Leica NY mentioned this to me like a week ago. But you can get the other variants including the M11 black paint. Some stores started discounting remaining stock. b and H had done so but may have sold them by now.
So Leica finally identified the root cause for the M11 issues (freezing, inverted images, sticky shutter) and determined that no firmware update would be enough to fix it; they need a hardware update. Hence, comes M11.1 for an additional $9,000.
I don't think any of the speculation of games being played by Leica makes any sense. The M11-P is the current M11 variant so it is likely just an inventory and production management driven decision. Nothing more.
Has Leica changed production areas of M11 in the past year? Is it possible it’s only discontinued for a new product code, same M11, primarily due to where it was produced? Maybe has something to do with tariffs Seems strange that M11 is 100% gone just like that
1bwana1 wrote:
I don't think any of the speculation of games being played by Leica makes any sense. The M11-P is the current M11 variant so it is likely just an inventory and production management driven decision. Nothing more.
Nick YR wrote:
Is it to make way for M11-V?
I can't help but wonder if these two ^ are correlated ... and the line is being changed over from one to the other.
Malabito wrote:
So Leica finally identified the root cause for the M11 issues (freezing, inverted images, sticky shutter) and determined that no firmware update would be enough to fix it; they need a hardware update. Hence, comes M11.1 for an additional $9,000.
Even later M11 seemed to have less issues than the earlier ones, IMO the M11 will have its place in Leica camera history as post pandemic model. I believe the M12 will be more in line following the fame of reliable M10 series cameras.
retrofocus wrote:
Even later M11 seemed to have less issues than the earlier ones, IMO the M11 will have its place in Leica camera history as post pandemic model. I believe the M12 will be more in line following the fame of reliable M10 series cameras.
My guess is that the M11 was conceptualized and its hardware and software were developed during the covid period, likely missing the usual in-person collaboration and hands-on testing. From what I understand, even Leica's teams were unable to work at their offices and had to operate from home. This was a new and different situation, and it may have caused them to bypass some of the procedures they had followed in the past. If that's the case, it could explain why the M11 felt like a beta camera for quite some time, though of course this is just speculation on my part.
Fred Miranda wrote:
My guess is that the M11 was conceptualized and its hardware and software were developed during the covid period, likely missing the usual in-person collaboration and hands-on testing. From what I understand, even Leica's teams were unable to work at their offices and had to operate from home. This was a new and different situation, and it may have caused them to bypass some of the procedures they had followed in the past. If that's the case, it could explain why the M11 felt like a beta camera for quite some time, though of course this is just speculation on my part....Show more →
maybe indicating a sooner M12 release?
And if the M11 is dead for those reasons, it would be great if the rumored M11V is actually either (i) a hybrid M12 with both rangefinder and EVF, or (ii) a M12 variant released together with a M12 rangefinder.
brick33308 wrote:
maybe indicating a sooner M12 release?
And if the M11 is dead for those reasons, it would be great if the rumored M11V is actually either (i) a hybrid M12 with both rangefinder and EVF, or (ii) a M12 variant released together with a M12 rangefinder.
Wishful thinking of course
I expect the M12 to be a slightly upgraded M11 with some different menu functionality plus maybe removing the purple color cast of the M11 images but nothing groundbreaking different from the M11. Leica will make sure that whatever is beneficial in the M11-V won't compromise M12 sales. Maybe they add a bit of AI stuff - similar how Leica marketed the M11 by including this copyright thingy in Raw files nobody seems talking about since it is not really practical for most users it seems.
I would love to see a comeback of the bottom metal plate used in M film cameras and in digital ones up to the M10 series. But I am sure this is wishful thinking only on my part. Nothing really essential either regarding this plate, but to me it has the connection to the traditional Leica M film camera series which I like. It saves Leica manufacturing cost by removing this plate - but for $9K they should IMO have kept it.....
Well the M11-V may finally be cleared for landing. I'm enjoying too much the M11-D and will let the upcoming 'V' go thru its teething phase first (hopefully shorter phase than the M11).
Black paint M11 still seems readily available? I am guessing the original M11 variant isn’t selling a ton anymore and the focus is on the black paint, P, D, and upcoming V.
