Leica M11 digital camera review 2022

Leica M11 digital camera

Leica M11 digital camera is really a digital Maxwin Slot rangefinder camera built around a 60MP BSI CMOS sensor. It is the latest in Leica’s ‘M’ number of rangefinders that goes back to the M3 from 1954. With this particular unrivaled depth of heritage behind it, it’s no wonder that the M11 looks nearly the same as its predecessors.

Regardless of the visual similarities, there are lots that are altered within the latest model, having a more refined body design in addition to brand-new internals.

Leica M11 Digital Camera Key Specifications

Leica M11 digital camera

  • 60MP BSI CMOS sensor with dual gain design
  • Multi-field (matrix) light metering
  • ISO 64 – 50,000
  • Three Raw resolution options (60MP, 36MP, 18MP)
  • SD card accessible from battery compartment (no removable base plate)
  • 64Gb of internal memory
  • Exposures up to 1 hour, e-shutter down to 1/16,000 sec
  • Live view stabilization (digital shake correction of preview image)
  • Compatible with Visoflex II 3.68M-dot tilting accessory EVF

The M11 is going to be obtainable in two forms: a vintage silver version with a black leatherette band around the center along with a brass top plate, along with a black version that utilizes aluminum rather, which makes it around 100g lighter. The suggested retail cost for colors is $8995.

Leica M11 Digital Camera 60MP BSI sensor

Leica M11 digital camera is made around a 60MP BSI CMOS sensor. This can be a considerable jump in the 24MP from the M10 and also the 40MP from the M10-R. Critically, though, it is also moving to some back-side illuminated pixel structure.

BSI sensors place the light-sensitive area of the pixel nearer to the leading from the nick. In small chips it has a noise benefit by shifting the wiring taken care of and creating a bigger proportion of every pixel light-sensitive, however in sensors with relatively large pixels, the higher benefit stem more from the truth that the sunshine-sensitive region reaches the front top of the nick, instead of being set lower into the pixel just a little. This is particularly essential for pixels close to the edges and corners of the sensor, where the light will probably approach from more and more shallow angles, which makes it hard to advise the light lower into the pixel.

These rentals are particularly valuable for systems like the M mount, with a very short flange-back distance, meaning lenses mount not far from the sensor, which offers compatibility with lenses which were made with film, where this wasn’t this type of concern.

Two-layer filter stack

The M11’s sensor also includes a very thin, glued two-layer filter before its sensor, as opposed to the traditional IR filter and protective glass, again motivated by the necessity to accept light coming at really shallow angles.

Thick cover glass causes it to be much more likely these shallow-position light sun rays will reflect, instead of passing with the glass towards the sensor. Also, the precision from the IR filtering is reduced for shallow-position light, resulting in some visible light being lost.

For that M11, Leica has cemented a really thin, very specific IR filter layer to some very thin Ultraviolet filter layer. It claims the thinness ensures more light reaches the best pixels, improving corner sharpness, which the corner pixels experience very precise IR and Ultraviolet cut-offs, allowing using R, G, B filter dyes that capture the entire spectrum of visible light, delivering greater color precisely.

Multi-field metering

The M11 does its exposure metering by having its primary imaging sensor, instead of getting another light meter calculating light reflecting from the shutter blades. This enables it is the very first M-series camera to provide ‘multi-field’ (matrix) scene metering.

Adjustable resolution

The Leica M11 digital camera also enables you to definitely shoot both Raw and JPEG files at a range of three resolutions: 60MP (L), 36MP (M), and 18MP (S). These reduced file sizes are produced by getting initially sampled all of the sensor’s pixels, which provides them a noise benefit and reduced chance of more when compared with line-skipping or sub-sampling the sensor in some manner.

The noise benefit which comes from downscaling implies that Leica quotes the dynamic selection of the M and S files to be one-stop greater compared to 14-stop decipher it gives for 60MP mode (the greatest associated with an M up to now, the organization states). Users can choose JPEG and Raw resolutions individually from each other.

We are told the sensor isn’t Quad Bayer, as well as other layouts particularly created for pixel binning.

Cropped modes

The M11 also uses its 60MP resolution to provide two popped modes: a 39MP model that provides single.3x crop as well as an 18MP mode that gives single.8x crop. Unlike the downsized full-sensor modes, these crops affect both Raw and JPEG. That stated the crop is just a metadata tag within the Raw file, so could be over-ridden while you edit: the entire sensor information is always available.

Live view stabilization

A newcomer to the Leica M11 digital camera is really a stabilized live view magnified mode, that makes it simpler to fine-focus close-up subjects. The stabilization is digital, showing a window from the sensor’s view after which moving it to fix for just about any camera motion. This want to use a popped-in region means it is just employed for the preview: there is no correction put on the ultimate image.

How Leica M11 Compares To The Other Series?

There’s hardly any point in evaluating a Leica M: a handbook focuses on the digital rangefinder to other things because they only need to pick one that happens because you would like the Leica name, the rangefinder experience, or perhaps a combination thereof. However, you will find multiple (much the same searching) models within the M range at any time. The present options range from the M1-R and M10-P

Leica M11 Leica M10-R Leica M10-P Leica M10
Launch date Jan 2022 Jul 2020 Aug 2018 Jan 2017
MSRP at launch $8995 $8300 $7995 $6600
Current list price $8995 $8995 $7795 $7995
Sensor 60MP BSI CMOS 41 CMOS 24 CMOS 24 CMOS
ISO range 64 – 50,000 100 – 50,000 100 – 50,000 100 – 50,000
Max rate 4.5 fps 4.5 fps 5 fps 5 fps
Shutter speed range 3600 – 1/4000
(E-shutter to 1/16000)
960 – 1/4000 sec 8 – 1/4000 sec 8 – 1/4000 sec
Rear LCD 2.33M dots 1.04M dots 1.04M dots 1.04M dots
Touchscreen Yes Yes Yes No
Color options Silver (Brass)
Black (Aluminium)
Silver
Black
Black (no dot)
Silver (no dot)
Black (no dot)
Silver
Black
Top-plate script? No Yes (black paint / no dot version) Yes No

Additionally to those four models additionally, there is the M Monochrom, a variant from the M10-R without any color filter array before its sensor, passing on the basics ISO of 160.

What’s noticeable may be the degree that which the launch prices for every model have crept up in accordance with the preceding one, cheap their email list prices are also elevated since each premiered. Leica stated thing about this was due to the strength of the American dollar, in accordance with the Euro, however, with luxury goods, exclusivity belongs to the marketing proposition just play daftar ceme you’ll gain some easy money. The Leica M11 digital camera launches for a similar cost because the M10-R, but provides more in each and every respect.