Please advice - M9 - am I crazy?

[skommini]

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Hi M9 owners,

 

I have been going crazy over this wrestling this in my head so much, and I am going nuts :-)

 

I now have an M8.2 (still under warranty) + 3 lenses:

 

- 28 Summicron ASPH

- 50 Summicron ASPH

- 90 tele-elmarit (thin version)

 

The 28 is on my M8.2 almost always. I like the 35 equivalent perspective. I mostly take pics of family, kids, social events (such as Thanksgiving dinners etc.).

 

So my big question. Should I sell my M8.2 + 28 & 50 Summicrons and use that money to get an M9+35 Summicron (thinking of version 4, bokeh king)?

 

I want to get the higher ISO performance advantage....and also want the true behavior of a lens focal length as it was intended to be (i.e. I want the 35 to behave as a 35).

 

Financially perhaps not the most sound decision, considering that the M9 will drop in value, while lenses do retain value (at least better than digital bodies).

 

This sort of question does prove I am nuts right? :-)

 

Satya

Leica - a set on Flickr

[Bo_Lorentzen]

Satya,

 

Clearly you must be a few beers short of a sixpack.

 

You have already realized you love the 35mm fov, you must have the finances to do this otherwise you would not even be asking or thinking about it...

 

The M9 will double the number of dots in your favorite FOV. and the lens will sing just a little louder.

 

My 35mm have been firmly mounted on my M9 the last two months, only removed to do some product shots with the 75mm.

 

Yes you are nuts for having to ask about this. Please feel free to email me personally if in doubt if you should put on pants before leaving home.

 

.

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[Rick]

Get the M9. Never sell lenses. If, you have to, sell the 50 (and buy the 50 Lux one day). Don't even think about selling the 28 cron. Wait until you have owned the M9 for several months before you make a decision about the 28 cron. Pants always on when you leave the house.

[albertknappmd]

I second Rick's sage advice... Buy the M9 and keep ALL lenses for the moment...

[01af]

Satya, whatever you do—do not sell any of your lenses. You WILL regret.

[skommini]

Luca - those pics are fantastic!

 

Bo - yes almost close to a 6 pack now :-)

 

Rick, Albert, 01af - I know you guys are right about not selling the lenses and my 28 cron is great indeed...however it is the M9 which is drawing me like a magnet.

 

So I guess I will just have to wait it out a bit longer as I cannot afford the M9 without selling my 28 cron and based on the feedback, I will keep my lenses.

 

I guess I should down that 6 pack now to drown my "sorrows" :-)

Edited December 13, 2010 by skommini

[3rdtrick]

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Satya,

I am in agreement about keeping your lenses. See how you like them on the M9 then save your beer and cigarette money for a pre-ASPH 35 Lux... Like you I have 28 and 50 ASPH but have been really enjoying the magic of the pre-A. The 90 is also a good tele on the M9.

Pete

[lars_bergquist]

Well – I owned an early M8. Because of the change in sensor size, I had bought a 28mm Summicron and a 75mm Summarit for it, giving me the equivalents of 37 and 100mm, a good all round combination.

 

Relics of my previous life with film were a 35mm Summilux ASPH, 50mm Summilux ASPH and 90mm Summmicron pre-ASPH. These I kept, because I sort of guessed that a FF M would be coming in a few years' time.

 

When I at last had what was probably the first M9 in Sweden, out went the 28 and the 75, because however nice these lenses were in themselves, their fields of view were not what I wanted on a FF camera. The sales helped to finance the M9. I don't miss these lenses a bit. But I would not have liked missing the M9!

 

Unless we wallow in money, we have to make decisions and priorities. Make yours. What are the focal lengths you want to use on the M9? Keep or buy these. Sell the rest. Lenses are for taking pictures, not for hoarding (so that nobody else can take pictures with them) or for patting as you sit in your easy chair in the evenings.

 

The old man from the Age of the Holy Trinity (35 + 50 +90mm)

[Rick]

One last thing, your M8 and 28 Cron is a magic combination. That pair was my favorite. You get amazing photos out of the M8 with that lens and they are at the level of just a handful of cameras. I wouldn't feel rushed by the M9. I'd buy beer and lenses.

[vikasmg]

One last thing, your M8 and 28 Cron is a magic combination. That pair was my favorite. You get amazing photos out of the M8 with that lens and they are at the level of just a handful of cameras. I wouldn't feel rushed by the M9. I'd buy beer and lenses.

