Thanks for this Dave. This is some solid advice. Thinking about doing this…😅

Dave this is so spot on. I did a side by side comparison of some photos I shot with P800, and you’ve outdone yourself.🫡 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

Just wanted to comment that not all triggers work with the Leica M11. I originally had the Godox XT1 that worked with the M10 but did not work with the M11. I had to buy Godox XPROII Trigger to work with my Leica M11. Also you need to make sure the Leica M11 has the latest firmware. Thank you for all your content related to the Leica M... Love your photography... Big follower from the Bay Area

This people know who is new because they are on the street the whole day just like a police officer he patrol same streets for months he knows the same people going to work the best thing to do is to act like you are ready for what ever and that's been alert alert alert. act you are not scare and your smart phone is the best camera you can carry. The iPhone 15 pro Max if they take it and they want to get to change password it will asked for your photo .

Awesome video. I love this stuff. I think it might not even be the sensors themselves that play a huge role in image quality, but the filters on these sensors really do. If you take a look at the images coming from the Monochrome camera's where the filters are removed, they appear to have much more contrast and it's almost like how the dehaze filter works in LR. Just saying though!

Good video on your settings. I don't know if you mentioned it (I may have missed it), but much of what you have as a favorite is available on the first press of the menu-then touch the setting you want to change.

The red on the frame lines might be related to a parallax issue, or the frame lines mask might be off (and light is reflecting either through the prism or from the exposure lights). Just a thought :)

Finally got a chance to use this preset. FIRE 🔥🔥🔥🔥. That Cali Gold is unmatched. And yes this is as close to one click as you will get. I only have to use the preset adjustments you provided. Appreciate it boss! 10/10 RECOMMEND!

Best camera and lenses ever made . Years of experience printing negs from all different lenses from 35mm cameras . The sharpness , the edge to edge flatness , and internal contrast can be seen and compared . I shoot nikon f cameras Because i can’t stand range finders and need slr focus . Leica thou is the best , bar none .

I have a few presets from you already Dave. This Portra 800 is by far your best! No knock on the others, but this is closest to what I see in my head, and edit towards typically. Awesome job!

Traveling in a group is another bit of advice I have for you. Whenever I head into SF I always have at least one friend with me if not 2 or 3. I have friends and family in and around the city, and when you travel in a pack of even 2 people it makes you a harder target especially for lone thieves. Add that to Dave's other advice and you should be able to get through without any major issues. I've never been a fan of camera bags that look like camera bags. I've either used a cube or gotten a bag from a company like Wandrd that makes other EDC bags and matches their design language across their lines so that when people see it it's just a bag. These tips have served me well in a number of Metro areas including both SF and Oakland.

I love this! Honestly, I have become very heavily involved in lighting - even if it's just continuous. Outdoor flash is something I've dabbled in, but this video makes me want to rethink a couple recent sessions I've done.

Love this video and just got the Leica SF40 for my M11. I’m a total noob with flash though! What do you mean by control your shutter? Once you set the dial to the flash icon doesn’t it mean the shutter is set at that speed or? TIA.

Spectacular.

Man, using Kelvin is what I've needed to do. Thanks for that. I used AWB for a long time, and the camera tends to tilt towards cool/magenta, which sometimes hides in the shadows.

Honored to have a couple shots make your video!

Definitely I need a Leica and rewatch all your videos for educational purposes, but my favorite shots were the black and white ones. The textures and shadows on natural and flash light were so detailed and crisp, the contrast and highlights were hard and soft at the same time, I fell in love with them.

That monochrome shot on the malibu with your friend… mesmerizing it took me away. (Still watching)

As a fellow working photographer, instead of saying “natural light”, “available light”might be a better term. Strobes can be made to look natural. Good tip to keep your flash looking natural is to expose under by 2/3-1 stop then strobing in for fill.

The m11 colors look so sad.

Those came out noooiiiice

Just don’t go.

Light is light. A good photographer can make flash look like natural light and natural light look like flash. It’s all about how you shape each.

Good photog can shoot with a lensbaby and still get useable shots.

You are right about cars. Don't leave anything in your car that you ever want to see again. The rental car company will charge you for the broken window. Good idea for men and especially women, bring along someone who can watch your back.

Hahaha - oh Mr Dave - flashes have been battery operated for years, but I’m glad you had fun. 1/180 worked with the fog, but that’s rather slow in general for working outside. Profoto and godox/flashpoint now make triggers for Leica that allow high speed sync.

Definitely a fun sunset session - learned so much from You & Scott!

@Dave were you running the flash in manual mode on the m11?

Freedom and democracy.

So why not just carry your cell phone?

I've had my M11 for more than a year and I've had may be two freezes, It really isn't an issue at all. Much better stability than my M9 with the last OS. It's now a solid beautiful camera with great handling and creates amazing results. Defiantly worth the upgrade from my previous M10P.

