X2 -> M8 -> M9-P. An opinion

[rich_]

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Hi all,

 

I know this has been discussed to death from reading the various forums but I wanted to just give a little opinion on changing through some of the Leica cameras

 

Over the last few months I have owned an X2, M8 and now this M9P. Previous to this I owned a Canon S90 and occasionally played with my dads Olympus OM-1, OM-10 and his Nikon D5000.

 

Firstly the X2. I really enjoyed using this but it was just to automated for me, when I tried to go manual the focus infuriated me.

The high ISO was great and very welcome when taking pictures in the evening considering the lens was only a f2.8. The pictures it shot looked beautiful, there was almost a grain type appearance to how it rendered the shots when zoomed in.

I bought the EVF and OVF, I really wanted to just use the OVF but the AF was a bit iffy sometimes so I ended up stopping down and using it as a glorified P&S, which led me to...

 

Selling the X2 and buying an M8. This camera was utterly different to the X2, It opened me up to the slippery slope of buying lenses.

I decided that I wasn't prepared to pay for Leica lenses right now so have bought a mixture of Voigtlander and Zeiss (35 1.2 v2, 50 1.1 and 21 2.8) They serve me very well and I was always amazed at the quality of the pictures it produced.

I mainly take 'action shots' of my friends, girlfriend and family for which it has proved fantastic. I don't feel very comfortable with the street shooting of strangers although in HK there is plenty of scope for that.

Scenic shots of various cities have proved fruitful but the crop annoyed me for the wide angles.

The M8 was fantastic. Sure the IR filters were annoying but I wanted to protect the lenses anyway! The camera was rather slow to move between pictures and select a few operations. Shooting in the evening, even with the 1.1 was difficult with the comparatively low ISO ability so I bought a SF24D for the people shots. It works well, I wish the head moved for bouncing (the 58 was too big!).

 

Recently I saw a reasonable deal on an M9-P, probably due to the imminent ME- of which I personally find rather ugly in its current colour scheme- So I traded in my M8 for this bit of kit.

It's day one, but what I can say is, It's a lot quicker in operation, far less waiting time for pictures to pop up and move on to the next shot. I love the new menu options to save button presses for the ISO and EV settings. Finally my 1.1 is far sharper! Clearly the M8 calibration must of been out. I assumed it was a soft lens as the 35 was fine, but I guess the DOF wasn't shallow enough to notice!

I haven't been out in the evening to test the ISO, I trust it's probably a bit better. I'm still using the UV/IR filters for now, from what I've read it doesn't appear to be a negative for what I shoot.

 

Anyway, sorry if you've read this 100x before, but it might help someone!

 

Thanks

Rich

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[Tonki-M]

congrats on discovering the magic of the M9-P!

[colonel]

Don't use the IR cut filters. Buy clear or UV B+W nano or Leica

 

Yes the M9 is amazing. Zeiss lenses are very good but I would recommend you try a latest Leica ASPH lens in your favourite focal length

 

I am still amazed how my Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH turns every photo into a sense of occasion.

[wattsy]

Don't use the IR cut filters.

 

The M9 is still a little more sensitive to IR than the average digital camera and will benefit from using UV/IR filters in some circumstances. However, I'd caution against using them with wide angles because you may run into problems with colour casts.

[colonel]

The M9 is still a little more sensitive to IR than the average digital camera and will benefit from using UV/IR filters in some circumstances. However, I'd caution against using them with wide angles because you may run into problems with colour casts.

 

+ reflections in low light. They are more prone then clear filters

+ less light transmission then Hoya HD or B+W or Leica (Clear or UV)

[rich_]

Thanks, right now all of my lenses are just with their hoods rather than any filters after reading these bits. I had a UV Nano Pro something B+W for my 1.2, but it was one of the slim ones which my hood doesn't fit over. Annoying that I need to buy the cheaper one!

 

I think I may just work on trying to be careful for now.

 

I thought about a 'lux, but the Nokton is great for the 35mm. It's just a bit big.

50mm wise I will look at the option if I find one at the right price. Over here they retail around $3900. This 1.1 isn't so hot when I'm doing anything that doesn't require the shallow dof/low light + it's also large..