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Hi everybody, I’m a computer science engineer who has been working, as a hobby, the last three years in a new, more precise, way of recreating film look with digital cameras. I’m posting here for feedback, in case anybody of you would like to test the application (with the M9) and show the results and your opinions. I usually shoot film photography but also I like the comfort of digital. The problem is that I’ve never been happy with existing film emulations. Mainly because of that, because they are emulations instead of simulations. METHOD USED For doing so, instead of doing a generic conversion for every camera, I’ve done a specialised conversion for the Leica M9 based on simulating the chemical process and spectrum response, instead of applying curves and other stuff. In the end, I thought, if analog and digital are just two instruments which capture light, I thought, maybe is there any mathematical conversion to make the digital to look like film? I mean, if I take the same photo with analog and digital, under exact same conditions (light / aperture / exposition /…) could I make them look exactly the same? It’s based on chemical simulation and the Leica M9’s response to spectrum. Then LUTs and finally some extra calibration. I think that it could be improved because I’ve used home made or open source tools for calibrating and so on, which are far from perfect. EXAMPLES (Analog vs Converted Digital) Following are some examples of Superia 200 and TriX 400. Click in each photo to see high resolution. DNGs shoots taken with Leica M9 (left), and FILM shoots taken with Minolta CLE (right) at same conditions (aperture / exposition / ISO). All shoots taken with Zeiss Biogon T* ZM 35mm f/2. The examples show several photos, which are the following: +------------------------+------------------------+ | original DNG | | +------------------------+------------------------+ | converted DNG | scanned FILM | +------------------------+------------------------+ | developed DNG | developed FILM | +------------------------+------------------------+ For the generated simulated negative TIFF file and the scanned TIFF file I’ve applied exactly the same develop parameters. TriX 400 - 1 TriX 400 - 2 TriX 400 - 3 Superia 200 - 1 Superia 200 - 2 Superia 200 - 3 Superia 200 - 4 Superia 200 - 5 Superia 200 - 6 CONCLUSIONS Tonal range - Biggest difference between digital and film Dynamic range - Digital is faaar more detailed in the blacks, film never gets burnt, meanwhile digital gets burn quite fast. Film has more microcontrast, it's more sharpen Digital is a little bit more contrast after developing, I imagine it’s because it reach white level faster, then, when doing autolevels with the developing program, as a result, it’s a more contrast image. DOWNLOAD I'm having a console application ready, if interest is shown it will be ready quite soon! CAVEHEATS / LIMITATIONS The program only accept DNG, because I need all the light captured by the camera, instead of a JPG already converted and really dependent on camera self made adjustments. The program only accepts photos taken at the ISO of the certain film that is gonna be used. For example, for TriX400 it will accept only Leica M9 DNGs at 400 ISO. I’ve also done tests with ISO 200 and 800, and the results were quite satisfactory but, for complexity reasons, I prefer to let it be native film ISO for the moment. Highlights are not always correct, and sometimes they look weird, mainly in color film. This is due to bayer sensor pattern and its different intensity response (for Red, Green and Blue channels). FUTURE (& PAST) WORK Leica M10-D Leica M8.2 THANKS Super thanks to the creator of LibRaw, a wonderful C++ library for working with RAW files. Any questions I’m open to answer 🙂 Best regards everybody. Tomás AKA “Camalogica”

Brought the M9 to Helsinki, a town that surprised me positively. A few pictures here, and a full gallery on https://www.mortenalbek.com/morten-albek-photography-gallery/ M9 with Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH

My two-day workshop in Rome is done. Two fabulous days with nice people around. The weather prediction said lots of rain, but we got a lot of sun. Only one little drip the first morning. Rome is a very interesting place to do street photography, especially in the older part of Trastevere. Here are a few Leica M9 photos through the Summilux 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH

