sandymc Posted September 10, 2009 Share #1 Posted September 10, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Here: Leica M9 First Look Doesn't say anything useful. Sandy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 Hi sandymc, Take a look here LL Review up. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
bebert Posted September 10, 2009 Share #2 Posted September 10, 2009 Here: Leica M9 First Look Doesn't say anything useful. Sandy I fully agree, but do not forget to subscribe to MR's Lightroom Guide! Sean has just published his review (without Iso compares to come up later today): well balanced judgement and once again coming from a true photographer! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 10, 2009 Share #3 Posted September 10, 2009 The point about Moire is well taken. I would say a fair first impression for the users of his site. We can hardly expect the world to dig through this forum, or DpReview and the likes for that matter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandymc Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share #4 Posted September 10, 2009 Sean has just published his review (without Iso compares to come up later today): well balanced judgement and once again coming from a true photographer! I just read Sean's review, and frankly, I'm disappointed (sorry Sean). He doesn't even touch on the core question - corner sharpness with wides. All very well to have microlenses and a thicker IR filter, but the question is whether we get any softness in the corners. Maybe its planned for part 2 or whatever, but what's up so far doesn't answer the questions I want answered. Sandy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
okram Posted September 10, 2009 Share #5 Posted September 10, 2009 The fact that somebody like Tod Papageorge contributes to this review left me speechless. Sean, I must sincerely thank you for this. M Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 10, 2009 Share #6 Posted September 10, 2009 I just read Sean's review, and frankly, I'm disappointed (sorry Sean). He doesn't even touch on the core question - corner sharpness with wides. All very well to have microlenses and a thicker IR filter, but the question is whether we get any softness in the corners. Maybe its planned for part 2 or whatever, but what's up so far doesn't answer the questions I want answered. Sandy I'm surprised to hear that Sandy. The "core question" is going to vary from person to person. There are a lot of aspects to look at and we all weight them differently. Of course, lens resolution on the M9 will be tested but Rome wasn't built in a day. Have a little patience and realize your "core issue" may not be the same as everyone elses. There are a lot of "core questions" with this camera and vignetting or lack of was one of the first I tackled. Ditto for IR. This is a wild day. I have you complaining about your key issue and engineers arguing over how I test RAW speed. Goes with the turf I guess. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 10, 2009 Share #7 Posted September 10, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) The fact that somebody like Tod Papageorge contributes to this review left me speechless. Sean, I must sincerely thank you for this. M That was cool wasn't it? Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reichmann Posted September 10, 2009 Share #8 Posted September 10, 2009 Humm. Seems like a rather grumpy group. Why not take pleasure in how good the M9 is rather than sniping? Why not ask some questions and wait for considered answers rather than making rude accusations and jumping to conclusions? Sorry, I suppose that after 50 years as a working pro and photographic educator and journalist I don't qualify by some people's standards as a "true photographer", so please feel free to ignore anything that I have to say. No wonder I haven't visited here in more than two years. Sean, you're a more patient man than me. Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted September 10, 2009 Share #9 Posted September 10, 2009 Michael - I enjoyed your review, and enjoy your writing (and your photography). As do many people here. Sean - Very much enjoyed your initial post, and look forward to the subsequent one. I think everyone is set at ISO 2500 right now... filled with excitement about the M9, passionate about the possibilities, hopeful to get their hands on one. In such an environment, people will express themselves on a forum perhaps a little more harshly than if we were all together in a room. Thanks, Michael and Sean. Don't be offended by the reviews of your reviews. JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 10, 2009 Share #10 Posted September 10, 2009 Michael - I enjoyed your review, and enjoy your writing (and your photography). As do many people here. Sean - Very much enjoyed your initial post, and look forward to the subsequent one. I think everyone is set at ISO 2500 right now... filled with excitement about the M9, passionate about the possibilities, hopeful to get their hands on one. In such an environment, people will express themselves on a forum perhaps a little more harshly than if we were all together in a room. Thanks, Michael and Sean. Don't be offended by the reviews of your reviews. JB I'm not offended. This is just the way it goes. I used to think it was just Americans who were like this but its very much an international thing. So one just gets used to it. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 10, 2009 Share #11 Posted September 10, 2009 Humm. Seems like a rather grumpy group. Why not take pleasure in how good the M9 is rather than sniping? Why not ask some questions and wait for considered answers rather than making rude accusations and jumping to conclusions? Sorry, I suppose that after 50 years as a working pro and photographic educator and journalist I don't qualify by some people's standards as a "true photographer", so please feel free to ignore anything that I have to say. No wonder I haven't visited here in more than two years. Sean, you're a more patient man than me. Michael Hey Michael, What's a guy to do? Might as well smile at it and keep on rolling. Sandy wanted to know something right away and he didn't yet get what he wanted from us. Ah,. well... Best, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandymc Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share #12 Posted September 10, 2009 The "core question" is going to vary from person to person. There are a lot of aspects to look at and we all weight them differently. Sean, perhaps your reviews in the past have set too high a standard:) However the M8's core compromise was a thin IR filter to avoid corner softness. I think