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Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Testing the Leica M11-D has made me a better photographer — and you won't guess the reason why
I have the pleasure (and privilege) of testing the best cameras at Tom's Guide and putting them through their paces. It isn't often that a camera lands on my desk and I'm immediately struck by its design and features — but the Leica M11-D is one such camera. I spent two weeks testing it and boy did it test my patience and my skills as a photographer! And at the end of the testing period, I came out a better photographer. Why, you ask? Because the M11-D forces you to trust your instincts. It kicks it old-school-style by doing away with modern touchscreens and autofocus. And there's no highly detailed optical or electronic viewfinder either. The M11-D is a rangefinder camera, which means you need to align two images to get the perfect shot. The Leica M11-D is unlike most other cameras. Its screen-less design hopes to eliminate distractions and lets you live in the moment. While its rangefinder presents a learning curve, it offers pin-point, precise focusing. The 60MP images it captures burst with life and character, and the camera provides a few color profiles users can play with. Of course, you're paying a premium for the M11-D — $10,555 / £8,100 to be precise. So what makes this camera so expensive? The red dot, for starters, but it's packed with other goodies that set it a class apart from the likes of Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, etc. The M11-D has improved my capabilities as a photographer, and now, allow me to show you how and why. Like I said before, the Leica M11-D is a rangefinder camera, so what does that mean? I explain it in detail in my review but in a nutshell: instead of the viewfinder showing an image that has come through the lens, the rangefinder shows an image that has come through the optical viewfinder window itself. A tiny second window on the front of the camera projects another smaller image (the 'focusing patch') into the viewfinder. To focus, align both images to capture a sharp, in-focus image. This takes some trial and error but the resulting images are ridiculously sharp, and the camera lets you extremely precisely focus on your primary subject, as you can see in the gallery above. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The first photo of the swan and ducks is one of the best I've ever taken — the precise focus makes the swan pop and, if I do say so myself, the composition is beautiful. The other images speak for themselves. You also have 60.3MP at your disposal, and the Leica Maestro III processor at work. When these two work together, the M11-D produces razor-sharp images that ooze finesse and, in a way, luxury. You know how when you use a film camera, you can't see the photos until you get them developed? The Leica M11-D is somewhat like that. It hopes to deliver an analog shooting experience thanks to its screen-less design. You can't view the photos on the camera after you've taken them — you must use either the Leica FOTOS smartphone app or plug the M11-D into a laptop. This means that if you don't check your phone right after you've taken a shot, you may miss the opportunity to take it again. And I think that's a big selling point of this camera. It negates any distractions, leaving just you, the camera and your subject in the moment. After using the camera for a while, I started leaning on my instincts more, and I made more of an effort to get the perfect shot. Because you need to take your time to frame a shot, the M11-D is best-suited to street, architecture and portrait photography, and its 4.5fps mechanical shutter is just speedy enough for slow photography. I managed to take some lovely photos of slow-moving swans and ducks but I wouldn't recommend using it to photograph birds in flight or skittish animals. I've thoroughly enjoyed using the M11-D. In a fast-paced world where we're always striving for the perfect shot for quick-sharing to social media, it's made me slow down. It's made me assess my surroundings, gauge where the best light is coming from and what the right angle is. Every shot in this article and my review was meticulously thought-out and composed. I was never in a rush to finish testing the M11-D, or put it back in my bag. I wanted to keep taking more and more photos, even when it started raining cats and dogs. This is a beautiful camera that, I think, everyone should try at least once.
