Does the introduction of the new M Leica change your thoughts about shooting?

[Archiver]

It would only change the way I shoot a Leica, not my shooting style in general. I already use manual focus and focus peaking with the Ricoh GXR-M and the LCD, and I find this just as fast as rangefinder focus, often faster, with the added benefit of not needing to raise the camera to my eye. With the new M I could use LCD focusing in exactly the same way while enjoying full frame use of the lenses.

As for video, I have a few cameras that take care of that, from the 5D Mark II that I use for work, to the Oly OM-D I bought a few months ago. The Oly has become my general purpose camera for when I don't want to take the M9, and the use of the Panasonic 12-35mm zoom makes it very versatile. I often shoot as much video as I do stills when I use the OM-D. On the weekend I shot a musical event on video using the 5D Mark II and OM-D, and I used two digital recorders to ensure I got the most usable sound files.

When I carry the M9 I have to swap cameras to shoot video, which either hampers my photography or lessens my video work. While I took endless photos in Japan a couple of years ago, I sometimes regret not having a good chunk of video as well. The new M would allow me to shoot stills and video with Leica lenses and ergonomics without having to swap cameras.

If I was more serious about the sound I'd use the mic attachment and a very low profile single point stereo mic from Sound Professionals, or a separate digital recorder and mics. I could even run mics from the camera to eyeglass croakies if need be, which might be a very interesting combination. Now that's a thought!

 

[Lss]

I often shoot as much video as I do stills when I use the OM-D.

The video quality can get very bad on the OM-D. I have way too much totally unusable material from it, where the only problem is that the encoding has killed the quality. Or has the new firmware improved things?

 

[Archiver]

The video quality can get very bad on the OM-D. I have way too much totally unusable material from it, where the only problem is that the encoding has killed the quality. Or has the new firmware improved things?

I shoot the OM-D as a b-camera alongside the 5D Mark II. It's certainly not an a-camera, but does a decent job for secondary footage that doesn't involve things like foliage or fast movement. In low light it's a mixed bag; it's better at high ISO video shooting but includes nasty artifacting. But for general purpose (unpaid) shooting, it's good enough for me. And the IBIS is almost like using a steadicam.

I would love it if Oly upgraded the video to a much higher bitrate and revised the compression for video. Or if Panasonic made a GH with that level of in-body stabilization.

 

[V-12]

The good thing about the M9 not having an EVF is that it means you can go out and buy a camera that does have one. Then you cover both bases. I use an E-M5 that serves all my digital needs, and Olympus and Panasonic seem to share Leica's obsession with making terrific lenses, so the culture isn't so far removed.

As for the M9 itself, well its not really out of date, the M-E is the same camera minus some parts, and I'm sure there will always be a demand for a simple camera from Leica, one that doesn't have endless menu's and electronic gizmo's that give too much choice to cloud the act of picture making. If I am happy with my M9 photographs now, then there is no reason to think it will be different when the M is on the streets. I actually feel like I am going to be more happy with it, because it is still (just about) an 'old time' Leica in comparison to the M, and that is fine by me.

 

[thegman]

No, not for me. The Leica M appears to be a great camera, but there is nothing in there that I can see which could change how I feel about digital M cameras. Some types of camera can change how I think about shooting, going from 35mm to medium format did. And musing on 4x5 does too. The new Leica M is still the same size sensor etc, more megapixels, yes, but was anyone really lacking for resolution in the M9?

Then of course you have the cost, if I was made to spend that amount of money on camera gear, then Leica would actually be way down my list, compared to Rolleiflex, Alpa, Walker, even Sigma gear. The MM would be much higher up, in fact.

 

[denizg7]

i dont know they changed the rangefinder patch with an led light and the focusing everything is changed to be more dependent on battery than mechanism

 

[ramosa]

Good question. Likely not for me. There would be plusses of better processor and better LCD ... but it would depend on whether the IQ was equal or better than the M9's CCD at base and much better at higher ISO. But, as I shoot mostly in B&W and not at high ISO, it's more likely that I'd stick with my M8 or be drawn to the MM ... or maybe the "discounted" ME ...

 

[hausen]

I will defintely get the EVF because I love the WLF aspect of my Rollei and being able to more easily use my M at ground level is a serious bonus for me.

 

[Doug]

Probably yes, and agree with furcafe...

... but I don't expect the new camera to change any of my thoughts about shooting. As you note, all I see in the new features are added flexibility, not gamechangers. And I'm not entirely basing this on conjecture; most of these features are already available on my X-Pro1 & they haven't changed my shooting style at all.

In descending order of importance, the attractions of the new M for me are: (1) the (promised) improvement in the sensor's high ISO performance; (2) faster processor; (3) live view & focus peaking for occasionally shooting old film-era lenses that are too out of spec to accurately focus using the RF; & (4) weather-sealing. To be honest, I would have bought the new M based on the 1st 2 criteria alone, the others are bonuses. Video is of no importance to me (& I hope Leica is correct that the new video record button isn't easy to hit by accident), but who knows, I might mess around w/it from time to time.
...

Dennis, I believe the M(10) viewfinder has the same technology as the limited series M9 Titan... Their main difference from other M models is that the framelines are illuminated by LEDs rather than natural light through the traditional frameline illumination window. Frankly, I don't know that this is a step forward... As you suggest, the camera must be powered on to see the framelines. But there's no preview lever. 😕

i dont know they changed the rangefinder patch with an led light and the focusing everything is changed to be more dependent on battery than mechanism

 

[denizg7]

Probably yes, and agree with furcafe...


Dennis, I believe the M(10) viewfinder has the same technology as the limited series M9 Titan... Their main difference from other M models is that the framelines are illuminated by LEDs rather than natural light through the traditional frameline illumination window. Frankly, I don't know that this is a step forward... As you suggest, the camera must be powered on to see the framelines. But there's no preview lever. 😕

yeah i believe hermes edition had it too..

a real step forward would be to use a larger viewfinder..the zeiss ikon viewfinder is just better than my m6's