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Should I take the M9 jump!


RichardM8

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Clive...it is a beatifull sculpture...though I just am bit curious also to see in a sort of diagonal front-view...I understand you completely, as an architecht I could have the same point, but I dont do so much in presenting the renovated proterties that I make by photos (and yes I should perhaps)...

there are a lot of people here that know more than me of which lense you precise need.

I know that the zeis biogon lenses has a rumour of rendening sculpture-wise...and I would presume that a 35mm cron could do the job for you(?), and then you also have an small light lens for street working and walking around, and a nice semi-wide one when you get a M9, which I guess you soon will need (better colours and files etc.)

thorkil

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Richard, still "close to a decision"? :eek:

 

Yes this is a long thread and I've been reading thru waiting to see the outcome as well.

Its a difficult decision to make, but once made, as Nike says "Just do it", whatever that means.

Good Luck!

 

:cool:

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the pain of choice!

 

Having quietly and rationally said its got to be a 35cron asph etc etc a friend came round with 50 cron and I tried it out on its main task, sculptures in the studio and the focal length seemed just about right, afterall I'd regularly been using 50 cron on Olympus E-3 which is actually equiv to 100mm.

 

Any issues to worry about with the non asph 50 cron on M8?

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There is no such thing as an Asph 35 cron. Doesn't need to be improved. Like the 38 mm Biogon for the Hassie, another classic.

(yes...the sweet 38 Biogan on SWC...but I dare not suggesting Clive to try such a one for his sculptures even though they would become some wonderfull dramatic apearence...same angle as a 21mm on a full-frame M)(So I just don't suggest it...)

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Thanks everyone - I do feel a bit naughty asking M8 questions on Richard's M9 thread but I can blame him and all of you for me becoming a "real" Leica owner - somehow Digilux 3 isn't quite the same thing as M anything.

 

In terms of Richard's original post we could substitute X1 for Digilux, a lot closer I imagine to a "real" Leica but not quite an M8 or 9. If I'm anything to go by the jump up from a $2k camera to M9 in one leap was just a bit too much, the introduction of Richard's trial run with M8 seemed to me the perfect way to go. The much lower price of the camera body is much easier to take and also gives you the advantage of feeling confortable enough with plonking down real money for brand new Leica glass.

 

I suspect that if I'd gone from nothing to M9 in one go I would have freaked out and started hunting around for cheaper glass alternatives as my first lenses.

 

In reality this may not have been the wisest economical choice because I'm sure the bug to go full frame will bight soon enough, meaning that in the end I would have bought 2 M cameras instead of just 1.

 

Thanks again - Clive

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Heheheh.... I know exactly what you mean Clive. Sorry for the 'bad' influence though... :)

 

I feel the comparison with the Digi and X1 is twofold. While I don't know the Digilux myself I think it's closer to an M in terms of look, feel and handling but I think the X1 is closer to the Ms in for IQ with the X1 being even better at high(er) ISO's.

 

It makes a lot of sense to go for the M8 first. I am in discussion with my dealer about buying an M9 with a 35 Cron but the amount of money involved still kinda freaks me out too. But at this stage it's pretty academic 'cos both the M9 and various Cron lenses are not available in any color or shape so there's little hurry... :rolleyes:

 

For me only the full frame aspect speaks in favor of the M9. As are its improved controls. 18 MP has a lot more crop-space than 10 MP. I find this very useful. I learned from the X1 and my trail with the M8 that shooting with a prime - for me - tends to lead to more cropping as I did with an SLR with zoom. Quite often you can't (or don't want to) get as close as you like/need with a 28 - to - 50 (ish) primes.

 

But I guess I wouldn't mind a new M8.2 either... ;)

 

Richard.

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Heheheh.... I know exactly what you mean Clive. Sorry for the 'bad' influence though... :)

 

I feel the comparison with the Digi and X1 is twofold. While I don't know the Digilux myself I think it's closer to an M in terms of look, feel and handling but I think the X1 is closer to the Ms in for IQ with the X1 being even better at high(er) ISO's.

 

It makes a lot of sense to go for the M8 first. I am in discussion with my dealer about buying an M9 with a 35 Cron but the amount of money involved still kinda freaks me out too. But at this stage it's pretty academic 'cos both the M9 and various Cron lenses are not available in any color or shape so there's little hurry... :rolleyes:

 

For me only the full frame aspect speaks in favor of the M9. As are its improved controls. 18 MP has a lot more crop-space than 10 MP. I find this very useful. I learned from the X1 and my trail with the M8 that shooting with a prime - for me - tends to lead to more cropping as I did with an SLR with zoom. Quite often you can't (or don't want to) get as close as you like/need with a 28 - to - 50 (ish) primes.

 

But I guess I wouldn't mind a new M8.2 either... ;)

 

Richard.

 

Richard,

 

I just went to the store and saw a brand new M8.2. Really nice looking camera too. It was "only" S$6,900, the M9 is currently S$11,388. But I am not sure since the difference is not really that "big" to compromise on lack of FF. But the M8.2 has a lot going for it too, like durability of LCD screen, etc,etc.

 

If it was like S$5,000 I would have bought it in the morning, together with the 35 rit since they are all out of crons and luxes, like everywhere else. There are M9s around though so I am surprised you cannot find any in Holland.

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I know digital Ms are not built like a tank coz compared to the film Ms which are basically rocks. Exactly how "fragile" is a digital M and how easily does the RF goes out of alignment?

Well, last night I watched a video on youtube showing a guy in a New York photo store standing on an M9 which was placed on the floor to show its strength....

