Folks upgrading- how many will keep your M9s?

[Einst_Stein]

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"Upgrade"?  Any compelling reason? What can you do with M10 that you can't with M9? Show us.   I am ready to be educated.

[erl]

It's not always about better performance, but I believe the M10 has that.

Better ISO, better VF, slightly more compact, quieter shutter, and more that I am not up to speed on.

Yes, these things can contribute to better pictures, depending on how and where you shoot.

I have always firmly believed that when I feel better, I make better pictures.

The M10 has what it takes to make me feel better= better pictures, and that is before any techy arguments come into play.

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[erl]

I've ordered an M10, expect it very soon. I will keep my M9, it is a great performer, but it does let me down a bit in some areas, which is exactly where the M10 promises improvement.

[Dirk Mandeville]

"Upgrade"?  Any compelling reason? What can you do with M10 that you can't with M9? Show us.   I am ready to be educated.

There are plenty of examples floating about. Check out the M10 Facebook pages. Lots of clean images taken in extremely low light, showing great shadow detail with no noise or banding. Try that with your M9.

[Mr.Q]

Since receiving my M10 two months ago, I haven't touched the M9-P. I like most of the improvements... (in order of relevance)

 

 

1. High ISO performance - Allows use of Elmarit's and Elmar's in low light. I just picked up a 28 Elmarit, a lens I never considered when shooting with the M9-P.

 

2. Live view - No longer need to carry external OVF for wide angle lenses. I always felt they were fiddly so this is a huge plus.

 

3. Better viewfinder - Bigger, brighter and more accurate.

 

4. Better shutter - Quieter with much larger buffer.

 

5. Better LCD - Ability to confirm critical focus.

 

6. Favorites menu - Convenient and intuitive.

 

 

I'm still unsure if the thinner body and dedicated ISO dial are a good thing. I could do without either honestly. My only nitpick is the weak battery, but that's probably because I'm using the LCD much more now.

 

If you are on the fence to upgrade I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the M10. I'm not selling my M9-P but it will stay in the cabinet as a backup.

[ibramr]

The M9 will stay with me for some time to come. The functionally better M240 does not get much use (do not know why). Then comes the M9M and it opened new possibilities and established the M9 platform for some more years to come. I did not give the M10 serious thought yet, and it seems unlikely that I will before two or so years. The M9 is a very competent camera for my use and it is much more capable than what my current photo skills requires; in many times by far. Enjoy in good health.

[StenSture]

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I'm keeping my M9. 

[gunston]

Still keeping it,16k shutter counts...what a milestone

[Jean-Michel]

Keeping my M9 (it's away on a sensor replacement vacation at the moment) as it just makes sense financial. I also have a MP, and that brings me back to what I used to work with in film days: M3, M4 and M6, each with their own lenses on and/or film type. With both the M( and MP I can have my most use two lenses on the cameras and not worry about changing lenses. I am sure that there M10 is a fine camera and I would not say no if some kind soul were to give me one, I however feel that my M9 is worth a lot more to me than the $3000 or so that I could get by selling it.  

[new2leica]

I've upgraded from an M-E to an M-D. Still have the M-E. If Leica produces an M-C and an M-B then with an M-A I could have a complete series.

[uhoh7]

Since receiving my M10 two months ago, I haven't touched the M9-P. I like most of the improvements... (in order of relevance)

 

 

1. High ISO performance - Allows use of Elmarit's and Elmar's in low light. I just picked up a 28 Elmarit, a lens I never considered when shooting with the M9-P.

 

2. Live view - No longer need to carry external OVF for wide angle lenses. I always felt they were fiddly so this is a huge plus.

 

3. Better viewfinder - Bigger, brighter and more accurate.

 

4. Better shutter - Quieter with much larger buffer.

 

5. Better LCD - Ability to confirm critical focus.

 

6. Favorites menu - Convenient and intuitive.

 

 

I'm still unsure if the thinner body and dedicated ISO dial are a good thing. I could do without either honestly. My only nitpick is the weak battery, but that's probably because I'm using the LCD much more now.

 

If you are on the fence to upgrade I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the M10. I'm not selling my M9-P but it will stay in the cabinet as a backup.

 

1) too easy....CV 35/1.2 and 50/1.1 take me anywhere after sundown.

2) LV? I have the ZI finders

3) M9 ORF is fine

4) not so loud in discreet, buffer is crutch. 

5) M9 LCD much less vulnerable, and CF confirm no problem if you zoom. 

6) Menu? Hardly touch one.

 

L1058115 by unoh7, M9 ZM 35/2 WO

 

That's the look M10 is straining for.....

 

plus:

M9 quite a bit lighter. 660 vs 585..yikes, M10 may be the size of the M7, but M9 is weight of M6.

M9 is tougher. No girly ISO knob to crush. 

M9 has true black paint. 

Those M10s will be so ugly in a few years......

Edited March 24, 2017 by uhoh7

[Dirk Mandeville]

1) too easy....CV 35/1.2 and 50/1.1 take me anywhere after sundown.

2) LV? I have the ZI finders

3) M9 ORF is fine

4) not so loud in discreet, buffer is crutch. 

5) M9 LCD much less vulnerable, and CF confirm no problem if you zoom. 

6) Menu? Hardly touch one.

 

L1058115 by unoh7, M9 ZM 35/2 WO

 

That's the look M10 is straining for.....

 

plus:

M9 quite a bit lighter. 660 vs 585..yikes, M10 may be the size of the M7, but M9 is weight of M6.

M9 is tougher. No girly ISO knob to crush. 

M9 has true black paint. 

Those M10s will be so ugly in a few years......

