Go from M8 to M9?..

[Harvey]

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“If there is any genius to the Leica M8, it is not in the specifications.  It is not the highest resolution camera.  It is not the fastest.  It does not have the longest-life batteries.  It does not have autofocus.   It barely has automatic exposure.  But it is supremely good at taking pictures without complications or distractions.  That's all you really need to know”

simply put and sums up my feelings 

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[Jeff S]

That pretty much sums up every digital M, at least through the M10 series. The differences in the bodies subsequent to the M8 included full use of lenses designed for a full size 35mm format, better viewing, quieter and more robust build quality and operation. If these changes/improvements don’t matter, the M8 remains a fully capable machine… although I owned and preferred the M8.2.

Jeff

Edited July 18, 2023 by Jeff S

[Harvey]

I had the m9 before I dropped it!

loved the full frame photos.

the m8 has just settled me into a way of just taking photos. It’s 

I enjoy the limitations.

as long as it keeps firing I will be happy

Edited July 21, 2023 by Harvey

[TAFFY]

On 7/10/2023 at 4:57 PM, Dopaco said:

Hello everyone, I need help deciding.

It turns out that I have a Leica M8, the one seen in the photo, I bought it used, and well cared for, at a fairly affordable price. (Now I see the higher prices). I used it with great enthusiasm, until I bought the Leica TL2, because it is newer and lighter and now it is the one I use the most.

The M8 works great, but it's not FF and it's only 10 MP.
I was planning to buy an M9 which is FF and 18 MP. Although I also notice that the prices have gone up.

I print very few photos and when I do most of them are 30 x 40 cm and exceptionally 70 x 50 cm.

What do you advise me?

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I have the M8 and the M10. I think a major reason to go for the M9 is to shoot full frame and get the framelines / angle of view the lens is made for otherwise I think the M8 has a lot of advantages: faster shutter for action or for using fast lenses in the daytime (35/1.2, 28/1.4 etc), a unique B&W signature from the JPEGs, works better with aftermarket batteries. 

[costa43]

I own the M8u among other bodies (including an m9p) and I really enjoy a 35mm lens on it and the 46mm ish fov it gives. I don’t tend to even use an ir cut filter on mine and enjoy its signature for what it is. In good light it’s a wonderful camera that has produced some of my favourite images. The black and white files are really nice too. 

On the other hand the m9 is definitely a more capable camera and the FF sensor allows you to realise the full character of your lenses, at least how they were designed to work that is. If you can only have one of the two then the m9 makes more sense imo but if you can hang onto that m8 too, I doubt you will regret it.

Edit : if I was upgrading I would skip the m9 and veer towards the m240 generation based on current market prices, or if budget allows, the m10.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by costa43

[farnz]

3 hours ago, costa43 said:

Edit : if I was upgrading I would skip the m9 and veer towards the m240 generation based on current market prices, or if budget allows, the m10.

That would be to ignore that the M9 has a CCD sensor while the M240 and M10 have CMOS sensors.  (Many feel that the pictures produced by CCD sensors are more film-like.)

Pete.

[costa43]

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22 minutes ago, farnz said:

That would be to ignore that the M9 has a CCD sensor while the M240 and M10 have CMOS sensors.  (Many feel that the pictures produced by CCD sensors are more film-like.)

Pete.

Yes, I failed to add that bit. In those cases, then of course you cap out with the m9 generation. 

 

[Borna]

22 hours ago, farnz said:

That would be to ignore that the M9 has a CCD sensor while the M240 and M10 have CMOS sensors.  (Many feel that the pictures produced by CCD sensors are more film-like.)

Pete.

Yes, and as I have both M8u and M-P 240 I can say that the photos I get from the M8 is fabulous. Photos with full of soul and details that I many times think the M-P does not produce. But I sometimes read similar comments when it is M240 vs M10 comments that some very much like M240 but not the quality of photos from M10, vice versa.

[dsm21]

I went down the CCD rabbit hole, starting with an M9, falling in love with it, then wondering how the M8 would perform, since I like the M9 so much

I would read and watch videos of people comparing the M8 vs M9, but probably no amount of third party information is going to really answer the question until you see for yourself.

There's a difference in quality to the files that's hard for me to explain, but in my experience I was drawn more to the M8 over the M9.

The M9 renders, a cooler bluish/greenish tone that I at first found pleasing, but, once comparing it to the M8 side by side, I preferred the M8's warmer look, and it's somewhat grainer look to the files, maybe due to it's lower resolution.
I know a lot of people suggest not to get too caught up in how a camera renders color, especially on Raw files, because you can practically make any file look like any other manufacture. But I also found I had to do less tweaking in Lightroom, to get my M8 photos to where I wanted.

Though I do sometimes wish the M8 were FF and that I didn't have to use IR filters

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by dsm21

[chris_livsey]

Don't forget that the lens crop of the M8 is kind, that is it removes the potentially less well performing corners of the lenses you may be using. This opens the possibility of lenses you would not otherwise consider as of sufficient quality, there are very many LTM lenses for example out there that benefit from this simple, fully automatic 😉 crop.