Hi guys, I am sure this topic is covered over and over again, but I can't help starting a new thread to help me out in a very difficult decision. It feels like a very difficult decision anyway. Some background: I have been photographing for the past 15 years, and for a few of those professionally. I have been a strong Nikon fan throughout (sorry for swearing in the church), but have also owned and used a lot of film cameras, such as Mamiya, Hasselblad 2000FCW, Canon and Nikon 35mm film cameras. I would say i am a fairly decent photographer with, maybe, a bigger passion and lust than talent. :) Two years ago soon my son was born, and I just didn't bring the big cameras with me any longer, and I missed capturing those moments. I stopped all professional photography to make time for family and my day job. I sold all my other cameras, DSLRs and film alike to buy a new, smaller, more handy one. That I actually would bring with me everywhere and take photos. I never bought one, and now I miss I so much. So I started the hunt for the best camera for ME. I have been googling, foruming all across, and I just don't know how to drill it down any further and decide on the actual camera to buy. One thing I do know is that it is going to be a Leica. I just love Leicas philosophy, the picture quality, the "to the roots" thing, and I have decided once and for all that now is the time for me to finally own a Leica. I also know that I am on a budget. Coming in at a total of 2000 USD would be ideal - but if course, Leica is not cheap and there are many factors here. So anywhere between 1000-3000 USD is something I look at. For that money you could buy either a Leica CL kit brand new, Leica TL2 brand new, a used Leica Q, used Leica M9. I am not a rangefinder guy really, but I really like the concept. However, I will use the camera for many different scenarios such as travel photo, family photo, art works that I do, and just general hobby/art photography. I don't do any studio work any longer, so that I don't need, I don't do street photography in that sense, and I don't to long tele situation photography like concerts or sports. So basically, I do everyday photography and would like my photos to be nice to have, maybe frame them, and if I find time again start taking art work photos again. But let's focus on travel, everyday life typ photo. Now - what do you guys think? Where should I place my bets? I guess many of you have tried many of the cameras - which one do you believe I will be happier with? Thank you so much! I appreciate all and any input!

Dear all, I am totall new to the leica digital world. I currently brought a M9 in a excellent condition. But one thing makes me a little bit wondering: sometimes the LCD display shows me pictures with strange rings. It happened very often when I shoot in-door under poor/artificial light source. the rings disappeared when I shoot under higher iso (1600 or higher). Leica Care told me it is normal. The camera have to compress the original photo extremely to be able to show it on this small LCD screen. Due to the bad resolution and colour depth of the compressed picture, these rings may appears. The explanation by Leica is quite OK. But yesterday I have the chance to try a Leica M8.2. It doesn’t show any rings when shooting under the same condition. Now I am really confused. Can anyone tell me if it is normal bei M9 or my LCD is somehow defect? Thanks s lot for your help! Best regards Frank

I recently purchased a Leica M9, that appears to possibly be the first M9 produced. Serial number is 3803501. The camera appears to be in like new condition with all original packaging. I purchased the camera to use, not sit in a a collection. My thoughts are: Even though it is a digital camera, does it have significant collectors value that would make a mistake to use it as an every day camera? Is it likely that digital cameras will never have significant collectors value? I would appreciate anybody's thoughts. Tim

Hi all, Not sure there is any solution to this but my M9 screen has started to show what appear to be dead pixels, to be clear they are not on the photo but are the screen pixels. (excuse crappy phone photo). Anyone seen this before or have any idea if it is fixable. To be fair it isn't a show stopper since I rarely use the screen except in tricky light to check exposure which is still doable. Any comments/advice welcome but I fear I will have to put up with it until it eventually dies. Shame as it has an new style sensor and otherwise works fine.

I was excited to get a pre-owned M9 Monochrom in excellent condition with very few shots and a new sensor. Good looking camera, I have to admit. Coming from a Q2, honestly, the control/settings layout is a bit dated. But the pics show promise (I have to go out and shoot more). And the mechanical shutter sound and the file write delay...whoah. The settings offer two modes: soft and discreet. Both are so loud, forget about using this camera for wildlife shooting - it would scare away a bear. And the slow file write is...interesting. But if the pics live up to expectations, I can accept the annoying and tinny shutter sound. Cheers! CJ

Hello all I posted a message on the general beginner forum the other day about the best camera with which to start my Leica journey. From the reply I got, it seems that the M9 is a very good bet. However, in my reading up in this, I have seen various articles which suggest the better option is the M9-P. I am looking at one of each of the M9 (£1,800) and M9/P (£2,750) bit of which have low shutter actuations (c.3,500) and have had their sensors replaced with the non-corrosive sensors. Any advice on which may be the better option would be most welcome! Many thanks Ben

Hey, would you buy a Leica M 9 with an updated processor. So we could keep the nice sensor and have a more responsive camera. I would love to have the choice of using a CCD but with a faster response time and maybe live view could be achieved. I shoot the camera the way it is. And I can live with it's limitations. But if I could choose, I would love to have this option. Same with the M8. If I could get one with updated processor, I would buy it. What about you?

We know that Leica M9 was launched 09.09.09 ... at such a nice period. For me this first digital full frame Leica has won Collector Status. I still use it, and the images from this old friend are great, even with today's standard. This is from old Kodachrome slide taken some years back in Colmar scanned with M9, macro 50mm lens on bellows, then only need some dust cleaning, resize for LUF nothing more needed !

