Leica has announced the M11-D digital camera, which does not have a display – instead there is an ISO sensitivity dial. The company’s marketers claim that the lack of a display will help users focus on “elementary aspects of image design, such as composition, aperture, shutter speed and ISO.” In all other respects, the M11-D is a full-fledged modern digital camera, and is compatible with all M-series lenses released since 1954.
Image source: Leica
The Leica M11-D has a 60-megapixel sensor and a buffer capable of capturing five full-resolution images per second. The camera has 256 GB of internal memory and a slot for UHS-II SD cards up to 2 TB. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless interfaces are used to connect to a smartphone or PC, and there is also a USB Type-C port for data transfer and charging.
According to the manufacturer, “Combined with a full-frame sensor with triple resolution technology that was developed exclusively for the Leica M11 family, as well as an ISO range from native ISO 64 to ISO 50,000, the Leica M11-D achieves brilliant imaging results with excellent noise reduction performance even in low light.”
Leica Content Credentials hardware technology helps protect the authenticity of digital images. The technology was developed by the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), and the open technical standard of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). The authenticity of images taken with the M11-D can be verified at any time using a freely available tool or link.
The Leica M11-D is not the company’s first digital camera without a display. A similar model was previously presented in the M10 family, but the new product weighs only 540 grams, including the battery, which is 120 grams lighter than its predecessor. The M11-D lacks the iconic red Leica badge on the front of the camera, instead having the Leica name engraved on the top plate. “With its clean lines, matte black painted surfaces and absence of the red Leica logo, the new M11-D also represents the utmost restraint in the timeless design of Leica products,” the company said in a press release.
The Leica M11-D is available for pre-order for $9,395. That’s $400 more than the regular M11, which comes with a display for menu navigation and photo viewing. However, the M11 only has 64 GB of internal memory, so the additional payment is justified to some extent.