LEICA M11 - Rangefinder Without Equal | A Journey Of Passion | With Stunning Images | Matt Irwin 

The smile for owning one says enough !

This is as good as any video I've seen of yours. Thank you to both Wayne and Matt for letting me be part of this insight into being an artist.

I really enjoyed the joy in this episode. Thanks for sharing this exciting moment. I'll be out shooting today despite the awful weather, not with a Leica but with excitement.

Thanks, Matt. You brought back some old memories of mine. I did my photography course in 1954, and after using Kodak box brownies, I purchased a Nikon 1, thinking it was a Leica. After all these years of enjoying many different cameras, I'm very happy to be using both the Z6ii & Z7ii. I purchased a 3c Leica, which I still own later when I could afford it, and it still works on higher speeds. Thank Matt, for the informative videos you present; I look forward to the next one. I to started my interest when I was 13, in 1949.

I bought a M11 with a 35mm Summilux last September and I'm still extremely excited about what the digital M system has to offer. I'm taking photos for Wikipedia and mostly used Canon full-frame cameras for the past 10 years. The Leica experience is different from any other camera system I've used over the years (Canon, Nikon, Sony). It's about the essentials of photography. You slow down, think more, and in the end, you get better images. When it comes to the M11 in particular, I think of it as one of the "new icons" of Leica M cameras. Maybe the equivalent of the M6 for film shooters. The easy of use, the high resolution, the long battery life, the extremely high quality of manufacturing… think of it as the pinnacle of German craftsmanship and ingenuity! Thanks for the video and all the best on your path with Leica!

Leica is the apple of camera gear in the best way possible

A love letter to Leica! Lovely little "film" to watch.

I'm just about to claim this is the best tube you've ever made, Matt!

Nice episode Matt…. Believe me, if I had the cash an M11 would be very high up on my list! However, I do get the “slowing down” experience when I go on walkabouts with either my Nikon or Minolta film cameras, especially the FM2n, but also by using vintage manual focus gear on my Z cameras. Its why the new Z Voigtlander Z mount lenses are my next purchases…a lovely combo of old-ish shooting style with new tech!

Excellent video and concur with the other comments about the joy and excitement within - congrats Wayne. And a nice change of pace. I felt I was watching the upside down version of me as I have that exact kit. I got the Z7ii and two lenses in 2020 when I got back into photography after many years, and as I own an old Leica M6 I was intrigued when the M11 digital came out last year and ordered it first day. I also got a black one and the exact same 50mm f1.4 lens as it was on my M6, but a modern version. I since got the 21mm Super Elmar and the APO 90mm - all purchased used as they are 1/3 less. Still expensive but these will hold their value. Between the Leica use cases where I want the rangefinder tactical experience, and the Nikon Z kit with the zooms, I love getting out on the weekends to explore and experiment. Looking forward to full time retirement soon where I can do this full time.

As always, a most enjoyable video. Wayne"s love affair with the M11 is certainly justified by the photographs he is now taking. I thoroughly enjoyed Wayne's almost giddy enthusiasm for his Leica and Leica experience. I have the same experience whenever I think of photography or pickup my Nikon DSLR and Z cameras. I really love my Nikons. BTW I checked the US price for the M11 and I just have to say I Reeeeaaaalllllyyyyyy love my Nikons.Great production from both of you...and Joe of course

Hello Matt, Leica is one brand that has always been at the top of my list. If Nikon and Hasselblad were not in my bags it would be Leica. I have only handled the at shows and in store, but they look and feel so nice in the hand, I feel they are a camera that you have to work with to get the best. Which is not a bad thing. Keep well, keep safe and enjoy your life.

I always have my Leica M8 or M9-P or both with me. Just love everything about this camera system.

I'm happy for him, I'm jealous of him. Great video, well done!

Fantastic video!!! Thank you for that!

I can only love this once. Thank you so much my friend.

Makes me want to save up and get an M11! I felt inspired just watching someone else be inspired! Great video, it was very enjoyable to watch.

Matt, you perfectly described how I felt on the first day with her, and how I feel today… Thanks!

Your photos are amazing, wonderful.

Cncongrats 🎉 good for you im in love with this camera ❤

this watches like a small movie. good work

cool. enjoy. thanks for sharing and making a great passionate video.

