M11D https://www.slack.co.uk/articles/the-leica-m11-d.html Sign in Welcome!Log into your account your username your password Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password your email Logo MacFilos Logo MacFilos LeicaReviews 13 min.Read Leica M11-D long-term review: Latest screenless M is a winner 26Comments Jonathan Slack By Jonathan Slack 13 September 2024 The Leica M11-D, launched earlier today, is the culmination of ten years of development of the concept of a screenless rangefinder. Many will consider this to be the best digital rangefinder they have ever used. It comes with quite a history. Wide horizons: Nothing will distract you from you photographic work when using the new Leica M11-D. Summaron-M 28mm f.5.6 f/8 at 1/400s, ISO 64. All images by Jonathan Slack M edition 60 Ten years ago, in September 2014 Leica introduced the M Edition 60 designed by Audi. This limited edition model was to celebrate 60 years of the M camera (since the original M3 was announced in 1954). This was no ‘ordinary’ special edition though, Leica had removed the LCD rear screen and replaced it with an ISO dial – in their words: Reduced to only the essential camera features, the Leica M Edition 60 is the first digital camera to concentrate exclusively on the bare functions required for digital photography – shutter speed, aperture, focusing and ISO sensitivity. This is also the reason for the replacement of the camera’s display with an ISO selector dial. For reasons of quality, exposures are saved as raw data in DNG format. Working with the Leica M Edition 60 intentionally demands the same care and attention as working with an analogue model. Only the sensor and the entire electronics reflect the state of the art of contemporary camera technology. M-D (typ 262) The M edition 60 caused enough interest for Leica to get more serious about the concept and in April 2016, the Leica M-D (typ 262) was introduced. The camera was technically identical to the Leica M (typ 262), a quieter and cheaper version of the M (typ 240) with the video options removed. With the M-D, you shot in Auto White balance and the camera recorded only DNG files. The only way to look at the images was to remove the SD card from the camera and look at the files on a computer. I was not offered one to test at the time, and being limited to Auto White Balance was enough of a turn-off to stop me buying one. M10-D The M10-D was released in October 2018, and I was much more involved in the testing, and also discussions about the design, including an exciting dinner in London looking at an early mock-up. The M10-D had a wind-on lever to use as a thumb grip, an exposure compensation dial (rather than an ISO wheel) on the back. It also had the special quiet shutter of the M10-P. Although the faux wind-on lever caused quite a lot of dispute on the forums (and in my family!) the camera was, and still is, a real favourite with many photographers. I have just searched around the internet and found only two for sale, and both of them for more than £6000, for a six-year-old camera! The M10-D was a more practical camera than the typ 262. It had the option of attaching the Visoflex electronic viewfinder, and you could also connect to the camera over Wi-Fi and look at the images on your phone in Fotos (albeit very slowly). If you would like to know more about the camera, you can read about it here: https://www.slack.co.uk/m10-d.html. Leica M11-D: Introduction This brings us to the M11-D which has been announced today (September 12th 2024). It needs a lot of thinking (and courage) to launch a camera such as the Leica M11-D. A portrait of Leica’s Stefan Daniel. 50mm Noctilux-M f/1.2, f/1.4 at 1/200s,ISO 320 This time Leica have made rather a different camera, they have abandoned the faux wind-on lever (which will disappoint some people and please others). They have also removed the ISO dial from the top left of the M11 body and made a black, tactile, stainless-steel ISO dial on the backplate (just like so many film bodies). Exposure compensation can be assigned to the thumb dial in the same way as with the M11. Classic rangefinder lines. The new M11-D is a discreet exsmple of the essence of the M rangefinder It’s a lovely object, and at first sight it certainly seems like a perfect example of Das Wesentliche (the essential) with its minimal design, and only dials for shutter speed and ISO (just like a film M). What’s new, what’s better? On the other hand, the camera has all the technical advantages of the M11 and M11-P over the M10: Integral baseplate improves weather sealing and strength New black paint option is very resilient with grippy finish Aluminium top plate makes it significantly lighter Battery with 700 shot CIPA standard (modest!) 