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I used to have a Leica Monochrom (M9). I owned it from new in 2014 - but just for a short time - 2 months and only 800 shots. I had been spoiled by the handling of the M240.

 

But, I decided recently that I wanted one again. A new listing appeared at my local dealer for a "user grade" one the same day I decided I wanted one again. I decided to buy it... and discovered it was exactly the same camera I used to own - I was its first owner and now I'm its third owner.

 

My previous grumpiness with this camera was all about the handling - poor buffer / writing issues, buzzy noisy shutter, poor rear screen, etc. I never had an issue with nor felt I needed more from the sensor. Let's see what I can get from the camera this second time around. Perhaps I will have more patience this time, and really learn to use it and accept its foibles. Far better photographers than me have demonstrated what can be done with it... including this copy's last owner.

 

congrats. hope you enjoy

to see how much functionality the M9 actually has you could buy or borrow a MP or M-A for a few weeks.

Reliance on ISO 400 (or less), fast lenses, predicting shutter & exposure. Then the M9 suddenly seems like a massive expansion of horizons ;)

(PS I still love film, just made me appreciate the M9 & M240 more ...)

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Yes, these CCD cameras are pretty impressive.

 

 

M-E with 1963 Zomz 5cm f/1.5 Jupiter 3

 

17085532347_5a35a71ae9_b.jpgL1000238.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

17292483991_2cd7aab610_b.jpgL1000241.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

18784238539_1e9cb6bfc4_b.jpgL1001077 by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

18347674423_3d89a08465_b.jpgL1001062.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

18761886118_0b252be57e_b.jpgL1000971.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

M-E with Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron v5

 

17346485486_1c0d3aa3e0_b.jpgL1000492.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

 

 

M Monochrom with 1937 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f/1.5 Sonnar

 

13391678905_35fd390b8c_b.jpgL1003267.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

M Monochrom with Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron v5

 

18121756126_76ecf150b8_b.jpgL1001183.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

M Monochrom with Leica 35mm f/2.5 Summarit

 

14487138713_cd5d38b163_b.jpgL1004152-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

14280401878_6ba06ec1e4_b.jpgL1004157-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

Edited by asiafish
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  • 3 weeks later...

Leica is extremely lucky to have customers with a magical thinking disorder.

 

....

Watch this: the next M11 (M360 or whatever it will be called to sound cool by the magical thinkers) will be yet another fiasco. But the customers will support it. There's nothing like the Leica customer. Magical thinking fixes everything, magically.

Lol...this is the best post I've read in weeks, and there is a lot of truth to it.

 

(and I'm laughing while I'm saving for my M240 and magical kool aid next year)

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You are quoting someone who in the same post says that his M9 was sitting around for two years without being used. I also bought an M8 right when it was released, and I used it more than any camera I had owned previously including the Canon 5D. The same with my M9, which I still use along side my MM1. If people took the time to learn how to use a rangefinder the way it was intended, the wouldn't complain about lost frames. Shoot the damn picture at the exact right moment, which is very easy to do with a rangefinder because you are seeing what is happening without any distortion right in front of you. You aren't waiting for the camera to make decisions for you and you are seeing what is happening outside the frame. The only time the M9 locks up is if you take too many consecutive pictures because you can't make a decision or when you keep chipping while you should be concentrating on what is going on. Oh and I am assuming the aberrations equals magical glow is bashing the Noctilux f1? Guess what, yes, those aberrations are magical. 

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You are quoting someone who in the same post says that his M9 was sitting around for two years without being used. I also bought an M8 right when it was released, and I used it more than any camera I had owned previously including the Canon 5D. The same with my M9, which I still use along side my MM1. If people took the time to learn how to use a rangefinder the way it was intended, the wouldn't complain about lost frames. Shoot the damn picture at the exact right moment, which is very easy to do with a rangefinder because you are seeing what is happening without any distortion right in front of you. You aren't waiting for the camera to make decisions for you and you are seeing what is happening outside the frame. The only time the M9 locks up is if you take too many consecutive pictures because you can't make a decision or when you keep chipping while you should be concentrating on what is going on. Oh and I am assuming the aberrations equals magical glow is bashing the Noctilux f1? Guess what, yes, those aberrations are magical. 

If I could have wished for someone to illustrate the magical thinking...I couldn't have done better than you just did.

 

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Yes, these CCD cameras are pretty impressive.

 

 

M-E with 1963 Zomz 5cm f/1.5 Jupiter 3

 

L1000238.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1000241.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1001077 by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1001062.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1000971.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

M-E with Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron v5

 

L1000492.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

 

 

M Monochrom with 1937 Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm f/1.5 Sonnar

 

L1003267.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

M Monochrom with Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron v5

 

L1001183.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

M Monochrom with Leica 35mm f/2.5 Summarit

 

L1004152-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

 

L1004157-Edit.jpg by Lawman1967, on Flickr

What a great set of images. I loved them all.

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  • 1 month later...

I don't even have a direct link to the Open Letter on my site anymore, but I still get people signing it (including today).

 

582 signatures (and counting)...

 

http://prosophos.com/2013/11/16/an-open-letter-to-leica/

 

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Some more images:

 

swing.jpg

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Harsh highlights, no problem:

the-mermaid-of-lake-huron.jpg

-

strands-and-curls.jpg

Edited by Prosophos
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  • 2 months later...

Actually, let's not bring back CCD. Let's develop something better than CMOS however. If you have ever shot a Sigma DP Merrill in good light and at low ISO, you can see that there are sensors waiting to be perfected that have the potential of even more magic than CCD out there. Unfortunately, right now they have even more limitations.

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Actually, let's not bring back CCD. Let's develop something better than CMOS however. If you have ever shot a Sigma DP Merrill in good light and at low ISO, you can see that there are sensors waiting to be perfected that have the potential of even more magic than CCD out there. Unfortunately, right now they have even more limitations.

As a matter of fact, I have shot with a DP Merrill:

 

http://prosophos.com/2015/01/13/paranoid-android/

 

The colours out of that camera are a little wonky, and the ISO limitations more prounounced, relative to the M9 CCD.  So I agree, right now, the Merrills have even more limitations.  But the detail!... leaves you breathless.

 

Still, that darn CCD sensor still offers the best combination of colours, micro-contrast, and tonality I've ever encountered (and these days, I photograph with a Nikon D810).

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Such is often the case with magic.

Yup, maybe the limitations are the magic. I think ultimately we want an abstraction of reality, and while we clamor for "accurate" colors and higher dynamic range, the results leave us cold. Most of us would probably acknowledge that the limited media of the past were incredibly beautiful. Just look at Kodachrome or Polaroid Type 55 for example.

Edited by BerndReini
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  • 4 weeks later...

Yes, and of all things to an Nikon 810. A great camera, but at the very opposite of the photographic spectrum from an M9.

I wish him the best, but I wonder what happened to his love affair with Leica and the CCD.

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Yes, and of all things to an Nikon 810. A great camera, but at the very opposite of the photographic spectrum from an M9.

I wish him the best, but I wonder what happened to his love affair with Leica and the CCD.

You could just ask me, but that would be too obvious and respectful.

 

EDIT:  Jaap, no offence of course... in fairness you did wish me the best, and I will do the same.  I hope 2016 is kind to you and your family.

Edited by Prosophos
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