A camera of dreams! Maybe Nikon will make another rangefinder somewhere down this road again. Great video Matt, thank you for sharing with us. Truly hope all of you had a blessed Easter.🙏🏻📷

This video should have had a warning label on it! Fantastic storytelling and some of those photos, wow!

That was a video very well done. I feel so happy for Wayne. The pictures he produces are stunning. As for Leica: it may not be for me... I am an opportunistic photographer, loving the snapshot, but other companies could learn from Leica how to present their products. Just compare the rag that Nikon delivers with their 85/1.2 to the leather case the Summilux comes in. It does make a difference. Thanks for the video, Matt. Random note: Leica is from my home state of Hesse, about an hour's drive away from my place.

Hey. I too was on the Dolphin ! I started with CPC in 91… but was on the Dolphin from Miami in 92… guess I just missed you! It was a hard ship though compared to the others! The Princess Ships got the M4,5 and 6’s I think I remember!!!!

Congrats on acquiring the Leica M11.

Well done, Matt! Love my Nikon, and dream of a Leica.

Excellent little documentary, Matt. Loved it! When I win the lottery ....

I like Wayne's pictures, but they are great because he is a very skilled and experienced photographer, the camera and I am accepting bets that the lenses don't matter that much... 😉

Cannot beat the sheer beauty and build quality of a Leica and Leica lenses. Nothing else comes close. Too bad they cost as much as a Villa in Tuscany. And for the price the IQ is about as good as any other camera.

Owning a Leica , Is one my goals. Congrats on the purchase!

Ode to the joy of photography from behind a Leica lens, well done Matt!

I wish someone loved me like this man loves this camera.

Loved the production on this video… Thank You Matt

It's a joy to see your enthusiasm for this camera. I'm a film shooter, but I recently tried a Q2 for size in the London Leica store. It didn't feel like a good fit for me and I'm now curious to try a Hasselblad X2D. I'm hoping that camera will have a more familiar feel for my style of shooting.

Nikon fm2 of 1982 had a flash sync speed of 1/250sec .And “ leaf shutter “ is very much alive and well in the Hasselblad cameras. There’s always nothing better than a new camera to stimulate and re-invigorate our passion for photography regardless of the Price we pay or Brand. Cheers

Best video you done Matt the excitement was so real and genuine, loved it.

Im literally almost Drooling watching this. 100% someday im getting an M.

I bought the exact same setup from Leica Melbourne almost a year ago. Everything sound this guy made when he first touched the camera I made. And I'm still making the same sounds everytime I pick up the camera to shoot. The price is long since forgotten.

And now the Monochrom is in the field I saw already five different videos about it cool but again the Leica prices making it just for the few and proud !

Leica camera are the best made cameras. Growing up (I am 60) my father had a Leica film camera, unfortunately it was stolen when he was on a train trip in Spain. My father-in-law also had a Leica film camera, which I currently own. And the lens is need of repair, need to find a repair center here in the US. As hobbyist photographer, I can't really afford the modern Leica camera, but everyone that owns one, they surely love them.

That camera is a dream. I wish I will be able to at least try it for a few days some day. It is a bit too expensive for me to even think about buying it. I related so much to the camera owner.... I would be ecstatic too if I had the Leica M11.

Great music used in the video

I have the M10R and get all the same feelings with it... don't see the need to upgrade... though it's probably a bit less convenient day to day with a lower resolution LCD, no USB-C or built in storage for backup... but the essence of taking a photo and much of the IQ are the same.

More episodes like this!

Nice "documentary", Matt. Really. Shot on Nikon, I presume. After all the flack "our" brand has received in recent years in the influencer sphere, it strikes me that nobody talks about the "single card slot" that's only "SD (UHS-II)" and how expensive UHS-II cards are relative to CFexpress type B. Or the absence of AF. Or flash sync of "only" 1/180 sec. Or a guaranteed operating temperature that does not go below 0C. The glass is the same as 60 years ago? Maybe, but it has a totally new multi-layered coating. The joy of owning something that gives pride comes through and I respect that. I hope it helps Wayne to shoot artistically better pictures, even.

Heart stopping stuff !

