Subscribe to Xataka PhotoReceive an email a day with our articles:The Leica M11 is the new evolution of the M series, the German brand's rangefinder cameras.It is a compendium of tradition and technology.A recognizable body, series after series, that has always been associated with the spirit of the best photographers.There is no free license to currency.With this camera, you do the photography.In the days of artificial intelligence, of ultra-advanced focus systems, Leica continues to bet on a manual focus rangefinder camera where mechanics have a lot to say, almost as much as electronics.Having a Leica M in your hands is another way of looking at photography.You have money (it is essential);secondly, you enjoy the great classics of life;and thirdly you appreciate a job well done.And the Leica M11 is perfect if your way of seeing life is like that.We are talking about a handcrafted camera with a 60 MP Multi-Resolution back-illuminated CMOS sensor.A new concept that serves to adapt the sensor to your needs.Later we will see what it consists of and what it can contribute to photographers.a classic designIt also incorporates a new way of working with backups without changing the body design that we have known since the first Leica M3 was introduced in 1954.We only found some small licenses in the original design.Everything else remains the same: to take a picture you have to focus manually, measure the light by choosing aperture and speed... At most you can work with Aperture Priority.The most curious thing is that, perhaps, a mobile photographer will not know how to take a picture with the Leica M11The most curious thing is that, perhaps, a mobile photographer will not know how to take a picture with the Leica M11.So austere is the way of working with this precision machine.This camera is a classic concept with just the right technology to enter a modern world.When you hold it with your hands you realize that you have something unique.It is a camera and a cult object, with all the good and bad that the latter entails.60-36-18 MP Multi-Resolution back-illuminated CMOS sensor.Pixel size: 3.76μmManual focus by rangefinderLeica M (Leica R with adapter)2.95” (Active Matrix TFT), Gorilla Glass 5 cover glass, 2.332.800 points, 3:2 format, touch function.DNG™: 9528 x 6328 (60MP), 7416 x 4928 (38MP), 5272 x 3498 (18MP)Maximum resolution, format and video compressionBP-SCL7 13.3Wh BatteryBlack: approx.530 g/455 g (with/without battery) Silver: approx.640g/565g (with/without battery)The M series is a monument to tradition.It has evolved very little since the Leica M3 was introduced.But the M11 has lost one of its hallmarks.We can no longer remove the lower base completely.Now we only find a lever that releases the battery and with a slight touch we manage to remove it.Ahhh... and we found a USB-C port to connect the camera.The USB port next to the batteryWe already commented on the previous model, the Leica M10-R, which did not make much sense.And in the M11 a basic piece has disappeared to give stability and strength to the body when the reels existed.It is still a rangefinder but has given in to the new times.In Xataka Foto How to focus a photograph with the Intense Light blending mode in Adobe PhotoshopThe oval shape of the ends of a spartan and simple body is still present.And we find two finishes:What to say about the construction of a Leica M?They are handmade in Germany, as indicated on the lower sticker.There are more than 1,100 pieces assembled with great precision by specialized craftsmen.Best of all, it is a camera that does not stand out, does not attract attention, except for the red circle.It is so reminiscent of its predecessors that only those who have spent years with a camera around their neck will value it.It's not hard to describe it.On the front we have the rangefinder (the top two windows), one of the most precise manual focusing systems ever made.So expensive that we only see it, at present, at Leica.At the top, on the right, we have the trigger with the power switch around it (it takes time to turn on).Next to it is a large wheel with the shutter times and a small configurable button that, by pressing it for a while, allows you to enter a menu to decide what it does.And it only remains to point out the flash shoe (where we can also place an electronic viewfinder) and on the far left, a small wheel that we must turn up to modify the ISO sensitivity.On the back we find the large viewfinder and the touch screen.Three buttons on the left, the cross button on the right and a wheel that we operate with the thumb for exposure compensation, as I have always liked.The Leica M is the perfect example that we don't need anything else to be able to take a photo.They always sell us models with dozens of buttons.But you cannot imagine the liberation that something so simple entails (and the demand).And it's heavy, very heavy for its size.But it's amazing how well it holds and how easy it is to avoid shaky photos with it.Design is everything.With your right hand you shoot the hybrid shutter (yes, it has an electronic one that goes up to 1/16,000) and with the left, with the help of your thumb and forefinger, you decide the diaphragm and focus until the two superimposed images that you see on the screen coincide. the rangefinder.By default I always work with Aperture Priority, so I put the shutter speed wheel in position A. And I promise you, oddly enough, that the photographs turn out well when you start to have experience.It is not fast, and it has the factor of human error.And it will be the fetish, but shooting with this camera, once you get used to it, is another story.Only you have done them, without the help of sophisticated algorithms and various artificial intelligences.In addition to the multi-resolution sensor that we will discuss in the next section, the Leica M11 brings some very interesting new features.The one that I liked the most is the 64 GB internal memory that allows us to make a backup copy of our files.Inserting a double card reader would mean changing its mythical design excessively.It's the first rangefinder to measure exposure using the main sensor, rather than having a light meter on the shutter blades.This way you can make a matrix measurement, in addition to the punctual one to which we were accustomed.So they have decided to incorporate an internal memory to avoid problems.You can work with it alone, pass the information later to a card.Or use it as a backup (I think the most interesting).It is the closest thing you will find in this camera to a mobile phone.It also allows you to do a digital zoom.It is comfortable because you get to have three focal lengths with a single lens.However, I always prefer to do this function on the computer with my trusted program.And the battery power management has improved a lot.It has 64% more capacity than the previous model.Due to its architecture, it does not consume as many resources as a conventional mirrorless camera, so we are guaranteed many more