great right out of the camera.
Probably has my favorite JPGs apart from all the crazy customization you can do with the Fujifilm JPGs.
Here is an edit on top of the M11 Profile in Lightroom.
ISO 160, f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4User Experience &#; Rangefinder &#; Eurgonamics &#; Menus
The Leica M11 still uses an analog range finder system. There is the optical viewfinder you look through, then another viewfinder to the right side of the lens that gives you a stereoscopic split view of what&#;s in focus vs what&#;s out of focus. You line up the two images, and you&#;re in focus.
When you first buy a camera like this, it does feel a little overwhelming, and the experience can be a little uncomfortable, but as you keep going and improving your technique, the camera becomes a part of you, and using it is second nature.
Once you hit this level, it&#;s a ton of fun and a totally different and unique experience since the camera always actively keeps you as part of the process compared to something like a Nikon mirrorless that just does so much of the work for you.
ISO 320, f1.5, 1/160 &#; Shot on the Voigt 50mm f1.5 II &#; A great lens for these kinds of closer shots, but slightly soft wide open.Using A Rangefinder &#; Pros and Cons
There are some pros and cons to this system. A pro is that it&#;s fast, accurate, and easy to use in low light. What&#;s worse is that it&#;s useless if you&#;re shooting a scene with really busy details. Think like trying to shoot a carpet or a wall of flowers. But at least there is Liveview. It is pretty good, with decent focus peaking that you can use to fall back on in these situations.
One problem with this system and all Leica M cameras is you really have to watch your right hand and your fingers so that it doesn&#;t block this little viewport. Also, the system can get uncalibrated and you then have to send your camera in for adjustments. Not only that, you must ensure your lenses are all designed properly and calibrated. Some third-party lenses still struggle with this precision.
Even some precision lenses can have other issues with focus shift. The camera is calibrated perfectly wide open but is off when stopped down.
Lenses like the Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 are calibrated at f1.5, and when you stop down, the focus can shift slightly. People often make a bigger deal about this than it is, because as you stop down, you also increase your depth of field so it&#;s sometimes a self-correcting problem. But if you want absolute precision, sometimes focus can change slightly between f1.4 and f2.8, where depth is still very shallow.
The Rangefinder is nice when you&#;re shooting at higher apertures where focus peaking would just show everything peaking. In these situations the rangefinder still allows you to see where the center focus position should be to really get accurate focus.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is not great with these cameras. Some people love it, but it is what it is: you are carrying around a beautiful brass brick. It&#;s not super comfortable to hold for long hours since there is no grip or anything.
It takes a while to get used to and once you do it&#;s not so bad, but never amazing.
Menus
It&#;s a giant list like Sony used to do. There is some thought to the menu, maybe. It seems like the options you would use the most are on the first or second page, and more set-up technical options are added to the list.
They do give you a favorites menu which is mostly fine. There really aren&#;t too many options so it ends up not really being a problem. You can adjust mostly what you need from the quick menu page (not customizable for some reason), and then you have your favorites page. Typically you don&#;t need access to more than four or five things at a time anyway. It&#;s a range finder and not really a techy camera so it doesn&#;t and should be overloaded here.
While the whole menu thing could have been a nightmare like old Sony menus, Leica keeps it simple and clean, and you never feel overloaded with information.
The M11 is a very nice machine and a ton of fun to use. The sensor is amazing, the processor is great, the body and screen are all great, the JPGs look great, and the color profiles and black-and-white profiles are all amazing. The camera produces amazing images always.
What&#;s crazy is this &#; here are the initial big complaints that bugged me the most from my initial review, and they have all been fixed now with firmware.
1. No ability to turn off the touch screen or at least limit it. This means when you&#;re using a live view or EVF when you focus assist, it will always start at the top right of the screen because that&#;s where your thumb overlaps. &#; fixed
2. Flickering when something is backlit. &#; fixed
3. No countdown timer with the exposure bracketing. &#; fixed
How cool is that?
The white balance and autoexposure settings I can live with, although they are not amazing if you were to compare this to a modern Sony camera.
ISO 64, f8, 1/200 &#; Voigt 35mm f2 Type-II A good walk-around lensAvailable At: Amazon / Adorama / B&H
Leica M11 Sample Photos
A mix of lenses and binning modes shot on the Leica M11. Colored with my Core and Ono Preset.
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ISO 64, f2, 1/250 &#; Voigt35mmf2 ISO 64, f5.6, 1/640 &#; Voigt35mm2 ISO 64, f1.5, 1/ &#; Voigt50mmf1.5 ISO 64, f4, 1/200 &#; Voigt50mm ISO 125, f6.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISO 200, f2.4, 1/180 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISO 250, f2.4, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISO , f4, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISO , f2.4, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISO 64, f2.4, 1/320 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISo 64, f1.5, 1/320 &#; Voigt50mm ISO , f4, 1/160 &#; Voigt50mm ISo 64, f8, 1/640 &#; Voigt 35mmf2 ISO 250, f4, 1/125 &#; Voigt50mm ISO 250, f-, 1/180 &#; Voigt50mm ISO 250, f1.5, 1/180 -Voigt 50mm ISO , f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 35mm f2.4 ISO 640, f2.8, 1/180 &#; Kipon 35mm f2.4 ISO 160, f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISo 200, f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 35mm f2.4 ISO 320, f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 35mm f2.4 ISo 800, f2.4, 1/160 &#; Kipon 35 ISO 64, f2, 1/320 &#; Voigt35mm f2 ISO , f4, 1/160 &#; Voigt 21mm ISO 400, f2.8, 1/160 &#; Kipon 35 ISO 800, f4, 1/125 &#; Voigt 21mm ISO 10,000, f2.8, 1/125 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 ISO , f5.6, 1/160 &#; Kipon 50mm f2.4 **This website contains affiliate links. We will earn a small commission on purchases made through these links. Some of the links used in these articles will direct you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.If you are interested in sending in a Guest Blogger Submission,welcome to write for us!
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