1 - Skatepark (South Bank) Leica M9 + CZ c-sonnar 50mm f/1.5

Hello, I apologize if this has been answered somewhere before, but I searched the forum (and the web) and cannot seem to find my answer. I purchased a Leica SF24D about a year ago. On arrival, it worked flawlessly in TTL, A, M etc and overall I was pleased. It has been a few months since I have used the flash and this past weekend when using the unit, it noticed that it exhibited some behavior that I do not recall existing before. When used in TTL (and with 6 bit coded Leica lenses ) I thought I remember that when changing the F-Stop on the lens, the flash would also show the corresponding f-stop with distance on the LCD display on the flash . When using the flash this past weekend, I noticed that when changing the F-Stop on my lens, the flash was fixed on an f-stop, say 2.4. When I changed my lens from 2.4 to 8, the flash remained on 2.4. Overall, the exposure actually looked correct so it appears that that the flash is working. As a test, I adjusted ISO on camera and the ISO did change on flash. I also changed sync speeds in camera, cleaned contacts on lens, replaced batteries in flash etc. I also manually adjusted flash f-stop when in TTL mode (set flash to F8, then lens to 2.4, 5.6, 8 etc) and the exposures continued to look accurate. Am I just remembering the operation of this flash wrong? I thought the flash f-stop would show the corresponding f-stop on lens when in TTL? As for A, that is working as expected, same as M. Thanks for any insights.

Whenever I'm in Istanbul, one of my favorite areas to walk around is along the water. Here's a pic from a 2013 visit. Taken from the ferry docks at Eminönü on the Golden Horn, looking out towards Karaköy and Galata Tower. The deets: M9 Summicron 40-C (what a great lens) Post-processed in Lightroom. Saludos, S

I have a M9 that shows signs of slight corrosion and I’ve been holding off on sending it in as the corrosion doesn’t show up under normal shooting conditions. I heard on another forum that that Leica is planning to discontinue replacing sensors for the M9, is this true? I know supplies must be limited but thought I had another year or so to get the sensor done. Has anyone else heard this?

Hi everyone, can't believe it's 2020 already! Here's my first post of the year : ) After shooting digital with the M-D, M10 for a few years I sold all digital cameras in 2019 and shot only film for a year. It was a great experience, and moving forward my Leica M4 will continue to be my main camera. That being said I still felt I wanted a backup digital camera, mostly for B&W since my lab stopped developing it. I first thought of getting the M9M, but I'm not a fan of the black chrome finish (plus all my lenses are silver); I found a great deal on the M9P black paint and decided to get it. To be honest, I love it waay, way more than the other M digital cameras that came after it. The M10 is definitely a more robust, higher quality, modern product but for some reason I never bounded with it (I owned all 3 variations, M10, M10P, and M10D)...The M9, on the other hand, makes me feel like carrying it everywhere I go. The colors are great, B&W files look good too, and ISO is similar to film, and I even like the shutter sound ahah. Of course I still prefer the colors I get from film, but I'd say the M9 files are the next best thing. So to me, the M9 is definitely worth it in 2020 (and probably still in 2030 unless Leica makes something similar to what they achieved with this camera; I mean...who needs 41mp...just stick with the basics and work on bringing the soul of the M9 back into the new Leica lineup). I'm curious to know what you all think, what's your experience with the M9? Have you used other leicas and came back to the M9? Is it your favorite digital camera, or do you think it ran its course and is an outdated dinosaur? Would be great to hear from you, and wish you all a great 2020!

Hi i don’t know why the site wouldn’t let me create a new topic in the M forum. My question: I have an M10 and Q2. I just bought an M9 which I want to get converted to Infra Red. Any recommendations for getting it done? I’m in the UK. thanks

Four years ago I bought a used M262 camera. It was my first digital Leica M body. I used it for a year a didn't bond with it and decided to let it go. I vowed at the time that a digital M was not for me. Today in 2022 after the release of the M11, I came back full circle and purchased a steel grey M9 with an updated sensor for a price more than what I had paid for my M262 purchase. A quick background: I mainly photograph street & environmental portraits using my x100v and GR2. I enjoy them but also love analog/film photography. I love and collect various M film bodies and lenses and shoot color negative film and develop+scan at home to save cost. I use my Sony A9 to scan, for video work and also to adapt my M lenses on. Last week I spent a considerable amount of time developing & scanning over 30 rolls of color films that I had from 2021. I enjoy the final output of film but no matter how I justify it, scanning and editing is a lot of work and time to dedicate as a family guy. I looked at the cost of a dedicated high-end scanner like the Pakon but the prices are in the same ballpark if not more than the "older" digital M bodies. This led me to looking at M digital bodies again. So after some deliberation I decided I'm going to try the M9 to see if it will give me the same "film like" qualities for my images. I'm not a pixel peeper and print occasionally at 8x12 size. I've read alot about the limitation of the M9 body with it's sensor issues, aged electronics/battery and low ISO functionality (which i don't mind as a daytime photographer). I'm curious to see if the "M9 magic talk" is real or hype, I will find out soon after I have it on my hands. Will follow up.

