Blown away

[john cleland]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi all

 

After twenty years of using Hasselblads for a living, the last ten with PhaseOne digital on the back, the last two weeks of shooting with my new M9 and 35mm Summicron have simply blown me away! Where on earth is that quality of image coming from?

 

I snapped the attached shot at home while playing today and blew the Raw file up to 400%, simply stunning. I am used to seeing this kind of quality coming from our P25 backs but really didn't expect to come so close with the M9. Having never used a Leica before two weeks ago I really didn't know what to expect but my oh my am I pleased with the results! Also delighted at how good the meter is on the M9 - the attached file has no retouching and yet deals with the strong sunlight beautifully.

 

If you are not sure what the M9 can offer I strongly suggest you give it a go - it really is in the same ballpark as the medium format backs and is probably five times smaller and lighter than a Hasselblad with the equivalent lens.

 

All the best - John (one very happy Leica owner)

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[john cleland]

Sorry, just read a couple more threads on here - hadn't realised I wasn't supposed to upload photographs to this section of the site - still learning. Cheers John

[vdb]

Welcome aboard John. I too am quite pleased with the magic of the M9.

Come and Join us in the photo forum as well.

[jaapv]

Welcome to the M9 club, John- and yes - it is a well-kept secret

[DFV]

Welcome! As many say, the M system has a magic that few can explain. Once you are hooked, your are so for life.

 

Great shot! But I suspect it is only the beginning...

[adan]

Images aren't totally banned from the gear forums - after all, if one is asking "what is this green blob" - it helps to have a example of the green blob. (or so I hope - I'm not a moderator who gets to make the call).

 

In digital bodies for its own lenses (DMR, M8, M9, S2), Leica has essentially gone the route of MF digital backs - CCDs without AA filters, and tuned for low-ISO color and clarity at the expense of the top ISOs. So it is not surprising that the 18Mpixel M9 compares well with a 22Mpixel MF back on both a per-pixel level and total image level.

 

Not to dis the M9 or the P25 - but a P45 or P65 will leave either in the dust (for a price)

 

In film days, MF always had the advantage of much smaller grain for a given print size. A Hassy Ektachrome would almost always beat even a 35mm Kodachrome, just by the advantage in sq mm of image area. With grain of a fixed size taken out of the equation, the line blurs between capture areas so long as the pixel resolution is about the same, so long as one doesn't fuzz things up with an AA filter, and so long as the lenses deliver resolution to match the sensor resolution.

[Rick]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Welcome John. What a sweet dog. Glad (for you) your first photo post was a dog.

[lars_bergquist]

That is what I said when I learned to know my M8 -- it was the world's smallest medium format camera. I do things with the M8/M9 that previously took 6x9cm 120 film to do. I remember Guy Mancuso said the same, and he was shooting MF for a living!

 

The old man from the Age of the Roll Film Folder

[Pebbble]

Congratulations John. I got an M9 recently too and like you I was absolutely amazed at the quality of the images. The combination of the leica lenses, the full frame sensor and whatever electronic jiggery-pokery inside really makes images just pop out.

[Glider]

Welcome and enjoy! I predict that you will continue to enjoy the camera, as well as the support and camaraderie on this forum. And, I really like your photo! Handsome pup!

[lars_bergquist]

Pebble, you are right to mention the lenses. In the old days, the film was the factor that limited definition (= resolution + detail contrast). There was really no need to build lenses that surpassed the ability of the film emulsion to hold contrast.

 

Still, some designers and manufacturers insisted on doing just that. One of the foremost of them was Leitz/Leica. Silly them.

 

Here comes digital. Now in most cases it is the optics, not the sensor, that limits the performance. But the latest Leica lenses are clearly fully up to the sensor's capability, if not above it. And while many older lenses may be somewhat below the new, higher par value, they remain more useful than most other brand lenses of the same age.

 

So, maybe the greatest asset of the M9 is its ability to use Leica glass, and use it fully.

 

The old man

[roofus]

Fine looking dog . . . a Westie?

[menos I M6]

I have gathered this experience the other way around last weekend.

While doing a good house clean, I stumbled upon my almost unused and forgotten Ricoh GRDIII.

 

When I had it new (I used the GRDII quite a lot and loved it), I was amazed by this little camera - great ergonomics, good working 28mm external finder (think CV plastic finder with 28 and 21mm frames), nice BW images.

 

I shot a whole sunday afternoon with the little GRD and loaded the images into Lightroom.

 

Boy was I let down by the images - mushy, digital looking unsharp images without detail.

I got so used to the images from the M8.2 - I did not know, how bad the GRDIII shots look by comparison.

The digital Leica does indeed set a high standard!

[john cleland]

Thanks for all your comments. Went out again with the M9 yesterday - did a five mile walk without even noticing I was carrying the camera - if it had been my old Nikon D2X I would have a) needed to stop more for a rest and not got images of the quality I did.

 

Hamish, my Westie also says thank you for all the kind comments - not looking bad for a 13 year old dog!

 

Cheers John

[lars_bergquist]

John, I knew a Westie who had been with his last family for twenty years before he peacefully passed away -- at age unknown! Small terriers beat the Duracell bunny.

 

The old man who secretly is a Wirehaired Vorsteh (and loves cats)

[john cleland]

Thanks Lars. I'll tell him that - should perk the old fella up a bit.

 

He is still quite spritely - I'll know when I have mastered the M9's focusing when I can get him sharp at f2 while he is playing with his tennis ball. May have to wait a few more years!

 

Cheers John