Timmyjoe Posted June 23, 2015 Share #41 Posted June 23, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) I always felt the difference between a CCD sensor and a CMOS sensor was similar to the difference between Chrome films (CCD) and Color Negative films (CMOS) in their renderings of light. There are times when I want a Color Negative look, and I use my Nikon DSLR's. But when I want a Chrome look (like the old Ektachrome EPP-100) I reach for a Leica CCD digital camera. My personal opinion is that the new CMOS sensor Leica M cameras don't produce that same look. I think the new cameras have a similar look to my Nikons. It's not good or bad, just different. And if you like the CCD look, then the Leica M-E is the only game in town, and the last of the new 35mm CCD cameras. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 Hi Timmyjoe, Take a look here Worth getting a M9/M-E ?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
colonel Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share #42 Posted June 23, 2015 I always felt the difference between a CCD sensor and a CMOS sensor was similar to the difference between Chrome films (CCD) and Color Negative films (CMOS) in their renderings of light. There are times when I want a Color Negative look, and I use my Nikon DSLR's. But when I want a Chrome look (like the old Ektachrome EPP-100) I reach for a Leica CCD digital camera. My personal opinion is that the new CMOS sensor Leica M cameras don't produce that same look. I think the new cameras have a similar look to my Nikons. It's not good or bad, just different. And if you like the CCD look, then the Leica M-E is the only game in town, and the last of the new 35mm CCD cameras. Well could get an S Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmyjoe Posted June 23, 2015 Share #43 Posted June 23, 2015 Well could get an S Yeah, but that's not a new 35mm CCD camera, that's more like medium format. Though I'd love to have one, just not in any budget I can imagine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
imperfiction Posted June 29, 2015 Share #44 Posted June 29, 2015 I just came back to the M9 myself. I had an M9 for many years almost as soon as it launched. Then about year and a half ago, I switched to the M240 - it was a great change and I loved the M240 just as well! But I wasn't using it as often, I was travelling for pleasure less and the intensity of my work at that time kept me a little away. So I sold it and shifted to something I could more easily justify the cost of (Fuji X100t). That was quite a change and it never felt right. I experimented with Film Leicas as well (M6 still sits on my shelf) and that was (and is) still a a great experience. For the past few months, I was thinking of getting back into the M9 zone and recently I found a very good deal on ebay (almost too good to be true at 2300 euro) and the camera turned up on Saturday. And I am fondly now coming back into the fold - the camera that made me love photography! And it still performs the same as I remember it, and the same as it was designed. Yes, it is still worth it! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share #45 Posted June 29, 2015 I just came back to the M9 myself. I had an M9 for many years almost as soon as it launched. Then about year and a half ago, I switched to the M240 - it was a great change and I loved the M240 just as well! But I wasn't using it as often, I was travelling for pleasure less and the intensity of my work at that time kept me a little away. So I sold it and shifted to something I could more easily justify the cost of (Fuji X100t). That was quite a change and it never felt right. I experimented with Film Leicas as well (M6 still sits on my shelf) and that was (and is) still a a great experience. For the past few months, I was thinking of getting back into the M9 zone and recently I found a very good deal on ebay (almost too good to be true at 2300 euro) and the camera turned up on Saturday. And I am fondly now coming back into the fold - the camera that made me love photography! And it still performs the same as I remember it, and the same as it was designed. Yes, it is still worth it! I sympathise a lot with this view There was something more pickupable about the M9 then the M240 and I am coming to the unwelcome conclusion that's its a bit to do with the extra mm but mostly to do with the extra 90g. Although most of the extra weight comes from the battery, which is 3x effective then the M9, I still prefer the M9's overall size and weight. With an Elmarit 28mm, Zeiss 35mm f2, Summicron 50mm f2 or Zeiss 50mm f1.5, the M9 is just a lot of fun 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafish Posted July 1, 2015 Share #46 Posted July 1, 2015 Leica just announced the updated sensors that will fix the corrosion issue. M9 prices should rise. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted July 4, 2015 Share #47 Posted July 4, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) I just came back to the M9 myself. I had an M9 for many years almost as soon as it launched. Then about year and a half ago, I switched to the M240 - it was a great change and I loved the M240 just as well! But I wasn't using it as often, I was travelling for pleasure less and the intensity of my work at that time kept me a little away. So I sold it and shifted to something I could more easily justify the cost of (Fuji X100t). That was quite a change and it never felt right. I experimented with Film Leicas as well (M6 still sits on my shelf) and that was (and is) still a a great experience. For the past few months, I was thinking of getting back into the M9 zone and recently I found a very good deal on ebay (almost too good to be true at 2300 euro) and the camera turned up on Saturday. And I am fondly now coming back into the fold - the camera that made me love photography! And it still performs the same as I remember it, and the same as it was designed. Yes, it is still worth it! I sympathize too but I must say you are not very clear about your preference for the M9. The M240 was used less because of circumstances, ?, but you loved it too, ? Are we comparing apples with pears here? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