I bought a Q2 a year ago and it’s the best photography purchase I have ever made. Maybe it’s the worst also because I caught the Leica bug from it and now I’ve got my eyes on a M11 😂😂

Got silver M11 as its brass. Got M10 black which I use the most

The early Ms flash sync was 1/50 due to the fabric shutter curtains. Were there some central shutter lenses to reach 1/250 ?

There's nothing quite like the Leica experience, although it definitely comes with a restricted shooting envelope for a lot of situations. But that can be used to one's advantage, too, depending upon what one is using it for. Paired with Leica glass, the image quality, though, is in a category of its own. Operational speed and versatility may not be its strength, but image quality definitely is.

I feel like I really want one of these, but then I think about using the the focus patch in non-ideal light with a wide aperture lens and I feel like it would annoy me. During the day, shooting zone focused, I'd love it. I do really want the 28 Elmarit and a compact body, but I just can't shake the feeling that it's a fairweather camera.

Beautifully made, but emperor’s new clothes. I had a digital M and eventually gave up, everything I do can be done much better by a Nikon, they make excellent ornaments and the old joke about doctors and lawyers is fundamentally true. My old M3 in film days had a lot of use but against the background of Leica being similar to other offerings. What I do admire is Leica’s return from the dead, their marketing is a lesson in brilliance.

It's a beautiful camera. I'm lucky enough to have access to one (note i didn't say own!!) and i was actually playing around with it today. It feels and sounds great, and the optical quality is amazing BUT for digital i still prefer my Z9! For film I love my M3 but honestly it's a toss up between that and my Nikon FM2. With mirrorless it's so fun to adapt the M mount glass, i have a voigtlander apo-lanthar i just got for the M3 and was shooting it on the Nikon bodies, so much fun

I have been taking pictures since 1971 with Zeiss Ikon Contaflex

I really shouldn't be watching such videos, my first reaction was to jump straight into the Leica UAE website😅 I LOVE rangefinders and I wish Nikon would do a digital version of the S3 or SP with a hybrid EVF like the ones in the Fuji cameras. The only problem with Leica is the pricing of the glass, every piece of glass that you might want to buy the camera for is just as expensive as the camera itself or sometimes even 1.5 times more expensive! I don't think if you bought a Leica body you would settle for the lower end glass which probably performs just like any other premium glass from other manufacturers in the same price range.

8:38 - ah, yes, that is a very good shutter sound. I'm curious about the resulting shot, as the lens with that shot is at f/16 or f/22 ;) Technically, it's not the sound of the shutter, but if you shot Hasselblad 500 series, that was something.

A Leica M never had a leaf shutter, this was Hasselblad territory.

At 9.22 mins, beautiful bokeh.

Pentax has turned the whole camera world upside down with the release of the K3 III Monochrome camera. Totally unexpected and quite a bold move for Pentax.

I want one so bad... hopefully for my 40th bd

I love the Q2 but would be terrified to drop any Leica(I've seen how their owners clutch them)! The Colors the M11 produces look incredible, but I can't focus as I used to...

Congrats. Hopefully it is a camera system he will own for a lifetime & maybe pass on to someone when the time comes. What I like about the Leica M system is the size of such quality glass.= No AF. Of course the sensor, processor & color science helps to produce. Ps, If you weren't in love with photography before. I don't think a new camera will make the love last. I may be wrong.

Nice video. Leica, there is no equal. I love my M11 and Leica lenses. I carry them all day, every day.

Nice episode indeed... but I have to say, 20 shots and 2 real keepers - not too high a hit rate! I think that I will stick to my Nikons and slaver over the upcoming Z8! 😂 I must say though that, if Nikon brought out a 50MP Z mount FF rangefinder at anything up to about £5000, I would be in and buying that camera before I leave this mortal coil... so that would be as soon as it dropped then!

Matt, your expression at 8:15 hehe when you unbox and hold a factory fresh Leica for the first time and realize……..? . i’ll let you finish the sentence :)

What lens choice?

Just one think, sure it's my bad english, he said he was in Miami in 1991? The Nikon FM2n has 1/250 sync speed since 1983. The FE2, launched that same year, had 1/250 sync speed too. I understand that he used flash bulbs and was trying to overpower daylight. Then, it makes sense to use a Leica back then, to go faster than 1/250.

