Eliminate black plastic on back of M9 and replace with chromed or black paint buttons

[jaapv]

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Well, in that case go the whole way with diamanté platinum buttons...Oh no, that is metal. In that case red would be a bit vulgar, don't you think? Capuchon Jade buttons, that would be nicely understated chic.

[delander †]

Stop giving Leica ideas:D

 

Jeff

[SJP]

You could cover all the buttons with a suitably textured adhesive label => sealing + "improved" apearance. If it wears out then it should be easy enough to peel off and replace. The key design issue is to make it resilient enough for frequent use & flexible enough to keep the ergonomics. Alternative would be a tranparent silicone rubber "label", so you can still see the buttons & their various functions.

[marknorton]

The thumb-wheel and the semi-circular ring around it are made of plastic, as are the buttons and the cover glass.

 

Aside from the cover glass, which I would much prefer to see in sapphire glass, I'm very comfortable with plastic. Making the thumb-wheel out of anodised aluminium would be possible but the anodising on the edges would quickly wear and lead to complaints here...

[rosuna]

The thumb-wheel and the semi-circular ring around it are made of plastic, as are the buttons and the cover glass.

 

Aside from the cover glass, which I would much prefer to see in sapphire glass, I'm very comfortable with plastic. Making the thumb-wheel out of anodised aluminium would be possible but the anodising on the edges would quickly wear and lead to complaints here...

 

Do exist materials more resistant than the plastic of the M9's LCD but cheaper than sapphire?

[menos I M6]

Artificial sapphire glass, used in "more affordable" watches, claiming scratch resistant mineral glass is one material, that can be used.

 

I don't know, what Nikon uses, but the LCD cover of the more than 2 year old D300, which I sold had no scratches. My D3 has the same glass cover, I guess - no marks there either.

I never use any screen protectors either.

 

Interestingly, the plastic screen protector, which came with the D300 has some scratch marks from transportation in a ziplock bag in my camera bag with similar mechanical strain, the D300 took during the first few weeks, where I took it along.

 

The D300 screen itself is spotless though - this says something about using "screen protectors".

 

The D300 is somewhat over 1.200,- EUR.

It should be possible, to have a similar good screen cover on the digital M for 5 times the sales price.

No one wants genuine grounded sapphire crystal glass - just a professional grade LCD cover, which can be exchanged by any camera/ handy repair shop for these Leica users:

 

[gwelland]

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I don't know, what Nikon uses, but the LCD cover of the more than 2 year old D300, which I sold had no scratches. My D3 has the same glass cover, I guess - no marks there either.

I never use any screen protectors either.

 

Rumours of the indestructability of the Nikon D3 series LCD glass are overrated. I resorted to using ZAGG covers for my D3s/D3x after finding that I was getting micro-scratches on my D3, D3x & D700, the D3x even having a small very shallow 2mm scratch on it.

 

Just saying ...

[twittle]

Well, in that case go the whole way with diamanté platinum buttons...Oh no, that is metal. In that case red would be a bit vulgar, don't you think? Capuchon Jade buttons, that would be nicely understated chic.

 

That's a truly excellent idea.

 

And I apologize in advance for having to do this, but it's spelled cabochon (at least in French and English).

[jaapv]

Whatever Round thingies.

[Mokkacream]

The cheapest part of the M9 is the black plastic screen surround and buttons. They should be replaced by chomed or black painted metal, depending on the color of the camera.

 

The intenstion of the black plastic is, that it functions as a placeholder for Leica a la carte.

You can actually choose any material or fit, incl. diamonds inlays with red rubins as knops for example.

Go ahead!

[Jeff S]

 

Jeff

[robofc]

If you don't mind the aesthetics of black plastic then you would do well with a japanese slr. Pretending that aesthetics don't matter, that such concerns are fey, is denial. Most of you care as much about the texture, sheen and density of parts as I do.

[marknorton]

I don't know, what Nikon uses, but the LCD cover of the more than 2 year old D300, which I sold had no scratches. My D3 has the same glass cover, I guess - no marks there either.

 

Indeed, the Nikon D3(s/x) uses tempered glass which, while not sapphire glass, is very durable. It's a great pity that Leica decided to regress to the soft plastic of the original M8 in the M9 instead of a more affordable alternative.

 

My M9 is damaged, my M8u's and more heavily used Nikons are spotless.

[vanhulsenbeek]

After the first scratch on my M9 screen, I decided to cover it with a polycarbonate shield

[thrid]

You know, if you're looking through the viewfinder taking pictures, you can't see the back of the camera...

[Peyton Hoge]

OK, so the surround is metal. If that is the case why not make it the same black paint or grey paint as the camera, so it doesn't look like plastic? And the switches could be made of metal as well, to match the camera. The whole thing in back does not go with the rest of the camera design and it should.

 

Why don't you get a camera you DO like???

[rosuna]

Indeed, the Nikon D3(s/x) uses tempered glass which, while not sapphire glass, is very durable. It's a great pity that Leica decided to regress to the soft plastic of the original M8 in the M9 instead of a more affordable alternative.

 

My M9 is damaged, my M8u's and more heavily used Nikons are spotless.

 

This confirms my concerns regarding the screen.

 

The M8/M9 are beautiful objects, but there are many irritating details, inside and outside.

[redbaron]

This confirms my concerns regarding the screen.

 

The M8/M9 are beautiful objects, but there are many irritating details, inside and outside.

 

Well, the answer to you problem is simple; don't buy it.

[Ed_K]

You do know, in no way can Leica put all those bling bling and everyone's wish-list on M10, right?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[eleskin]

All this talk of the color of buttons makes me crave to see real photos taken with this camera. This is a tool, not jewelry. I have had an M8 since 2007, and 40,000 exposures later I have yet to notice anything about the buttons on my camera. I guess when you take lots of photographs, these things go unnoticed!!!!!