I'm also one of those "crazy ones" who purchased an M9 in 2022

[twogun]

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Four years ago I bought a used M262 camera. It was my first digital Leica M body. I used it for a year a didn't bond with it and decided to let it go. I vowed at the time that a digital M was not for me. Today in 2022 after the release of the M11, I came back full circle and purchased a steel grey M9 with an updated sensor for a price more than what I had paid for my M262 purchase.

A quick background: I mainly photograph street & environmental portraits using my x100v and GR2. I enjoy them but also love analog/film photography.  I love and collect various M film bodies and lenses and shoot color negative film and develop+scan at home to save cost. I use my Sony A9 to scan, for video work and also to adapt my M lenses on. Last week I spent a considerable amount of time developing & scanning over 30 rolls of color films that I had from 2021. I enjoy the final output of film but no matter how I justify it, scanning and editing is a lot of work and time to dedicate as a family guy. I looked at the cost of a dedicated high-end scanner like the Pakon but the prices are in the same ballpark if not more than the "older" digital M bodies. This led me to looking at M digital bodies again. 

So after some deliberation I decided I'm going to try the M9 to see if it will give me the same "film like" qualities for my images. I'm not a pixel peeper and print occasionally at 8x12 size. I've read alot about the limitation of the M9 body with it's sensor issues, aged electronics/battery and low ISO functionality (which i don't mind as a daytime photographer). I'm curious to see if the "M9 magic talk" is real or hype, I will find out soon after I have it on my hands. Will follow up. 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by twogun

[Topsy]

I think the M9 shooting experience is very like the film shooting experience but without the wait for processing etc. Working with the M9 is very like working with film Ms I just use mine on 160 ISO and live with it as if I have a film loaded. I enjoy the immediacy of digital like if I only shoot 5 or 6 shots I can see the results almost immediately and I also like the limitations of the M9 in terms of it's old tech and no live view etc. I don't think you are crazy, enjoy your M9 for what it is a great picture making tool. The other great thing about the M9 IMO is the screen is so crap there's no point in chimping, just get on with taking photos. 👍 BTW A3 size prints are no problem from the M9 sensor.

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[twogun]

@TopsyIt's reassuring to hear your feedback to my rant/brain-dump   Agree with all your points & looking forward to see the CCD output of my M-mount lenses natively on the M9 body.

[a.noctilux]

When I used everyday M9, I didn't know about the limiting factors or CCD rendering.

I just use it happily on everything that I fancy to meet.

 

After many years of using "better M" (really ?), when I review those old pictures, I do admit that the "M9 Myth" may be right.

 

Another wonder is Monochrom - M9 based, this one shares the M9's weird things (slowish respond, battery life, crude screen but nice DNG histogram when needed, no LV ! ).

Anyway, I keep these oldies, I use them like old friends and I accept since long their "flaws" (limited DR, Mpix, etc.).

 

Out of curiosity, I had a look at the DR chart, so I understand and use the M9/Monochrom accordingly with the not so bad DR of 8EV

https://photonstophotos.net/Charts/PDR.htm#Leica M Monochrom,Leica M10,Leica M9

Edited February 3, 2022 by a.noctilux

[ianman]

Old tech? Well it might not be the latest super duper flashing mirror ball dancing and swinging M11 but the “old tech” still works beautifully and is not nearly as old as the tech in my MP which still works equally as beautifully. As for M9 magick? Nah… it’s a great camera in the right hands but there’s no magick, it’s a lump of metal.

[Topsy]

2 minutes ago, ianman said:

Old tech? Well it might not be the latest super duper flashing mirror ball dancing and swinging M11 but the “old tech” still works beautifully

Which is my point, no one can deny that the tech in an M9 is old but don't read inadequate where I write old. I am very happy with my M9s and have no desire to change them for anything newer. I will continue to use them as my everyday cameras until they eventually die then I will decide what to do going forward but I am certain (as of now) that it won't be M11 related.

[ianman]

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2 minutes ago, Topsy said:

Which is my point, no one can deny that the tech in an M9 is old but don't read inadequate where I write old. I am very happy with my M9s and have no desire to change them for anything newer. I will continue to use them as my everyday cameras until they eventually die then I will decide what to do going forward but I am certain (as of now) that it won't be M11 related.

Sorry, I wasn’t replying to anything you wrote. I apologise if it came over that way. I know you still use your M9s and treasure them as much as I do mine!

I think there are some nice photos in the M11 thread, but I’m not sure I’d like the “always in LV” exposure. As a matter of interest, what is it about the M11 that makes you certain you wouldn’t want one?

[a.noctilux]

Do we know how many M9/M9-P were sold ?

[Topsy]

1 minute ago, ianman said:

Sorry, I wasn’t replying to anything you wrote. I apologise if it came over that way. I know you still use your M9s and treasure them as much as I do mine!

I think there are some nice photos in the M11 thread, but I’m not sure I’d like the “always in LV” exposure. As a matter of interest, what is it about the M11 that makes you certain you wouldn’t want one?

Ah, sorry I thought you were replying to me, my bad.

Re M11, too many megapixles, constant LV, no baseplate (I like the baseplate system), I think the M11 is moving just a bit too far towards mainstream digital cameras and I understand why but I have Fuji X-T and GFX for that job my M9s are, for me, like the old days where one needed to be able to make a photograph rather than take one. Modern cameras have moved away from that with all the new tech. As and when my M9s die the most likely route for me will be M10D but they are rarer than rare things to find used and are no longer made. 😥

[a.noctilux]

Seen in Wiki, adding these figures meaning that those are huge sold number plus unknown !