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I captured some of my best photos ever with the screenless Leica M11-D — and it's a force to be reckoned with
In the photography industry, the name 'Leica' is synonymous with luxury and best-in-class image quality. It's also synonymous with 'that's an expensive camera.' The Leica M11-D is no different. This rangefinder exudes luxury and finesse, and it's for those who want an analog shooting experience. With manual focusing and a 60MP sensor, the M11-D captures stunning photos bursting with character. One of its standout features is its screen-less design which lets you be in the moment when out and about shooting. Although it presents a learning curve thanks to the rangefinder and absence of autofocus, it's well-worth investing time into learning the ropes as, like I said, the resulting images are gorgeous. I do, however, wish the M11-D wasn't so reliant on its companion app. Should you buy the M11-D? Yes, if you can afford it as it's one of the best cameras around. Read my full Leica M11-D review to find out more. Specs Leica M11-D Price $9,799 / £8,100 Sensor 60.3MP BSI CMOS Processor Leica Maestro III Stabilization No AF system No, rangefinder only Focus modes Manual Viewfinder Bright-line rangefinder with automatic parallax compensation Display No ISO range 64-50,000 Internal storage Yes, 256GB Ports USB-C, 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I/UHS-II Wireless/Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Max shooting speed 4.5fps (electronic) | 3fps (mechanical) Max shutter speed 60min to 1/4,000s (mechanical) | 60s to 1/16,000s (electronic) Battery life (Stills, CIPA) 700 shots Size 5.47 x 3.14 x 1.51 inches Weight 1.18lbs If you're familiar with Leica, you'll know that these cameras don't come cheap, and the Leica M11-D is no different. This camera retails for a whopping $9,799 / £8,100 for just the body. It's compatible with Leica's vast array of M-mount lenses. I tested the Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH lens which costs $6,415 / £4,798. Realistically, you're looking at an expenditure of at least $15,000 / £13,000 or upwards — unless you settle for third-party lenses. In terms of price, the M11-D is priced similarly to the Hasselblad X2D 100C ($8,199), the Hasselblad 907X + CFV 100C ($8,199), and the Fujifilm GFX100 II ($7,499). But in terms of specs, it finds itself competing with cheaper cameras, such as the Fujifilm X100VI ($1,599) or the Sigma BF ($1,999). But the M11-D is unlike any of these cameras because of one thing: its screen-less design, and the fact that it uses a rangefinder instead of an OVF/EVF. So yes, the M11-D is in a league of its own because of how unique it is. The Leica M11-D is a beautiful camera. I was enamored by it as soon as I saw it. It's part of the M11 family and sits alongside the Leica M11-P ($9,840) and the Leica M11 Monochrom ($10,160), and all three share similar design philosophies. Sporting an all-black design, most of the M11-D's body is covered in a leather-like material which gives it a premium edge, and also helps you grip it better. The M-11D measures 5.47 x 3.14 x 1.51 inches which makes it slightly bigger than the Fujifilm GFX100RF ($4,899) and the Hasselblad 907X + CFV 100C, but it's more compact than the Hasselblad X2D 100C. It has a good weight to it too, weighing 1.18lbs so I didn't find it too heavy to carry around my neck for long periods of time. Despite it not having a protruding/sculpted grip, the M11-D handles excellently, with either one or both hands. The M11-D is a stripped back camera which means you won't find many ports on it. A USB-C port is located on the bottom plate, and this can be used for charging the camera as well as data transfer. A silver release lever is located between the USB-C port and battery compartment. Pushing it ejects the battery and reveals the SD card port. The M11-D uses one SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I/UHS-II card. It doesn't support CFExpress cards, but since this camera isn't meant for high-speed wildlife or sports photography, that isn't an issue. The M11-D also has 256GB of internal storage in case you run out of space on your SD card. In comparison, the Sigma BF has 230GB of internal storage. You can also write to internal storage simultaneously (after adjusting settings in the app), which means you'll have a backup copy of your photos in case your SD card goes kaput. Unlike most cameras which sport either an EVF or OVF, the M11-D utilizes a rangefinder located on the camera's left-hand side. If you're more accustomed to shooting on the best mirrorless cameras or the best DSLRs, this may pose a slight learning curve. Basically, instead of the viewfinder showing an image that has come through the lens, it shows an image that has come through the optical viewfinder window itself. A tiny second window on the front of the camera projects another smaller image (the 'focusing patch') into