Design, build quality, lens quality.

Flash prone to red eye.

Having been attracted by the brand name Leica, I could not resist buying a C11 when its price dropped to 149 € (approx. 130 $). Fed up with carrying my bulky SLR everywhere, I was always looking out for an affordable, but solid P&S camera. So now for the first time I own a camera with a red dot...?xD;?xA;The camera is designed beautifully, the first impression is that of a solid, well-built camera. I have exposed a few rolls of film since, and the pictures come out fine. There are the usual drawbacks of a mainly automatic camera, e.g. it has no exposure compensation, but colours and sharpness are okay. I like the focal range of the zoom lens (23-70 mm, corresponding to 30-90 mm in 35mm format). But make sure to use a fast film due to the available apertures.?xD;?xA;I like avoiding the flash, which is prone to red-eye due to the short distance between the flash and the lens. I''''m a bit annoyed that you have to switch the mode to the desired non-flash mode after turning the camera on.?xD;?xA;The translucent box is quite a beauty and protects the C11 well from dust or rain, but it makes the camera too big to carry it around in a shirt''''s pocket or so. So if you prefer a more compact camera, this one''''s not for you.?xD;?xA;I guess the priced dropped to that low level because of the decline of APS. So my main concern with this camera is whether films will be available for a couple of years. I''''m sure my C11 will survive the vanishing of APS films

Customer Service

Not experienced yet.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus mju:1

Excellent camera design. Push a button and the flash pops up and the lens cover opens to reveal the zoom capability. Has a timer that can take up to three pictures in a given time frame. Nice see through hard shell carrying case.

Inconsistent quality of output, one picture is as clear and crisp in detail as could be, while another is as grainy as all get out. Rubber-like backing is very sensitive to oils, like fingers and noses. View finder can be difficult to see through if your eye gets even moderately too close to the glass. Also, backgrounds can look kind of blurry at times. Not capable of continuous shooting.

Should have concentrated more on looks of output rather than product design. It can produce high quality images, but just be sure and take two or more shots of the same thing so you can increase your chances of snapping a nice picture. Buy it if you want a simple to use, "cool" looking camera with some nice features, but just wait until it drops in price of about $100 or more.

Customer Service

Just bought the camera two weeks ago, so I really can't say much about this area yet. I'll give an update later on if need be.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Vectis 40
Nikon Nuvis S2000

solid, easy & straightforward to operate (big buttons), seems to be doing well in bad/cold weather, looks, AE lock.

vignetting (i.e. the corners of the picture are less bright than the centre); the camera is quite big compared to Elphs and Ixuses etc.

I got this camera as an alternative to disposable cameras, which were not too bad imho.
It's ok for taking with you any place, but it's not for taking quality pictures. The prints seem to lack detail and sharpness, compared to 35mm prints (from a good slr). This is probably due to the format (APS), and not because of the quality of the C11. I've only tried 400ASA films so far; lower sensitivity might do better. I'll post something later.

Similar Products Used:

a few disposable cameras

I like the aluminium body and the
design. The flash adjusts itself to subject's distance, giving a very natural skin tone.
All buttons are big and very well located. The lens seems to be very good and delivers sharp photos, especially
-in my experience- when using Fuji 200 ASA film.
I also like the ability of the camera to deliver pictures with no dark edges
(vignetting), especially at medium and long focal lenght.

The camera, in my opinion, has no weaknesses. Obviously, the APS system has limitations: I think that pictures taken in low light come out quite grainy sometimes. The flash can help only with subjects at short distance.

I always liked the Leica name, and never had one.
The C11 is my first Leica. I think it's very good. Not to mention that
everybody who sees me with this camera in my hands is attracted by
its beauty. Technically speaking, some of the pictures I got are impossible to
distinguish from a 35 mm camera, with the exception of the Panorama format
which gives good results only with bright light and low sensitive films.

Customer Service

I bought the camera two months ago,
shot five/six rolls of film and never needed service.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus NewPic 90. A good camera, but not as beautiful as the Leica C11,
also bigger and the lens was no better
than the Leica 1

Fantastic design,
excellent exposure meter,
precise autofocus system,
sharp lens

flash is not very powerful (guide number 9, I think)

The leica C11 is a beautiful product to own because
of its design and because it delivers very good pictures with faithful colors. I was told that Fuji makes it under Leica Germany specifications. Well, I think this is the reason why this camera doesn't cost a fortune. I recommend it to anyone who likes APS format.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon Ixus II

Excellent, robust, smart little APS.

Easy to use. Hardly need instructions.

Good lens (If used with decent quality Kodak 400 film)

Weather-proof and shock proof case.

Superb results with only B&W APS film available. (Kodak again)

Lense is usefully wide (equivalent to 30mm) at min. focal length.

Bright viewfinder.

Lens is bit slow but no more so than any other companies APS zooms. Just use faster film.

Attractive little camera. Fun. Has case that can be used in downpour and doesnt shed lint or leave dust on camera.

Lens is good. (Made by same Manufacturer as Hasselblad X-pan to Leica spec. ie Fuji.)

Also has built in date / time feature if you want stuff like that. Dead easy to use.

Seems built to last and has useful zoom range. (Equivalent to 30mm - 90mm in 35mm terms)

Especially good results with Kodak B&W 400 Advantix film.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

No other APS cameras owned. But results of colleagues Canon Ixus Zoom (costing almost as much) were not as good.

Great rendition of colors.
High contrast.
No vignetting even at wide-angle.
Natural colors with flash.
Sharp lens.

None.

This is the best APS I ever had (and I had three).
Standard enlargements are impossible to distinguish from
my father's 35 mm.
The design is, in my mind, the best Leica design among
compact cameras and it's really functional.
It's easy to use with big buttons. The flash zooms so that it
adjusts to any focal lenght.
When you hold the Leica C11 you feel you have in your
hands an object of art.

Customer Service

Never needed yet.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon Nuvis S.
Kodak C 400.
Kodak C 650.

Wonderful design.
Big buttons.
Zooming flash.
Natural colors.
Sharp and contrastry lens.

Rubber material in the camera's back tends to keep sweat.

This is my first APS camera. I must admit that I bought it mainly because I was seduced by the Leica brand name and by its surprisingly affordable price.
After having developed a few rolls of film, I must say that I am very much
pleased with the results: the colors are great and very well saturated and natural,
the contrast is high and the sharpness of the lens is much better than I could
expect from such a small camera. More over, I didn't notice a visible vignetting at the edges of pictures, and there is very little distortion at wide angle.
Well made, Leica ! on top of everything, this camera is a joy to handle and to look at.

Customer Service

None yet.

Similar Products Used:

First APS camera.
Had some 35mm P & S and some Nikon SRL.

None

None

I feel now confident enough to recommend this camera to anyone in the market for an aps. Here's an update on my previous posting: the pictures taken with lower speed film (200 ASA) came out wonderfully. What's more: blow-up to about 7 by 12 inches actually revealed even more detail than was in the original prints ! Something you wouldn't expect at all from aps :-) The focussing still can be off at times, so beware what object you center when pressing the button.

Similar Products Used:

None

Good looks.

Poor pics.

I am not sure if it's the camera or ASP film but the pics the camera took were on par with a cheap 35mm camera. I tried ASP film from both Fuji and Kodak 100,200,400. Before this camera I had an Olympus Stylus Zoom. Now that was an excellent P&S camera. This is my first Leica, they are suppose to be good, but I don't know. The camera looks great, a little bulky but unfortunately I cannot recommend it. (I have a feeling it's the ASP though...)

Customer Service

None need.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Elph Jr.