The little top LCD debate !

[Jager]

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I'm afraid this camera has had cost taken out of it, I suspect in response to Leica NJ's whining telling Solms they could not possibly sell the camera for more than $7,000. Result, a compromise, a dog's breakfast of a camera.

 

That's why I have one sitting on my desk right now and can't decide whether to break the sealed outer box or just sell the wretched thing.

 

Go ahead and open it, Mark. You know you want to.

 

And we want you to, too...

 

Niggles aside, it still seems to be a terrific camera.

[jonoslack]

I'm much happier with the new INFO screen - the battery meter on the top window was never accurate, and I have the impression that it had a hit on the camera's wakeup time to. For me that fact that I have immediate information on battery condition, number of shots remaining,the shutter speed in manual + lens all in one space is great. The only thing they messed up on is that the screen doesn't also show current ISO - this feels like a mistake which I hope they can easily rectify in firmware.

 

Hi Chris

Exactly - it should have ISO in it . . . so should the set menu (jpg resolution indeed!). As for the top plate LCD . . like you I think the info button is much better (although I might have chosen different colours)

[stunsworth]

IThat's why I have one sitting on my desk right now and can't decide whether to break the sealed outer box or just sell the wretched thing.

 

For heaven's sake Mark, just take the damn thing out of the box and use it. Then you can decide if it's a worthwhile upgrade or not. You sound as if you're philosophising too much IMHO.

[lct]

...I'm personally pleased they got rid of the window because it looks cleaner - all info in one place - but I understand that others are entitled to their own view - I just can't see a way at present that I can justify that view so hence I thought I'd invite a rationale!

This cleanliness is the most painful flaw of the M9 in my view. Mandatory chimping might sound excusable on a P&S perhaps but certainly not on a high-end camera. How is it that Leica cannot do what Epson did 5 years ago and what any cheap DSLR, including weather sealed, does nowadays?

[bybrett]

Hi Chris

Exactly - it should have ISO in it . . . so should the set menu (jpg resolution indeed!).

 

Yes I agree, then you can decide which information you need (INFO or SET menu) and still check the ISO without going into the ISO menu.

 

It's so easy to change ISO on the fly now that I sometimes forget where I am...

 

I still like the top plate LCD though.

[bill]

What makes me laugh about this thread is the implication - nay, the certainty that Leica are the first company to do away with easy access to battery status information.

 

I have a Canon G7 - useful little thing, I bought it when the G8 came out. In it's standard form, it has NO battery indication at all. It takes a firmware hack - written by a Russian enthusiast - that gives the camera the RAW capability of the G8 - to also provide a very accurate battery level indicator.

 

So if even Canon - so often held up here as a paragon of virtue - can do it, why shouldn't Leica? Me, I'm not going to prejudge a thing until I have one in my hot sticky little hands.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[wattsy]

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So if even Canon - so often held up here as a paragon of virtue

 

WTF?

[guy]

I don't have an M9, but I aspire to one, and so I pre-emptively mourn the passing of the little LCD. It certainly shouldn't have been cut: it certainly could have been improved. For my money the most important improvement would have been to have it constantly display its data, even when the camera was switched off (like my Nikon). It's useful to be able to see at a glance how many shots and how much battery life you have left, without picking up the camera, turning it on, waiting a second for it to get its brain together, then opening up the back flap on your Luigi case, pressing a menu button, and getting a battery / shot update.

 

Further improvements would have been backlighting and a more finely-graded battery life indicator, but still, it's useful to have even in its current incarnation. Its loss is a small but significant step backward, I think.

 

And I resist the rather snippy and intolerant comments to the effect that no-one needs this sort of thing because we all have multiple batteries, big SD cards, and can in any case look at the rear LCD when we need to. Even with big cards I run out of space on my M8, and I like to know in advance when that's likely to happen. I don't necessarily like to break into shooting to check the rear display – which in my case is hidden behind a protective layer of Luigi leather, as you may have gathered. And the little LCD was circular, which was just plain cool. My Nikon doesn't have that... but now the M9 doesn't either... sic transit gloria mundi

[guy]

[...] Clearly Leica can add them any time, so they were probably left out to cut costs and keep the M9 from reaching the price stratosphere [...]

 

Yeah, cos it certainly didn't do that!

[jaasland]

..the idea of going through a menu list ( 3 button presses) to obtain the battery data is in my view not progress.

No need to go through any menus - just press the Info button.

 

Jarle

[Julian Thompson]

Well I think that if this debate proves one thing then it would be just how hard it must be to take an iconic product forward!

 

I count a roughly equal split of enthusiasts here who

 

1) Liked the screen the way it was and feel they are shortchanged on the M9.

 

2) Like the cleaner look and centralised information concept on the M9 - anything to pare the M camera down to the basics needed only.

 

and

 

3) Feel that the screen was inadequate before but was a good concept due for 'bells and whistles' development.

 

I guess that very unscientific poll proves that it really isn't possible to keep everyone happy!

 

But also from what I can gather the M9 is not a sales disappointment so far so perhaps Leica have, in fact, got their concepts, budget allocation and design ideas somewhere near right?

[sean_reid]

A scenario:

 

You're shooting a wedding with one camera body hanging from your shoulder and one in your hand. The bride's entrance (for the ceremony) is coming in about two minutes. Things are happening quickly and you are concentrating on your subjects. A quick glance down at one body tells you the battery is now low or the card is nearly full. You fix whatever is needed on the camera or hand it off to an assistant to get that sorted. (Yes, I turn off the auto power down feature on all my cameras during a wedding shoot.)

 

With the M9:

 

Stop shooting, put camera 1 down and pick up the M9 (or second M9). Press the info. button and check status. Put the M9 (or second M9) back down and pick camera 1 back up. This is much slower and interferes with the photography. I just went through it with my last wedding shoot.

 

Under these conditions, and I've experience them often, that little LCD display is extremely useful. If one is working at a slower pace or if a missed picture (or pictures) is no big deal then the top display is not strictly necessary. It's also less important (though still very useful) if one is using only one body to photograph with.

 

Photographers who've never been shooting professionally with multiple bodies (common when one is using primes) may not quite appreciate the big difference that little window can make at key times during the shoot. It's obviously more important for photojournalists, wedding photographers, etc. than it might be for others who are shooting under less intense conditions. Not many people who have reviewed the M9 so far shoot professionally with Leica DRFs so this feature may not strike them as being very important.

 

Of course, I agree with the idea of expanding the window info. to also show ISO. I believe I suggested that in my M8 reviews.

 

I really like the M9 but the two things that are making me think seriously about also holding on to an M8.2 are the 2 meter frame lines and that top display. Both have real consequences for my own work.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[guy]

[...] But also from what I can gather the M9 is not a sales disappointment so far so perhaps Leica have, in fact, got their concepts, budget allocation and design ideas somewhere near right?

 

They've certainly got it somewhere near right! Everything I'm reading makes me want an M9 in preference to my M8. I just can't afford it... yet. Still, "near right" doesn't mean we can't have some minor quibbles and carping to pass the time while we save up

 

To put it another way, compared with full frame / 18MP resolution and so forth, the lack of the LCD is a small matter. But it's still a small matter that I'll miss.