The term "grasping at straws" comes to mind. Not sure the point of your picture. If you took the same shot with the M10, you would hardly be able to tell them apart. Your point on M9 being "tougher" is highly questionable. Given the sensor and shutter issues with the M9, I would hardly refer to it as tough. As for the LCD, I would rather have a modern high resolution LCD that was more "vulnerable" (whatever that means in this context) than an LCD that is a decade or more out of date. My child's toy camera has an LCD with better resolution than the M9. And sorry, but your CV and Noct are not substitutes for the much higher ISO of the M10, not to mention that they can be used on the M10 as well, to get amazing photographs in lighting that would make the M9 run home crying to mommy. And nailing focus with those bad boys in dim light is going to be a whole lot easier with live view.

 

I get it. I own an M9. It's a classic camera, despite all its foibles. And a good photographer can make do with it for a long time. But the M10 is a better camera in just about every respect.

[Luke_Miller]

I get it. I own an M9. It's a classic camera, despite all its foibles. And a good photographer can make do with it for a long time. But the M10 is a better camera in just about every respect.

 I totally agree with your point.  While I don't have an M10 I did replace my M9 with the M-240 which is also a better camera in just about every respect. When my MM went off for sensor replacement I added an M-246.  Now that my MM is back I''m finding that I enjoy shooting with it more than my clearly superior M-246.  So in my case there is something intangible at work that makes me want to grab the inferior body rather than the better one. 

Edited March 24, 2017 by Luke_Miller

[erl]

Dirk, I totally agree with your reply to Uhoh7 which is precisely why I will pick up my M10 on Monday, lifes events permitting. I have and love my M9 which I will keep, but am fully aware of its faults and foibles. The point is, its virtues outweigh the faults, which is the main reason for keeping it. I am thoroughly convinced the M10 will surpass my M9 in many ways, but maybe not all. They will each represent different 'brushes' in my 'painter's' camera bag.

 

All I have to do now is learn to 'paint'.

 

Uhoh7, if I read you correctly, you have not yet tried the M10. Do yourself a kindness and maybe try one if you can have access to one. It is not a threat to your M9, which I agree is a fine tool, but a complement to it.

[david strachan]

Great you're getting the M10 on Monday Erl.  You'll have it for the Challenge.

Good luck to you...enjoy the new camera.

 

cheers..

[Mr.Q]

 

1) too easy....CV 35/1.2 and 50/1.1 take me anywhere after sundown.

2) LV? I have the ZI finders

3) M9 ORF is fine

4) not so loud in discreet, buffer is crutch.

5) M9 LCD much less vulnerable, and CF confirm no problem if you zoom.

6) Menu? Hardly touch one.

 

L1058115 by unoh7, M9 ZM 35/2 WO

 

That's the look M10 is straining for.....

 

plus:

M9 quite a bit lighter. 660 vs 585..yikes, M10 may be the size of the M7, but M9 is weight of M6.

M9 is tougher. No girly ISO knob to crush.

M9 has true black paint.

Those M10s will be so ugly in a few years......

Interesting take. Have you shot with both cameras?

[uhoh7]

I get it. I own an M9. It's a classic camera, despite all its foibles. And a good photographer can make do with it for a long time. But the M10 is a better camera in just about every respect.

Really? 8 years later, and $6500 it is improved in some respects?

 

What is remarkable is how it little it is improved and is now 75 grams heavier.

 

For my shooting atyle the ISO would certainly make things easier for about 15% of my shots, and the DR would be nice also. But the M10 only rarely makes images which stand out in general use to the M9. I've looked at thousands of them.

 

You guys love your new toys and their new tricks. That's fine. I love my M9 and I will tell you about with the same feeling. I like it even more now, having studied the M10

 

Your point on M9 being "tougher" is highly questionable. Given the sensor and shutter issues with the M9, I would hardly refer to it as tough.

Such a thoughtless remark. The M9 has been all over the world in every temperature and condition used by professionals it battle and travel. The S8612 coverglass is the gold standard for color transmission in a IR cut, and nothing beats it for performance to this day. Schott notes it is susceptible to the environment. This has nothing to do with "toughness". The corrosion appears over time. Shutter issues? I did replace my shutter at about 50,000, and a few others have. You have no idea what will be the weak link of the M10. The camera is untested.

 

I know very well the toughness of the M9:

 

Danger Will Robinson by unoh7, on Flickr

 

Every new girlfriend or boyfriend is perfect. Only time will put the M10 at the level of the M9 as life partner.

Edited March 26, 2017 by uhoh7

[uhoh7]

While the M6 is probably a better low light camera than M9, I find rewards in working with the limitation.

 

The Judge by unoh7, M9 CV 35/1.2

 

Anyway, my response to M10 "strengths" is partly tongue in cheek, though the points are real for me.

 

M10 is a fantastic camera, and I admire many aspects. I would certainly own one, and probably will someday. But the M9 works really well now for me, and for a CMOS ISO fix I will get a A7r2 with one of the new mods which removes all the thick filters over that sensor. In an ideal world I'd have one of those and a M10

 

Sincere congratulations to those who have taken the leap.

Edited March 26, 2017 by uhoh7

[Adrian Lord]

Happy with M9 and F1 nocti combo for my main work. A very painterly combination. Poor high iso performance? Pah!

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[erl]

Happy with M9 and F1 nocti combo for my main work. A very painterly combination. Poor high iso performance? Pah!

I was happy with my M6 & 7 + Noct f1.0. Still am!

My M9 + Noct is even better. As you say, a very painterly combo. Nothing can match it.

In a few hours I will have my M10, to which I can add my Noct as I choose. I am totally convinced that will be even better, with no disrespect the M9 combo. It will simply be better, for what I often do. Low light work, sometimes needing more DOF. That is where the extra iso of the M10 will allow a slower and different lens. Simply choice of tools for the job. They all have their merits. Exploit them.