 

I agree with that, having used both an M8 with 28 and an M9 w 35. Yes, on the whole the M9 results are better but it's not worth trading in the lens and M8 for the M9. Wait till you have the funds for an M9. The M8 has ample resolution for most of what you seem to want to do with it.

[mac993]

I would also recommend getting the M9 and keeping the lenses if possible. Funny thing is, I also have an M9 plus the 35cron v4, 50cron, 90 TE thin and may add a 28cron one day. I'm very happy with thus setup and can wholeheartedly recommend it.

 

All the best, T.

[skommini]

"What are the focal lengths you want to use on the M9?"

 

Lars - I think with the M9 or future M10, I would like the 35 and 75mm for sure. The 50lux seems so magical, I will have to trade up from my 50 cron one day. And some day far out in the future the 50 Noctilux.

 

Rick, Vikas - yes I am pretty happy with the M8.2+28 combo. However, the thought of getting the 35 Summicron IV which seems much smaller + a full frame with better ISO is tempting.

 

T - yes M9 would be wonderful but given my finances and the advise here, I will get lenses for now and wait on the M9 or perhaps the M10 (whenever that is).

 

Thanks again for the great advise and sanity check!

 

Satya

[jplomley]

28/50 is a great pairing on full frame. Just got back from some rough parts in Louisianna (where I would not venture with any digital camera). Took a pair of M7s loaded with Neopan 400, a 28 Cron Asph on one body and the 50 Cron on the other. Never missed a shot with this pair of focal lengths.

[Manolo Laguillo]

In terms of viewfinder accuracy the M8.2 is better than both the M8 and the M9.

So, if you don´t need the bigger sensor, keep the M8.2.

 

If you like the 28 + M8.2, you will do more or less the same with the 35 + M9.

So, again, if you don't need the extra sensor surface, keep the M8.2 + the 28 Summicron.

 

The M8 was already a beautiful camera, and then came the M8.2 with big improvements.

And the noise reduction of Lightroom 3 is very good.

Therefore...

 

:

:

:

 

I had the M8 first, then the M8.2, and finally the M9.

But I_do_need the bigger sensor...

[cheewai_m6]

definitely go for the m9. if you think you can do it financially. you only live once.

[Luke_Miller]

This sort of question does prove I am nuts right? :-)

 

If you are nuts then I am as well. I have the M8.2 and of my three M lenses (28 & 50 Summicron and 24 Elmarit) the 28 is mounted for 90% of my shots. I love the results I get with it, but I really want an M9. It was a stretch to get my current setup and it would be another stretch to get an M9 and possibly a 35 'cron or 'lux to keep the field of view I prefer. I have no interest in selling any of my current Leica glass and I will be keeping the M8.2, so it would be all cash outlay.

 

There is no doubt that at some point I will get an M9 (or its replacement). My rational side tells me that the cost is too high and the relative benefit too low to make the move right now. But I often ignore my rational side - that is how I got the M8.2 .

[Shade]

Get the M9 and the 35 Lux. It's a combination you will forever cherish IMHO.

[skommini]

Luke - you seem nuttier than me :-) But I also let my non-rational side take over and that is why I have what I have today and it was a stretch for me too.

 

Shade - yes the M9 plus 35 lux would be a dream!

 

I guess I will go put my kidneys on eBay and see if I can raise the funds

[gvaliquette]

... I guess I will go put my kidneys on eBay and see if I can raise the funds

 

Satya,

 

Put ONLY ONE of your kidneys on eBay. You need at least one!

 

Guy

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[larryk34]

We already knew you were crazy when you said you owned the M8.2.Owning any expensive Leica equipment just to take a picture of something is crazy. My crazy is seen in my unwillingness to sell my

M8 after buying a M9. Eventually I will. Meanwhile, I have a worse problem than you. I finally broke down and bought the 50mm Lux Asph. But to do so, I had to (well, volunteered to) promise my wife that I'd sell less frequently used lenses to pay for it. Since I'm dragging my feet (crazy, right) on the sales, she just asked me to give her a couple of lenses for Christmas. Right, so she could sell them. She's not crazy yet. But if she really gets ahold of those lenses, she to will start to go crazy and realize the values are all going up. Somewhere.