Peter Lea Posted June 28, 2011 Share #21 Posted June 28, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Pentax K-5 with a couple of their pancake lenses and a telephoto. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 28, 2011 Posted June 28, 2011 Hi Peter Lea, Take a look here "The Best M9 Second Body Alternative". I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
gjames9142 Posted June 28, 2011 Share #22 Posted June 28, 2011 These questions depend on what you are doing. The problem comes when you are on the road. I remember once I crossed the Atlantic on a project for the Henry Moore Institute, and on the first day my Noblex simply burned out. I managed to find one in London, and a day trip -- an expensive one --from Leeds to London solved the problem.Now I have four Noblexes. Using a film Leica means carrying a ton of film, which defeats the purpose. In the fall I have a project in Paris that I intend to carry out with an M9 that has already failed me twice. I have an X1 as a backup -- probably sufficient since this is a straight-to-book project -- and it will just squeak by. But as one poster said, if you are a pro, you have to grit your teeth and get second M9 body. I will probably go for the M9P at some point. If I were really thinking of a film backup, I would probably with the Bessa wide angle, which takes my Leica lenses and is wonderfully compact. Excellent with Ilford XP-2, which I don't have to process and which which looks like medium-format when printed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pklein Posted June 28, 2011 Share #23 Posted June 28, 2011 When I travel with my M8, I've taken a film body with me just in case the M8 fails. So far, it's been fine. I have a Panasonic G1 body which I have traveled with *instead* of the M8, with its small kit zoom, the fantastic 20mm f/1.7, and a CV 90/3.5 as a poor man's 180mm effective telephoto. No, it ain't Leica, but it's usable. I call it "Boris," because it's my "Good Enough" camera. I've tried using manual focus lenses on the G1. They work, and they draw well, but there is a PITA factor. For a static subject, fine. For moving subjects, it's not very usable. With a 50/1.4, I have used it for classical music concerts where everyone stays in the same place, but even then, the blackout and shutter lag is a problem. For a landscape, the G1 is great for mounting a 90mm Leica lens, or an old Olympus Zuiko 100 or 135mm telephoto at double effective focal length. The Olympus EP series might be better for the latter as they have in-body image stabilization. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted June 29, 2011 Share #24 Posted June 29, 2011 To put the proverbial Cat amongst the pigeons. My back up is the X100 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yanidel Posted June 29, 2011 Share #25 Posted June 29, 2011 I bought my back-up 2 years ago, actually before the M9. It is a DP2 which I find produces files that look similar to those of the M9, at least in terms of details. It also has the best manual focus ergonomics of the bunch (X1, X100, 4/3rds). It's got its quircks but so far no other compact has been able to dethrone it ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albireo_double Posted June 29, 2011 Share #26 Posted June 29, 2011 I was pondering this question just this week and ended up buying a nice 1962 M3 silver, with a 6-month warranty. That's my back-up now - actually no, I've been shooting with nothing else yesterday and today... (ok, in the digital world, the back-up is my wife's Lumix GF1). There are not many better things in life than pressing the M3 shutter....(ok there are a few...). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkor AIS Posted June 30, 2011 Share #27 Posted June 30, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I just picked up a M9 not that long ago and I also needed a second digital body. I considered some of the other aternatives and none really had what I needed. In the end I ended up picking up a nice used M8 in Ex condition. While it's not a M9 for a B+W back up it's just about perfect. So far the files are outstanding and the camera accepts all my Leica M glass. The battery are the same as the M9 and for now having the M8 along side of the M9 is a workable solution for me. Besides I like the feel of the M8 For the prices that M8 are going for now and if you also can live with B+W ( without needing IR filter) I don't think there is anything else that even comes close. http://rogaltacdesign.smugmug.com/Other/LEICA-M8/i-MnVzprV/0/XL/L1010059-XL.jpg http://rogaltacdesign.smugmug.com/Other/LEICA-M8/i-L3nGS2m/0/L/L1010019-L.jpg Leica M8 28 1.9 ASPH http://rogaltacdesign.smugmug.com/Other/LEICA-M8/i-hwc5NSh/0/L/L1010132-L.jpg Leica M8 135 2.8 Elmarit with Vivitar 285 fill Gregory Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