A sincere opinion on the M11

Happy for you brother,i really realy want to know on what you were recording this video. Please reply.

I would have to settle for the Fujifilm X100V or a used M1 film camera 👋

Nice episode, it fits in with the Leica cult 😅

Which lens is that

What Leica lenses are featured in this video?

Bought the same set-up (with 50mm f1.4 Summilux) last November ... I have not used it yet ... mine is silver ... and I bought the Varioflex. I am waiting IMPATIENTLY for an Arte Di Mano case coming for the camera before I take it out! However, Leica now have a new Summilux 50mm f1.4 and my local dealer Wex, want my Summilux plus £2,500 from me to change my new and unused Summilux to the newer one ... disappointing ... ah, the joys of Leica ownership!

Nice video, thanks! At 7:10 min. you talk about having used an M1 on a cruise ship. Unfortunately you wouldn't have taken a single sharp shot, since the M1 was an M2 without rangefinder focusing system. It was a camera intended for technical use only and focusing was possible with the original visoflex with ground-glass and mirror, turning the M1 into a reflex system...

Matt great video. I agree with your point about how this camera makes you work harder for your picture, which makes it that much more satisfying. I did a video recently contemplating selling my Harley to be able to afford the Leica M, if you have a moment check it out.

Film Leicas have flash sync of 1/50 and the M1 had no rangefinder, meant to be used with the Visoflex and technical applications

On what you are using for video recording

13:04 that’s the problem for me right there. I’d be terrified of damaging a camera with that price tag, which for me would hugely take away from the shooting experience. I really hope that one day a company comes out with a true mechanical range finder camera at a more reasonable price. Right now it ain’t happening unless I somehow stumble upon a fortune.

i want one.

It's a fun guy with a beautiful "toy". To much money for the camera and lenses. I'm a Nikonist and nothing that a Z7 or a Z7 II couldn't do with prime lenses. The Z9 it's better but the point is that he doesn't need all the features and a big camera... I'm waiting for the news of Nikon to change the old F to Z! But I understand perfectly your friend with the Leica M11.

Interesting. Over the weekend I have been researching Leica CL versus Fuji X-Pro 2 or 3, versus Sony A7c. The first two videos in my feed this morning are a Fuji guy who just got a Leica Q and this video. Are the camera Gods trying to tell me something? I am 67 years old so maybe it is time to have a Leica. I need something entirely different than my Z9, which is a totally left brain camera.

I had the silver version and it froze all the time and now I have the black version. I have to day the silver one feels much more sturdy and special than the black version.

IWOOT

I get a slow down experience because the Z6 has a noticeable startup time

It's a range finder. Of course it's without equal

"The camera demands" talk about a dopamine hit.

First 🙂

I left Leica in 2018. Virtually all of my lenses sold within 90% of their purchase price. Each lens was optically and mechanically unrivaled. Sadly, the camera tech did not keep up. Moreover, as Leica becomes a fashion statement first and a camera second, it is becoming an a-listers point and shoot.

But even though you’re saying you’re shooting all manual ,isn’t the m11 also able to shot automatic

The M2 had a flash sync speed of 1/50 sec. Rather slow. The Nikon SLRs were faster.

Leica's are wonderful pieces of jewelry. As cameras? Not as much. But wonderful jewelry.

I am not arguing that the Leica camera is a good camera. I could buy the Nikon Z9 with the 85mm f1.2 lens for less than the cost of the Leica with the 50mm lens. I know the Z9 is twice the weight but is more versatile than the Leica M11.

Please Nikon, Z f camera with 60MP FF sensor!

just can't get past the Ozzie vocal inflection. just about everything sounds like a bloolin question. Soz lads.

I hear that the Leica M11 has a locking up issue. For a camera that costs £7,800 ( Uk money ) for the body alone this is unacceptable !!! For £7,800 one can purchase a Z9 and the 70-200 which would be more practical than buying the M11.

3:45.......really........over an animated screen...............

The Leica's advantage is that it is the only camera in the world that is small; with fullframe sensor and interchangeable lens. All in a single camera. There is nothing like it in the world. But the day Fujifilm releases an X100 or X-Pro with a full-frame sensor priced at $2,500, Leica goes bankrupt.