Richard G
Veteran
I bought the M9-P last Saturday. It was either this or the full kit of the new Fuji X Pro 1. It was the wonderful thread of Leica M Portraits here on RFF that persuaded me really, the two equipment stars of that thread being the 50 Lux ASPH and the M9. Opinions of those who have it need to be considered in the light of wanting to justify the extravagance.
Perhaps it is a certain sheepishness about being lucky enough to have one that actually keeps the noise about this camera down. We know it's selling in unprecedented numbers. Pros are using them. I see more of it in use on RFF than people crowing about it. If it comes up in threads it's more along the lines of 'Well I got one and I can say that I am happy with it', a very British kind of understatement.
First, it looks beautiful. Those claims that the M6 is not quite an M5 or an M4 in build quality or finish cannot be made about the M9. The chrome version is like having a brand new button rewind M2. The buttons and switches are solid and firm.
It is deeper, front to back, than the classic M body. But coming from my thorough enjoyment of the M5 I love its bulk and graspability and heft. I do miss the advance lever as a means of holding it in the right hand.
Zone focus, presetting exposure, knowing how the shot will look with my familiar lenses are all typical of using any other new M. Add to this auto exposure, instant digital review, even with the second rate LCD screen, and the wonderful detail of a full frame digital sensor and there are reasons to marvel that this was even possible.
The experience in the viewfinder hardly differs from a film M. That was something I did not anticipate. In fact, the 35mm frame with my glasses is easier as the magnification factor gives a wider view than the standard 0.72. I don't like the incomplete lower frame line of the 50 which interferes with my instant appreciation of the composition but hopefully I will compensate quickly for that.
The pictures are great but I am exploring the Raw Photo Processor and I am learning Lightroom. Digital means software upskilling.
The USB cable mini USB connection looks unique so I'd better not lose it. I prefer taking out the card now with this camera anyway.
Already I have had an M9 meltdown over the Sandsik 8G Extreme card playing up. I reformatted it in a PC and it has worked fine for a couple of days and the other card, identical, works fine.
I think coding the lenses manually does something - less vignetting with the 50 Sonnar when I code it as one of the Summiluxes. I have even used the ZM 21 F4.5 Biogon, but the red fringing is a reality. I haven't tried corner fix yet.
The expert in the shop, who has his own M9, agreed that there wasn't much skiting about this camera, just a lot of buyers quietly getting on with it and using it. So that's what I'd better go and do. I was very lucky to be given the M2 in my avatar by my Dad when I was 16 and I am very lucky nearly forty years later to be using the same system in digital now.
Perhaps it is a certain sheepishness about being lucky enough to have one that actually keeps the noise about this camera down. We know it's selling in unprecedented numbers. Pros are using them. I see more of it in use on RFF than people crowing about it. If it comes up in threads it's more along the lines of 'Well I got one and I can say that I am happy with it', a very British kind of understatement.
First, it looks beautiful. Those claims that the M6 is not quite an M5 or an M4 in build quality or finish cannot be made about the M9. The chrome version is like having a brand new button rewind M2. The buttons and switches are solid and firm.
It is deeper, front to back, than the classic M body. But coming from my thorough enjoyment of the M5 I love its bulk and graspability and heft. I do miss the advance lever as a means of holding it in the right hand.
Zone focus, presetting exposure, knowing how the shot will look with my familiar lenses are all typical of using any other new M. Add to this auto exposure, instant digital review, even with the second rate LCD screen, and the wonderful detail of a full frame digital sensor and there are reasons to marvel that this was even possible.
The experience in the viewfinder hardly differs from a film M. That was something I did not anticipate. In fact, the 35mm frame with my glasses is easier as the magnification factor gives a wider view than the standard 0.72. I don't like the incomplete lower frame line of the 50 which interferes with my instant appreciation of the composition but hopefully I will compensate quickly for that.
The pictures are great but I am exploring the Raw Photo Processor and I am learning Lightroom. Digital means software upskilling.
The USB cable mini USB connection looks unique so I'd better not lose it. I prefer taking out the card now with this camera anyway.
Already I have had an M9 meltdown over the Sandsik 8G Extreme card playing up. I reformatted it in a PC and it has worked fine for a couple of days and the other card, identical, works fine.
I think coding the lenses manually does something - less vignetting with the 50 Sonnar when I code it as one of the Summiluxes. I have even used the ZM 21 F4.5 Biogon, but the red fringing is a reality. I haven't tried corner fix yet.
The expert in the shop, who has his own M9, agreed that there wasn't much skiting about this camera, just a lot of buyers quietly getting on with it and using it. So that's what I'd better go and do. I was very lucky to be given the M2 in my avatar by my Dad when I was 16 and I am very lucky nearly forty years later to be using the same system in digital now.
