Is the M9 still worth it in 2020?

[otto.f]

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1 hour ago, pgk said:

Battery life has never been a problem

+1

 

[Ko.Fe.]

5 hours ago, pgk said:

To be honest, I have 2 x M9s and have had none of the 'problems' which people go on about, and one is starting to look quite rough now with tens of thousands of exposures on it. Battery life has never been a problem and I still run several from my long gone M8s too. I shoot at low ISO by preference and noise is not a problem and what there is lacks that typical digital noise 'signature' which I don't care for

The Sony is far from better. Its fundamental flaw, which differentiates it from Leicas, is its appalling interface. I've lost more shots due to faffing around trying to remember which menu to enter and what to adjust than I care to remember. Its capable of very good results but its far from being a good camera - the two are quite separable.

Sony has no OVF, it is not comparable product. Sony colors are also seems to be way too different. At least for my taste they are oddest colors comparing to Leica, Canon, Olympus I'm OK with.

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[Ko.Fe.]

3 hours ago, otto.f said:

+1

 

  It becomes problem within less than one hour if you walk with M8/9/M-E/M outside where temperatures are around -20 C.

Then it is dark as well, mendeling with spare batteries and bottom plate isn't something I want to do again after I have dropped spare one into the snow. Bare hands and chilling factor of -30 C doesn't work well together. 

I use Canon DSLR with cheap third party battery grip for days like this. But M240 is probably only one M made for all year round use in Canada  

But no complains with -10 C days or higher. I walked in Chicago all day in summer and needed only one spare.

[Adam Bonn]

Iirc I get about 450ish shots out my m9 with a full battery, unless it’s cold then far less.

I’ve yet to have my m9 lock up (had it only 2+ years though, so give it chance!)

I recently got a 240 and the battery life on that is something else, but the battery is huge in comparison to the m9 so I don’t think it’s black magic going on in there!

I’ve not had the 240 long enough to really form an opinion about the whole filmic m9 vs digital m240 CMOS thing... FWIW, I tend to find (OMMV) that if you compare any two products that do the same job and are in the same sort of market niche, be that the merc and the bmw or the kenwood and the kitchenaid, or whatever, then it’s always win some/lose some between each if you compare long enough.

They’re clearly different, but better or worse depends on other factors.

[ianman]

huh, you need to charge a the battery on an M9? 😜

 

note: before anyone gets really upset about this post...  it is a joke!

[Adam Bonn]

2 hours ago, ianman said:

huh, you need to charge a the battery on an M9? 😜

 

 

Yeah you do, about 60 shots after it tells you that you have too 😅

[John Ricard]

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Nikon's new flagship, the $6,000 D6 is a 20mp camera.  And that camera is clearly aimed at working professionals.  Clearly there is still a value in an 18mp image.

[Stein K S]

Battery life on my M9 has been really bad from new. One thing is that the battery typically runs out within a couple of weeks & 100 pics... But what annoys me the most is that the camera runs out of battery when it says that appr 40-50% should be left... and the shut down is done without any kind of warning what so ever. All in all I have learned to live with it... but it is bad...

My new M10 is a totally different story

 

PS: My wife is kidding me with my old Canon SLR with battery that lasts for ¨years¨... even with larger autofocus lenses...

 

[ianman]

36 minutes ago, Stein K S said:

Battery life on my M9 has been really bad from new. One thing is that the battery typically runs out within a couple of weeks & 100 pics... But what annoys me the most is that the camera runs out of battery when it says that appr 40-50% should be left... and the shut down is done without any kind of warning what so ever. All in all I have learned to live with it... but it is bad...

Yes, that is not good. Do you have multiple batteries? Does this happen with all of them?

[Stein K S]

1 minute ago, ianman said:

Yes, that is not good. Do you have multiple batteries? Does this happen with all of them?

