Has the M9 killed the Leica film camera?

Turtle said:
I think the M9 has introduced a blip with perhaps a few people looking to sell Ms to finance a M9 - their first digital M. That will pass and prices will stabilise somewhat lower than they were a year ago. That was nuts!
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Exactly. The OP is taking a one-off situation and extrapolating it into a constant.

The introduction of the first full-frame digital rangefinder has generated more than a flutter of excitement particularly among people I know who've not owned a rangefinder before.

They're not going to dump film Ms because they never had or even considered owning them.

As for those who may sell film Ms to buy an M9, I'll be keeping (and using) the M7. I am going to sell off a few cases of surplus Claret, however.

I don't think you can extrapolate a permanent decline in demand for vintage Bordeaux from the the release of the M9.

Or maybe you can 😉

Regards,
Mark
 
Yes.

I woke up this morning, a bit groggy eyed and stumbled into the kitchen to fix some coffee. I didn't even notice my M2 at first. Having made the coffee I slumped into the sofa, wiping my groggy eyes. I looked over to the cupboard where I saw the M2 had been attacked in the night, blood was everywhere, and the poor thing looked in distress. I checked for a pulse but it was too late.

"M9!" I yelled with an air grab to the Gods!

...

Ahem. 😀

Or my answer in short is no. I wandered to work today shooting the colours of autumn with my M2 and it seemed very post-M9 alive.

Maybe I won't be able to use it in 20 years. Maybe I will. Who knows? Who cares? I'll deal with that when it comes, in the meantime I'll do what I always do, shoot, enjoy myself, shoot some more and deal with the certainty of being able to use my M2 today and worry about the uncertain tomorrow when it arrives. Otherwise, too much time is spent procrastinating over the future on the Internet whilst today is slipping away -- dawn to dusk -- outside your very window.

Vicky

Vicky
 
markgay, it's not just the M9. It's the M9 appearing at the convergence of other factors. I think the introduction of the M9 is a psychological tipping point.

Maybe film M users can't afford an M9, but maybe they can afford a used M8, or a GH1 or a GF1 or an EP-1...or maybe that D700. Of course it's not an M9, but, you know, it's getting harder to find a place to get film processed locally and quickly...or, the expense of buying and processing film is getting old. And, maybe it's time to move that film camera before the bottom falls out of the market. It's easy to see how all the talk surrounding the M9, and the introduction of some workable digital alternatives, could be making folks take a second look at their film M's.

All I know is a lot of film gear, by my observation, is going unsold that once would have sold immediately. And at very attractive prices.

Just an observation.
 
sevo, I've got enough film Leicas, digital Canon's and Nikon's to take me through the rest of my life! 😉 Sure don't need any more.

And I'll continue to shoot film until I can't get it anymore. But, you know, I'm just saying...
 
Sorry if I was wrong. But I've heard that "film is dead" mantra a bit too often from people just about to make a premature step to a digital they cannot really afford.
 
Sevo, I'm not pushing a film is dead agenda (Freestyle knows I'm trying to keep it alive..lol). It just seems to me there has been a shift in thinking about digital lately - even here on RFF.
 
Pickett Wilson said:
Sevo, I'm not pushing a film is dead agenda (Freestyle knows I'm trying to keep it alive..lol). It just seems to me there has been a shift in thinking about digital lately - even here on RFF.
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I agree ... when I first joined RFF the Epson was the only digital camera that seemed to get regular mention and an occasional brave soul mentioned they actually used and liked their DSLR.

Now we regularly discuss three (3) digital rangefinders and threads are frequently devoted to cameras like the Nikon D700 and 5D etc.

Admittedly forum membership has inceased by 25000 since my join date! 😛

It's all good as they say. 😀
 
I use M8 and Rd1 before that. Strictly digital RF for over 5 years, from the first day the Rd1 arrived. 99% B&W.
But .....i am holding back on the M9 .....
A critical look at the B&W prints in the last LFI magazine from the M9 compared to B&W filmprints from an M7 in the same magazine realy opened my eyes............ i am seriously reconsidering shooting digital RF.
If scanning 35mm was not such a hassle i would trade my M8 for an M7.
For now i'll stick to MF film and my M8.
 
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Lilserenity said:
Or my answer in short is no. I wandered to work today shooting the colours of autumn with my M2 and it seemed very post-M9 alive.

Maybe I won't be able to use it in 20 years. Maybe I will. Who knows? Who cares? I'll deal with that when it comes, in the meantime I'll do what I always do, shoot, enjoy myself, shoot some more and deal with the certainty of being able to use my M2 today and worry about the uncertain tomorrow when it arrives. Otherwise, too much time is spent procrastinating over the future on the Internet whilst today is slipping away -- dawn to dusk -- outside your very window.

Vicky
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Exactly what I was going to say!
 
Buying an M9 will be cheaper than making a custom board for putting a CCD onto my M3. But I work with a digital engineer that could certainly build one for me, he has designed and built custom sensors before. And writing the embedded code for it would be fun. Like stuff I did 25 years ago.

It will not be an M9 that kills my M3. But an M8 or M9 would make it faster to collimate lenses for it.
 
I would take an M9 into consideration when I could get in a do it yourself way silver gelatine prints out of the files it produces. As long as that is not the case, I keep my film-Leicas.

Erik.
 
Gelatin Silver Prints and the M9

Gelatin Silver Prints and the M9

A few years ago, I was researching the Devere 504 Digital Enlarger. At $20,000 plus, I thought it was way way overpriced. I was hoping we could have an affordable digital enlarger head for $3000-$5000, that would be more reasonable in that this is the cost of a very high end LCD projector, so the technology should cost the same.

I once talked to Harmon Technology and they bought a Devere 504 for tests. IT really worked fine, and they were inerested in a cheaper enlarger head that would be made in China. This would allow wet darkroom prints from the M9, or any other digital camera. I have an Epson 3800 and love it with the new Epson Exhibition Fiber paper. This stuff really looks and feels like real darkroom fiber glossy prints. So try the Epson, and keep your eye out for a cheaper digital enlarger when it comes.

I do feel traditional silver prints are more durable than these new inkjet prints, but just remember watercolor paintings are also just as fragile and have lasted forever when stored properly, so do not reject what Epson has done, just be careful not to scratch the surface of the prints!
 
I interpreted the statement "kill the Leica film camera" as referring to causing Leica to stop producing them. If that's the correct interpretation of the question then I'll stick with my contention that it's the absurd price hike on the M7 and MP in recent times that are to blame.

But maybe I misinterpreted the question, since there are so many posts discussing the second-hand market.
 
As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, there are certainly some photographers who are selling some Leica M film bodies to raise money for the M9. I know a couple of them. But, long-term, there will still be a market for the MP, M7 etc. because there will always be at least some people who prefer to work with film.

So the M9 certainly will not kill the Leica M film cameras but now might be a good time for people to find M film cameras used at good prices.

Cheers,
 
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