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M9 real world experience


chris_tribble

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I got lucky and Len at RG Lewis was able to hand over my M9 this afternoon so that I was able to use it on a shoot this evening (an artists opening night in Camden Town). I used the M9 and 28 cron asph / 35 cron IV, 50 lux asph, and 90 cron asph. I shot the opening at 400 and then walked home along the Regent's Canal to King's Cross. I took images on the walk at 400, 800, 1250 and 2500. I'm happy.

 

JPEGS here. I'm uploading DNGs to my FTP site - but it'll be half an hour before they're available. I'll post a link shortly.

 

These are presently uploading - ought to be there in 20 minutes (upload is really slow with my broadband provider...)

 

Quick impressions?

 

1/ it's so good to have the 28 and 35 working as they should

2/ the 50 and 90 seemed easier to focus - don't ask me why!

3/ shutter is quieter than the M8 and M8.2

4/ the INFO function is EXACTLY what I asked for and is SO easy to use

5/ ISO adjust is brilliant.

 

Thought people might like to know.

 

General conclusion? Money well spent.

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PS - all shots were WITHOUT the filters but using coded lenses and auto-recognition on camera.

 

Chris,

 

Seems like many initial pics are showing a somewhat exaggerated red saturation, especially noticeable with underexposure and caucasian skin...may be of concern without input profiles we used for the M8(.2) in C1.

 

What are your thoughts.

 

Thanks,

 

Bob

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Chris,

 

Seems like many initial pics are showing a somewhat exaggerated red saturation, especially noticeable with underexposure and caucasian skin...may be of concern without input profiles we used for the M8(.2) in C1.

 

What are your thoughts.

 

Thanks,

 

Bob

 

The weather's been pretty good recently, sunburn perhaps........or alcohol flush........

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Interiors were shot in a mixture of tungsten and neon (it's a gallery, but they seemed to have no idea about colour temperatures. VERY quick job in LR (which I use all the time) but deliberately using AS SHOT auto ISO to give people an idea what the base looks like. 10 minutes for the DNGs to get there - interested to see what others can do with the images in post.

 

Not bragging with this - just wanting to give people an idea! :)

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Interiors were shot in a mixture of tungsten and neon (it's a gallery, but they seemed to have no idea about colour temperatures. VERY quick job in LR (which I use all the time) but deliberately using AS SHOT auto ISO to give people an idea what the base looks like. 10 minutes for the DNGs to get there - interested to see what others can do with the images in post.

 

Not bragging with this - just wanting to give people an idea! :)

hurry up, got to go to bed ;)

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Hi Chris,

 

Great to hear you managed to get the camera from Len, lovely guy - I've been buying from him for years.

 

I'm just curious as to your thoughts about the general speed of the camera. I don't mean FPS, but the general response. I always found the the M8 to be a little laborious, and despite what people said, I found there was definitely some kind of shutter lag not experienced on other professional cameras.

 

Also, the file write times always seemed quite slow given the smallish compressed files. How does the M9 feel when shooting full size DNGs - for example, how long does it take for a full buffer to clear when shooting uncompressed DNGs?

 

Sorry to ask you so many questions - just not had a chance to pop into see Len yet!

 

Thanks

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Shiva - It's tool!

 

(But I suppose it's a bit playful too.... :)

 

I know, I know... but I knew it would get a reaction.

Very pleased that you are happy with the results.

I too am keen to make the swap, have the M8, which I adore, but full frame is tempting.

 

I'd be interested to play with some DNGs, will image quality be 'better' that the M8?

Of course, on paper it will be, but in reality, will it really look different?

 

Maybe Len will lend me a demo for 15 mins soon!

 

ShivaYash

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Link to the DNGs is here:

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/862415/Leica_M9/Leica_M9.zip

 

Hi Chris,

I'm just curious as to your thoughts about the general speed of the camera. I don't mean FPS, but the general response. I always found the the M8 to be a little laborious, and despite what people said, I found there was definitely some kind of shutter lag not experienced on other professional cameras.

Also, the file write times always seemed quite slow given the smallish compressed files. How does the M9 feel when shooting full size DNGs - for example, how long does it take for a full buffer to clear when shooting uncompressed DNGs?

Sorry to ask you so many questions - just not had a chance to pop into see Len yet!

Thanks

Hi - not shot full DNGs as yet - and only had some 2GB SD cards around.

Immediate impression re responsiveness is good. Same as M8u. NOTHING feels negative for the moment apart from a minor annoyance where when you switch from Play to Info and back to Play, the screen blanks... NOT fixed by the new firmware which I've just installed (1.02)...

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Thanks for posting these shots. I played with one of your images to see what the skin tone looked like after a B&W conversion. I hope you don't mind. Seems very similar to the M8 stamp.

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The weather's been pretty good recently, sunburn perhaps........or alcohol flush........

 

I am not one for conspiracy theories but the M9 pdf had not one caucasian skin tone example as I recall......

 

So my D3 colors everything yellow/green ... it makes sense that my M9 will prefer magenta.

 

I purchased an eyeOne Pro in order to calibrate the camera as C1 has dropped support....looks like I may indeed need it.

 

Bob

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