Leica M9 — your next camera?

[setuporg]

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again in the new M11 sub forum!:)

If you like the vivid M11 colors, you’ll love the M9’s.

There’s no live view so you won’t ever have to agonize about it.  Also savings on an unwieldy EVF.  Plus no need to torture yourself thinking whether to attach the EVF or not, or is it time to detach it yet only to see a good use for it immediately after you put it away.

M9 is light!  If you like the black M11, you’ll feel right with an M9.

M9 has ecologically friendly solar frame lines!  No trees are used to produce electricity that power your frame lines in the M9.

M9 is beautifully simple.  There’s no function buttons that can fail intermittently, because there are none.

M9 uses classic Leica metering that is done with a special sensor missing on the M11.  It allows the shutter to stay closed at all times except the G-d-given moment of exposure.  This way the sensor is protected from dust.

M9 is made of solid German brass.  It keeps the rangefinder housing solidly in alignment despite all the elements can throw at you.  No need to learn material science after agonizing over aluminum vs brass for thermal expansion, vibration resistance, shockproof qualities etc.  We chose brass for you and you just enjoy it.

M9 sports a unique shutter sound that reminds you of the film camera, as if it is rewinding after each shot.  Those born without film camera won’t even understand what’s going on, and it will be a conversation starter.  Nobody will want to steal what they’ll see as an antique camera.  You’ll have to wear an Italian hat to ensure they see it that way.

A mint M9 is much harder to get than a mint M11.  If it lasted a decade it will last many more.  

M9 was released on 9/9/9.  M11 was released on 1/13/22.  Consult your Chinese calendar user manual to see which date is more auspicious.

M9 comes in a wonderful chest of drawers box.  M11 comes in a shoebox.

M9 batteries are small and last long.  They are covered by a beautiful baseplate.  You don’t even need to remove the battery to replace an SD card!

There is no faux ISO knob that can fail and get stuck at a random ISO.  The ISO is set via an innovative all at a glance menu!

You can always access camera data via menus. You can see how many shutter actuations there were.  No seller can fool you by wiping the camera and calling it mint.  A modern sensor was put into most M9s as an upgrade by Leica and you can easily check whether they have it.  M9 is the only Leica camera with an upgraded sensor ever made.  It’s so simple it could be upgraded!  M11 will never be upgradeable.

There is no holes in the bottom of the camera.  It is protected by the legendary Leica baseplate.

M9 files are perfect size for you.  You may drop the pretense of becoming another Ansel Adams printing murals.  Your images are meant to be enjoyed on screens and nobody will know they are not made on an M11.  An SD card will last you forever.

But for that real Ansel Adams inside you, you can expose properly using your mind and vision, not AI.  Ansel Adams achieved zone metering with long exposures and using his hands as a mask, eg to underexpose the moon.  You will achieve it by thinking after center off shutter metering will help you most of the way.  A small LCD is not meant to do the work for you except for egregious mistakes, eg forgetting yo focus or take the cap off the lens.  You’ll become a real photographer, not a point and click one like those M11 or M22 people.

M9 has beautiful color menus and many menu buttons.  The menu system is dramatically simplified compared to M11.  You can adjust exposure very intuitively.

The annoying touch screen has been replaced with a reliable Gorilla-glass screen and all controls were moved to buttons.  You can now operate M9 in winter condition with gloves!  If you carry a Punkt smart dumb phone you’ll understand the progress.

Overall, we hope you find your dream M9 soon!

Edited January 22, 2022 by setuporg

[M9reno]

12 minutes ago, setuporg said:

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again in the new M11 sub forum!:)

If you like the vivid M11 colors, you’ll love the M9’s.

There’s no live view so you won’t ever have to agonize about it.  Also savings on an unwieldy EVF.  Plus no need to torture yourself thinking whether to attach the EVF or not, or is it time to detach it yet only to see a good use for it immediately after you put it away.

M9 is light!  If you like the black M11, you’ll feel right with an M9.

M9 has ecologically friendly solar frame lines!  No trees are used to produce electricity that power your frame lines in the M9.

M9 is beautifully simple.  There’s no function buttons that can fail intermittently, because there are none.

M9 uses classic Leica metering that is done with a special sensor missing on the M11.  It allows the shutter to stay closed at all times except the G-d-given moment of exposure.  This way the sensor is protected from dust.