the viewfinder. To focus, you need to align both images — both need to be congruently superimposed to capture a sharp, in-focus image. This takes some trial and error. I spent the better part of a day reading about this and watching tutorial videos and once I'd done that, I was shooting with confidence. While this may seem like a handicap at first, I believe it has made me a better photographer. Firstly, resulting images are extremely sharp (as you'll soon see) as the lens sits closer to the film plane in a rangefinder. A rangefinder also offers far more precise focusing and you can choose the exact frame you want to focus on. Unlike most other cameras, the M11-D doesn't have a monitor which means you can't preview your images right after you've shot them, but you can use the Leica FOTOS app (more on that soon) to go through your gallery. Leica doesn't specify whether the M11-D is weather-sealed, so I can't recommend using it in heavy rain or very dusty conditions. I was, however, treated to sudden yet light rain when I was out testing the camera, and the M11-D was unscathed — but take this with a grain of salt. As someone who's used to shooting on bigger cameras with multiple, complicated dials and buttons, I really appreciate the Leica M11-D's straightforward control scheme. The buttons and dials are all within easy reach, and they're highly responsive. One of the M11-D's standout buttons is a circular button located next to the power/shutter button which lets you cycle through different information displayed on the optical rangefinder, which I found easy to use and read. There's no autofocus in play here as the M11-D offers a manual shooting experience, so you'll be using the protruding handle on the lens to turn the focus ring to focus on your subject. This presents an initial challenge as focusing can be hit-or-miss but I found it easy to get the hang of. You'll notice the obvious lack of a monitor/touchscreen on the camera's back panel. Instead, there's a big ISO dial located bang in the center. It's free-flowing enough to rotate but it's sturdy enough that it doesn't get knocked about accidentally while shooting. I didn't struggle with adjusting the M11-D's exposure time, ISO and exposure compensation value settings either. The thumbwheel located in the back panel's top-right corner is, again, within easy reach. I could quickly press it to swap between the settings and then turn it to change that value. Overall, the M11-D is a joy to use thanks to its stripped-back controls. The Leica M11-D doesn't feature in-body image stabilization (IBIS) — this moves the shutter to compensate for movement and steady shots taken at slower shutter speeds. I was able to shoot at shutter speeds as slow as 1/5s (first photo above). Any slower than that and images came out blurry, impacted by camera shake (second photo above). The Leica M11-D takes stunning photos with a film-like aesthetic which, as a film photographer, I absolutely adore. Each image packs in lots and lots of detail thanks to the 60.3MP BSI CMOS sensor and Leica Maestro III processor. You can see sample images in the gallery above which were shot in the standard and monochrome color profiles. In terms of shooting rates, the M11-D utilizes a 4.5fps electronic or 3fps mechanical shutter so it's by no means a camera intended for wildlife or sports photography. It's best suited to street and architecture photography where you're shooting (mostly) stationary subjects. The electronic shutter can shoot at speeds of 60s to 1/16,000s, while the mechanical shutter can shoot at 60min to 1/4,000s. The 60.3MP sensor means the M11-D can capture images for large format printing. Having 60 megapixels at your disposal also means you can crop right into an image and still retain a lot of detail, as can be seen in the gallery above, which shows original images followed by crops. In both extreme crops, lots of detail is present. The photo of the wood pigeon is my favorite. It was taken through my living room window. You can clearly see the different colors in its neck and kinks in its feathers. The spikes atop the lamppost in the second set are distinguishable too. As I mentioned up top, the M11-D's rangefinder lets you very precisely focus on your primary subject, as you can see in the gallery above. In the first photo, I was able to quickly focus on the swan and the resulting image speaks for itself. I love how the ducks in the foreground and the water in the background are out of focus. I also played with the Leica FOTOS app to take some self-portraits. The app shows you a live preview of what the M11-D is seeing, so I turned the focus ring accordingly until I was in focus. I'm usually not a fan of seeing myself in photos (which is why I'm usually the person behind the camera) but I really like the two photos above. The high-contrast monochrome color profile has also added a dramatic flair to the shots. I think I might like it just as much as Fujifilm's Acros film