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Leica M11 reliability

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Leica M11 reliability

I have personally tested a couple of M11 cameras a few months after it was released, and I experienced random freezing issues with both of them. These issues were frustrating and made the cameras unreliable. As a result, I decided to sell the bodies and wait for Leica to address these problems and improve the firmware before trying the M11 again.

I'm curious to hear from those who have experience with the Leica M11 - have the random freezing issues been resolved through firmware updates, or are they still present? Overall, do you find the M11 to be as reliable as the M10 series?

May 05, 2023 at 06:33 PM

Kasper6188
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Leica M11 reliability

I bought my m11 2 firmware updates ago and had random freezing frequently. After this latest update, my camera hasn't locked up at all.

May 05, 2023 at 06:58 PM

RustyRus
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Leica M11 reliability

Fred,

Since the firmware release of 1.6.1, mine has been 100% stable and rock solid. All of the software bugs that were present pre-1.6.1 are gone. I had some freezing pre 1.6.1

I have been part of major cyber security dev cycles in the past concerning new hardware and it usually takes 3 or 4 major software releases before the new code/hardware platform is relatively bug free.

Same experience with the M11m as well. I started on 1.6.1 and its been rock solid performance just like the M11. I would jump back in with confidence if that is what you are looking to do.

Rusty

May 05, 2023 at 07:00 PM

1bwana1
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Leica M11 reliability

Fred,

As you know, I was as concerned as you about the reported reliability issues. So much so that I have kept my M10-P so far as a backup.

I have now had my M11 since March 14th. I have shot multiple images every day these last almost two Months. I know that is not a long time, but each day the camera is turned off and on multiple times, and I have taken hundreds of images with it. I have 3 VM lenses (all with my DIY 6-bit encoding on them), and two leica lenses (one with factory 6-Bit encoding, and one with no coding). So far the M11 has performed flawlessly. It does have the latest 1.6.1 firmware installed.

My other big worry was 60 mp with no IBIS. Even with my problems with essential tremors (controlled mostly with drugs), I am not having more issues than I did with my M10-P.

I am very pleased with my M11. It is a valuable upgrade in so many ways. I think I now have enough confidence to go ahead and sell the M10-P.

Steve

Edited on May 06, 2023 at 11:28 AM · View previous versions

May 05, 2023 at 07:04 PM

mrjoeltan
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Leica M11 reliability

Fred,

I've had my M11 since... August I believe? I do not have any experience with the M10, but since August, it has frozen only once and I believe that was shortly after I got it... Other than that one time, it has been 100% reliable for me. I shoot at least 100-150 shots every weekend, and more throughout the week if I have the time and weather is forgiving.

I know the type of SD card being used came up as a possible reason for the freezing - I am using a Sony Tough M. I do recall you having the M11, and that is unfortunate that you ended up selling the bodies due to it being unreliable for you, but for me it has been a dream to use the entire time I have had it and I could not be happier.

May 05, 2023 at 08:56 PM

mark1958
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Leica M11 reliability

I have had mine for almost two months now and no freezing or other problems. A couple of. times early on-- I thought it was freezing but until I was used to the RF -- I sometimes framed a shot and took a picture without realizing the lens cap was still on

May 05, 2023 at 09:11 PM

highdesertmesa
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Leica M11 reliability

Even with the newest firmware there is still a subset of us having freezes, mostly at startup, but some people having them during operation. Leica has zero clue how to fix this because the freezes are not repeatable nor are they seemingly tied to any combination of settings, lenses, etc. I'm convinced some units just have bad hardware and are intermittently distributed throughout production. I have had three M11s since Aug 2022, two of them this year. They all had random freezes on startup.

Vendors like Popflash have moved from no-questions-asked replacements to saying, "Well, we have to send it back to Leica, and they have to confirm the problem." But the problem is intermittent, as in you have to use it constantly for a day or two to experience a freeze; so, there is little hope Leica would able to confirm the freezing issue with any given unit. Further, a few weeks ago, Leica Miami outright refused to purchase my like-new M11 even though they only had one other used M11 in stock (a silver and mine was black). It's possible they don't want to take my trade since I don't buy from them exclusively, but also likely they don't want to get a lemon and have to deal with it being returned by the next buyer.

The M11-P has got to be very close to being announced, probably with 256gb internal memory like the M11M. I'd wait for that. I have not heard of any M11M freezing issues yet, so that bodes well for the M11-P.

May 05, 2023 at 09:16 PM

Kasper6188
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Leica M11 reliability

highdesertmesa wrote:
Even with the newest firmware there is still a subset of us having freezes, mostly at startup, but some people having them during operation. Leica has zero clue how to fix this because the freezes are not repeatable nor are they seemingly tied to any combination of settings, lenses, etc. I'm convinced some units just have bad hardware and are intermittently distributed throughout production. I have had three M11s since Aug 2022, two of them this year. They all had random freezes on startup.