esquire53 Posted June 30, 2011 Share #28 Posted June 30, 2011 Agree, none of those would be my choice. Also I wouldn't go with an M8, just because I don't want to be going back and forth with UV/IR filters. A used M6 (MP if budget will allow) fills the role nicely. If it must be digital then an X1 or X100. I use my M8 with my 28mm Elmar and IR/UV as my backup and ready to go most of the time. I change my lenses on the M9 as needed. A good backup to the backup would be a second M9 or now off course the M9-P. But here we are with the common bag question ... how to fit three M in a bag and which lenses to carry ... If I use my M6/M7, I only use my M6/M7. Analog is no backup to M-Digital, it's complementary... or a different cup of tea Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterIH Posted July 1, 2011 Share #29 Posted July 1, 2011 My backup is my trusted old M3 SS. I tried the VC 15 mm on my M9 but no Cornerfix could make me happy with the results. So now it sits more or less pemanent on the M3 where the results on delta 100 are great. In this way, as I always carry the M3 together with the M9, the M3 doubles as my backup. Peter. Flickr: Peter IH's Photostream Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastgreenlander Posted July 1, 2011 Share #30 Posted July 1, 2011 I tried X1 and was disappointed. It works so differently from M that I didn't think it was workable and the one focal length is also a big issue. I decided I wanted an M that would use M lenses, so I got an M8. On that score, the M8 works like an M9 but the need for UV/IR filters and the lack of full frame led me back to film and a M6 ttl. Cost lower than either M8 or X1 and handles and works like M9. I would put it the other way arround and say that your M9 handles and works like a M6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted July 1, 2011 Share #31 Posted July 1, 2011 Second boddy for me An athletic brunette one maybe Just an MP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 1, 2011 Share #32 Posted July 1, 2011 MP loaded with TriX 400 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 1, 2011 Share #33 Posted July 1, 2011 The MP loaded with Tri-X is fine - as a first camera, but not as a backup. When does one need backup? when travelling away from the photographic infrastructure and when doing an important shoot. That creates drawbacks when using film and digital mixed: Schlepping lead bags full of film through airports - having no backup of films, once that gets stolen or spoilt whatever everything is lost - and really bad color rendering on Tri-X. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
framestore Posted July 3, 2011 Share #34 Posted July 3, 2011 I personally wouldn't buy any of those, probably X100 or future X2.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 3, 2011 Share #35 Posted July 3, 2011 The MP loaded with Tri-X is fine - as a first camera, but not as a backup. When does one need backup? when travelling away from the photographic infrastructure and when doing an important shoot. That creates drawbacks when using film and digital mixed: Schlepping lead bags full of film through airports - having no backup of films, once that gets stolen or spoilt whatever everything is lost - and really bad color rendering on Tri-X. Jaap makes a good point - I have no need for a backup at all. The MP is an alternative, which I find useful. If my M9 crashed when I need it, I could of course load slide film instead. But that's not what you meant, I guess, Jaap ... Sorry, thinking about it, what was your point? I use my M9. If it breaks down, I can use my MP with whatever film I choose, and I then scan it. I guess I could be really unlucky and have my M9 breakdown, and then loose the film. That would be very unlucky. Or are you talking about backing up photos? Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
voe Posted July 3, 2011 Share #36 Posted July 3, 2011 Along my M9 I use a Minolta CLE with various film depending on what I'm shooting. I would not call it a backup but rather a sidekick as I shoot with both most of the time. I love the film look, but I also like the assurance of getting the shot with my M9. Minolta CLE has a built-in meter and is smaller and lighter than any other M mount rangefinder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamiji Posted July 3, 2011 Share #37 Posted July 3, 2011 My M9 backup is another M9. My M7 backup is a M4-2. The sets are alternatives, not backups. Sometime I shoot film.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho.alan Posted July 20, 2011 Share #38 Posted July 20, 2011 Nikon D7000 with 50/1.4G..works as a fast focus ~75mm. D7000 is the best Nikon up to date! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
denoir Posted July 20, 2011 Share #39 Posted July 20, 2011 I recently came back from a grand tour of the US southwest visiting 9 national parks, 2 national recreation areas, 2 tribal parks and 1 state park. For a unique trip like that I could not just rely on a single camera (the M9) so I brought with me my 5DII plus a bunch of Zeiss ZE primes as backup. With hindsight I can say that it was a poor decision. The 5DII saw nearly no use at all while it drastically increased the size of my luggage. It mainly stayed in the car, but I still had to carry the damn thing to and from the hotel room each day. It does not make sense to have a back up system that weighs three times as much as the primary system and takes up five times the space. This got me thinking that I needed a better solution in the future. From a purely backup point of view another M9 would be the obvious choice. However I'm not willing to spend $7,000 on a system that I hopefully won't have to use. What I've decided is to wait for the new NEX-3C (release probably in August) and use it with an M-mount adapter. It's light, small and cheap. Although the IQ is of course not in the same league as the M9, it should be adequate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted July 20, 2011 Share #40 Posted July 20, 2011 The best M9 Second Body is another M9. Ah, but not as much fun as an M7 and resurrecting the fun/challenge of developing etc! (Well, that was my solution anyway). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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