shots than with any other camera (of course if we do not abuse the use of the LCD screen. Nothing to do with previous generations that limped, and a lot, in this aspect.It also finally has a USB-c port.We can charge the camera, connect it to the mobile, use a power-bank... And connect it to mobile phones (they only talk about iPhones) to get geolocation (it's funny but now it places Madrid in the middle of the ocean) and more. that will arrive with the update of the Leica app in the middle of this year.And I forgot.Entering the menu does not require spending hours and hours configuring it.It has few and precise options.And the distribution is very similar to what we find in the Leica SL2.Everything at your fingertips, without submenus or strange combinations.I assure you that it is something that is greatly appreciated.The previous series reached 40 MP.The Leica M11 has a 60 MP sensor.In advertising they call it Multi-Resolution Back-Illuminated CMOS.And it has a very curious behavior, based on pixel binning.It is a new technology at Leica that offers three different possibilities when shooting.We can choose three different resolutions, but without suffering any cut and without having to calculate the focal length.It will always be the same because we always take advantage of the entire surface of the sensor, and this is what is important and striking.Thanks to pixel binning, the sensor behaves in three different ways and offers its own characteristics:60 MP is best for getting the finest detail and highest enlargements, as well as allowing cropping without significant loss of size.If we want more balanced files, with a significant size and one more step of dynamic range, we will choose 38 MP.And if the important thing is to control the noise, we will bet on the 18 MP.The secret is that as we reduce the size, the pixels are 'grouped' and are able to collect more information.The secret is that as we reduce the size, the pixels are 'grouped' and are able to collect more information.The most notable change that we are going to perceive is, of course, the weight of the file.The extra step of dynamic range will be noticed in compromised situations.And with the noise we will gain, at least, one more step of light.All three resolutions with the extra dynamic range step and more sharpening in the last exampleAs always, everything depends on our expertise in measuring light and subsequent treatment in editing programs.And after seeing the photographs we can say that the image quality is very high, at the level of the best sensors on the market.At 64 ISO the image is perfect and we can work without problems up to 12500 ISO.And with a bit of software correction we can take advantage of the beauty of the noise generated, up to 25000 ISO.Again the last level of sensitivity is merely testimonial (but you can always work).If we lower the resolution we have the possibility of gaining one more step.And of course, we can shoot in jpeg, but again I have to insist that I don't see the point.Leica continues to bet on Adobe's native RAW format, DNG.And this is where this camera shows its power when it comes to color reproduction and the perfect rendering of light and shadow.Color reproduction has been improved thanks to the incorporation of a new UV/IR absorption filter that allows greater fidelity.It has caught my attention how everything changes with the new Camera Profile that we can enjoy in Adobe Lightroom.And the 15 stops of dynamic range allow you to smoothly bring out detail in the shadows and highlights of your photos.In the selection that you see in the article you will always see information at both ends.As a native format it is perfect, because it is compatible with any version of Adobe programs and even with Capture One, with all that it entails.The Leica photographer does not usually spend long hours in front of the computer screen and is usually satisfied with the virtues of Adobe Camera RAW and the natural development that Capture One provides.Leica is a design icon, at the height of the most mythical brands.And it has never changed.You can use all their lenses without adapters, the M mount is still the same since 1954. It's a system that works.Not changing the design, except in very specific points, means losing many things that we find in all the cameras on the market.Flip screens, eye autofocus, artificial intelligence... But after working with this camera for a few days you don't miss it, really.It is not a camera for modern times, in which speed and immediacy prevail.It is a return to think before shooting.It assumes that you have to do everything, you are the main person in charge.Each one of us will decide if this concept works for him or not.It is a return to thinking about photography before shooting.It assumes that you have to do everything, you are the main person in charge.Here the famous saying is fulfilled to the letter.You have the most precise tool and you are the one who misses or hits.You cannot say that the light was not measured well or that the focus is not fine because of the camera.If you like Leica, you have other models that do have the latest market news.But the Leica M is a piece of photography history.And highly valued.Surely if you have an old Leica at your parents' house you can sell it for more money than it cost them.Just because it's so simple doesn't mean it's easy to handle.It's hard to get hold of the telemetry viewfinder, knowing where you have to move it to focus on a close object, choosing the right diaphragm and getting the exposure right... Here you need to know the f16 rule and understand light perfectly, like the teachers.It is a collector's item, a handmade machine, with its objective lenses polished by hand.Many photographers find it excessive, and they freak out when they hear the price.We'll see how many complaints about its price we hear in the comments of social networks.You don't just pay for the camera, you pay for a process from start to finish.That is the Leica secret: precision and quality.If you can, and want to, buy one and you won't regret it.It is not a camera for everyone, of course.But if you want to enjoy the feeling of being the only one in charge, give it a try.See complete gallery » Leica M11 (31 photos)It is true that with any camera you can put manual controls and do the same.But the touch, the quality of the lenses and discovering that you can make a mistake, that getting a photograph or not is only your responsibility, it really is priceless.And yes, I agree, for what this camera costs (€8,420) you can buy three tips, but until you have it in your hand you don't realize what it means.Sometimes there is nothing more modern than going back to the classics.The camera has been provided by Leica Camera Iberia, SLU You can consult our policy on relations with companies.Share Leica M11, analysis: three cameras in one thanks to its multi-resolution sensorMore Sites You'll LikeSee more articlesAt Xataka Foto we talk about...More Sites You'll LikeSee more articles