When going through my life with cameras there was one brand that was either not on the radar for me or it was a brand I just didn’t understand. It was Leica. I’ve always shot with Nikon since I started shooting from around the age of 16.
I vividly remember the first time I got to hold and “play” with a Leica. It was in one of their stores; not long after the Leica M10 had been released. Straight away I was shocked it didn’t have autofocus. At this point, autofocus is all I knew as I hadn’t shot any film either. Then. I saw the price tag. I instantly put it down and walked away with complete confusion.
A couple of years ago now I was fortunate/unlucky enough the inherit some Leica equipment from a family member. After receiving it I wanted to use it more. It was something I knew nothing of. One of the Cameras was a Leica Q-P. Not long after this, I started seeing all the hype around the infamous Leica Q2, The Q-Ps updated self. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it. As limiting as it was with the fixed lens of 28mm that could not be changed. It made me think more. I started to get this and wanted to start shooting more.
Another one of the cameras was a Leica M Monochrom. At first, once again I was baffled “A camera that can’t shoot in colour…….Really?”. This had an accompaniment of a 35mm f2, 50mm f2 and a 90mm f2. It was ace. Once again having a limitation of no colour made me start thinking more about light and composition. There isn’t much you can hide with the camera. With only 18MP I was surprised by the quality of images you could get from it. As long as you hit your focus though. It is a rangefinder camera though so no autofocus and on this model no live view mode either. It was a challenge. After using it once again I fell in love with these cameras. I understood why my Uncle chose them.
The last Leica I received was a Leica M7. This is a film camera. The whole time the camera was in my ownership I never used this camera. Not once. I’m not a film shooter and in any film I have shot before I usually end up either forgetting to send it to be developed or I lose the roll of film. It was sat on my shelf for a long time.
During this period I started delving deeper into the Leica world lusting over many of their products from the Q2/Q3 and the SL system. The one that took my heart more than most though. The Leica M11. I was always keeping an eye on different sites that sell it second-hand, as I just couldn’t warrant paying the full retail price. I knew exactly which one I wanted as well if the opportunity ever presented itself to get one. I lusted over the black model with the little red dot.
One day whilst scrolling through Instagram and watching stories of people I follow on there I saw it. A black Leica M11 for sale is being sold by the one and only Dan Baker. If you haven’t seen his work then I suggest you go and check his work out. He is a street photographer based in Cleethorpes. I then did the worst thing I could and asked how much he was selling it for. After a few more messages back and forth it went no further. For me, it didn’t stop there though. Over the next month, I started working out how I could afford it.
It then hit me. I have a Leica M7 sitting on the shelf doing nothing. It was a shame as well as it was in great condition. It needed to be loved and used. Although the camera was mine I just made sure that other family members were ok with me selling it. With the green light to go ahead and sell the M7, I started contacting different companies. Whilst doing this negotiations opened up with Dan and the sale of his M11. After a bit of back and forth, I and Dan agreed on a price and the guys over at Leica Store Manchester offered me a great price on the M7. It was time. I was finally going to own an M11.
It took a few days to get everything sorted. Sending off the M7, waiting for funds to clear and then waiting for a suitable time for Dan to be at home for me to get it. He’s a busy guy. My excitement was hard to keep bottled up.
I can now finally say I’m the proud owner of a Leica M11 and I LOVE it. It is going to be a learning curve for me with it still being a rangefinder camera. It does have a LiveView function, which I’m also trying to use. But with 60MP as its max pixel rate, there isn’t much room for error. I’m looking forward to shooting with it more. It’s hard going to work at the minute as all I want to do is go out with it. We shall see what happens though but hopefully, in the long-term meeting, this hero won’t be a disappointment. People who follow my Instagram page will have already seen a couple of images from the Leica M11.
As always thank you for reading my blog it is always appreciated. If you’re reading this and you ever think of something you would like to see from me then don’t hesitate to contact me.
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