Leica M9 for the middle class

[sojournerphoto]

I think I must be middle class as I could afford an M9, albeit I'd ned to seel a few other bits first to avoid taking on more credit than I want. It also really appeals for two reasons:

- I know that for colour my dslrs are far ahead of home Nikon scanned 35mm film in pretty well every aspect (except where I want that look, which is qualitative, but not an absolute measure of quality). Black and white is a different question, but more about tonalty than resolution even there.

- Time - I work more hours than I really want, have two children and a house to fix. I enjoy developing black and white, but scanning workflow is really time consuming (no I don't have space for a decent and well equipped darkroom - the office is the office!). This stops me making as many prints as I would like.

Except for my attachment to the Ikon and monchrome I could easily be persuaded. Also, the scanner would have to go and I've got a project on with some old slides.

Oh, I'd also like to handle one first and look at some raw images that I have shot with my ZM lenses. It needs to be better than a 5D I think, and closer to a 1Ds3 to really work for me.

Mike

 

[Keith]

I'd have to say a second hand M8 at around $1800.00 topped off with a 35mm f1.2 Nokton for around $600.00 or $700.00.

For around $2500.00 that is a combination that can do things that belies it's simplicity.

 

[wgerrard]

The cost of film is definitely a factor for me. I don't trust my local drugstores, so i have to ship my color film out. I ship USPS Priority Mail and they ship Priority Mail back to me. That's adds $9.60 to film and processing costs, so I'm looking at roughly $20-$25 per roll. (Yes, I could save money by letting film accumulate, but I don't see the point in that.)

I'm not a candidate to buy an M9. But, I certainly am a candidate to buy a digital-something that costs 100 rolls of film.