Is the M9 a Clunky Motorized Beast?

[bwcolor]

Ken Rockwell seems to object to the motor advance of the M9.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/m9/versus-m3.htm

"The most obvious difference is that the the M9 is a clunky motorized beast compared to the silky M3."

"The M9 by comparison is a clunky beast, with its notchy shutter release, noisy motorized advance..."

I love my M3, but what is getting advanced, the shutter?

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Yes, the shutter has to re-cock, so there is some noise. Not much though. I mean, really, not much. I have a vilified M8 with original 1/8000 "loud" shutter and it's definitely quiet enough for me. It's not like my M4, to be sure, but it's a digital camera, it can't be like a finely tuned film M.

When used in "discreet" mode, the shutter sound pulse is different from the cloth M bodies, but it is not louder. Just different. The cocking of the shutter curtains has a duration, so it sounds louder to the user, but to a person who is being photographed, it may not even be noticed. The M9 shutter and re-cocking sound is a few decibels quieter than the M8.

Phil Forrest

 

[ZeissFan]

We should always separate fact from opinion. In this case, it's his opinion that adding a motor to a Leica M has turned it into a beast.

Certainly, not everyone feels this way.

 

[Olsen]

I have the old M8 with the 1/8000 'loud', supposedly, shutter. I find it very quite compared to just any pro digital camera I know.

 

[atlcruiser]

My M8 sounds like a trash can lid hitting the curb compared to my M6. M6/M4P both have a very nice, solid "thunk" where the M8 has a loud, almost raspy/crunchy sound. Trashcan like is the best way I can describe it.

It took me about a year to save up for that trashcan sound 🙂

Not the end of the world at all....ken just need to complain about the M9 so that people read and refrence him....as we are doing right now 🙂 . More flame = more hits on his site

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I've been shooting with a new F3HP and my M8. The F3HP is on its second roll of film. It is louder than the M8. Even with the mirror locked up, side-by-side it is sharper in sound. Compared to the M3 and Kodak Retina's, both are louder.

I just do not get what the complaints are about. Maybe Rockwell shoots with an M3. Or a Retina?

 

[maggieo]

I thought Ken was using an M7 these days?

 

[maggieo]

I've been shooting with a new F3HP and my M8. The F3HP is on its second roll of film. It is louder than the M8. Even with the mirror locked up, side-by-side it is sharper in sound. Compared to the M3 and Kodak Retina's, both are louder.

My F3HP has many virtues and is a wonderful camera, but it certainly isn't quiet!

 

[mathomas]

I hate to say it, but compared to a film M, I find my M8 to be clunky. Shutter sound, body size, balance, etc. And get this, I got my M2 after the M8, so it's not just me being used to the film feel. I vastly prefer the M2's operation, feel, and handling.

Now if only there were a digital M2 🙂.

 

[ederek]

Shot in a dark, quiet alley in Cambridge, MA...

M9, 50lux asph, 1/12 sec, ISO 640 (no processing).

The discreet mode helps quite a bit - have shot almost exclusively in this mode since getting the unit. Continuous mode makes a bit different/louder sound, but have precious little use of that mode either.

It may be slightly louder than the M4's (don't notice much of a difference), but for sure I've hit the shutter on the M9 during some coffee-shop style acoustic music shoots where I never would have pressed the shutter with the 5D...