Worn/brassed M9 - pls share pictures to show Grey and Black wears

[cheewai_m6]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

i think the wear of the finish depends on the user. i have a nikon d70s, which i've had since 2005, and i've shot well over 10 000 shots with it. been to a lot of places with it, and it's plastic, but it hasn't shown wear anywhere near the amount shown on the pics here. i don't baby it, i'm just aware not bang it on stuff. i don't slide it on tables and i don't bang it up against things. some of the textured finish on the body has worn smooth, but it's plastic. some people are more kind with the way they treat things i guess. my mobile phone doesn't have a scratch on it, and it's 3 years old.

[artspraken]

I have been comparing the scratches on the Steel Grey M9 to Garry Winogrand's famous M4. Leica M4 Garry Winogrand

 

It seems the difference is that the M9 paint job uses black primer, so hairline scratches show as black lines on the steel grey surface. From Winogrand's M4, you can see there are no black lines, so the paint job must have been different.

 

I have directly linked the images to illustrate my point. For M9, the question is whether you like the look of black lines?

 

COPYRIGHTED IMAGES REMOVED

 

 

compare to

 

Edited May 19, 2010 by andybarton

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[adan]

Andree - I think the shutter Leica uses for the digital Ms is rated at 100,000 or 150,000 shots - the same as mid-range DSLRS (5D, D700).

 

My black M9 is quite worn on the bottom (about like Mike's silver one - post #5), but very little worn anywhere else. I'm just short of 9,000 exposures so far.

 

Art - the Winogrand (and other silver Leicas and black-chrome Leicas pre-M9) were not painted at all. They had chromium electroplated onto the brass (or in the case of the zinc M6 bodies, onto a yellowish primer layer). But in any case, a metal coating applied to metal, not a paint.

 

(BTW, those images of Gary's camera are copyright? From the cameraquest footer: "Copyright © 2002 Stephen Gandy. All rights reserved. This means you may NOT copy and re-use the text or the pictures in ANY other internet or printed publication of ANY kind.")

Edited May 19, 2010 by adan

[j_lir]

i imagine i've shot tens of thousands of frames.

 

ive shot 10 festivals with it already, thats lots of frames!

~4000 each...

 

my d3 looks beat up, my m7 looks well used.

i wear my d3 on one shoulder, and the m7 and m9 on the other and the xpan or rollei on my neck when i'm feeling adventurous.

 

it's not easy but they all do different things.

 

i feel the images are worth the struggle!

 

the d3 is a beast, i love it! although the images suck compared the leicas!

[250swb]

 

It seems the difference is that the M9 paint job uses black primer, so hairline scratches show as black lines on the steel grey surface. From Winogrand's M4, you can see there are no black lines, so the paint job must have been different.

 

 

Aside from the M4 being chrome plated (which is very hard wearing) its unlikely that any M9 will get as vernerable looking as the Winogrand M4 because they will all be out of action due to an unrepairable sensor or circuit board long before!

 

Steve

[bill]

Pls share some pictures to show what a brassed M9 looks like?

 

...just out of curiosity, what is driving this question?

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[artspraken]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

1. sorry will moderator kindly remove the winogrand camera pics if they infringe copyright. I cannot edit my posts anymore for some reason.

 

2. In answer to Bill's question, my request for pics of brassed M9 is motivated by my need to decide what color M9 to buy. On the assumption that M9 paint job is going to brass over the long term, I am interested to compare the brassed appearance of the grey with the black.

 

I am aware there are more important things in photography than the color of one's camera, but I make no apologies for my request because (i) M9 costs alot of money to me for what little income I receive so I feel justified in being particular; (ii) the typical internet threads on this subject do not share pictures of the brassed M9 and the many verbal descriptions to date have not assisted me in arriving at a decision.

Edited May 19, 2010 by artspraken

[V_kids]

Andree - I think the shutter Leica uses for the digital Ms is rated at 100,000 or 150,000 shots - the same as mid-range DSLRS (5D, D700).

