Leica, known for sometimes deviating back into analog technology, has announced the M11-D Camera for its M11 family of shooters.
The new device has one particularly unique characteristic that gives this otherwise fully modern digital device a slight retro touch. Instead of a rear LCD screen, it just offers an ISO dial in its place.
According to Leica, this design change lets users of the M11-D focus more on “the elementary aspects of pictorial design such as composition, aperture, shutter speed and ISO.”
This build minimalism aside, the M11-D is no gimmick. This M-mount camera offers a powerful 60-megapixel sensor and plenty of digital heart, with many powerful shooting specs such as an ISO range of 64-50000 and up to 4.5-fps Shooting speed.
It’s also far from Leica’s first display-free camera. The iconic brand has already released several such models, including the 2014, m Edition 60, the 2016 M-D and the 2018 M10-D. All of these are or were powerful performers with no shortage of fans.
Yes, some photographers will scoff at this sort of design gameplay from Leica, but others are doubtless going to love the kind of simplification it delivers.
In any case, the M11-D has essentially the same robust set of specs and features as Leica’s more standard M11 camera. This includes the already-mentioned 60MP CMOS sensor with “Triple Resolution” technology.
Other features in this shooter are 256GB of internal memory, space for UHS-II SD cards of up to 2TB, WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth, a powerful 1,800mAh battery and USB-C.
The camera also features the inclusion of content credentials from the Content Authenticity Initiative, of which Leica is a backing camera manufacturer, along with other brands like Sony.
The new M11-D camera also lacks some of the rear and top control buttons found in the M11 (which has a display) but again, Leica is claiming that these absences are part of the same ethos of improving a focus on photography through functional simplicity.
With the M11-D, Leica hopes to pare M-System photography down to its bare essentials, letting photographers refocus on really paying attention to their instincts based on guidance from the moment and the camera’s optical 0.73x-magnification Viewfinder..
According to the company,
“By omitting a display on the back, photography with the Leica M11D focuses on the elementary aspects of pictorial design such as composition, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. In place of the display, an easy-to-access ISO dial is showcased on the back of the camera.”
Unlike many of Leica’s cameras, this model lacks the classic and very identifiable red dot that’s so much a part of the company’s decades-old brand image.
Instead, the camera body is entirely built to have an unobtrusive look, with a mostly matte black body, a silver shutter release and three tiny red characters along the two dials found on the M11D.
Leica is also releasing a couple of accessories for this new, slightly retro-style camera.
These include a leather half-case built specifically for this camera and a leather carrying strap with a shoulder pad that simply says “LEICA” in carved capital letters. The strap comes in cognac and black color options.
Lest you be tempted to think that simplicity means a lower price, remember that this is a Leica camera with all the same powerful digital internals as its close cousin the M11.
The M11-D is available now but at a retail price of $9,395. This actually makes it cost a few hundred bucks more than the standard M11 with LCD screen.
Images credit: Leica Camera
