M9 full specs and pictures are out. Let's discuss.

[tmanley]

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re the leaked PDF:

 

does anyone else find it strange that the images take up most of the brochure? I know Leica uses good imagery in its brochures but this one seems to be slightly off in my opinion. I am used to brochures from Leica that highlight their gear more than a narrative about (in this case) boxing.

.

 

I think it's strange that they don't credit the photographer anywhere! There are credits on the last page for product photography and author's photograph, but I can't find a mention of who shot the boxing photos in Cuba - lots of information about the boxer, though! Am I missing it somewhere?

 

Tina

 

Tina Manley

[UliWer]

I think it's strange that they don't credit the photographer anywhere! There are credits on the last page for product photography and author's photograph, but I can't find a mention of who shot the boxing photos in Cuba - lots of information about the boxer, though! Am I missing it somewhere?

 

Tina

 

Tina Manley

 

What could be understood as "author's photography" if not the photographer of the boxing photos?

 

On this Website you find some more publications of the photographer mentinoned for "Author's Photography" for Leica:

 

http://www.maik-scharfscheer.com/

[giordano]

Still, there is something I do not understand:

since the body of the M9 is as thick as the one of the M8, and both have a magnification of 0.68, so, framelines appart, the viewfinder of the M9 and M8 should in principle be identical....

However, they have manage to fit the framelines of the 28mm in the M9 but the M8 does not have framelines for the 21mm (which gives the same angle of view in the M8 than the 28 in the M9).....

I guess I am overlooking something.....

 

Maybe it's just that it would have meant having 3 sets of framelines visible at a time (e.g. 21, 50, 75). One of the (very few) bad decisions in the M3 design was to limit the lens-to-viewfinder coupling to 3 focal lengths.

[SJP]

I was going to check for the photographer myself as I would expect him/her to be one the members here. Not mentioning any name in the brochure would support the 'viral marketing' hypothesis - Leica is feeding us with a golden spoon, little bites at a time, and does not want anything leaking out which is beyond their control.

 

Anyone spring to mind that uses Leica M in Cuba?

[tmanley]

What could be understood as "author's photography" if not the photographer of the boxing photos?

 

That usually refers to the photograph of the author of the text, which, it's true is not there. Maybe it's just a strange translation but I've never seen "reportage" credited that way.

 

Tina

 

Tina Manley

[Steve Pope]

Delving into the file's metadata it seems that the brochure was designed in Adobe InDesign and finished on 1 July 2009.

That wouldn't necessarily mean new elements weren't dropped in at the last minute, though - the all-important M9 detail might be more recent. All the same, the obviously protracted lead-in to the launch, kept secret from our prying eyes for many months, does have me wondering about false trails laid by the Hessenpark briefing. How do those key M8 successor statements of Stefan Daniel marry up with a 'full-frame/no IR filter' M9 launch so soon after the event?! Things must have been very far advanced indeed by the date of the Hessenpark meeting - already done and dusted, in fact - yet different possibilities from what we're now seeing were hinted at and, in turn, then fed back to the rest of the Leica community.

 

There's a new M9 sooner than most people dared hope, so who now really cares how we got here...but don't you feel a bit, you know, 'managed'?

[tmanley]

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I was going to check for the photographer myself as I would expect him/her to be one the members here. Not mentioning any name in the brochure would support the 'viral marketing' hypothesis - Leica is feeding us with a golden spoon, little bites at a time, and does not want anything leaking out which is beyond their control.

 

Anyone spring to mind that uses Leica M in Cuba?

 

Bruno Stevens from the Cosmos press agency reportedly said at Perpignan that he had been testing the M9 for the past 3 months and it is the camera to end all cameras. Maybe he was in Cuba?

 

Tina

 

Tina Manley

[UliWer]

I was going to check for the photographer myself as I would expect him/her to be one the members here. Not mentioning any name in the brochure would support the 'viral marketing' hypothesis - Leica is feeding us with a golden spoon, little bites at a time, and does not want anything leaking out which is beyond their control.

 

Anyone spring to mind that uses Leica M in Cuba?

 

Don't search too far. Just look at the name given and Google, or use the link in my posting above.

[kenf]

re the leaked PDF:

 

does anyone else find it strange that the images take up most of the brochure? I know Leica uses good imagery in its brochures but this one seems to be slightly off in my opinion. I am used to brochures from Leica that highlight their gear more than a narrative about (in this case) boxing.

 

It actually sort of looks like a spec-spot for an adidas commercial (notice all the adidas gear).

 

Also the typography seems a bit off to me (the kerning of the font is not consistent with official stuff off Leica's site). Again, it's subtle but I'm using my spidey-senses.

 

Trust me, I'm hardly trying to fan this fire of "is it or isn't it" but I just wanted to point this out.

 

I was one of the ones who happened to be online at the time of the original leak and downloaded the brochure from the source. (I was also able to view the microsite.) The URL was supposedly confirmed to be one of Leica's.

 

I'm pretty confident this is legit.

[stunsworth]

I'm pretty confident this is legit.

 

100% certain here. It was put together by professionals. not a Leicarumours wanna be.

