GEAR TALK - 7 Annoying Things About the Leica M11

The 7 annoying things are not 'deal breakers', nor do they 'brick' the camera. But they do make things harder than need be and limit how I use the Leica M11. These grievances have been raised to Leica customer support and regional reps, in some cases multiple times. I have received no feedback from Leica indicating that any of this will be resolved. I remain hopeful that future firmware updates will address what can be resolved via firmware. So, lets get started -

1. SHUTTER

As mentioned in the Leica M11 First Impressions, the Leica M11 cycles the shutter two times for each image because the imaging sensor is 'always on', so it has to close the shutter, then open-close the shutter for normal picture taking process, and then finally re-open the shutter to resume the 'always on' sensor functionality.

The downsides of this new behavior are an overall longer shutter sequence, added tactile sensations due to the repeated openings and closings, and simply wondering where in this process the picture was actually captured. It is very un-M-like. Sadly, there is no fix to this, so the solution is to either get used to it, or move on to something else.

2. EVF SHARPNESS

Simply put, the presented view in the new 3.69M dot Leica Visoflex 2 is not as sharp as the outgoing 2.36M dot Leica Visoflex 020. Perhaps Leica is using line-skipping to boost refresh rates, or maybe it is the EVF stabilizing tech not working well / right when on a tripod. Whatever the case may be, the Visoflex 020 gives me a sharper 100% view.

I really notice the difference with lenses like the Leica 180mm F2 Summicron-R APO because my out-of-focus rate has gone up with the Leica M11 relative to the M10-M and M10-R. I have no idea if there is way to improve the situation, and I had much the same experience with the Leica SL-2 a couple years ago. Whereas my Sony A7rIVa and Fuji GFX 100 were nice and sharp like the Leica Visoflex 020.

3. FILE NAMING AND NUMBERING

Leica has reverted to a single (user defined) character prefix instead of the 4-character user defined prefix. Four characters worked great and it was something that Leica had used for around 8-9 years. I have multiple Leica's and multiple computers, so making sure I do not duplicate file names is a big deal.

Things get really buggered-up with Leica's new internal memory. If taking a picture sans memory card, the camera picks up on some other numbering index value (presumably from the Leica M11's internal 64 GB memory), reverting to that counter value, which in turns carries over the SDHC card when I put one back in.

My file numbering with the Leica M11 is a jumbled mess... This topic deserves its own dedicated post because it causing me a bunch of grief.

4. INFO BUTTON

Pressing the center button on the direction pad should bring up the info screen (per the Leica M11 user manual), but nothing happens. Instead we have to press the Menu button. That would be okay, but if wanting to get to the Menu tree, this adds an extra press - which does not need to be there - before accessing the menu tree. I did get response from Leica on this one - "yes, it is a bug, we know." But two firmware updates later and it still is not fixed.

5. LEFT SIDE BUTTON ORDER

Why change the order of the 3 left side buttons? I use the Leica M10-M and Leica M11, and I am now forever pressing the wrong button for play and live view because they are flip-flopped on the Leica M11 relative to the M10's. C'mon beta testers... seriously...?...

6. BRACKET MODE

This issue is an oldie and not unique to the Leica M11. The drive options are mutually exclusive, so we cannot pair up timer delay with another drive mode. The bracketing drive option needs a sub-menu option for its own timer value, thus allowing some time for any shutter press vibration to dissipate - a mission critical thing when stacking / merging images in post.

One workaround is the Leica Fotos app, but that comes with baggage - setting up the WiFi connection, keeping it alive (not letting phone and camera time out), the camera wanting to transfer files to the iPhone.

7. GPS AND NULL ISLAND

This is another issue that has been around for years and noted by others - instead populating null values in the GPS metadata fields if there is no GPS data, Leica chose to populate fields with zeroes. A zero-zero lat and long address is a real place - Null Island. Google it. This was less of an issue with the Leica M10 generation because the EVF had GPS, thus fields were populated with "real" values if the camera had GPS lock.

THE WRAP UP

Annoyances #1 and #2 are what they are. #5 goes away when there is Leica M11 Monochrom since (in theory) both my M's will be the same physical layout at that point. And firmware updates could resolve the others. Even #1 will be less of an issue when there is a Leica M11 Monochrom. The problem today is that when I use the Leica M10 Monochrom - the shutter feels so 'ahhhhh...', which makes the M11 shutter feels so 'ewwwwww....'

There is supposedly a large Leica M11 firmware update coming later this year. Hopefully a closes out a couple of these annoyances, and that means the Leica M11 Monochrom should benefit as well.