likealot Posted July 7, 2015 Share #48 Posted July 7, 2015 I am still thinking. I am still put off a bit by the sensor issue, not because Leica won't fix it, but because of its potential inevitability and a possible 3 month loss of camera. I tend to agree with both arguments on style. I prefer the way the M9-P looks but prefer the security of the M-E as a later model. I just bought an MP and am having such fun I am digitally suspended for the moment. However inevitably I will return It's exactly how I feel. Every Leica model I have looked into (XVario, M8, M9, M-E, M) has some sort of major flaw or fault. So I am still in suspension and fearful to pull the trigger. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share #49 Posted July 7, 2015 It's exactly how I feel. Every Leica model I have looked into (XVario, M8, M9, M-E, M) has some sort of major flaw or fault. So I am still in suspension and fearful to pull the trigger. To be fair the M doesn't have any flaws IMHO and is the best digital camera Leica has ever made. A slight weight loss should make it perfect but it's still excellent as it is Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougg Posted July 7, 2015 Share #50 Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) Leica is taking in customers' M9 cameras with corroded sensors... How many, can we guess? And what will Leica do with those used M9's? Will they eventually be fitted with non-corroding new sensors, reconditioned, and sold as refurbs? Good deals on nice M9's to come? Doug Edited July 7, 2015 by Dougg Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share #51 Posted July 7, 2015 Leica is taking in customers' M9 cameras with corroded sensors... How many, can we guess? And what will Leica do with those used M9's? Will they eventually be fitted with non-corroding new sensors, reconditioned, and sold as refurbs? Good deals on nice M9's to come? Doug That would be ideal, at least for me Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafish Posted July 7, 2015 Share #52 Posted July 7, 2015 To be fair the M doesn't have any flaws IMHO and is the best digital camera Leica has ever made. A slight weight loss should make it perfect but it's still excellent as it is Every camera has flaws. The M has a poorly position movie button that cannot be repurposed to something useful (thankfully it can be disabled), a cumbersome live view implementation, buggy GPS, slow start up times and frame lines that cannot be seen when the camera isn't powered on. Minor quibbles one and all, but flaws nonetheless. The M9 has sensor corrosion (which Leica is fixing on ALL cameras), slow card writes, small buffer, crappy rear LCD and no doubt other flaws as well. Again, with the exception of the sensor which Leica are standing behind, minor quibbles one and all. I think that the M240 generation was an improvement over the M9 generation, but for me not enough to bother with. I remain so thrilled with my original M Monochrom and M-E that I am likely to skip even the M24x's replacement and hold our at least one more generation. Honestly the Q is a lot more interesting to me than the M240, not as a replacement, but as a complement. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
likealot Posted July 7, 2015 Share #53 Posted July 7, 2015 Does the M-E have the same sensor issues as the M9? is Leica's current sensor replacement programe time limited? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted July 7, 2015 Share #54 Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) Yes (potentially). No (unless of course parts run out at some point…see M8.) Jeff Edited July 7, 2015 by Jeff S Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafish Posted July 8, 2015 Share #55 Posted July 8, 2015 Does the M-E have the same sensor issues as the M9? is Leica's current sensor replacement programe time limited? M-E is IDENTICAL to M9 in every way except color and lack of USB port and frame selector lever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalHeMan Posted July 8, 2015 Share #56 Posted July 8, 2015 M-E is IDENTICAL to M9 in every way except color and lack of USB port and frame selector lever. And a slightly shallower thread on the shutter button cable release, but now we're splitting hairs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
markforce Posted July 9, 2015 Share #57 Posted July 9, 2015 M-E is IDENTICAL to M9 in every way except color and lack of USB port and frame selector lever. ...and that being established, I will admit that the ISO capabilities of my M9 start seriously overshadowing the pleasure I have using it in bright daylight. Even 800 at dusk is tricky, anything above (and later in the evening) pretty much completely useless in my opinion/experience even for black/white conversions, my own flawed metering process notwithstanding. Personally, I need a sensor to support low light photography. M-E/M9 it ain't (nothing new there). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share #58 Posted July 9, 2015 ...and that being established, I will admit that the ISO capabilities of my M9 start seriously overshadowing the pleasure I have using it in bright daylight. Even 800 at dusk is tricky, anything above (and later in the evening) pretty much completely useless in my opinion/experience even for black/white conversions, my own flawed metering process notwithstanding. Personally, I need a sensor to support low light photography. M-E/M9 it ain't (nothing new there). I would suggest a few things I hope you use the latest version of lightroom, it has a major impact on the ISO performance you can extract from the M9. I actually found 1250 could be very good with careful control of noise. However the biggest thing is a trick that basically involves that taking photos at ISO 640 with underexposure, but then stopping up in Lightroom. We discovered that the software algorythms in Lightroom were simply better then the camera, but the sensor captures bags of information and could reach a higher potential using the power of your PC This is an old post I made which describes the technique and links through to other info posts on this matter. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3550226 Hope this helps rgds 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share #59 Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) Edited July 9, 2015 by colonel Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
run23 Posted July 13, 2015 Share #60 Posted July 13, 2015 [...] However the biggest thing is a trick that basically involves that taking photos at ISO 640 with underexposure, but then stopping up in Lightroom. We discovered that the software algorythms in Lightroom were simply better then the camera, but the sensor captures bags of information and could reach a higher potential using the power of your PC This is an old post I made which describes the technique and links through to other info posts on this matter. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3550226 Hope this helps rgds I second this technique. It's not going to turn the M-9/M-E into a low-light powerhouse, but boosting the exposure in Lightroom from 640 has gotten me useable to really good results, and I'm definitely comfortable with 1,250-1,600 in many cases, and sometimes up to 2,500. Again, you're not getting anywhere near the performance of something like the Sony A7s, but I was pleasantly surprised by the files I was getting above 640 using Lightroom. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.