My M9 fell to the ground from waist level. When I try to take a photo, the shutter is not working. Battery is full and all menus are working, no issues on the display as well, even the light meter also working. Somebody pls help

Hello. I'm interested in hearing from anyone whose made the move from an M9/M-E to a 262. How are you feeling about your decision? I've recently replaced the sensor in my M-E, which included a full CLA from Leica, NJ. It feels like a new camera, but I'm also reminded of the only gripe I've ever really had about it: Limited ISO performance. I max out at 1200, but even that can turn a Summer afternoon into a snowy day in B/W. I'd love to (when necessary) shoot between 1600 & 3200 without the resulting photograph becoming an exploration in Pointillism. In addition, weather sealing and the larger sensor seem like a plus. Let the CCD vs CMOS debate begin! So good people... What say you? Thanx!

Hi, I wonder if others had the same problem: I have a 2nd SF 24D that I use regularly with my M3 on A setting, no problem. Now, recently I obtained an M9 and tried out the 24D with it but it instantly switches to a flashing ISO 3200 and an LGN of 45. This cannot be changed by the +/- buttons, nor anything else (such as f-stop). This occurs in A and M setting (TTL/GCN I can forget - it doesn’t work at all with the M9 but reminds me to switch to A). The odd thing is that it resets once off the M9 and then the settings can be used just as normal. I tried it also on a friend’s D-Lux 5 and his ancient Digilux 2 - the former works fine on A, the latter produces the same problems as with the M9. I usually am fine working on A or M since I normally use the 24D as a filler flash but even that doesn’t work with the M9 under these circumstances. Ideas? Thanks very much raxnitz

Hallo, ich habe mir vor Jahr und Tag eine M9 neu gekauft. Habe aber die M9 nicht benutzt , da ich lieber analog gearbeitet habe. Dann kam das Thema "Sensor" auf und ich habe um meine M9 zu prüfen einige Zeit mit der M9 fotografiert. Alles im "Grünen Bereich" - keine Probleme. Auf Nachfrage hat man mir gesagt, wenn da bis jetzt nichts passiert ist, dann kommt da auch nichts mehr. Sie brauchen nichts zu unternehmen. Also die M9 wieder weggepackt. Gestern nun M9 genommen , Objektiv angesetzt , Winterfoto gemacht .. und nix ! In der Mitte hell und an beiden Rändern irgendwelche Farbe. Karte formatiert. Das gleiche Ergebnis. Firmware kontrolliert und neu aufgespielt. Wieder Mist. Leica angerufen und 2 Beispielfotos an den Service gesendet. Aber man hat mir wenig Hoffnung gemacht. Es gibt keinen neuen Sensor mehr und wenn der es nicht ist, dann ist es irgendein Board, welches es auch nicht mehr gibt. So ganz kann ich mit dieser Sachlage nicht zufrieden sein. Eine recht teuere Digitalkamera mit weniger als 1.000 Auslösungen , gibt nach kurzer Benutzung und danach nur im Schrank gelegen, einfach den Geist auf und es gibt keinen Ersatz. Äußerlich sieht die M9 aus wie neu aus dem Laden. Die Update - Angebote habe ich auf der Leica Seite gesehen. Aber das kann ich nur als schlechten Scherz bewerten. Nach den Erfahrungen soll ich eine weitere große Summe in eine DIGITAL - LEICA investieren ? Gibt es ähnliche Erfahrungen ? Ich habe auch Digitalkameras von Nikon D3 und neuer die D810 von denen sind solche Probleme nicht bekannt. Na ja, die kosten ja nicht soviel. Es tut mir in der Seele weh, wenn ich nur denke die M9 einfach zu entsorgen. Es muß doch eine Möglichkeit geben.

Greetings everyone, I have been using the M9 since 2016. Earlier this year I traded it for an M9P and thought that will be good enough for my amateurish skill level and enjoyment. Until I started reading this forum to find out the black and white mindset change with the M9M which is exhilarating! I could not shake off this thought and now here I am, an owner of a used M9M (new sensor) in 2022. Thank you Leica Forum!

Hi all, my m9 got this problem in low light especially in high iso situation. Do you think it’s a sd card or motherboard issue? Thx