M9 is made of solid German brass.  It keeps the rangefinder housing solidly in alignment despite all the elements can throw at you.

M9 sports a unique shutter sound that reminds you of the film camera, as if it is rewinding after each shot.  Those born without film camera won’t even understand what’s going on, and it will be a conversation starter.  Nobody will want to steal what they’ll see as an antique camera.  You’ll have to wear an Italian hat to ensure they see it that way.

A mint M9 is much harder to get than a mint M11.  If it lasted a decade it will last many more.  

M9 was released on 9/9/9.  M11 was released on 1/13/22.  Consult your Chinese calendar user manual to see which date is more auspicious.

M9 comes in a wonderful chest of drawers box.  M11 comes in a shoebox.

M9 batteries are small and last long.  They are covered by a beautiful baseplate.  You don’t even need to remove the battery to replace an SD card!

There is no faux ISO knob that can fail and get stuck at a random ISO.  The ISO is set via an innovative all at a glance menu!

There is no holes in the bottom of the camera.  It is protected by the legendary Leica baseplate.

M9 files are perfect size for you.  You may drop the pretense of becoming another Ansel Adams printing murals.  Your images are meant to be enjoyed on screens and nobody will know they are not made on an M11.  An SD card will last you forever.

M9 has beautiful color menus and many menu buttons.  The menu system is dramatically simplified compared to M11.  You can adjust exposure very intuitively.

The annoying touch screen has been replaced with a reliable Gorilla-glass screen and all controls were moved to buttons.  You can now operate M9 in winter condition with gloves!  If you carry a Punkt smart dumb phone you’ll understand the progress.

Overall, we hope you find your dream M9 soon!

Well said, Mr. Rockwell!

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[setuporg]

Just now, M9reno said:

Well said, Mr. Rockwell!

I hope you dug your M9 Reno out after the 50-year record snowfall!:)

[Stef63]

11 minutes ago, setuporg said:

The annoying touch screen has been replaced with a reliable Gorilla-glass screen and all controls were moved to buttons.  You can now operate M9 in winter condition with gloves!  If you carry a Punkt smart dumb phone you’ll understand the progress.

Overall, we hope you find your dream M9 soon!

😀😀😀 If I find some time and my aging memory does not prevent me to recall all the quirks of the M9 I’ll make my list of M9 ‘features’ 

[NigelG]

Plus there’s a Monochrom version to match…😉

[setuporg]

10 minutes ago, NigelG said:

Plus there’s a Monochrom version to match…😉

Again, the only one with a choice of Monochrom colors, black or silver, both genuine brass!

[Stef63]

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2 hours ago, NigelG said:

Plus there’s a Monochrom version to match…😉

Yes Nigel and that was the most groundbreaking camera that I ever purchased… up until the M10M.  To me the Monochrom (based on the M9) was a bold statement of Leica.  But the M10M is the ultimate evolution of that same statement. Today we are speaking M11 and expecting M11M.

But like @setuporg probably wanted to demonstrate… it all started  with the M9. 

[setuporg]

25 minutes ago, Stef63 said:

But like @setuporg probably wanted to demonstrate… it all started  with the M9. 

I also wanted to demonstrate it could all end up with an M9!  I know I’m keeping my new one forever, but I’m not sure how long an M11 will last, superseded by P and then M12…

[NigelG]

Yes - I reverted from the 246 back to the M9M. The M10M might be “better” in some ways but I like the M9M files (and my silver chrome version)

[Guest]

The camera described by the OP ,tongue in cheek or otherwise is far more appealing than the M11.

I own an M262 but sadly it has no modern or more modern equivalent.

[Overgaard]

3 hours ago, setuporg said:

 

Overall, we hope you find your dream M9 soon!

Alexy, you have one of the most cool Leica M9 cameras 🙂

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[Ray Vonn]

Another M9 camera is not wanted, we all have short memories as it has a reddish tint and general inferiority to an M8, garish/ awful colours, unsalvageable raws, problems with IR sensitivity, shutter noise, embarrassing EVF, cracked sensors, red edge problems (reds are a mess), buffer/card issues, corrosion problems and if M9 colours are wanted expired slide film should be sought.  It’s only when the M240 was released where Leica finally became good enough; you see, the M9 delivered a incorrect version of reality which was the reason it appealed to some.

