Someday after saying its highest income ever, Leica unveiled new, shiny black editions of its M11 digital rangefinder digital camera and widespread Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH. lens. “These designs have fun the timeless aesthetic and remarkably intricate craftsmanship which have set Leica aside for many years,” the legendary German digital camera firm says. The Leica M-System is celebrating its seventieth anniversary this yr — the Leica M collection began with the M3’s launch in 1954 — and Leica believes its shiny black paint model of the M11 and 50mm f/1.2 lens are the “purest and strongest expression of the basic Leica look.” Like different black paint Leica cameras, extremely coveted amongst collectors, the brand new M11 guarantees to point out its brass body via the paint because it wears, creating a novel patina. Whereas indicators of damage are sometimes not fascinating for a lot of cameras, for Leica black paint fashions, it’s thought of a novel appeal. As a little bit of historical past, Leica’s first black paint end digital camera out there to the general public was in 1962, when the corporate launched a black paint M3.
In comparison with the usual Leica M11, the shiny black paint M11 appears fairly completely different. The controls are in the identical location, however the digital camera’s high deck is notably completely different. Whereas the usual M11 has a plain high deck product of aluminum, the shiny black version has an engraved Leica brand on high of its new brass high deck. The shutter launch additionally modifications from a flat black to a shiny silver. Whereas in the identical spot as earlier than, the management dials function a brand new cross-hatch knurling in comparison with the usual M11’s vertical ridges. Shiny black paint Leica M11 with the brand new shiny black paint Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH. Transferring to the entrance of the digital camera, gone is Leica’s trademark crimson dot brand in favor of a black screw. On the within, the shiny black paint Leica M11 is similar as the usual model. It has a 60-megapixel BSI CMOS picture sensor with Triple Decision Expertise (digital crop mode with completely different megapixel counts), 0.73x optical viewfinder, 64GB inside storage (it additionally accepts a UHS-II SD card), and a local ISO vary of 64 to 50,000. Debuting alongside the digital camera, the shiny black paint version of the Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH. lens goals to be the “good visible match” for the M-Digicam with its shiny black end. “This design variant of the lens relies on the collection mannequin, which turned well-known for its excessive picture high quality and light-weight depth, in addition to its unmistakable bokeh,” Leica explains.
To match its end, the lens comes with a shiny black spherical lens hood, shiny black paint entrance and rear lens caps, and crimson “toes” markings on the main target vary scale, that are orange on the usual black model. The guide focus lens options six components throughout 4 teams, together with a pair of aspherical components, and is designed to ship a “barely smooth” rendering, like basic Noctilux lenses. This redesigned lens was re-released in 2021 in black and silver colorways, though the silver version was restricted to only 100 items at launch, which had been shortly snapped up. Pricing and Availability The Leica M11 shiny black paint is on the market now for $9,195, a $200 premium over the usual black model. The brand new Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH. in shiny black paint can also be out there at the moment and retails for $8,295, $300 greater than the common black model of the lens. Picture credit: Leica