Vendors like Popflash have moved from no-questions-asked replacements to saying, "Well, we have to send it back...Show more →

I've had a few on an m11m already. Pretty crappy freeze too, locked up while falling asleep so I didn't even notice. First time I came back to an exhausted battery. 2nd time I saw it happen on the desk, heard the click to hit standby and the orange light just stayed on. I had a slow sd card in the camera when it happened both times. I removed that and am shooting on internal storage for now to see if I can replicate the lockup.

May 05, 2023 at 09:53 PM

itai195
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Leica M11 reliability

I have still seen a couple freezes on mine with the latest firmware. I didn’t have an M11 long enough with previous firmware to say how it compares. That said, I haven’t seen enough stability issues for it to seriously detract from my use.

May 05, 2023 at 09:54 PM

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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Leica M11 reliability

My M11-M froze today for the first time (latest firmware), my total shutter count before this first freeze was 1170. So far it's been the only freeze I have encountered and it just took a few seconds to get it back up and running. I was using a visoflex 2, which I just received today and the battery was pretty low - might be a contributing factor, but who knows at this point. I shot 8 hours straight a couple weekends ago and had no issues. I have had freezes on most my mirrorless cameras here and there through the years, so if this is infrequent it won't bother me. But, only time will tell.

May 05, 2023 at 10:07 PM

hmzimelka
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Leica M11 reliability

I've had one small hiccup since firmware 1.6.1 on my M11, but it's been very smooth sailing since that update.
I'm at roughly 4000 actuations with firmware 1.6.1 and around 17 000 actuations since new, March 2022 with my current M11, using coded Leica, uncoded Leica, coded Voigtlander and uncoded Voigtlander lenses.

My biggest issue is at times that the larger contact plates in the hot shoe get either slightly dirty or oxidised and then the Visoflex doesn't work. But that takes a few seconds to clean.

May 06, 2023 at 12:12 AM

Paul.S
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Leica M11 reliability

I've had mine since release so I've had my fair share of issue's but can only recall maybe half dozen total freezes. I don't like to comment much because its my first Leica and I only have forums as a reference.
Since the latest update the only issue I've HAD (thanks to highdesertmesa) was putting the evf on/off with the camera on, I don't do that anymore.
60mp is still had without ibis but I really enjoy it's versatility beyond what most consider a street shooter.

May 06, 2023 at 02:56 AM

pmeheut
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Leica M11 reliability

I got one freeze with 1.6.1 and that's all. No more overexposure problems.
And no other problem.

May 06, 2023 at 02:59 AM

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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Leica M11 reliability

I’ve had exactly one freeze since release day. I don’t know what I’m doing different that I’m not having issues, except I set review to *on hold* after that was reported.

Gordon

May 06, 2023 at 04:34 AM

lifeandmylens
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Leica M11 reliability

I sold both my m11's months ago. So maybe it’s improved now. Only had one freeze on on one of them. Battery pull was all that would fix it. I use Sandisk v90 cards.

For me it was the overexposure problem. It rendered auto ISO or shutter untrustworthy. If I took consecutive shots, the second or third one was almost always completely overexposed. Don't get me started on the magenta.

May 06, 2023 at 05:19 AM

prh5551
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Leica M11 reliability

Diglloyd is currently reviewing the M11 Monochrome. He has experienced white and black pixels. He is also comparing it to the Sony A7RV.

May 06, 2023 at 06:13 AM

jigesh
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Leica M11 reliability

No prior experience with any M-bodies. I am not a pro/heavy user, but zero freezes/issues in one-and-a-half month of ownership thus far with my silver M11 (firmware v1.6.1).

I don't use internal memory and use 128GB Sandisk Expreme Pro V90 300Mpbs SD card. I have only one lens, 50mm summilux.

Reports of freezes have greatly reduced in my reading on the Internet though I read of two cases in last month from pro/heavy users with 1000+ shots in shoots had shutter not opening issues.

Some folks have reported freezes with uncoded lenses (and a few with coded lenses).

May 06, 2023 at 06:20 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Leica M11 reliability

Appreciate the input. It appears that Leica has been progressively enhancing the reliability of their firmware with each update, and version 1.6.1 has had a significant impact. Nonetheless, some photographers are still encountering occasional lock-ups. At least we don't hear about as many incidents of cameras being DOA as we used to.

It is my hope that they have identified any potential hardware defects and that the M11M has already been modified to address these issues. I'm wondering what the upcoming M11-P will bring to the table.

May 06, 2023 at 10:48 AM

Desmolicious
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Leica M11 reliability

Any reports of the M11 scratching film? Oh wait, wrong thread.

May 06, 2023 at 10:56 AM

highdesertmesa
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Leica M11 reliability

Desmolicious wrote:
Any reports of the M11 scratching film? Oh wait, wrong thread.

M11 was scratching your film because it was jealous of your M6

May 06, 2023 at 11:01 AM

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