wattsy Posted November 4, 2009 Share #1  Posted November 4, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) PDN review  At a risk of sounding like a fanboy, the review is very irritating on so many levels. One highlight is where the reviewer describes the "mode dial" (what most of us call a shutter speed dial) as "cutely retro" and "which offers a choice of only a range of shutter speeds". What a twat! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Hi wattsy, Take a look here PDN review of the M9 (for those who haven't yet read enough 'reviews'). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
fotografr Posted November 4, 2009 Share #2 Â Posted November 4, 2009 The reviewer also states that the camera can't use SD cards with more than 2GB of memory, which we all know is incorrect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted November 4, 2009 Share #3 Â Posted November 4, 2009 Only a range? Oh! What a flaw for a $7,000 camera! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrice Posted November 4, 2009 Share #4  Posted November 4, 2009 I love how people in the UK can just throw the word twat around  And yes, ther reviewer certainly is one. I particularly liked this quote: The round monochromatic LCD screen on the left top of the M8 which used to show the battery meter and the number of shots left on the SD card has been removed. (Those levels can be seen on the 2.5-inch LCD screen by pushing the INFO button.) In its place there's a slight step-down lip, which is a good spot to put your forefinger when holding the camera. Your forefinger should be focusing your lens... but I suppose he's probably used to single handed shooting with AF & AE.  He also nicked the black paint attaching the strap!? I don't think the guy is quite qualified to be handling anything expensive if he can't put a split ring onto a strap lug without incident.  He also stated Pull 80 reduces contrast... I would have thought it only reduced DR?  I do agree a higher res LCD screen would be nice, but focus is never an issue for me with my leicas, just exposure in tricky scenes sometimes.  I also agree a recessed set button in the middle of the dial instead of adjacent would be nice.  I get the impression he doesn't understand framelines? He says he shot with a 50 summarit and it was pretty much what he saw through the viewfinder, and he could not imagine what it would be like to shoot with an 18mm?... well it would look like 18mm because you'd be using an accessory viewfinder dimwit.  I don't care how quick you are with manually focusing the lens on a Leica rangefinder, you'll never beat the lightning fast autofocus of good Nikon or Canon glass. Oh yes I will! When the light gets dim I'll beat a canon autofocus lens (one or two exceptions like the 135L) any day, and I've owned a lot of high end canon glass in the past. Even manual focusing on a properly calibrated viewfinder in an SLR I'd beat the Canon AF, not to mention the higher brightness in the Leica viewfinder window. On the downside, by removing the anti-aliasing filter, you increase the incidence of noise in high ISO images. So as much as the M9 has been designed as the ideal, discreet street shooter, when shooting at higher ISOs, you're going to run into some problems with noisy images. Wow... just wow... come to think of it didn't someone mention this in another thread?  so... the end of the review and there are no sample photos, nothing useful aside from the opinions and experiences of someone who seems to neither understand rangefinders nor the technical aspects of the camera's underlying technology. Bravo. Leica, instead of sending idiots your cameras ship them to your customers who are already sold on them. The last thing you need right NOW is more demand, word of mouth has always been a strong factor for Leica. If you simply must have reviews, please leave them to those competent in using your cameras.  I'd happily write a thorough review when I get my camera, I'd even put pictures in it! But I doubt I could add more than the likes of Thorsten, Sean and David. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James R Posted November 4, 2009 Share #5  Posted November 4, 2009 PDN review At a risk of sounding like a fanboy, the review is very irritating on so many levels. One highlight is where the reviewer describes the "mode dial" (what most of us call a shutter speed dial) as "cutely retro" and "which offers a choice of only a range of shutter speeds". What a twat!  I thought the review was fair, since, he states he has not shot with a RF in many years. In the end, the M9 worked it charm on him and he was pretty positive about the camera; also stated the obvious that a limiting factor is its price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eleskin Posted November 4, 2009 Share #6 Â Posted November 4, 2009 This may be trivial, but he did bring up the fact that the BLACK PAINT SCRATCHES with very little effort (The strap?). I am sorry, but Leica should give us chrome for that kind of money! A Mercedes does not dent like a Toyota because it has thicker metal, and the paint job is SUPERIOR. The M9 IS a MERCEDES like product, and should have a SUPERIOR FINISH that resists SCRATCHES!!! Â GIVE ME CHROME! Â GIVE ME CHROME!!!! Â GIVE ME CHROME!!!!!!! Â GIVE ME CHROME!!!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted November 4, 2009 Share #7 Â Posted November 4, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) My chrome cameras are rather scratched Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James R Posted November 4, 2009 Share #8 Â Posted November 4, 2009 A camera that is used will encounter a few nicks and scratches. Buy a second body and put it in a vault if you want a pristine camera years down the road. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EarlBurrellPhoto Posted November 4, 2009 Share #9 Â Posted November 4, 2009 Â Your forefinger should be focusing your lens... but I suppose he's probably used to single handed shooting with AF & AE. Â Or maybe he was just stretching to find something positive to say about that purposeless little step that replaced a functional and useful feature that needed only to be given a 4th column in the shot counter, and a tiny backlight for seeing in pitch darkness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted November 4, 2009 Share #10 Â Posted November 4, 2009 The M9 IS a MERCEDES like product, and should have a SUPERIOR FINISH that resists SCRATCHES!!! Â Mercedes paints their cars. I guess you need a different example. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalina Posted November 5, 2009 Share #11 Â Posted November 5, 2009 Are we reading the same review? I think the reviewer painted a very nice picture of the M9 for people unfamiliar with Leica cameras. He described certain unique features that he thought might be odd to the average DSLR user. Just because he uses weird terms to describe these unique features doesn't mean the review is bad. Yes, there are a couple of mistakes in the review, but he might've written it a while ago based on the hearsay information at the time and never bothered to update those parts when he finally got his hands on one. A review is written by a human, so there's bound to be mistakes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryk34 Posted November 5, 2009 Share #12 Â Posted November 5, 2009 CON: "must remove metal plate to replace SD card." How else would you get to the card? Surely, no one would just have the SD card go into a slot on the side of the camera, right? It might jump out. Seriously, I thought the review was quite positve. If it only cost $2,000 he would have recommended it to everyone. I bought a new car once for $ 2,400 [even now that looks like a typo]. I'm now waiting to send in the rest of my money for the M9. If you're going to spend a lot of your time and other hard earned money making photographs, then it's worth it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheewai_m6 Posted November 5, 2009 Share #13 Â Posted November 5, 2009 the reviewer is a knob. 'mode dial' as if he didn't know what the dial is for. it's like someone driving a manual car and calling the gearstick a 'speed selector'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhabedi Posted November 5, 2009 Share #14 Â Posted November 5, 2009 This may be trivial, but he did bring up the fact that the BLACK PAINT SCRATCHES with very little effort (The strap?). I am sorry, but Leica should give us chrome for that kind of money! A Mercedes does not dent like a Toyota because it has thicker metal, and the paint job is SUPERIOR. The M9 IS a MERCEDES like product, and should have a SUPERIOR FINISH that resists SCRATCHES!!! Â If you're afraid of scratches, then maybe you shouldn't use your camera... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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