256Gb of very fast internal memory (like the M11-P) Faster Maestro III processor 60mp Back Side Illuminated sensor with excellent dynamic range Full-time off-sensor metering Electronic Shutter (up to 1/16,000 sec) USB-C Charging, PTP and Apple MFI connectivity using USB-C port Improved Fotos app allowing filtering selections and tethering New well-constructed EVF with bigger and brighter image (like Q2) Variable DNG size (18.4mp, 36.5mp and 60.3mp) Leica Content Credentials (Like the M11-P) Full-time Geotagging via Fotos and Bluetooth If you would like to read more about these advantages, you can look at my articles on the M11 and the M11-P. A new and finely engineered ISO dial replaces the rear LCD screen of the M11. The ISO dial on the top of the camera is removed, as is the faux wind-on lever of the M10-D. The power switch now returns to its traditional position concentric with the shutter button. Note that the A on the ISO dial on production cameras is in red Since the release of the M10-D six years ago, Leica have taken a leap forward in terms of connectivity. Although the M11-D is just as much a ‘back to basics’ camera, unlike its predecessors, it really can be used in situations where more visibility is necessary. This makes the new Leica M11-D much more feasible as an only camera. I’m going to look at this in more detail in the rest of this article. “Writing with light” — that’s what photography is all about. 50mm Summilux-M f.1.4 at f/2.4, 1/4000s, ISO 64. The Body The M11-D is only available in the same black finish as the M11 and M11-P with the lighter weight aluminium top plate. There is no chrome/brass option this time. Personally, I think it would be lovely in black paint, but the matt black is certainly very handsome. From the front it looks exactly like the M11-P with a screw instead of the red dot of the M11. The baseplate is also identical. The top plate is the same as the black M11-P, complete with Leica logo and the single function button. However, the ISO dial on the top left has been removed. The backplate has just the large ISO dial; simplicity itself. The new ISO dial is beautifully made, you turn the inside to point to the relevant ISO value. And it requires two thumbs to turn easily, which means that it doesn’t get changed accidentally. The overall image of the M11-D reflects that of the M11-P, with the traditional Leica engraving and the absence of of the red dot logo on the front of the camera Why the Leica M11-D? Well, the point of the M11-D and the previous D cameras is to mirror the operation of a film camera as much as is possible, to put off the moment of gratification when you actually look at your images. To stop the distracting practice of chimping. This is the point where Das Wesentliche stops being a slogan, and really seems to be Leica’s intention with the M series. I’ve seen people saying ‘but you can just turn off the LCD‘, which, in effect, is the same as the argument against the Monochrom: ‘but you can just convert to black and white in Lightroom‘. In literal terms, both statements are true. But it just isn’t the same thing as putting yourself in the position where you cannot chimp (or have a colour image). Exact compositions are always a challenge. All the more with a rangefinder camera without any possibility to do a quick check of your work on the display. Left: 50mm Summilux-M f.1.4 at f/3.4, 1/750s, ISO 64. Right: Same lens at f/5.6, 1/1500s, ISO 64 To be honest, I don’t do a great deal of chimping when I shoot, but not being able to do it is quite different. It seems to help focus on taking the pictures and getting a proper flow of concentration. In retrospect, the M10-D with the faux winder and exposure compensation on the back (instead of ISO) seems charming, although perhaps a little gimmicky, but the M11-D really does inherit the spirit of the Leica M film cameras. Only the function button on the top plate is a reflection of the modern age. Superficially, the M10-D might be thought of as fun, and the M11-D perhaps a touch serious. But still, when you shoot with the camera, it really does help you to concentrate on the image and not the camera. The Function Button (Part 1 — Settings) The function button is used for several operations: Resetting the camera to factory conditions Setting the camera for connection to Fotos Cleaning the sensor Updating the Firmware Changing the USB Mode Setting the date and time There are different timed presses and combinations with the thumb wheel which make these work. I have to look them up every time. However, that’s because you only really need to use them on first setting up the camera. The Function Button (Part 2 — Information) Looking through the viewfinder and pressing the function button sequentially provides you with information regarding the current condition of the camera: in order: Remaining photos Remaining battery charge in % USB Mode (apple mfi/ptp) Memory mode Connectivity Leica content credentials Wi-Fi Mode The Leica M11-D with Fotos Fotos has really matured over the last year or so into a useful front-end for a Leica workflow. The camera has a low powered Bluetooth connection which allows for Geotagging and time synchronisation. If you connect via Wi-Fi and leave it connected, then the images previews will be transferred quickly to the device gallery, allowing you to look at images immediately. This seems to have little effect on the excellent battery life. I’ve started using Fotos as my first step in transferring images to my Lightroom catalogue. Currently this works only for 50 images at a time (but it works very well). Image selection and transfer to Lightroom I don’t want these images to go into my Apple Photos app. This can be done quite straightforwardly by choosing the ‘share’ button rather than the ‘download’ button. I go through the images on my iPad, marking favourites, then I limit to favourites using the filter and choose select all — press the share button and the full sized DNG files are downloaded to the iPad. Reduced to the essential — in this respect, the new Leica M11-D might be the epitome of the digital rangefinder camera. 50mm Summilux-M f/1.4 at f/1.4, 1/16000s, ISO 64 I then choose Lightroom to share to, and the images are rapidly transferred to Lightroom. You can then go into Lightroom mobile / Imports and use the ‘Add To’ button. Then add the images to the collection of your choice. You could skip Fotos and import directly to Lightroom, but the preview is nothing like as good as it is in Fotos. Camera Settings in Fotos The Camera Settings section allows fairly detailed configuration possibilities for setting up the M11-D: Currently, the following options are available, and are transferred to the camera just about instantly. This may be updated with future firmware / Fotos updates. CAMERA Leica Content Credentials Lens Detection Drive Mode Noise Reduction Exposure Metering Shutter Type PHOTO File Format White Balance DNG Resolution Self-timer JPG Settings CAMERA SETTINGS Camera Standby Auto Review Maximum Auto ISO USB Charging M-ISO Maximum Exposure Time Firmware Quite a lot of this was available with the M10-D and Fotos, but back then the connection was rather unreliable and much slower than with the M11-D. Personally, I would like to see User Profiles which could then be selected using the function button, but to be fair, the current selection suits basic requirements very well. As if a good old Tri-X would have been used. With the M11-D you get as close to classic rangefinder photography as it possibly gets with a digital camera. 50mm Noctilux-M f/1.2 at f/2, 1/250s, ISO 6400 The Leica M11-D with the Visoflex 2 I feel that using the Visoflex is perhaps rather against the spirit of the M11-D. On the other hand, it allows you to use the close-up function on some recent lenses and perhaps for focusing wide open with some high-speed lenses. Superficially the Visoflex works just as it would on an M11, you can set the Auto Review time in Fotos (or switch it off). However, there is currently no ‘Play’ mode, so you can’t use the Visoflex to scroll through images on the camera. I actually think this is a good thing, but for some it might seem a missed opportunity (although presumably it’s something which could be added late). There are the four basic display profiles, and you can use the function button to cycle between them. The profiles have increasing amounts of information, including focus peaking and the level gauge. Currently, these profiles cannot be changed, although that might be possible in later firmware iterations. The new Leica M-D with the excellent 28mm f/5.6 Summaron-M retro lens Using the Leica M11-D as a primary camera With previous -D cameras I felt that, lovely as they were, you couldn’t really use them as a primary camera there are times when you really do need to know whether you have nailed the shot or not. It’s all very well setting your camera up the way you want and leaving it, but every so often you need to change something unexpectedly (White Balance or Drive mode, for instance). I wrote about this regarding the M10-D in my article on its release, where I came to the conclusion that there really were times when it wasn’t okay (a Greek Christening, for instance!). With the M11-D, I’ve not found the limitations irritating in any situation, but I have frequently found that those same limitations got me concentrating more on what I was shooting and thinking less about the camera. What is more rewarding? Taking pictures or using a computer with a lens? 28mm Summaron-M f/5.6 at f/13, 1/180s, ISO 500 Conclusion Ever since I’ve been working with Leica I’ve been impressed by their real dedication to minimalism; in trying to make photographic tools which are not simply computers taking pictures. At the same time, they have embraced new technologies. The sensor in the M11 is one of the very best available currently. And Leica are trailblazers in the Content Credentials movement. Images that could just as easily have come from the film era: quiet scenes from the city and by the sea. The Leica M11-D is an excellent tool (not only) for such moments. Images clockwise: 50mm Summilux-M f/1.4 at f/11. 1/1000s, ISO 64. 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 at f/1.4, 1/180s, ISO 80. 50mm Summilux-M f/1.4 at f/1.4, 1/12000s, ISO 64. 28mm Summaron-M f/5.6 at f/11, 1.320s, ISO 64. 50mm Summilux-M f/1.4 at f/1.4, 1/16000, ISO 64. 50mm Summilux at f/2.4, 1/500s, ISO 64. This camera is a perfect example of both of these approaches. With no more controls than a film camera, it really does embrace minimalism. On the other hand, they have incorporated excellent connectivity with Fotos, Content Credentials, variable sized DNG files and so much more. The M11-D is also a real return to basics — the faux winder is gone and the rear cover exposure compensation dial is now an ISO dial (as it should be). It might not be the camera for everyone. But this time I think Leica have got it right and for some people it will be the only M camera they need.