Why are you still using a m9?

[fil-m]

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I got a M9-P as a second backup camera to my M11. The only risk I see is that of the M11 becoming the backup and the M9 taking the lead role 😆

What really surprised me about the M9 is how much it feels being more a camera with some electronics rather than the other way around. The startup time is... instantaneous! No need to wait for those 2s. It is immediately available, I'd turn it on and shoot with no delay. It is how a camera is supposed to work.

Few menus items with only what's necessary. More buttons, but quicker access to the essential core functions. Very intuitive. No thinking to reconfigure the few settings that one might want to change. 

The colors need less editing "out of the box". They are just so good, well balanced. JPEGs are saturated with a look of their own, I don't delete them, I use them as a "reference". 

This camera is amazing and I am starting to believe there is a need for Leica's designers to revisit it and get a "dose of simplicity" which is core to the M system philosophy. 

In other words: if I take the M11's higher ISO performance, its slimmer body and the absence of the base plate, plus maybe its wifi connectivity into a hypothetical "M9+", I'd have the perfect M. And an option, a 24-36 MP for the occasional crop. 

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[fil-m]

The last benefit that I find in the M9 and miss in the M11, is the higher number of successful shots with my noctilux 75 (less motion blur/mis-focus). Maybe it is due to any of these factors or a combination of them: shutter design ("open/close" in the M9 vs "close/open/close" in the M11), lower pixel count, shutter "soft release" mode). These could make the operator less prone to shake the camera while taking the shot, as focusing at wide aperture on such a lens is a matter of a few millimetres of precision. 

[T25UFO]

On 9/1/2024 at 7:46 AM, fil-m said:

The last benefit that I find in the M9 and miss in the M11, is the higher number of successful shots with my noctilux 75 (less motion blur/mis-focus).

Not questioning your assessment (because I don't have the 75mm Noctilux) but would have thought that the M11 viewfinder is better and easier to focus.  Also, if shooting this lens wide open, the high shutter speed needed should negate any motion blur.  Just wondering if you can actually use f1.25 on the M9 if normal lighting without ND filters?

[fil-m]

43 minutes ago, T25UFO said:

Not questioning your assessment (because I don't have the 75mm Noctilux) but would have thought that the M11 viewfinder is better and easier to focus.  Also, if shooting this lens wide open, the high shutter speed needed should negate any motion blur.  Just wondering if you can actually use f1.25 on the M9 if normal lighting without ND filters?

The M11 viewfinder has one significant advantage: its central rangefinder patch has less tendency to flare or fade under certain lighting conditions compared to my M9p. Other than that, I don’t notice much difference between the two. The frame lines on the M11 are slightly more illuminated, but it’s a subtle distinction.

I believe there is less risk of “shake or vibrations” with the M9 compared to the M11 when taking a shot with no tripod. The M11’s metering system is sensor-based, which means the shutter remains open before you press the button. To capture the image, the shutter must first close and then reopen to record (two actions). On the other hand, the M9 performs a single mechanical action: opening to record the picture before closing again. This dual mechanical action in the M11 could introduce more vibrations (my assumption), and this could be further amplified by its higher resolution... Additionally, I use the M9’s “soft release” mode, which, unless I’m mistaken, isn’t available on the M11. This feature helps me keep the camera steadier when shooting, especially with the Noctilux 75mm f/1.25 wide open at close distances, where even a millimeter of movement makes a difference.

I miss very few portrait shots with the M9 due to its handling and characteristics. It could be that I need to improve my grip with the M11. I'll try to experiment more... Or maybe the next M should have some kind of sensor stabilisation to compensate for the increased resolution which makes it much sensitive, and the more complex metering and shutter mechanisms which introduce more vibrations. 

I didn't use ND filters. With the grey weather and indoor lighting, shooting at ISO 160 has been sufficient. On brighter days, ND filters will become necessary with the M9. The M11’s electronic shutter could offer a workaround making ND filters redundant assuming there is no movement or motion in the subject to avoid the rolling shutter effect.

Edited September 10, 2024 by fil-m

[KenTanaka]

I bought my M9 when it was introduced. I’ve since owned every other digital M body, currently using the M11P, not to mention the wonderful SL3 and Q3.  But I’ve never even been tempted to sell my M9, even though it hasn’t been my primary for many years.

Why do I still use it? Simple answer: the unique color it produces from that original CCD sensor.  My M9 is my version of shooting Kodachrome with my M7. There are times when I need what it does naturally and uniquely.  

[Samir Jahjah]

On 8/17/2024 at 9:18 PM, Olaf_ZG said:

My first m was the m8, which I sold when I bought a mm. The mm was great, but its buffer was too slow for me (sometimes, when photographing parts of the human body, I make a sequence with in/out of focus and the mm couldn’t catch up). Nowadays I have a m10m.

Next to the m, I have a SL system, which is more my “working” system, where the m is for daily life. One easily takes a m every where.

Sometimes, I would like some colour though. Tried the 240, but didn’t like its files. Loved the colours from the m8 though as well as from the sl2s.

So, I am considering a colour m. As I want ff, I could set for a m9 or m10(r), the latter being 2/3 times more expensive.

Why are you still using the m9?

The files have a magic to them…and it is a wonderful camera. Yes the SL3, the Q3, the M10 produce wonderful images - but the M9 is special…

[MarkN]

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On 8/17/2024 at 10:18 AM, Olaf_ZG said:

Why are you still using the m9?

What am I? Made of money? 

It still works nicely so I can’t be replacing it with the £7,800 M11.