M11D

[Richard G]

Just been looking at the M11 D. Jon Slack’s review sums it up well. No screen is almost like an endless roll of expensive film, no chimping, so you take more care and concentrate on photography, not the camera. The nostalgic advance lever is gone. ISO is now set where the M3 and M2 had the film reminder and the M6 the ISO setting wheel on the back of the camera. What about non-6 bit coded lenses? Lens selection is in the Leica Fotos app on your phone. It’s an attractive argument. A little loss of flexibility but the compensation may be worth it.

 

[trix4ever]

I have to say this looks attractive but I could not help but laugh when I realised you get auto review on the Visoflex, so all the poseurs can brag they never chimp but secretly review every picture in the evf!
Someone at Leica has a sense of humour.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

No screen is almost like an endless roll of expensive film

Tri-X currently costs about $9 per roll so after 36,000 images the M11D is essentially free!

Somehow I doubt my wife will buy that.

 

[AntonioC]

It’s more essential than ever, without that ridiculous advance lever. Like it (still don’t like that awful magenta tint).
How to make it even more essential/niche/exotic? A monochrome version 👌🏻

 

[trix4ever]

It’s more essential than ever, without that ridiculous advance lever. Like it (still don’t like that awful magenta tint).
How to make it even more essential/niche/exotic? A monochrome version 👌🏻

A monochrome version with a 24mp sensor geared to low light, in black paint on brass.
I can but dream...
Oh and a choice of viewfinder magnifications...

 

[Freakscene]

Tri-X currently costs about $9 per roll so after 36,000 images the M11D is essentially free!

Somehow I doubt my wife will buy that.

Tri-X is $9/roll just for the film. If you budget for chemistry, it’s $12+/roll. If you value your time, or get someone to develop for you, it’s more. Then there is proofing or printing to make something you can look at. My digital Ms have paid for themselves several times over. My M10M has taken about 50,000 frames and counting. And you can look at any of them instantly.

I would go insane if I couldn’t check my digital photos for blown highlights.

Marty

 

[TenEleven]

No offense meant Marty, but how do you arrive at $3 for chemicals per roll. That's some expensive chemicals...

I did the math a while ago and it came up to $0.35 or so per roll for me. A bit more for 120 due to the increase in volume. It also gets cheaper if I do big bulk batches but I can't be arsed - 35 cents really is not the world.

I re-use chemicals and I use the cheap store brand stop and fixer the camera places here have over stuff from Ilford or Kodak. They do the job just fine.

 

[Freakscene]

No offense meant Marty, but how do you arrive at $3 for chemicals per roll. That's some expensive chemicals...

I did the math a while ago and it came up to $0.35 or so per roll for me. A bit more for 120 due to the increase in volume. It also gets cheaper if I do big bulk batches but I can't be arsed - 35 cents really is not the world.

I re-use chemicals and I use the cheap store brand stop and fixer the camera places here have over stuff from Ilford or Kodak. They do the job just fine.

By the time they get here to Australia chemicals are not cheap. A 5L bag of Xtol is $40 here, and rapid fix is ~$30/L. My tap water stinks so I need to buy deionised water or buy and maintain a reverse osmosis unit. It works out to $2-3/roll not counting my time to develop film. It’s still cheap.

 

[Hilmersen]

...... My M10M has taken about 50,000 frames and counting. And you can look at any of them instantly.

I would go insane if I couldn’t check my digital photos for blown highlights.

Marty

As an amateur I would go insane if I had to go through 50 000 photos. But, if I were to take 50 000 photos I wouldn't want to scan/or print them all. I am in a bit of a slump now, but 20 films a year is max of what I do - 100 films a year would be like thinking on how big the universe is. I had a picture a week project a few years back, and found it really hard do take a picture worth keeping every week. T

 

[Freakscene]

As an amateur I would go insane if I had to go through 50 000 photos. But, if I were to take 50 000 photos I wouldn't want to scan/or print them all. I am in a bit of a slump now, but 20 films a year is max of what I do - 100 films a year would be like thinking on how big the universe is. I had a picture a week project a few years back, and found it really hard do take a picture worth keeping every week. T

With a Lightroom archive you never have to go through them all. They are indexed using the normal metadata plus a standardised set of keywords, and it’s all searchable.

 

[Beemermark]

Back to the M11D, I really don't understand why anyone would buy it. I could see it if it was far cheaper than the M11 but it's actually more. So Leica probably saves ~$1000 or more by deleting the screen and convincing people they'll be more "serious" photographers. I have an M9 and the only time I look at the screen is reviewing pictures after I'm done shooting and am not home to upload to my computer.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

I'm not understanding why they would move the ISO from the top left dial as on the M11 to the rear of the camera. Is the idea maybe that with the dial on the back you can adjust the ISO with your right thumb while you are looking through the viewfinder? Seems like that would be pretty awkward.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I had the M-D 262 and absolutely loved it (still scratching my head as to why I sold it). If I had the money I’d either buy it back or save even more pennies and get this.

