M9: First five days

[Phil_F_NM]

I received my M9 on Thursday afternoon about 2:30 EDT. Since then I've not been able to shoot nearly as much as I would have liked but I have taken a few images with it and I am floored by the camera. I was floored by the M8 when I got it too. My M8 is still a fantastic tool and it will see use with the longer focal lengths as soon as it comes back from Leica.

I just don't even know how good of a camera this M9 is yet. It still hasn't hit me that it's mine, but the way I see through it and compose with my few favorite focal lengths has me seeing again like I'm shooting my M4. No thoughts about cropping and now, fewer thoughts about noise.

Anyways, here are a few photos from the last five days:

More to come!

Phil Forrest

 

[deirdre]

Very nice!

 

[Mudman]

someone has a propensity for cute women...

 

[Xherion]

Very nice Phil!
No 5 is my favorite.
M9 is very enviable 🙂

 

[-doomed-]

Good stuff.

 

[cole]

Lovely shots indeed! What lenses are you using? Love the 2nd and 5th.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

thanks for the praise!
the girls are a consequence of college...
classmates of mine.

All those shots are made with either a Canon 50mm f/1.4 or a Konica UC Haxanon 35mm. the Konica made the subway photo this afternoon, Canon made the photo of Betty laughing while I tried to shoot wide open and close up.

Phil Forrest

 

[CSG123]

#1 and #4 are great! You must be a very wealthy student. 😉

 

[vincentbenoit]

Very nice tones. What's your workflow for B&W conversion?

 

[Rob-F]

Nice work, Phil. I'd say you deserve that M9!

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Thank you all for the praise!

CSG123: Not wealthy at all. Post 9/11 GI Bill is paying for college right now and a bit of fortune with regard to financial aid + a bunch of saving $$$ and selling some gear allowed me to get the M9 with the student purchase program (25% discount)

Vincentbenoit: I shoot raw almost exclusively. I process RAW files using UFRAW and GIMP on a SuSE linux IBM T60p. I just pay attention to the histogram & don't let the highlights nor the shadows get blocky. This M9 has better performance with regard to dynamic range than My M8, but only slightly. It might be just the honeymoon period too & the fact that I'm using so much more sensor real estate.

Again, thanks all!

Phil Forrest

 

[CSG123]

Phil, thanks for that tip on their student discount program! I googled it and got a PDF with the products, discounts, and eligibility. As I'm enrolled to take a couple of photo classes this spring at our local college it appears I will be eligible for this program (although even at a discount the M9 is still too spendy for me!). However, I do need a 35mm lens for my M4. 😉

 

[Phil_F_NM]

A few more

A few more

Yesterday I received my ZM 21mm f/2.8 back from a long trip in New Orleans, La. with a friend (Zoeica). By the time I got done with work it was already dark bu I was determined to go out and shoot the 21 on my M9.

So, I went out last night walking around Philadelphia with the aim to take some shots of Halloween revelers in-costume. While I got a bunch of those, they weren't as exciting or as nice as what I found happening on Spruce St, between 2nd and Front Sts.

Comments and critiques always appreciated.
Thanks all! Happy shooting.

Phil Forrest

 

[jaapv]

Long lenses - there is no advantage in using an M8 for those. As the pixel pitch of the M8 and M9 is identical, there is no resolution gain between the M8 and an M9 cropped down to the same image dimenssions.

 

[Jeff S]

But, 'cropped' area is easier to see and frame in the M8 viewfinder.

Jeff

 

[ederek]

Comments and critiques always appreciated.
Thanks all! Happy shooting.

Phil Forrest

Nice Phil, glad youre enjoying the new camera.

I see the 21mm Zeiss has 10 blades as well. That star pattern into bright lights is such a distinct signature of their glass, I get exactly the same pattern w/ the 35/2 biogon. Didn't like it at first, now I've come to enjoy the effect and see it as a unique signature of the Zeiss lens line.

 

[ebino]

Nice work, Phil. I'd say you deserve that M9!

Indeed. You have the cash and you know pretty girls, you deserve the M9! :angel: