In defence of the CCD sensor in the Leica M Cameras

[mikeleng]

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I want to stand up and shout from the rooftops, in the 31 years of being a professional photographer, The Leica M9P, is the best camera I’ve ever owned and used. There, I’ve got it of my chest now .

Other Leica M9/M9P ME and M Monochrom owners can join me in the same celebration if you like, those of you who have had problems as discussed at length can join me too, when your M9/M9P as been repaired and returned .

Those of you who have been waiting for an excuse to upgrade your M9/M9P ME and M Monochrom to the latest greatest Leica M, will never be satisfied with the latest greatest Leica M . Can join as well .

The CCD sensor will be the last in a Leica M, so lets celebrate in style by contributing pictures from and exceptional camera that will never be seen again .

Lets put it up there where it belongs .

Mike Leng, tired at the negativity in most of the threads on this Leica Forum

I’ll start :-

M9P 35mm lens 1250 ISO

 

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[k-hawinkler]

The CCD sensor will be the last in a Leica M.

 

and the M9 was the first FF digital rangefinder, that's good enough for me to keep my M9.

Oh by the way, the D200 was also the last camera with a CCD sensor from Nikon IIRC.

I am keeping that one as well in good working condition.

 

Leica M9 (sic) + APO-Telyt-R 280/4 + UV Filter

(focused with Sony NEX-5N camera, Novoflex Adapters; yes, the adapters are that good!)

 

100% Detail Crop

Edited December 13, 2014 by k-hawinkler

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[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Mike & Karl Heinz,

 

Nice photos all.

 

Karl Heinz: What are the larger "sunburst" like things & what are the little white spots?

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[neekon]

and the M9 was the first FF digital rangefinder, that's good enough for me to keep my M9.

Oh by the way, the D200 was also the last camera with a CCD sensor from Nikon IIRC.

I am keeping that one as well in good working condition.

 

Leica M9 (sic) + APO-Telyt-R 280/4 + UV Filter

(focused with Sony NEX-5N camera, Novoflex Adapters; yes, the adapters are that good!)

 

100% Detail Crop

 

 

not to be that guy, but the D200 was not the last Nikon dSLR with a CCD, not even close, there were at least 3 models after it that had one, 4 if u count the D2Xs(a warmed over D2X)

the D60, D80 and D3000(this being the final CCD dSLR from Nikon released in 2009)

[k-hawinkler]

not to be that guy, but the D200 was not the last Nikon dSLR with a CCD, not even close, there were at least 3 models after it that had one, 4 if u count the D2Xs(a warmed over D2X)

the D60, D80 and D3000(this being the final CCD dSLR from Nikon released in 2009)

 

Thanks for the correction. That's good to know.

[Cooder]

Karl Heinz: What are the larger "sunburst" like things & what are the little white spots?

 

OMG, that's sensor corrosion!!!

 

M9 + Summilux 35 ASPH pre-FLE

 

[k-hawinkler]

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Hello Mike & Karl Heinz,

 

Nice photos all.

 

Karl Heinz: What are the larger "sunburst" like things & what are the little white spots?

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

 

 

Thanks Michael. larger "sunburst" like things? My guess switched on strong street lights.

[otto.f]

Good initiative Mike! I chose this one for your celebration of the M9, because it was made in a hot and humid China (it is my second sensor, not because of delamination and it is now 2 years in use) and because I don't believe that the M240 can produce such honest, true and beautiful reds (so easily). 35mmFLE.

(Colors are a bit less here because of saving for web; you can see it better here: http://lotwouda.zenfolio.com/p360675604/h16759cc9#h16759cc9 )

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Edited December 13, 2014 by otto.f

[richfx]

Great thread. I have no interest in a CMOS sensor digital M (perhaps I'm a luddite). My M9 and MM are just tremendous in terms of image quality. They're all I need and more.

Long live the CCD.

Rich

[richfx]

A recent MM image. Nikkor 35mm 1.8 LTM, f/8 at 1/2000.

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[bocaburger]

Gorgeous images. I'll have to take your word for it a CMOS couldn't do just as well. But I'm not trading back to an M9.

[Lenshacker]

not to be that guy, but the D200 was not the last Nikon dSLR with a CCD, not even close, there were at least 3 models after it that had one, 4 if u count the D2Xs(a warmed over D2X)

the D60, D80 and D3000(this being the final CCD dSLR from Nikon released in 2009)

 

The D2x and D2xs used a CMOS sensor.

 

Nikon | Imaging Products | Nikon D2Xs

 

They were also the first nikons to encrypt data in the .NEF files and hide behind the Digital Millenium Copyright Act to push use of their own software to decode it. I think Nikon backed down. The D3000 has a CCD sensor.

 

I prefer CCD's as they output an analog signal without on-chip dignal processing applied. The latter allows over-sampling, lower noise and can extend dynamic range via processing. The CCD delivers raw image data, unprocessed. With that stated, the sensor on the D4 and Df is good, and there is a monochrome version of the same sensor that is used in a Nikon microscope camera.

 

This is with a 1949 Nikkor 13.5cm F4 in Leica mount, wide-open on the M Monochrom. Straight export to JPEG,

 

Nikkor 13.5cm F4

 

and 100% crop,

 

Nikkor 13.5cm F4

 

Whatever assumptions Nikon made about flatness of film in the 1940s, they seem to apply to Digital cameras as well.

Edited December 14, 2014 by Lenshacker

[Lenshacker]

Leitz 5cm F1.5 Xenon circa 1939, wide-open on the M9. ISO2500, 1/30th hand-held.

 

Marine Museum, Xenon

 

And a 1934 Zeiss 5cm F1.5 Sonnar,

 

Marine Museum, Quantico

 

I was doing a Super-Speed Shootout, although the results may be about 75 years late to be a hot topic.

 

I've always found the ISO2500 to be perfectly usable, these are straight exports from DNG to JPEG with LR3.

[otto.f]

 

I've always found the ISO2500 to be perfectly usable, these are straight exports from DNG to JPEG with LR3.

 

Unbelievable! I am beginning to think you have a speciial copy of the M9. My 2500ISO shots can't be published I 'm afraid.

[jaapv]

In that case you tend to underexpose them, many people do. Properly exposed 2500 shots are fine on the M9. Good noise reduction in post processing helps too. It does mean you must expose to the right to have some photons to work with .

[colint544]

I love the organic look of the CCD, especially in its stripped down form, in the M Monochrom. Here are a few of mine, shot in Glasgow, where I live. The first three were on the M Monochrom, and the shot of the tower blocks at the end was on the M9 I used to own.

 

Best wishes all,

 

Colin

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[Prosophos]

I've written an "Open Letter to Leica" asking for an updated CCD sensor in a future M camera (it currently has over 350 signatures):

 

An open letter to Leica… | Photographs by Peter

 

I'll gladly contribute to this thread.

 

—Peter.

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[otto.f]

Signed! Good initiative and these photo's underline its justification

[Lenshacker]

Unbelievable! I am beginning to think you have a speciial copy of the M9. My 2500ISO shots can't be published I 'm afraid.

 

Thankyou- Not a special copy, and just default noise reduction in LR3.

 

This "ISO2500 Equivalent" shot is using the Raw mode of the M8, ISO160 shot at 4 Stops underexposure, Arvid's M8RAW2DNG software, and then post-processed.

 

skate4_ISO2500

 

Leica M8, Minolta 50/1.4 wide-open. I did a side-by-side comparison of the M9 at ISO 2500 and the M8 using Raw mode. Having those 6 extra bits of data is really important for high-ISO shots, I never use DNG-8 on the M8 or M9.

Edited December 14, 2014 by Lenshacker

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[mikeleng]

Signed , Peter

Your blog is an inspiration, to all who use the Leica M CCD sensor .

Mike