What do you DISLIKE about your M9?

I've owned my M9 since it was released. And owned an M8 for years before it as well. I've used both cameras for hundreds of assignments while working for magazines and newspapers and the occasional wedding. Not every gripe I have is a big deal, but they are all issues I've run into every so often that really limit or just annoy me.


-Max ISO of 2500.
Sometimes I just need a little more. 6400 would be ideal.

-That image quality is absolute crap beyond ISO 1600.
I really don't care all that much. But editors and clients do and I have to deal with the complaints when they notice all that grain/noise.

-The rear LCD is worse than what you'd find in a $200 P&S.
For $7k, it's really just one of those things you'd expect.

-That the sapphire glass wasn't made standard after the M8.2
If it was as awesome as they were trying to make it out to be they should have just included it.

-The small memory buffer makes the camera useless after 5 frames.
There are maybe a hand full of scenarios when I just really need to lay on the shutter and it's really frustrating when you see an awesome moment and the camera does nothing but blink.

-Using the lens profiles is needed for accurate color rendering of lenses.
They should just be right, there shouldn't be a need for special profiles to get accurate color.

-Using the lens profiles sometimes brightens up the corners of images causing the opposite of a vignette.
The fact that you need them for accurate color is one thing, but that they dodge the corners at small apertures making them brighter than the rest of the frame is really annoying. I'd rather have the vignette at f2, than have dodged edges at f5.6.

-That the batteries only last for about 300 frames and cost $130 each.
It's really a value thing. If I'm only going to get 300 frames out of it don't charge me fortune for the battery.

-That there's no self sensor cleaning when $1000 budget DSLR's offer it.
The sensor gets dirty quick and I hate cleaning it. If even cheap DSLR's offer sensor cleaning why can't Leica squeeze it in somehow.

-That the camera won't automatically add my name to the EXIF/IPTC of images.
This is a feature I was spoiled by on the 5D mk2. To automatically have my name added to the metadata is fantastic. It's one less thing to worry about, to know that I'll always be credited for an image, especially now that facebook reads and posts the metadata.

-That I need to use the Thumbs Up to hold the camera comfortable, but then can't use a flash on/off camera.
I love the Thumbs Up. It makes the camera feel so much more comfortable and secure to hold. But sometimes I need to use some flash, and I hate that I have to take the thumbs up off to do so. Sometimes I won't even bother lighting because of that.

-When the battery is low the camera becomes unreliable sometimes not even writing images to the card at all.
It's awful to take photos and never have them write to the SD card. And this only happens when the battery is low. Which is even worse because I don't even get the full use of the battery, I have to change it out when it gets to like 10% because I know when the battery is low the camera may as well say the battery is dead.

-That there's no live view, which I would only like for the sake of screen focusing with long (90mm/135mm) lenses.
I don't use long lenses often, and the only reason I even own a DSLR is to use long lenses. So it would be nice if I could use a 135mm lens on an M9 and use live view while zoomed in to focus because focusing a long lens on a rangefinder is a gamble.
 
It is interesting reading all the comments.

My only gripe is that I do think the shutter is noisy. You can go SOFT mode, but then you loose your metering memory lock.

I think if you like film M's then you will probably like an M9. I think it comes down what other digital cameras you have used along the way and if you can accept that the M9 is just an M9 and not some whizz bang DSLR.
 
Software is a little buggy.
I wish it was as thin as other M's
Buffer is not big enough, most people will probably roll their eyes at this.
I wish it had a fold away screen, I was an R-D1s guy.
 
Wish it had a top-deck OLED like the S2 with exposure count, battery level, and ISO.
I don’t like that it’s all too easy to accidentally move the On/Off switch past On to the Continuous and Self Timer positions; a mechanical latch would be good.
I don’t like the overly traditional-like bottom plate removal to access data card and battery.
I don’t like the (usually mild) red edges and weak IR filter both of which are improved by use of external UV/IR filter as on the M8.
I don’t like the 1m framelines which also should really adjust for field size while focusing and fine if this would require lower (or better yet variable) viewfinder magnification. With a diopter adjustment.
I don’t like cleaning the sensor or cloning out the dirt spots on images, but then I don’t much care for spotting dust on prints from film either...
I don’t like having to manually reset the folder number to make the frame numbering start with 000 after card formatting, as this should be a user preference setting.
I don’t like the thought of others around me assuming the expensive M9 is overcompensation for inferior skill, evidence of more money than brains, or a bid for higher status, though I haven’t sensed any such attitudes.
I don’t like the lack of competition in this niche; there’s simply nothing else like it.
I don't like wracking my (feeble) brain for more M9 negativity, as I really like mine a lot. I appreciate the simple user interface. It's been very reliable, with good battery life, no trouble with SD cards (I use smaller ones anyway), and the image quality is just exquisite.
 
I must admit I haven't had my M9P for very long but I have got rid of all my EOS1D MK3 kit to come back to M's. I have now had about 4 M kits over 30 years starting with an M2 and my last was an MP about in about 2005.

When I got the M9 out of the box I did spend the first day wondering If I had made the right decision (without telling the wife :roll eyes🙂. but I know feel that this camera is here to stay.