that how that trade-off has been addressed this time round is really important. Accept that others may disagree - that's why I deliberately used used the phrase "I want answered" rather than something broader. Sandy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidigital Posted September 10, 2009 Share #13 Posted September 10, 2009 If you want to keep on selling subscriptions, DVDs, etc., you keep on smilin'. What's the phrase about the customer always being right? Kurt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 10, 2009 Share #14 Posted September 10, 2009 Sean, perhaps your reviews in the past have set too high a standard:) However the M8's core compromise was a thin IR filter to avoid corner softness. I think that how that trade-off has been addressed this time round is really important. Accept that others may disagree - that's why I deliberately used used the phrase "I want answered" rather than something broader. Sandy Corner softness is one of the important things for sure and, have no fear, it will be looked at in due course. But as we discussed off-line I also saw vignetting and IR as very high priorities with this camera and so I went after those first. Pick yer poison... Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reichmann Posted September 10, 2009 Share #15 Posted September 10, 2009 If you want to keep on selling subscriptions, DVDs, etc., you keep on smilin'. What's the phrase about the customer always being right? Kurt Of course the customer is always right. Except when he's wrong. Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robola Posted September 10, 2009 Share #16 Posted September 10, 2009 Nothing useful? Are you kidding--I thought it was a wonderful review. As a long time owner of an M6 and more recently an M8, I thought the review placed the M9 very appropriately and favorably in the overall context of M rangefinder photography as well as relative to DSLRs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamiji Posted September 10, 2009 Share #17 Posted September 10, 2009 Sean Excellent review as always, but I have a question. In the review you mention 14-bit or 8-bit files. Leica mentions they create 16-bit files. "The M9 is supplied complete with Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom®, a professional digital workflow solution for Apple Mac® OS X and Microsoft Windows®. The software is available as a free of charge online download for all Leica M9 customers. This also ensures that the latest release is always readily available. Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® offers a vast range of functions for the administration, processing, and exporting of digital images. If the images from the M9 are saved as raw data in the standardized and future-proof Adobe Digital Negative Format (DNG), then the sophisticated and precise processing options of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® guarantee direct and extremely high-quality image processing with maximum image quality. At the same time, the 16-bit per channel color information captured by the image sensor is maintained throughout the processing workflow from image import to image export, ensuring that the most delicate tonal differentiations are preserved in maximum quality after completion of the post-processing sequence." Are we talking about the same thing? If not, then what is the difference? If so, why? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
markowich Posted September 10, 2009 Share #18 Posted September 10, 2009 I'm surprised to hear that Sandy. The "core question" is going to vary from person to person. There are a lot of aspects to look at and we all weight them differently. Of course, lens resolution on the M9 will be tested but Rome wasn't built in a day. Have a little patience and realize your "core issue" may not be the same as everyone elses. There are a lot of "core questions" with this camera and vignetting or lack of was one of the first I tackled. Ditto for IR. This is a wild day. I have you complaining about your key issue and engineers arguing over how I test RAW speed. Goes with the turf I guess. sean, did you try the CV 12mm or CV 15mm M-mount? i tried the latter and got horrible colour vignetting (with the WATE 16mm setting). i was really disappointed since i was looking forward to using the CV wides. any insights? peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandymc Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share #19 Posted September 10, 2009 Are you kidding Actually, no, I wasn't kidding. I'm glad you found Michael's article useful, but it didn't tell me anything I didn't know before. Sean's, on the other hand, while I didn't feel it addressed the central question about the M9's performance, certainly did tell me things I didn't know before. E.g., it gave me a pretty good idea of how much cyan drift/vignetting the M9 has. However, having said that, I should apologize to Michael - while the comment was a correct reflection of my view, I phrased it in a way that probably gave offense. Sandy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 10, 2009 Share #20 Posted September 10, 2009 Sean Excellent review as always, but I have a question. In the review you mention 14-bit or 8-bit files. Leica mentions they create 16-bit files. "The M9 is supplied complete with Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom®, a professional digital workflow solution for Apple Mac® OS X and Microsoft Windows®. The software is available as a free of charge online download for all Leica M9 customers. This also ensures that the latest release is always readily available. Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® offers a vast range of functions for the administration, processing, and exporting of digital images. If the images from the M9 are saved as raw data in the standardized and future-proof Adobe Digital Negative Format (DNG), then the sophisticated and precise processing options of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® guarantee direct and extremely high-quality image processing with maximum image quality. At the same time, the 16-bit per channel color information captured by the image sensor is maintained throughout the processing workflow from image import to image export, ensuring that the most delicate tonal differentiations are preserved in maximum quality after completion of the post-processing sequence." Are we talking about the same thing? If not, then what is the difference? If so, why? That's an error. The hi-bit files are 14-bit though LR works with them in a 16-bit space. I thought they had fixed all those references but there must still be some out there. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.