One day after announcing its highest revenue ever, Leica unveiled new, glossy black editions of its M11 digital rangefinder camera and popular Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH. lens.
“These designs celebrate the timeless aesthetic and remarkably intricate craftsmanship that have set Leica apart for decades,” the legendary German camera company says.
The Leica M-System is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year — the Leica M series started with the M3’s launch in 1954 — and Leica believes its glossy black paint version of the M11 and 50mm f/1.2 lens are the “purest and strongest expression of the classic Leica look.”
Like other black paint Leica cameras, highly coveted among collectors, the new M11 promises to show its brass frame through the paint as it wears, creating a unique patina. While signs of wear are typically not desirable for many cameras, for Leica black paint models, it is considered a unique charm. As a bit of history, Leica’s first black paint finish camera available to the public was in 1962, when the company released a black paint M3.
Compared to the standard Leica M11, the glossy black paint M11 looks quite different. The controls are in the same location, but the camera’s top deck is notably different. While the standard M11 has a plain top deck made of aluminum, the glossy black edition has an engraved Leica logo on top of its new brass top deck. The shutter release also changes from a flat black to a shiny silver. While in the same spot as before, the control dials feature a new cross-hatch knurling compared to the standard M11’s vertical ridges.
Moving to the front of the camera, gone is Leica’s trademark red dot logo in favor of a black screw.
On the inside, the glossy black paint Leica M11 is the same as the standard version. It has a 60-megapixel BSI CMOS image sensor with Triple Resolution Technology (digital crop mode with different megapixel counts), 0.73x optical viewfinder, 64GB internal storage (it also accepts a UHS-II SD card), and a native ISO range of 64 to 50,000.
Debuting alongside the camera, the glossy black paint edition of the Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH. lens aims to be the “perfect visual match” for the M-Camera with its shiny black finish.
“This design variant of the lens is based on the series model, which became famous for its high image quality and light intensity, as well as its unmistakable bokeh,” Leica explains.
To match its finish, the lens comes with a glossy black round lens hood, glossy black paint front and rear lens caps, and red “feet” markings on the focus range scale, which are orange on the standard black version.
The manual focus lens features six elements across four groups, including a pair of aspherical elements, and is designed to deliver a “slightly soft” rendering, like classic Noctilux lenses. This redesigned lens was re-released in 2021 in black and silver colorways, although the silver edition was limited to just 100 units at launch, which were quickly snapped up.
Pricing and Availability
The Leica M11 glossy black paint is available now for $9,195, a $200 premium over the standard black version. The new Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH. in glossy black paint is also available today and retails for $8,295, $300 more than the regular black version of the lens.
Image credits: Leica
