How Long Until The M9?

[blondie1]

Rubbish. 2500 is not worth looking at. 1250 is bad, and 640 so so. I compared 1250 with results from Nikons and Canons from other press photographers. What a difference! Expose for the shadows an let the lens handle the highlights? In a lot of situations that is a bad advice. Anyway, high ISO is a very weak point of the M8 for sure, besides all the other shortcomings of the camera. The M8-2 is not better, unfortunately. For professionals the M is nowadays the worst choice one can make.

Regards, Blondie.

Actually I find the M8 quite good at ISO 125o, tests like DxO put it on nearly the same level as the 5D, and I find 2500 pretty good as well...
The perceived advantage of DSLRs in this respect stems from the more advanced light metering systems. With proper exposure and a bit of postprocessing technique there is not much wrong with the M8.
Dont forget either, 1250=1600 and 2500=3200.

These is a high-contrast 2500 shot. Which noise??

There are three rules to minimize noise @ high ISO:
1. Expose for the shadows
2. Expose for the shadows
3. Expose for the shadows.

And let the lens handle the blown highlights.....

 

[kuzano]

Hmmm. I think something>>>>>>>

Hmmm. I think something>>>>>>>

About the appearance of ice in hades
or, the moon turning my favorite color
or, the cows appearing somewhere, supposedly at days end.

 

[Praxis Unitas]

Rubbish. 2500 is not worth looking at. 1250 is bad, and 640 so so. I compared 1250 with results from Nikons and Canons from other press photographers. What a difference! Expose for the shadows an let the lens handle the highlights? In a lot of situations that is a bad advice. Anyway, high ISO is a very weak point of the M8 for sure, besides all the other shortcomings of the camera. The M8-2 is not better, unfortunately. For professionals the M is nowadays the worst choice one can make.

Regards, Blondie.

Nice write up on your work in Baghdad. I agree with some of your comments. One notable exception is that you call Iraq 'real world conditions' when it is clearly exceptional to be wearing a flak jacket while shooting (cameras, that is).

Personally, I wouldn't compare an M to a professional SLR nowadays. If I'm shooting for money, then I bring in the artillery, not the sexy James-bond pistol.

Did you try the firmware upgrade to 2.0? You mention that you looked at the 8.2, but I've had decent shots @ up to ISO 640 on my M8 with the 2.0 firmware. I'm surprised that you found the 8.2 bad at 640.

Best,

-Christopher

 

[ashrafazlan]

Being a future (hopefully!) m8 owner, i'd really like it if Leica allowed you to upgrade your existing m8 with the newer sensor if they do come out.

Then again, considering the outrageous upgrade prices they're charging, it might be better to just buy the m9 instead of upgrading.

 

[Harry Lime]

IMHO, Leica should be looking at the Micro 4/3rds format.

Good god, no. 4/3rds will probably be dead in 2-3 years or only be used in compact cameras. If we continue with Bayer pattern sensors then 4/3rds will hit a wall once it reaches about 12MP. At that point the receptors will have become so small that they will no longer be able to deliver competitive dynamic range (DR) or noise levels. Right now 4/3rds captures less DR and produces more noise, than the APS competition for this exact reason.

APS is also reaching it's limits. I will be very surprised if they can push much beyond 15MP. I'm guessing we will start to see APS-H (x1.33) appearing in cameras like the Nikon D300 class.

Besides, at Photokina Leica stated that they are off the 4/3rds bandwagon, which is the first smart thing they have done in years.

 

[Harry Lime]

Nikon have no sensor at all. Like Leica, they buy it from somebody else.

Sony builds the sensors for Nikon, but in recent years Nikon has done some or all of the design work. Apparently the chip in the D3/D700 is a Nikon design.

 

[K3N]

I have seen teenagers use the "L" sign, normally holding it in front of the forehead. It does not mean leica, but seems to mean something akin to "parent".

If you see a teenager making a "L" sign on their forehead it means they're making a "Loser" sign.