Hi and thanks

I have two and they behave exactly the same. I just bought two new ones which I have not tested yet... I thought it is worth a try... even if, as I said, this behaviour has been the same with both batteries bought at the same time since new.

I guess what has kept me from pursuing this issue more, is that it seems that I am by no means alone with this experience. And I have learned to be ¨prepared¨...

[ianman]

I have not heard of that issue. Are they Leica branded?

The only problem I had was with third-party battery. This was years ago and I can't really remember the precise issue but IIR it was somewhat similar to the one you describe. Since then I have only bought the Leica branded ones. They are more expensive to buy but cheaper in the long run. 

[Stein K S]

36 minutes ago, ianman said:

I have not heard of that issue. Are they Leica branded?

The only problem I had was with third-party battery. This was years ago and I can't really remember the precise issue but IIR it was somewhat similar to the one you describe. Since then I have only bought the Leica branded ones. They are more expensive to buy but cheaper in the long run. 

 

36 minutes ago, ianman said:

I have not heard of that issue. Are they Leica branded?

The only problem I had was with third-party battery. This was years ago and I can't really remember the precise issue but IIR it was somewhat similar to the one you describe. Since then I have only bought the Leica branded ones. They are more expensive to buy but cheaper in the long run. 

Hi again

 

All Leica branded for sure... bought through local Leica Store.

 

Regards,

[DandA]

others can chime in with more info, but from what I recall, there was a firmware update (one of the last ones Leica applied to the M9) that monitored battery capacity in a very conservative way in shutting down the camera when the battery fell below a certain level.  This was done because previous to this firmware update, the battery would run down to near low exhaustive levels, causing black frames and/or taken images not to be recorded or lost (or something similar to that).  Unfortunately, the now conservative cutoff often shuts down the camera while the M9 info just a few shots earlier showed approx. 50% battery life left.  It doesn't appear to always cut off the camera this fast and in my experience seems to happen more often in col(er) weather where although the camera's info shows approx. 50% battery life, I suspect the battery's current flow is reduced to the levels that would cause black frames.  

Dave (D&A) 

[Stein K S]

16 hours ago, DandA said:

others can chime in with more info, but from what I recall, there was a firmware update (one of the last ones Leica applied to the M9) that monitored battery capacity in a very conservative way in shutting down the camera when the battery fell below a certain level.  This was done because previous to this firmware update, the battery would run down to near low exhaustive levels, causing black frames and/or taken images not to be recorded or lost (or something similar to that).  Unfortunately, the now conservative cutoff often shuts down the camera while the M9 info just a few shots earlier showed approx. 50% battery life left.  It doesn't appear to always cut off the camera this fast and in my experience seems to happen more often in col(er) weather where although the camera's info shows approx. 50% battery life, I suspect the battery's current flow is reduced to the levels that would cause black frames.  

Dave (D&A) 

Thanks a lot!

Very nice to hear this explanation as it fully describes my experience... and that it by this as such is nothing wrong with my piece of equipment!

[DandA]

To provide an example to my explanation above....on average temperature days, I'd go out with one of my M9's and one of its batteries, camera would show it was nearly full and I could go on shooting many frames that day and still have camera show decent battery life left.  Alternatively when out in quite cold conditions for a time, even if camera is by my side (or in a bag) and I first check battery capacity, camera might show battery nearly full.  Then when I fire off a few frames in this cold weather, camera quickly shuts down indicating with the message, "battery low".  Doesn't matter which M9 battery I use nor which M9 I use.  Battery though in both examples provided may have last been charged a week or so earlier.  I suppose if I went out in the cold with a battery that was fully charged a couple hours earlier, maybe camera would have allowed some additional shots before shutting down?  Conversely, I don't know what would have happened if I took that same battery that camera showed exhausted while out in the cold, and let it warm up to room temp, whether it would have recovered sufficient charge to go on shooting indoors for a time.  My suspicion from general recall is "it would not", and would still require a sufficient charge before next use.