Leica M9 Serial Numbers

Serial numbers compiled from known M9 cameras
~ stolen camera, please report if found on sale

SN Start	SN End	Product	Year	Total
-3484275	unknown-	M9 (black+grey)	2009	unknown
~3803931	3842870-	M9 (black+grey)	2010	38,940+ ~3836973
-39045XX	3978924-	M9 (black+grey)	2011	unknown ~3908077 ~3908439)
-4201448	4232787-	M9 (black+grey)	2012	31,339+
TOTAL	ASSIGNED	SERIAL NUMBERS	2009-2012	unknown

M9-P Serial Numbers

Serial numbers compiled from known M9-P cameras

SN Start	SN End	Product	Year	Total
4200963	4231838-	M9-P (silver+black)	2011	30,876+
-4338392	unknown-	M9-P (black)	2012	unknown
-4339634	4354288-	M9-P (silver)	2012	14,655+
-4352801	4415836-	M9-P (black)	2012	63,035+
TOTAL	ASSIGNED	SERIAL NUMBERS	2011-2012	unknown

[tom0511]

deleted

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by tom0511
sorry, was not really adding anything to the thread so I deleted my message

[Al Brown]

Just to reassure you, I bought an M8 in 2021. All good.

[ianman]

13 minutes ago, tom0511 said:

And I like to use my M cameras indoors as well, which is not the strong point of the M9.

🙄 I am glad to learn that after 12 years of using mine indoors, outdoors, low light, strong light, long exposure, fast exposure, etc, etc, etc. Can you take a shot of a black cat in the dark? No. Can it turn night into day? No. But it is perfectly ok, in the right hands of course, to be used for taking photos indoors. 

[tom0511]

vor 11 Minuten schrieb ianman:

🙄 I am glad to learn that after 12 years of using mine indoors, outdoors, low light, strong light, long exposure, fast exposure, etc, etc, etc. Can you take a shot of a black cat in the dark? No. Can it turn night into day? No. But it is perfectly ok, in the right hands of course, to be used for taking photos indoors. 

Yes, it is possible for sure. I regretted my thread and deleted it, since I believe this here is a place for being enthusiatic about the M9, and not so much for discussing why I moved on to another body.

For me its just much more freedom to have more room in going up in ISO, without getting a noisy image or color de-saturation. I was fine with it, when I owned, used and loved the M9, but the right hands do not help, if you want to shoot in lower light and still want - for example - have more DOF than you get at f1.4 or f2.0. Just one example.

No doubt M9 images show a certain pop, one reason I still own a S006. But also here I allmost allways take the S007, because of more DR, and more freedom to shoot at higher ISO, which helps me for handheld shooting at 1/250 to avoid shake.

 

[ianman]

5 minutes ago, tom0511 said:

I regretted my thread and deleted it, since I believe this here is a place for being enthusiatic about the M9, and not so much for discussing why I moved on to another body.

I think it's fine to discuss the bad points as well as the good ones... I just have had no issues with it indoors or in low light situations. I've used it indoors with the Summaron f5,6   Sure, it can be challenging. Like I wrote above, it can't turn night into day like the M11 does... but isn't the challenge half the fun?

[BarberShop]

I also briefly had the M9 a couple years ago. It was my first Leica camera. I didn't like the rendition at all to be honest. I have shot my fair share of negative film and despite everyone's high praise of the camera for its colours, they just really didn't do it for me. I have since bought the 262 and much prefer it. It has a much more subtle shutter and the output is much nicer IMO. Even the noise at high ISO I find to be quite pleasing. 

[twogun]

5 hours ago, BarberShop said:

I also briefly had the M9 a couple years ago. It was my first Leica camera. I didn't like the rendition at all to be honest. I have shot my fair share of negative film and despite everyone's high praise of the camera for its colours, they just really didn't do it for me. I have since bought the 262 and much prefer it. It has a much more subtle shutter and the output is much nicer IMO. Even the noise at high ISO I find to be quite pleasing. 

Interesting experience. I had the opposite experience with the the M262 as my first M digital body. It was an overall positive experience and enjoyed most aspects of the M262. I think at the time I  was coming from the Fuji X world where I was photographing extreme daylight, harsh shadows and color scenes.  With that visual experience I felt the files from the M262 were very underwhelming even with Zeiss ZM lenses known for their color saturation. Great underrated M body nonetheless.

[pgk]

I have two M9s. Like Topsy I shoot them at 160ISO all the time. As a low ISO shooter they suit my way of working very well indeed and I too will use them until they die. They do take some time to get used to, especially the image files which have grain-like noise which is surprisingly unintrusive. IMO the M9 is the closest dRF to a film RF.

[costa43]

I bought an m9p in Jan 2021, very happy with it but I actually prefer the m8. I do love the FF allowing me to use my lenses at their designed focal length though.

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Hallo,

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[Ko.Fe.]

Nothing crazy. The only digital M which is close to film M is M9 series. It could do only low ISO in color and slightly less ISO than film in BW. 

It won't replace film for its look (only if are self-eluded  ), but is much closer to film Ms in handling, limitations and even how it is made (no odd wheel), original rangefinder,  traditional framelines selector, traditionally illuminated framelines.