I’m glad they moved the ISO dial back to where it first was — it is not awkward in the least. With the M-D 262 you could easily rotate it on the fly with your right thumb, so I can’t imagine it would be any different with this one.

As far as non 6-bit lenses go, Leica made specific reference to them with the first M-D. There should be no issue and you can just shoot normally.

I never had an issue with blowing highlights with my M-D. One thing I could do is adjust the meter to -1/3 and all was fine. Can’t imagine it would be any different with the new camera (would likely be even better). I wouldn’t even bother with the smartphone interface while I’m shooting — if the whole point of the camera is to focus on ‘das Wesentliche’ then utilizing a smartphone app seems incompatible to the concept.

To my mind and my experience, if ever there was a digital camera that came closest to a ‘film-like’ experience, this would be it. A CFV back on Hasselblad 500-series camera (or in my case a 1000f) would be a close second.

 

[35photo]

Tri-X is $9/roll just for the film. If you budget for chemistry, it’s $12+/roll. If you value your time, or get someone to develop for you, it’s more. Then there is proofing or printing to make something you can look at. My digital Ms have paid for themselves several times over. My M10M has taken about 50,000 frames and counting. And you can look at any of them instantly.

I would go insane if I couldn’t check my digital photos for blown highlights.

Marty

There is something called....."Bracketing" I never check my photos in the field at all.... If a scene is high contrast pretty easy to take a couple of exposures to make sure I've got it. Gotta be confident in your skills🙂

 

[raid]

Back to the M11D, I really don't understand why anyone would buy it. I could see it if it was far cheaper than the M11 but it's actually more. So Leica probably saves ~$1000 or more by deleting the screen and convincing people they'll be more "serious" photographers. I have an M9 and the only time I look at the screen is reviewing pictures after I'm done shooting and am not home to upload to my computer.

I agree with you.

 

[Freakscene]

There is something called....."Bracketing" I never check my photos in the field at all.... If a scene is high contrast pretty easy to take a couple of exposures to make sure I've got it. Gotta be confident in your skills🙂

I never had to bracket with b&w film - enough exposure and all the tones are there. I have nearly 100,000 rolls in my archive. I am extremely. confident with film. Leica metering and digital - well, I like to check.

 

[CP93]

Part of me wants to think Leica are just taking the pits with this.

 

[Archiver]

Tri-X is $9/roll just for the film. If you budget for chemistry, it’s $12+/roll. If you value your time, or get someone to develop for you, it’s more. Then there is proofing or printing to make something you can look at. My digital Ms have paid for themselves several times over. My M10M has taken about 50,000 frames and counting. And you can look at any of them instantly.

I would go insane if I couldn’t check my digital photos for blown highlights.

Marty

Exactly. When I got my M9, I paid (gulp) $9300 AUD in 2010, which was more than a Canon pro body of that time. But I made the argument that for the same money, I could buy/dev/scan 362 rolls of Fuji XTRA 400, less if buying Portra400, and have far less convenience. Even back then, it would cost about $25 per roll to buy/dev/scan at my local lab, and then only have just under 14,000 exposures.

Owning the M9 over 14 years has cost me $665 dollars per year, and given me 74398 exposures. That's less than I was expecting, but certainly enough to justify owning the camera.

As for the M11D, to be honest I rather like the idea of no screen, and have toyed with the idea of getting a D model over the years. Not sure about spending that kind of money, though.

 

[cboy]

My 2c. It's certainly beautiful camera that many lust for including myself.The appeal to film nostalgia is there to those who want to pay a premium for. But for many including myself it's hard to swallow paying more for less. I understand Leicas marketing exclusivity to their products, but it's too high for my mortal blood. Lol I'll keep my 240 for some time to come, knock on wood.

Pixii might be my alternative in the future

What appealing about the m11d is you can shoot with the app! I'm not sure how laggy will this be. Time will tell but I certainly can see this be used for stealthy (sneaky) street shots. I know there are times one would like to take the shot but does not dare to.

To those lucky of you that will get one I hope the best. Looking forward to seeing the results

 

[Archiver]

What appealing about the m11d is you can shoot with the app! I'm not sure how laggy will this be. Time will tell but I certainly can see this be used for stealthy (sneaky) street shots. I know there are times one would like to take the shot but does not dare to.

Not a bad idea. Put the camera on a table or hang from your side, and make like you're looking at your phone while you're controlling the camera.