This is a very different version of analog vs digital. If you want to see my first analog digital comparison, have a look here. This time it’s not about megapixel, it’s about if a digital camera can satisfy my haptic and analog needs. After I walked both cameras for a few weeks and captured similar places and situations, I felt in love with the combination of both. In this following article I will explain why the Leica M2 is the faster and often easier to use camera, but the M11 is a more versatile camera that can produce amazing results.

Let’s start with the haptics. After I pressed the shutter button on the M11 for the first time without turning it on, I was a bit surprised by the clicky microswitch kind of sound. The haptics and sounds of the M2 are very satisfying. It just puts a smile on my face when I use it (Click here if you want to know my full Leica M2 Story). Back to the M11, the shutter sound is so different compared to the M2 and its so more quiet. But the sound of it is very satisfying as well. It sounds so good and every time I capture a photograph, it makes me smile. I read people complain about the missing bottom plate of the M11. ,The plate makes totally sense for the M2, but I think it’s nice to access the battery and memory card more quickly on the M11.

With its electronic shutter and ISO 64, the M11 is a great camera for shooting wide open during the day. Also the battery life is great. I easily can shoot 3 to 4 days the way I use my camera and at the worst case, I could charge the M11 with a USB-C power bank. But without any battery, the full mechanical Leica M2 wins this race easily. And the M2 is faster as well, because you do not have to wait until it wakes up from standby. Shooting it with the sunny 16 rule or even using it with an external exposure meter will not slow it down. It’s always ready to shoot.

 

Beside waking up from standby, why should you spend even more time to shoot with the M11?

For starters, 60 Megapixel need much more attention. Your typical zone focus technique will not work like you are used to. The scale on the lenses are not made for this kind of resolution. You also have to be much more careful with focusing, here also this huge resolution will make you work much harder.
Your typical shutter speed calculation (Shutter speed = 1/focal length) will also not always work. 

You most likely need four times faster speeds to avoid camera shake, because the 60 megapixel turn your 35mm lens more likely into a 140mm lens if you pixel peep. That’s why the M11 has exactly this option for the auto iso setting.

With analog film I never ever had an issue with camera shake, even down to a 1/15th of a second. The grain helps with that. I decided to shoot the M11 mainly with 36 megapixel these days, because this is more than enough and will make you much happier as well. If shoot at night, you can easily work with the old rule and set the shutter speed manually to what you are used to hold with your hands. From Iso 1600 and up, camera shake is no longer that big of an issue if you pixel peep. I really enjoy shooting the M11 at night. The iso performance is great and I am much more versatile than with a roll of film that I use at day and night.

This following image I wanted to shoot with my M2, I was sure I have about 10 frames left and was focusing on how to capture it. After I found the final composition, I figured that I have no frame left, or the camera was jammed. It made me lough when I unloaded the M2 at home and saw that I did not buy 36 frame Kodak Gold film, I bought a 24 frame one. 

Using my old lenses with the M11 is a treat, they easily can handle the full resolution. You can see in the video how I pixel peep the corners when using the Leica Elmarit 21mm for example. But also my 35 and 50mm Summilux lenses from 1964 and 1974 perform very well (Also shown in the Video). The lens that surprised me the most was the 90mm Elmarit, this lens kills it when you are able to nail the focus.

 

Another thing that I noticed are the range finder frame lines. The M2 uses available light to illuminate them. That is great, no battery needed. But under certain conditions, it can be difficult to see them. Like in total darkness or in very bright sunlight. The M11 on the other hand automatically adjusts the frame lines depending on the light. It took me two weeks to notice that, but I think thats quite a great feature.

The Leica Fotos App is something I never thought I will use. Even a friend told me about how great it is. But after enabling it, I understand now what he meant. You do not have to do anything, gps positions are used to tag the photographs, remote shooting (I didn’t use that so far) works really well, image transfer as well. Also camera settings can be changed. I used similar apps on my canon, that worked also well but the Leica Fotos apps just worked after setting it up once, no need for fiddling around again.

Before I forget, the M11 can be tethered to Lightroom as well. If you have problems with that, be sure to disable the option to charge your camera via usb-c.

With the M11 I found a camera that feels the closest to shoot analog with a digital camera. The M2 has many advantages, but so has the M11 as well. Using both together is just the right solution for me. My Canons (also the analog ones, I use an Eos3 and 50e as well) are my workhorses and they have been very reliable and also have been through a lot, but they never made me feel that much connected to photography compared to the M2 and M11. I am sure my story behind the M2 and the lenses that came with her has a lot to do with that. This was not a story about analog vs digital, this is a story about what makes me smile at the end of the day when I press the shutter button. 

 

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