. I did not belive what I saw. So, we can definitely say the M9 is built like a tank (as are the film Ms). However, there may be different models of tanks.....:)

 

Another question as a Non M-user who is considering the path, honestly, how sensitive is the M9 to shocks and such? Using the camera often means having to bang it up a bit whether we like it or not. My X1 in a little over half a year has been dropped twice but thankfully it is still alive:D. I keep reading on rangefinder re-alignment, cracked sensor glass, etc, etc plus long wait for servicing at solms, etc, all these weigh heavily against the M9 for me. Spending so much on a camera is acceptable to me if it does what it does well but having to not be able to use it for weeks while being serviced and having to service it after a drop or two I do not think I will enjoy a camera if I have to babysit it.

 

I know digital Ms are not built like a tank coz compared to the film Ms which are basically rocks. Exactly how "fragile" is a digital M and how easily does the RF goes out of alignment?

 

I'll rather hear it from actual digital M-users on this since we are on the M9 topic rather than listen to typical Leica-bashers.

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Richard,

 

There are M9s all over the place here in Australia, well at all the Leica dealers in Melbourne, Sydney looks OK too, but I'd always buy as local as possible for a new M9 it would make me feel a lot more secure than buying it from Hong Kong or mainland China. Or eBay!!

 

I understand the FF need, my quest for a new camera led me to believing that 5D Mk 2 was the go but the fact that their images are so normal (commonplace) I rationalised that Leica image pop would be a far better way for me to go, far closer to what my taste goes for.

 

Lets hope for your sake that your dealer gets one in for you pretty quickly.

 

Clive

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a lot more crop-space; tends to lead to more cropping.

 

Sigh.

 

And I always thought photography (pinhole shoebox, Hasselblad, Deardorff, Nikon D3S, Leica M9) began with getting the basics right for each shot.

 

Capturing the moment, correct exposure, correct framing and composition for the image you envisage.

 

Cropping. :confused:

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Hi Guys,

 

Just wanted to share my opinion here,

 

I was a DSLR user in the past, (Tried/have owned a lot of them, ranging from Canon 500d to 1Dm4, Nikon d5000 to D3S - not all of them at once of course), but I keep on coming back to this forum and stevehuff's website, wanting to know what the Leica experience is all about.

 

Like some people in this thread / forum, going to M9 for a start is a bit of a hefty price to pay, so 2 weeks ago I opted for a used M8.2 to familiarize with the RF, and see how I liked it.

 

The M8 is now sold, and my M9 should arrive within this week :)

 

Clive: the bug for a FF did come pretty quick. But by purchasing a used M8, and selling them in the future to fund a M9 is no problem, I only lose less than $100. Think of the M8 purchase as a 'downpayment' for the M9 :)

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Sigh.

 

And I always thought photography (pinhole shoebox, Hasselblad, Deardorff, Nikon D3S, Leica M9) began with getting the basics right for each shot.

 

Capturing the moment, correct exposure, correct framing and composition for the image you envisage.

 

Cropping. :confused:

 

 

mmmmm, and I always thought that cropping, dodging, burning, etc. have always been a part of the whole process.

 

I do agree that you should get as close to the final envisioned image right from the start but it is the final image that counts... and that means inevitably going through some sort of post processing (choice of paper, chemicals, etc.) either in a darkroom on on a computer.

 

If you are confused about cropping, ou may want to check out the original negative of HBC's St-Lazare picture.

 

Ian

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mmmmm, and I always thought that cropping, dodging, burning, etc. have always been a part of the whole process.

 

I do agree that you should get as close to the final envisioned image right from the start but it is the final image that counts... and that means inevitably going through some sort of post processing (choice of paper, chemicals, etc.) either in a darkroom on on a computer.

 

If you are confused about cropping, ou may want to check out the original negative of HBC's St-Lazare picture.

 

Ian

 

+1

Alex

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I'm not confused about cropping at all; I just don't like it. I feel strongly it should not be on the list of criteria with which to choose a serious camera, certainly not a digital M-body. That only means you concede up front your framing probably s*cks.

 

The camera-lens combo you choose should be the one that gently persuades (enables, forces) you to get the best out of you as a photographer. So if you can't get the "tele" shot because you didn't bring or don't have a tele, don't make the shot. Make the shot you cán make, as best as you can. That's actually what I would like about the M-body/35 or 50 combo; it persuades you to look, think aout it, maybe change your position, and only shoot what is a really good shot.

 

 

My 2 cts.

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That's actually what I would like about the M-body/35 or 50 combo; it persuades you to look, think aout it, maybe change your position, and only shoot what is a really good shot.[/color][/size][/font]

 

+1

 

PS: struggling with exactly this now having taken over the demo M8 Richard used as well

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It makes a lot of sense to go for the M8 first. I am in discussion with my dealer about buying an M9 with a 35 Cron but the amount of money involved still kinda freaks me out too. But at this stage it's pretty academic 'cos both the M9 and various Cron lenses are not available in any color or shape so there's little hurry... :rolleyes:

 

C'mon Richard - it's been going on for weeks . . . . Just buy the damned thing - you'll wonder if you've done the right thing if you get an M8 - if you get an M9, you'll either know you've done the right thing, or you'll know you've done the wrong thing.

 

I can remember dithering the same way about the M8 when it first came out . . . now I can't imagine how I ever did without a rangefinder. If you like the X1 I would have thought you would immediately fall in love.

 

As for the 50 'cron - if you can't get a secondhand one, then get a summarit - lenses are easy, if you buy them carefully they don't lose their value, and they're mostly fab.

 

If I was starting again, I'd certainly go for a couple of summarits in the first instance.

 

But if you THINK you need to try a rangefinder, and you can afford it (just) - you'd better do it! In the unlikely event that you hate it you won't lose too much money on it, and you only live once!

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