Looking forward to the M9

[andybarton]

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• A large improvement in noise control at high ISO and much higher DR in RAW. That's not going to happen for several years.

 

There's another thread here which demonstrates that the M8 has a DR close to the human eye (something like 10 stops). How much more do you want?

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[carstenw]

It took Leica four passes at SLRs before they began to get things right with the R4.

 

Hopefully this product evolution will be shorter. In the digital age they don't have the luxury of time as they once did.

 

P

That is one opinion. In other opinions, some things were right with the SL and SL2 which were lost with the later cameras, such as the focusing screen.

[Riley]

I am hoping we don't see one for a while. The M8 is based on the best sensor technology available, and it is a compromise. Until technology significantly improves there is little point to an M9. Sure, there are bells and whistles you can add, but Leica won't -- and shouldn't -- do that on an M camera. They have the D3 for that.

 

There are promising sensor technolgies on the horizon. I believe Fujitsu has a prototype sensor that has 12MP, but they are split so 6MP work better in low light and 6MP work better in bright light, vastly improving the dynamic range.

 

why am i just thinking the ideal of design IS by definition compromise

but I agree keeping it simple is definately a part of the appeal

 

Fuji sensor technology seems to be making headway around the noise equation, not least of all is the layout of the sensor array

 

Things that I would want in an M9 that I think would be worth an upgrade:

 

• A large improvement in noise control at high ISO and much higher DR in RAW. That's not going to happen for several years. By then, it may be possible to do a FF sensor. The sensor may be based on a different technology that is less sensitive to IR, negating the need for any internal or external IR filter.

 

The main game for Leica is resolution and that it delivers in spades, better iso performance while desirable isnt critical to the cameras success as the noise control for the present has reached an acceptable level. It seems iso has become the new paranoia for pixel peepers. Apparent high iso performance without high resolution is ineffectual.

 

This continual obsession with FF is really quite tiresome. If FF doesnt deliver edge to edge resolution in wide angle, why persist with it. IR sensitivity in M8 is all about the sensor based filter and the 'compromises' for acceptable wide angle performance, a FF sensor wouldnt suddenly affect any of that, Moreover it would in my view make it much worse. The existing solution while agreeably somewhat inelegant, appears to have consoled or satisfied the majority of the photographers, and it works.

 

• I expect to take my M8 everywhere, regardless of weather. If it turns out that my M8 is fragile in the face of foul weather, I would expect full weather sealing on the M9.
  

 

Im not so sure about the wisdom of taking valuable lenses into totally inclement weather, that said I cant argue with the motive for a sealed camera no matter how systematicly illogical.