When to switch to M9?

[menos I M6]

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I would consider buying a M9 when prices come down to sane levels, second hand cameras are widely available and the camera has been proven to be durable and reliable.

 

For now, I am too much in love with shooting B&W film with a M6 and M7 and digital with a R-D1.

Both ways are for me well working, reliable solutions, printing big and are enjoyable to use without going in my way.

[proenca]

And for your head rolling on the floor :p

 

aren't you a top chap by reminding me that....

[Ecaton]

Considered switching to M9, but couldn't find one and bought an unused MP from a collector instead. I expect M8 trade in values not to fall significantly below the USD 2000 levels and the MP to keep or even increase its value. When demo M9s will be available around USD 5000, which might be the case in the not so distant future, I might switch M8 & MP to M9 alone.

[MikeMyers]

I'm probably not "typical", and I bought a new M8.2 just before the M9 came out. I had an opportunity right then to switch for not all that much additional money, but I'm hesitant about changing something that's 95% perfect for my needs, for a camera that leaves out some of the reasons I wanted the M8 in the first place.

 

The occasional need for anti-IR filters is nothing to me, compared to the inability of most cameras to take IR photos when you want to (which I very much enjoy doing). I don't know if I "need" the hardened review screen, but that was one of the big points of both the D3 and the M8.2, something I'm glad I have.

 

If I could switch from M8.2 to M9 tomorrow at no cost, (and assuming that I would then use the camera for the next several years) I don't think I would do it. The gain from the M9 is not all that much compared to what I would be losing, and I fully expect either an M9.2 or a M10 to come out soon with a sensor closer to current technology (as in the D3).

 

I do have an occasional need for ultra-wide-angle photography, and since that need is now satisfied with an 11mm lens on my D2x, the 12mm CV lens should give me about the same coverage on the M8. Using a 12mm lens on a 24x36 camera is beyond anything I've yet considered, but I suppose the few times I'd want to, I can use a film Leica.

 

Anyway, to answer the original question, the time for me to switch is when an M9 becomes available with ALL the things I like in the M8.2 built in, including the ability to easily shoot IR.

[ChrisC]

... I fully expect either an M9.2 or a M10 to come out soon with a sensor closer to current technology (as in the D3)......

 

Eh? - The M9 sensor is current technology in as much that it is a high quality sensor [as is the m8's]. CMOS type sensors and other variants have different imaging strengths and weaknesses; being better at shooting higher, and unreasonably higher ISOs does not make such sensors universally a best choice for a camera. From my perspective; of the things that Leica can be criticised for with the M8 and M9 [i have some favourites] they at least got the sensor choice right.

 

Perhaps if Leica hadn't felt the need to diversify into the exotic world of the S2 the M line might have received a boost with possibly a variant high speed D3s type sensor camera for those that want it, or even [heresy alert] an accurate modern viewfinder that doesn't need the Leica-tax bodge-design solutions for magnifiers and dioptre corrections. [Yeah, I know I know ........ the viewfinder is a design classic etc. etc.!

 

............... Chris

[MikeMyers]

Eh? - The M9 sensor is current technology in as much that it is a high quality sensor [as is the m8's]. CMOS type sensors and other variants have different imaging strengths and weaknesses; being better at shooting higher, and unreasonably higher ISOs does not make such sensors universally a best choice for a camera. From my perspective; of the things that Leica can be criticised for with the M8 and M9 [i have some favourites] they at least got the sensor choice right.

 

 

 

I can only answer for what I prefer, which others obviously might not. I am not really interested in what the sensor "is" (CMOS or whatever), but rather in what it "does", and the sensor in my D3 provides minimal noise at absurdly high ISO speeds. This may not make it a "universally best choice", but it would certainly make a better choice for what I do, meaning I can shoot hand-held in minimal light and still use a good shutter speed (for me), not to mention that I wouldn't need the larger, heavier, and more expensive lenses as much. Given my dream choice, I'd like the sensor from the D3x in the Leica M-series body, but I might as well wish to win the lottery.

 

A few years from now, the sensors in all the current digital cameras will be as useful as the sensors from older digital cameras are today. Dynamic range will be increased, noise will eventually be eliminated, and the ISO speed range will be dramatically increased. That doesn't mean what we have now isn't "good", but today's "good" will become tomorrow's "leftovers". ...IMHO.

[Steve Ash]

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I wonder why everybody is so keen on very high iso performance. I do see that there is a higher need or advantage for it in a DSLR if you use them for sports or with long tele lenses as this will give you the chance to handheld at low light situations.

 

For a rangefinder with a maximum focal length of 135mm I would very much prefer to have low noise in the range of 25 to 3200 iso only. Thus there is room for improvement but I rather would prefer to extend the operating range to the lower iso's to use fast lenses during daylight then adding ultra high iso capability which does not add any value for a rf system.

 

Regards

Steve

[jaapv]

First it was a megapixel p..... contest, now it is high ISO, I wonder what will be next.

[Jeff S]

400 ASA (showing my age) was fine for a few decades for me...and for most. I never understood all the ISO fuss, even with the film versus digital differences.

 

If the MP and ISO races hadn't happened, I'd probably have my digital R, without the complexity and cost, let alone a more than sufficient digital M, given the fast glass available (which, I guess is another race...f.95....f?).

 

Jeff

[h00ligan]

First it was a megapixel p..... contest, now it is high ISO, I wonder what will be next.

 

size.

[Nicoleica]

size.

 

I thought that men had been playing that game for a loooooong time!

[jaapv]

True, ladies compete differently. Meow.

[MikeMyers]

I wonder why everybody is so keen on very high iso performance. I do see that there is a higher need or advantage for it in a DSLR if you use them for sports or with long tele lenses as this will give you the chance to handheld at low light situations.

 

For a rangefinder with a maximum focal length of 135mm I would very much prefer to have low noise in the range of 25 to 3200 iso only. Thus there is room for improvement but I rather would prefer to extend the operating range to the lower iso's to use fast lenses during daylight then adding ultra high iso capability which does not add any value for a rf system.

 

Regards

Steve

 

Everything is a compromise, and no one camera is "perfect". In my case, had the M9 been designed with your suggested range - low noise in the range of 25 to 3200 ISO - that probably would have pushed me over the edge, and I'd have returned my M8.2 with a bit of $$$ and I'd now have the M9 that was waiting for me...

 

There are lots of "races" going on, and I sometimes get spoiled, and expect other cameras to catch up with Nikon/Canon. I'll shoot with anything I have at hand, but I like having lots of choices, even if some of them I rarely use. Most come down to "convenience", not "necessity". My M8.2 is adequate for much of what I shoot, but I've still got to carry a big clunky DSLR around for the things I can't do with the Leica.

 

The topic here was "When to switch to M9", and I don't see that happening for me; it's a whole lot of money to gain features that to me are handy, but not essential, at the expense of losing features that I have right now in the M8.2.