 

My black M9 is quite worn on the bottom (about like Mike's silver one - post #5), but very little worn anywhere else. I'm just short of 9,000 exposures so far.

 

Art - the Winogrand (and other silver Leicas and black-chrome Leicas pre-M9) were not painted at all. They had chromium electroplated onto the brass (or in the case of the zinc M6 bodies, onto a yellowish primer layer). But in any case, a metal coating applied to metal, not a paint.

 

(BTW, those images of Gary's camera are copyright? From the cameraquest footer: "Copyright © 2002 Stephen Gandy. All rights reserved. This means you may NOT copy and re-use the text or the pictures in ANY other internet or printed publication of ANY kind.")

 

Hi Andy, thx u for the information, it's nice to know Leica M9's shutter life is about 100,000 - 150,000 only.

(I wish the can go up to 300,000 just like Nikon D3)

[jaapv]

300000 shots is approximately one shot a minute, eight hours a day, seven days a week, each and every day for two years....

[jaapv]

I agree, my chrome M8s didn't show any wear after years of continuous use... I can't say the same for my M9... even if I'm aware of some supposed improvement in grey painting after the first dispatched cameras.

I'm surprised. The bright chrome on my M8s was scuffed within weeks and scratches and scuffs very easily. After three years they look used to the point of brass on the edges of the one I used most. The M6ttl was the same - not the quality chrome the M3 used to have - my Elektra coffeemaker has far superior chrome.

[bill]

2. In answer to Bill's question, my request for pics of brassed M9 is motivated by my need to decide what color M9 to buy. On the assumption that M9 paint job is going to brass over the long term, I am interested to compare the brassed appearance of the grey with the black.

 

No problem at all - I was genuinely curious.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[UliWer]

... - my Elektra coffeemaker has far superior chrome.

 

It's not recommended to carry a coffeemaker together with a M in a Billigham bag!

[jaapv]

And what do I do if I feel like a nice Espresso during photographing?

[bill]

...use a camera with IS!!

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[eleskin]

My black chrome M8 has over 40,000 exposures on it and the finish looks like new!!!!

[bill]

I think it's fair to say that there are a lot of variables at work here, not least the way in which the photographer views and treats his kit. I certainly don't baby mine, but neither do I treat it with disdain. Ultimately, it's a tool and fair wear and tear just adds to the patina without changing the function.

 

That said, if I were offered the choice, secondhand, between something (anything - cars, lenses, cameras, etc) that looked as if it had been used but looked after, versus something on the one hand that appeared to have been sand blasted or something that had just sat on a shelf I would go for the "lightly used" option every time.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[elgenper]

.... Ultimately, it's a tool and fair wear and tear just adds to the patina without changing the function.

...

 

Hear, hear! Exactly my attitude.

 

That said, however, if the M9 had been available in real chrome, I´d certainly have chosen that. Brassing paint is an unavoidable drawback, but not really one that affects the usability.

[James Mitchell]

The worn black M9 looks great. I'm glad that I didn't wait for the gray one for aesthetic reasons.

[twom4]

... and also depends on the acidity of users' sweat.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[250swb]

... and also depends on the acidity of users' sweat.

 

And the possibility for some variablity in Leica's finishing, perhaps batch based. I have used my M9 pretty well every day for the last eight months (so it wasn't in the very first batch that went to dealers), and even the ON/OFF switch is still perfect, unlike the switch on Jaap's older camera that shows genuine patina to the anodized finish.

 

But your point reminds me of discussions about 'vintage' guitars where the quality of the players sweat play's a large part in the patina of the paint and metalwork. Its said Rory Gallagher's sweat was so acidic that its the cause of the massive paint loss on his Fender Stratocaster. Some people trying to have a guitar that looks like his clearly sit in front of the TV at night picking at the paint on their Strat, and similarly I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing some M9 'sandpaper specials' before long, if its not been done already. The patina that reflects history on a vintage guitar or Winogrand camera can add value, and thats an outside bet (at best) with any M9, although being a black paint finish it opens the way for a Leica spray shop to open up in a couple of years time for restorations and makeovers.

 

Steve