 

[gDallasK]

Maybe the "M9" is already here?

Maybe the "M9" is already here?

It's a Lumix G1 with a Novaflex Leica M adapter.

On a more serious note, I am becoming worried about the long term future of Leica given the strength of their competition and (current) market position. However, I have a lot more invested in Leica lenses than I do in my M8 so I can at least see a way of continuing to enjoy them for years to come if we can get adaptors for more advanced bodies such as the G1.

 

[CameraQuest]

I don't think we will see the M9 intro until the next Photokina, Oct 2010.

Stephen

 

[KM-25]

Rubbish. 2500 is not worth looking at. 1250 is bad, and 640 so so. I compared 1250 with results from Nikons and Canons from other press photographers. What a difference! Expose for the shadows an let the lens handle the highlights? In a lot of situations that is a bad advice. Anyway, high ISO is a very weak point of the M8 for sure, besides all the other shortcomings of the camera. The M8-2 is not better, unfortunately. For professionals the M is nowadays the worst choice one can make.

Regards, Blondie.

Oh, I would not call it the worst, but I would never use it as my only rig. My dinky Canon G10 out does it in battery efficiency by an enormous amount, it is laughable. I sold mine last Fall, will not upgrade until the M9 and only if it is sound, no IR filters and decent at ISO 3200.

Pete Souza on the other hand, he is using the M8.2 in addition to his Canon gear...

http://nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2009/01/souza.html

He's a pretty solid shooter in my book.

 

[Conner999]

If you look at the latest issue of LFI and the interview with Dr. K, I wouldn't be holding my breath for a FF (digital) M any time soon - or ever.

 

[myM8yogi]

As mentioned above, the biggest problem with any crop sensor is addressing the wide angle issue. The answer has always been to design a new super-wide angle lens until a full frame sensor can be produced economically. Unfortunately this often means a significantly reduced maximum aperture for your wide-angle equivalent. I moved to an M8 from Canon, and my only real regret is not being able to use anything like my 24/1.4L. I would have to save for about 5 years to get the new Leica 21/1.4 lux, and by that time I rather hope that a full frame M9 is available instead. Fast AND wide remains the biggest problem with the M8 in my opinion. I am currently agonising over the decision between a ZM 18/4 and ZM 21/2.8. I LOVE 24mm equivalent, but f/4 is just soooooo slow.....

I like or love everything else about the M8. I've never used a rangefinder before, but I wanted a size and styling similar to my OM1, but with digital guts. If Leica can keep the digital M range going, and if they stay within about 5 years of the leading technology, I will probably use Ms for the rest of my life - that is how much I enjoy the camera. And for you guys worrying about demographics - I am 31 years old. I don't think Leica are running out of a market, I think people like me will come to Leica for the same reasons people always have...... the small form factor, the rangefinder feeling of complete engagement in the moment of exposure, the potential for professional calibre results if you take responsibility for each shot, and the ability as a serious ammateur photog to be seen as an approachable human (note - not "invisible") rather than some kind of threatening PJ or childworryer.

I originally chose a Canon dSLR over a Nikon 6 years ago because of the high ISO performance of the Canons. I am now a lot more experienced (fast learning curve with digital 😱) and understand that noise really isn't going to make or break a beatifull image.

In summary, I don't care when the M9 arrives, so long as it does arrive. Even if it came in the next three or four years I couldn't afford it.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

They're good stoves, Olsen! We bought it four years ago when the exchange rate was favorable and it was still expensive, but worth every penny, I think. It's easy to use, easy to clean, and reliable.

All the wood in our woodshed was felled with a Husqvarna chainsaw, and the Volvo is Swedish, too, so I guess we have a few Scandinavian imports. 😀

Right on!! I've got the Volvo and Husqvarna chainsaw too, but our stove is a Vermont Castings, sorry.

 

[Olsen]

Over here in Norway, 'everybody' have these Jøtul ovens, but the very fashionable. They have these red 'American' ovens.