As a final example, if one shoots in normal temps and starts out with a battery say half full, the camera at some point would shut down much faster with the firmware that now shuts down camera faster with a low battery, then with previous firmware that would let one keep on shooting till battery was actually exhausted (but with risk to getting black frames).  It appears to me, Leica was so conservative, it set the shut down point of low battery, too quickly when in many cases, battery (at least according the camera), was actually showing something close to 50% capacity.  Maybe it was measuring actual current output and battery indicator on camera was just a approximation of actual output from battery.  Hard to actually know without adequate testing of actually battery at various stages of use.

Dave (D&A) 

[Stein K S]

1 hour ago, DandA said:

To provide an example to my explanation above....on average temperature days, I'd go out with one of my M9's and one of its batteries, camera would show it was nearly full and I could go on shooting many frames that day and still have camera show decent battery life left.  Alternatively when out in quite cold conditions for a time, even if camera is by my side (or in a bag) and I first check battery capacity, camera might show battery nearly full.  Then when I fire off a few frames in this cold weather, camera quickly shuts down indicating with the message, "battery low".  Doesn't matter which M9 battery I use nor which M9 I use.  Battery though in both examples provided may have last been charged a week or so earlier.  I suppose if I went out in the cold with a battery that was fully charged a couple hours earlier, maybe camera would have allowed some additional shots before shutting down?  Conversely, I don't know what would have happened if I took that same battery that camera showed exhausted while out in the cold, and let it warm up to room temp, whether it would have recovered sufficient charge to go on shooting indoors for a time.  My suspicion from general recall is "it would not", and would still require a sufficient charge before next use.

As a final example, if one shoots in normal temps and starts out with a battery say half full, the camera at some point would shut down much faster with the firmware that now shuts down camera faster with a low battery, then with previous firmware that would let one keep on shooting till battery was actually exhausted (but with risk to getting black frames).  It appears to me, Leica was so conservative, it set the shut down point of low battery, too quickly when in many cases, battery (at least according the camera), was actually showing something close to 50% capacity.  Maybe it was measuring actual current output and battery indicator on camera was just a approximation of actual output from battery.  Hard to actually know without adequate testing of actually battery at various stages of use.

Dave (D&A) 

Again; EXACTLY!

(I should add that I did not do your ¨tests¨ either)

 

Thanks a lot once again!

Edited February 21, 2020 by Stein K S

[analog-digital]

Am 5.1.2020 um 15:47 schrieb Ko.Fe.:

Lots, no loads of oddity in this thread. 

First of all, who shots bw film and give it for lab? This is easiest film type to develop. 

Then, camera color. Is it all about matching your purse? If you have load of money to use film camera as main while paying for lab all the time, you simply have enough to pay for custom repainting.

And why M9 is not good in 2020? Did Leica put self detractors chips in all M9, set at 2020?

Sorry...  

 

 

And now, Ko.Fe.?

[analog-digital]

Am 10.1.2020 um 10:50 schrieb silverchrome:

I own 2 M9s and an M8, which I prefer to the M240, which I also have.  I also prefer the images I get from the CCD cameras, but I still wouldn’t recommend any of the CCD cameras!

 

Interesting statement. But you HAVE CCD Leica Kamera's. Why then? Just because you have it or because of a recommendation in previous years?

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, analog-digital said:

Just because you have it

They are much to good to share😉

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[ianman]

On 2/1/2020 at 4:48 AM, Archiver said:

the sensor attracts dust like a fluffy coat

I have to admit that the first generation sensor seemed to attract a lot of dust. I used to call it the Dyson M9. I used to clean the thing very very often. Since the sensor was changed in 2016, I've cleaned it maybe five times at the very most. Maybe it's due to the sensor, maybe it's due to my method (I now use a LensPen SensorKlear). With the older sensor, a blower would move nothing, now even a quick blow job seems to make it (and me) happy.