recipe. After doing my real-world testing, I put the M11-D through an indoors ISO test. The camera has a native ISO range of 64-50,000. The M11-D captures DNG photos alongside JPEGs. DNG files are generally 15-20% smaller than RAW files but differences aren't very noticeable. At ISO6,400, the camera performs as you'd expect, so let's talk about high sensitivities. Both images in the gallery above were shot at ISO12,800 — the first is a JPEG export of the DNG file while the second is the straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) JPEG. The M11-D's internal noise reduction technology has reduced some of the grain but it's still noticeable in the bobblehead's chin and the table. There's also a slight loss in the sharpness, but I don't think it ruins the image — it's still usable. Things get considerably noisier at ISO25,000, as you can see above. The camera has managed to reduce noise in the SOOC JPEG (second slide) but it's still highly prevalent and the bobblehead's features look softer from noise smoothing. It's a similar story when shooting at ISO32,000 and ISO50,000, and I'd recommend shooting at those settings as a last resort only. To its credit, the M11-D boasts excellent dynamic range performance too, offering up to 15-stops. I conducted an extreme DR test indoors with the camera set to ISO64 (base native), and it showed the M11-D's prowess. The first shot is a JPEG export of the DNG file, unedited, while the second is the same photo but with shadows and exposure boosted but highlights reduced in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. As you can see in the second slide, a lot of detail has been retained in the shadows and there isn't any noticeable loss in quality. The highlights don't appear blown out either. The Leica FOTOS app is available for free on iOS and Android smartphones. Since the Leica M11-D doesn't have a monitor, this is where you can view your photos when on the move and away from a computer. The app is easy to use thanks to its intuitive interface. Here, you can remotely trigger the shutter, set a 2s-12s self-timer, update the camera's firmware, and edit settings such as lowest ISO, file formats, etc. But one of the downsides of the Leica M11-D is that it relies on its companion app. Not only do you need to use the app to view images, but you also need it to swap between color profiles. As someone who likes alternating between monochrome and color, I found this frustrating. However, the intention here is that you set one color profile per shoot and then just shoot with that, and not fiddle with the app to change settings for a purely analog experience. Although it eventually became second nature, I would have much preferred to do this via camera settings itself. A combination of using the function button and thumbwheel would quickly resolve this issue. The Leica M11-D utilizes a rechargeable 1,800mAh Lithium-ion battery. It's CIPA-rated for 700 shots, and up to 1,700 shots when using the 'Leica adapted shooting cycle.' Digging deeper into the latter revealed that this is the brand's testing method which takes into account typical shooting habits. CIPA testing is done under strict conditions, but Leica's testing method sounds more realistic. In my testing, a single charge lasted me nearly 1,200 shots when shooting DNG + JPEG indoors and outdoors. While it's lower than Leica's number and considerably higher, it's still phenomenal. Again, as the M11-D doesn't have any real competitors, it would be unfair to pit it against other cameras I've mentioned in this review. But just for reference, the Hasselblad X2D 100C yields 200 shots on a single charge, the Hasselblad 907X + CFV 100C is CIPA-rated for 420 stills, the Fujifilm X100VI is CIPA-rated for 450, and the Sigma BF is CIPA-rated for just 260. The M11-D, then, blows all these cameras out of the water. That's also because this isn't a power-hungry camera — the absence of a screen and an autofocus system contributes to this. I can't say this enough: the Leica M11-D is a class apart. It's unlike any other camera I've tested (so far). The 60MP images are sharp and highly detailed, perfect for extreme cropping, and the monochrome color profiles are beautiful. I especially enjoyed mastering using the rangefinder and not relying on autofocus for a change. The rangefinder lets you precisely focus on subjects. While the camera relies on its companion app for viewing images and swapping between color profiles, the app itself is easy to use and highly responsive. The long, long battery life is the cherry on top of a very delicious cake. The elephant in the room is, of course, the M11-D's price tag. If you can afford it, then you shouldn't second-guess buying the camera. It offers a unique shooting experience that lets you live in the moment, thanks to the screen-less design. I've tested a lot of cameras but rarely have I ever thought, 'there's magic in these photos.' And that's precisely what the M11-D captures.