There we are, a one paragraph summary above of the many responses posted when I pondered on here whether the new M11 might render more like the M9.  It does seem to hit a raw nerve from some members on this particular site which doesn't seem to be the case on other Leica forums, certainly not to the same extent.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Artin said:

It sure is at 540 grams it’s the perfect paperweight.  I have no Idea what people see in that relic. 

I have never had an M9 i was just going by the OP's post.

I have the M262 which is perfect for me.

[M9reno]

16 minutes ago, Ray Vonn said:

Another M9 camera is not wanted, we all have short memories as it has a reddish tint and general inferiority to an M8, garish/ awful colours, unsalvageable raws, problems with IR sensitivity, shutter noise, embarrassing EVF, cracked sensors, red edge problems (reds are a mess), buffer/card issues, corrosion problems and if M9 colours are wanted expired slide film should be sought.  It’s only when the M240 was released where Leica finally became good enough; you see, the M9 delivered a incorrect version of reality which was the reason it appealed to some.

There we are, a one paragraph summary above of the many responses posted when I pondered on here whether the new M11 might render more like the M9.  It does seem to hit a raw nerve from some members on this particular site which doesn't seem to be the case on other Leica forums, certainly not to the same extent.

On the contrary, the M8 and M9 saved Leica from bankruptcy and irrelevance. We are here discussing the M11 thanks to them. Huge leaps forward for Leica, their CCD Kodak sensors still pack a film-like and unmistakable punch. I honestly don’t know what an “incorrect version of reality” means, but the single “correct” antidote sounds awfully impoverishing!

Edited January 22, 2022 by M9reno

[setuporg]

43 minutes ago, Ray Vonn said:

Another M9 camera is not wanted, we all have short memories as it has a reddish tint and general inferiority to an M8, garish/ awful colours, unsalvageable raws, problems with IR sensitivity, shutter noise, embarrassing EVF, cracked sensors, red edge problems (reds are a mess), buffer/card issues, corrosion problems and if M9 colours are wanted expired slide film should be sought.  It’s only when the M240 was released where Leica finally became good enough; you see, the M9 delivered a incorrect version of reality which was the reason it appealed to some.

There we are, a one paragraph summary above of the many responses posted when I pondered on here whether the new M11 might render more like the M9.  It does seem to hit a raw nerve from some members on this particular site which doesn't seem to be the case on other Leica forums, certainly not to the same extent.

Now I covet that inferior EVF, magically working off the CCD that your sources were unhappy about.  Can I take it off their hands perhaps?

Otherwise, only great images and thorough enjoyment in my six months use of the fully refurbished, new sensor M9-P that Thorsten posted above.  (Thank you sir!:)  Since then it got a proper matching Leica red strap!

 

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IMG_8199.HEIC

Edited January 22, 2022 by setuporg

[Ray Vonn]

2 minutes ago, M9reno said:

I honestly don’t know what an “incorrect version of reality” means,

Nor do I but that was one of the quotes posted in relation to the M9.

[Ray Vonn]

1 minute ago, setuporg said:

Haven’t noticed anything negative in my six months use of the fully refurbished M9-P that Thorsten posted above.  (Thank you sir!:)

But now I covet that inferior EVF, magically working off the CCD that your sources were unhappy about.  Can I take it off their hands perhaps?

Yes, I liked that one about the inferior EVF.

[kkochheiser]

Very good!  Coincidently, I just resurrected my M9 this week (still no sensor corrosion!) and it brings back many good memories.  However, I don't remember the rangefinder alignment being particularly robust!  The later Ms seem to have been better in my experience.  As far as “incorrect version of reality” goes, I still remember Fuji's Velvia! 

Thanks for the reminder of the way things were.

 

kent

[charlesphoto99]

I still have mine. More sentimental value than resale, though it does have a replaced sensor. But man it's clunky coming from an M10-R. And that display! May as well have been aa D model all along. But it took some great photographs.With my new in January 2017 M10.  

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[shirubadanieru]

I sold my M9 to purchase the M11 but I'm now having battery issues...which is making me miss my M9P already

M9P was indeed the best camera leica made for rangefinder purists & it's the only digital camera I know that the used market price is going up (higher than M240 / M10 here in Japan).