Early impressions for me are the battery life is a bit short, that to be fair is because i have come from the EOS1D where you charge the thing once a month! writing speed is slow, again spoilt. I keep telling myself that M9 is an MP but with the minimum needed to produce stunning digital images, nothing more, nothing less. For the first time in ages I got my Seckonic light meter out and set the aperture on the lens, that is the reason for me buying this camera and the one why I love it to bits.

For what I want and expect from the M9, I am more than happy
 
My M9 spent nearly 4 months away having the "False Battery Low" issue resolved when nearly new but putting that aside:
  1. The battery life is short and the batteries very expensive
  2. Even when set on discreet, the shutter sound is too loud - why do they have a sound at all?
  3. Shooting one handed is near impossible without a Thumbs Up or similar

Apart from that, the image quality is great and the camera has a feel in the hand that just works well for me.
 
The sound is a something of a necessity with a full frame shutter. It is not an arbitrary auditory adornment. The Fuji X100 is near silent because of the in-lens tiny leaf style shutter. There is the quiet Hexar, however, but maximum speed is 1/250 s which might have had something to do with how they made it so quiet. The M9 can do 1/4000s at f1 potentially. The little Fuji max is 1/1000 at f2 and 2.8.
 
Jimbot said:
My M9 spent nearly 4 months away having the "False Battery Low" issue resolved when nearly new but putting that aside:
  1. The battery life is short and the batteries very expensive
  2. Even when set on discreet, the shutter sound is too loud - why do they have a sound at all?
  3. Shooting one handed is near impossible without a Thumbs Up or similar

.
Click to expand...

1. Battery life in normal use is about 400 shots.
2. Because it has a physical shutter
3. 😕 I wonder how I manage... The only problem using one-handed is focussing - and how does a Thumbie help there?
 
The ISO 80 is a software pull, with a subsequent loss of quality. Not terrible, but I'm getting better results with the ND filters, even with the ND filters.

Louder than a film M yes, but certainly not loud. Discreet mode does help when quiet is important.

I do miss the top-deck counter from the M8, but have gotten used to checking that via the INFO button. There won;t be LCD bleed to worry about down the line...

I've made very big prints from the M9 files with stunning results. I only shoot RAW and find the files easy to work with and needing very little if any PP work to get to proof quality. Shooting in full sun with no flash needs some Shadow adjustment and sometimes some highlight adjustment to get what one used to see with a 4x6" machine print. But it's fast. The new Camera RAW certainly is a good fit with the M9 files for me.
 
Every time I'm about to pull the trigger on a digital M I need to post this question. Each time I do I wind up talking myself out of it.

Really don't know if I would be satisfied with an M9. I don't think Leica has a "mature" camera yet. These are issues that just shouldn't exist no matter the price.

Thanks all for your honest comments. Looks like there will be a set of Zeiss primes for the D800.

Thanks!
 
None of these are deal-breakers, just minor annoyances:

1. I still don't like that the battery gage and shot counter require a button press and to light-up the entire LCD. I wish they had merely upgraded and backlit the M8-style top-deck display. Then the wouldn't have needed to make that useless step on the top plate.

2. As someone else said, I think it was nickel-and-diming to go back to a plastic LCD. As they said, if the sapphire was such a good improvement to the M8.2, it should have carried forth on the M9, not been a repeat of the M8 where it appeared on an "updated" version later on.

3. I don't mind the removable bottom plate, but I wish the tripod threads were buttressed to the chassis. As it is, I'm a little leery of everything being leveraged against that one thin brass tab and the lock mechanism at the opposite edge.

4. I also wish Leica made an add-on battery attachment that could take AA's. Fine, they won't last even as long as an M9 battery (maybe). But in a pinch in some remote areas, or when the time comes that fresh M9 batteries are no longer obtainable, the camera would still be usable.

And this is probably the most serious don't-like:

5. I wish Leica would say that the new sensors they use to replace ones that cracked, have been revised to solve the issue. Even though they've been replacing them free of charge, it worries me that if my sensor cracks and they replace it, that in 4-5 years it may well crack again and by then Leica will say the M9 is not repairable, like they did with the DMR. And yes, I know in 4-5 years the M9 will be technically antiquated. But I prefer to make that judgment for myself, based on my needs, and not because the manufacturer no longer supports it.
 
Probably the exposure compensation system. Have mine set up to work with the control wheel on the back. It's clumsy to use in practice, and easy to forget you have it dialed in. I would've preferred a separate dial for exposure comp,like the Hexar Rf I had, plus some kind of icon in the viewfinder to let you know it was dialed in.
 
- shutter dial that turns opposite than my MP (very annoying...)
- crappy electronics with slow and little buffer
- iso 80 barely usable (too much loss of dynamic range)
 
x-ray said:
Really don't know if I would be satisfied with an M9. I don't think Leica has a "mature" camera yet. These are issues that just shouldn't exist no matter the price.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. And could put the cash towards a decent used car. My current very used car is very near the end.
 
Paul Luscher said:
Probably the exposure compensation system. Have mine set up to work with the control wheel on the back. It's clumsy to use in practice, and easy to forget you have it dialed in. I would've preferred a separate dial for exposure comp,like the Hexar Rf I had, plus some kind of icon in the viewfinder to let you know it was dialed in.
Click to expand...

And the way I carry mine seemed to always set an exposure compensation inadvertently. I had to turn the wheel control off, effectively killing any quickly accessible exposure compensation for me.
 
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