[jaapv]

That wouldn't necessarily mean new elements weren't dropped in at the last minute, though - the all-important M9 detail might be more recent. All the same, the obviously protracted lead-in to the launch, kept secret from our prying eyes for many months, does have me wondering about false trails laid by the Hessenpark briefing. How do those key M8 successor statements of Stefan Daniel marry up with a 'full-frame/no IR filter' M9 launch so soon after the event?! Things must have been very far advanced indeed by the date of the Hessenpark meeting - already done and dusted, in fact - yet different possibilities from what we're now seeing were hinted at and, in turn, then fed back to the rest of the Leica community.

 

There's a new M9 sooner than most people dared hope, so who now really cares how we got here...but don't you feel a bit, you know, 'managed'?

Stefan Daniel said that the M9 would be full frame and that they were still finalizing the IR filter at the meeting in Hessenpark, together with the information that there would be a classical viewfinder (which was not general knowledge). I reported that at the time both here and on RFF. I take issue with the words " false trails" Mr.Daniel clearly stated the situation as it was then.

[Steve Pope]

I take issue with the words " false trails" Mr.Daniel clearly stated the situation as it was then.

Didn't he allude to unsolved issues and hint that an interim M8.3 might be necessary, that they 'weren't there yet'? Surely there hasn't been quite that degree of technological breakthrough in the brief interim - they must have been in M9 production even at the time, no? I think we're all bowled over by the sheer speed of the M9 roll out - the differing interpretations of the Hessenpark briefing do seem to have played a part in that.

[jaapv]

No he did not. He said:" After the M8 there must obviously be something new - the M9". He further said that it would come at some unspecified point of time after the finalizing of the S2. That it was so fast is a surprise - but that can hardly be called a false trail. More like a skeptical audience. He said they were finetuning the IR filter., nothing about unsolved issues. I could not say so at the time, but in a private conversation it was clear that Leica was betatesting the camera.

[thrid]

The Nikon D3x does not look like a bargain.

 

It doesn't in terms of price / performance ratio?

 

You can buy a Nikon D3x with a 1.4/50mm prime lens for less money than an M9 with the Lux 1.4/50.

 

The M-series is close to unbeatable at what it does, but it is not as versatile as an SLR.

 

There is nothing that you can't do with an SLR, that you can do with a Leica M, except maybe stuff it in your jacket pocket. But there are several things you can do with an SLR that you can't do with a rangefinder (macro, tele, fast AF etc)

 

So, the D3x wins in terms of price / performance, simply because it is the more versatile tool. I think you are talking about preference. That's a whole different story.

 

I'm not saying it is not an extremely accomplished tool it simply is not a Leica M, they are so so different, we all know it. If you want to use a Leica M its no use buying a Nikon D3x it does not get you there.

 

Well, what we want in life and what we can have are often two very different things.

 

As quirky as the M8.2 was I wanted one, because the M series has been my daily shooter for nearly 12 years and that is what I am most comfortable with.

 

But the M8 was priced out of my reach, so I ended up with the D700.

 

I can't just stop taking pictures, because I can't have the camera that I find ideal for me.

 

In the old days they used to call this 'making due with what you got.'

 

Now the Nikon F - had one for many many years, would love to see a digital version of this type of camera, back to basics and of course much smaller than a D3x.

 

One day, even today's new photographers will feel the urge to get back to photography and away from electronic clutter.

 

Jeff

 

I have a wonderful black paint F that will have to be pried from my cold dead hands. As much as I love the M series, the original F is the only camera that could give it a run for the money, as the greatest camera ever made.

[tmanley]

Don't search too far. Just look at the name given and Google, or use the link in my posting above.

 

His website shows lots of photos of hands holding M cameras - studio stuff - not reportage.

 

Tina

 

Tina Manley

[erlingmm]

Many companies have gotten in trouble or gone bankrupt by releasing a next-generation product way ahead of availability - it just kills the current business. They just have to pretend that it is way ahead - until it's there and can be delivered.

That's why I expect Leica to be able to deliver the M9 from 9/9/9, especially since the M8 seems to be discontinued, at least temporarily.

[andybarton]

His website shows lots of photos of hands holding M cameras - studio stuff - not reportage.

 

Tina

 

Tina Manley

 

What about his stuff from Iraq? And Cuba?

[tmanley]

What about his stuff from Iraq? And Cuba?

 

This is the one I was referring to:

 

"On this Website you find some more publications of the photographer mentinoned for "Author's Photography" for Leica:

 

flash"

 

I don't see Iraq or Cuba in his portfolios. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

 

Tina

 

Tina Manley

[andybarton]

Tina

 

I ~think~ this is him...

 

Tres Dias in Cuba - Images | Bruno Stevens

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Steve Pope]

He [stefan D] said:...they were finetuning the IR filter, nothing about unsolved issues.

I have this memory of the cautious, expectation-supressing phrase 'We are one step further' being used in the Hessenpark summary. Taken at face value, 'one step' had me at least thinking an M8 successor could therefore only be at a theoretical early stage, certainly not a done deal that would be at my dealer's this very Wednesday. In retrospect, M9 roll out must have been further advanced than that. And very pleased I am too!