Problem gelöst…, ich habe beide. 😂😄

Did this video make me feel safer in SF for photography? Nope lol

Talk about photographer/wildlife interactions: We were driving thru the Lamar Valley one spring when it was full of bison, and spotted a great landscape complete with a large grouping of bison with babies. Pulled off in the next pullout along with the truck behind us. I grabbed my camera, and got out of the car, and the guy in the truck behind us apparently had the same idea, and got out with his camera but opened the canopy on his truckbed to retrieve his tripod and headed out behind me. I stopped at a safe distance. Apparently he had not properly secured the hatch to his truckbed and his little Jack Russell Terrier decided to jump out of the back of the truck and run out to the bison, while barking his dumb head off. The guy dropped his camera and his tripod in the gravel and ran out way close to the group and called his dog who was among them barking and jumping at them. The thought crossed my mind that I might witness the death of a dog, or maybe the death of a dog and a human... the dog fairly quickly made the correct decision between harassing the mother bison who had babies with them and returned to his master's side. I had taken a few shots during this melee, and picked up the stranger's camera and cleaned it off, and it had surprisingly little damage, really just a deep gouge in the grip rubber and scratches on the corner of the base under the grip. I picked up the tripod, and put the cleaned up camera on the hood of the truck, and leaned the tripod against bumper, as he and the dog returned to the pull out. We had an exchange of comments that I don't really remember because of the drama that all 4 of us and the wildlife had just been thru. I told him that his camera looked pretty ok, and told him that I had pictures of their little encounter with the bison family, and asked him if he wanted me to email them to him. He did, and so he gave me his email address. I looked at them once after my spouse and I returned home, sent them off to the guy, and once he sent a thank you for the pictures and for picking his camera and tripod up out of the dirty gravel, he confirmed that his camera had not been damaged, and asked me about other photos that we got during our trip to Yellowstone. We exchanged photos from our trip and have been friends ever since. This was in 2005 and a couple years later, we all met in Yellowstone for a week long joint photo adventure. And we have been on various national park photo trips. Our friend leaves his dog at home. Dave, from one coffee nut to another, If you find yourself in the early morning in W.Yellowstone, Morning Glory Coffee is excellent. Its on W. Dunraven, not too far from the West Entrance. I have to say, I hired a beach guide on 2 different Hawaiian Islands and got some really great sunrise and late afternoon and sunset shots of the "best beaches" of Hawaii. I totally agree about how productive doing that in a place or places that you are not familiar with can be.

Thank you, Dave. I shoot full-frame digital and I was wondering about trying MF film. Vintage cameras are relatively affordable nowadays, but, as someone used to "free" shooting in the digital world, the cost of film + development is something to think about. As a hobbyist I think I'd enjoy the experience of shooting with vintage gear. The whole processe looks cool, in particular the need to work slowly. But I think I'd need more time before I press the trigger (or the shutter).

I'm based in Oakland! Thanks for sharing this!

I’m enjoying watching the evolution you’re doing through with monochrome. Got my Q2M arriving tomorrow. Been shooting primarily b&w film since the mid 80s. Love both the fine art and documentary work you can achieve without color, without the distraction the viewer experiences when you do something challenging with color - distraction, which can include them mentally contesting the correctness of the colors themselves. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about something in a long time 🤙

Recently managed to get my hands on a Q2M: fantastic camera and photographic experience like no other.

I’ve had a few times where guys have walked up on me and asked odd questions trying to feel out if they could rob me or not. Bald guy asking where a barber shop is for example. Have to carry yourself in a confident way and hope for the best. It’s a really good idea to have insurance on your gear.

Dave, great video. I have a question on lens for M11. I can't quite afford the summilux so is looking for an alternative 35mm. Are there any out there that you've tried and would highly recommend? Best regards.

Leica is the ultimate goal for myself. Looking at thee pictures during the video the vibrance of the M8 colours are incredible. The M11 has rather muted colours . Would I be right in saying this ?

I live in the Bay Area, last time I went to SF to shoot was around 2 years ago. Been meaning to go back but it can be scary when all you ever see are headline after headline. But I still love the city, definitely planning on going back soon. I just need to be prepared and more conscious while there this time.

Can you recommend an ir cut filter?

dude, this video is incredible. would love to shoot a video and film with you this summer!

Great video - Yes - Ektachrome can be a challenge but if you shoot at box speed and use a light meter, you can get some great shots and the color rendition is close to perfection. That said - I've blown up a roll or 2 of Ektachrome when I wasnt careful enough to make sure I nailed the exposure. Most of the time the scans I get back are just beautiful, especially when taken with my 1952 Voightlander Bessa II 6x9 medium format camera.

California is a fallen state. Don’t be stupid. Don’t go there unless you have no choice.

starts video with "it's not that bad in SF..." proceeds with showing special operations sniper level camouflaging concealment tactics :D

I was taking photos in Northern California and this fool gave me a stare down at my camera...he didn't want to find out

I normally use a reusable grocery bag, it's pretty discreet.

totally jealousing you for that Sony lens