Steve Spencer
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 p.1 #5 · Now ditching the M11? | |
johnvanr wrote:
I've never made it a secret that I got into Leica M because of the small lenses combined with FF and not so much my love of a rangefinder. I do think rangefinder focusing works well when not using lenses wide open and the lenses lend themselves well to zone focusing, which I use quite a bit on the street.
This morning I tried my M lenses on my M11, my R5 and my Z6III. I found the colors largely the same on these cameras, with the Leica actually producing the least life-like colors (I said life like, I didn't say they didn't look good). In the past week, I also realized that my other FF, MFT and Q2 setups are more versatile in terms of combining zone focusing and auto focus. And I have a Fuji GFX100s if I really need high resolution for landscapes.
The M11 is touted as a small camera, but it's really not. It just misses the grip and the EVF bump of the Canon and Nikon bodies, but the real difference is in lens sizes and a bit of weight. And the MFT kit produces files that are plenty large for printing because for street and the like I don't need to crop much, if at all.
Now, a week ago, I was thinking of selling my Q2M and getting a Q2 or Q3. But now I've come to the conclusion that the Q2M has a particular role to play with its special sensor and high-ISO capabilities, whereas the role of the M11 can be filled by several of my other cameras. Ideally, Nikon releases a Z7III with the MF functions of the Zf and Z6III and the higher resolution, but I think I can live without that for now.
Another factor is the new Fuji X-E5, which is small, uses small lenses and offers 40MP. Previously there was no small camera that wasn't a Sony that offered that kind of resolution in a small package.
As always, the question: am I missing something?...Show more →
I think the only thing you might be missing is that Leica is rumored to be making an EVF version of the M11 and it may be announced very soon. You might like that camera quite a bit more and it will likely work better with Leica M lenses than anything else available. It won't have AF, however.
Have you used the techArt pro AF adapter? You could also consider going with a Kolari thin modified Sony or Nikon and that adapter to allow you to use Leica M mount lenses with AF if you want and MF when you want. With Sony you could use a really small A7rC and with Nikon you could use the nicely designed ZF or with a Z7 III if Nikon ever makes that camera.
IMO, the primary reason to have a Leica M is because of the rangefinder. I really like the rangefinder for 28, 35, & 50mm lenses, but I find the system a lot less useful for longer or shorter focal lengths. I also agree that the M11 is really not a small camera. It is on the small side, but you can get much smaller camera either by using a smaller sensor or going with a Sony A7C series camera. The Leica M lenses are very small for FF lenses, but they also have compromises that come with that size. They tend to have strong vignetting. They tend to have short focus throws. And until recently they tended to have long MFDs. I think those compromises make sense on a Leica M camera, but I am less sure they make sense on other systems.
I sold my Leica M10 and the lenses I used on it about a year ago. I miss it at times and might get a Leica M again in the future, but I am happy with what I am currently using instead. For much of my shooting, I used Voigtlander lens on my Sony A7r V. It has a nice big EVF and the same sensor as the M11. I find I like shooting my 21 f/1.4 a lot more on this camera than on the Leica M. I also like shooting the Voigtlander 75 f/1.5 a lot better on this camera. In between with my Voigtlander 28 f/1.5 and 50 f/2 APO and 50 f/1.2 I prefer shooting with the Leica M, but not as much as I prefer the Sony for wider and longer. I am also looking forward to adding the Zeiss Otus 50mm within the next couple of years as I think I will really like using that lens on the Sony and I am hopeful that Cosina will make their new 28 APO Lanthar in Sony E mount and I can shoot that as well. So, although I miss the rangefinder I am not sure I won't overall be happier with the Sony.
On the size front, I am putting together a Fuji X mount kit that I think will both be smaller than an Leica M mount system and have lenses that I really like. I will be adding three of the Voigtlander X mount lenses and pairing those with the wonderfully small Sigma 10-18 f/2.8 ultra wide zoom. The compromise is obviously the smaller sensor, but I think the other compromises are all relatively minor and I save about 600g compared to my final Leica M kit and I plan to use the XT-5 with that kit for the better EVF. I could save even more weight if I went with the X-E5 and as you say Fuji X can now provide 40 MP resolution which really isn't too bad.
So like you are considering I moved away from a Leica M camera. I can't say I have zero regrets, but those regrets are mainly about missing the rangefinder, which you don't like. I have also gained a number of things that I like about the switch. It sounds to me like you wouldn't miss much if you switched but if you did it would be the lenses, so I would encourage you to think about which lenses you would miss and if you could find a way to use them on one of your other systems or if you want to wait to switch to see if you like the EVF version of the M11, as you can be pretty sure you could use those lenses on that camera.
Edited on Aug 29, 2025 at 06:27 AM · View previous versions
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