M9 or M9P?

nobbylon

nobbylon

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Looks aside, is the saphire screen worth the extra?
M9's with 2000 clicks £1700
M9-p's with 2000 clicks £2500-2600

I like black cameras so no M-E suggestions please. Are the above M9 the same internally? thanks all j
 
I've had both in the past. I believe the differences are all external (no front engrave/red dot, classic engraving on top, sapphire crystal lcd cover and vulcanite-like covering) and no internal difference like 1GB vs 2GB RAM on M-P and regular M 240.
 
The differences are purely cosmetic. Of course, there are the in-between upgraded M9 cameras too.
 
I had the same dilemma, but then i bought the M-E new for $3300. But as you say, i "hate" that it is not black.. But M9 and M9-P is the same camera inside. The M9-P looks really nice! ;)
 
My current digital M is an M9-P, because it's what Tamarkin had in stock when I had the money for a digital M (and a super clean one at that: <1000 actuations). But I've owned an M9 in the past, and there is of course no significant difference. I do admit to preferring the clean, classic look of the P, but if an M9 in good shape had been in stock for cheaper, I would have gotten that.
 
Thanks chaps, I just bought an M9P with a new sensor 5000 clicks. I'll collect it hopefully on Friday. Nice :)
 
My M9P is bright (silver) chrome not available with M9.. Grey paint= yuck in my opinion.

Sapphire screen rather than plastic . That is what was important to me.
 
I really liked the toughness and scratch resistance of the sapphire screen on my M8.2. And I gotta say, the M9-P is my dream camera. I think it's drop dead gorgeous. Looks like an M2 or M3, but digital. The pictures aren't any different than my M-E, but it sure is a beautiful camera.
 
Timmyjoe said:
I really liked the toughness and scratch resistance of the sapphire screen on my M8.2. And I gotta say, the M9-P is my dream camera. I think it's drop dead gorgeous. Looks like an M2 or M3, but digital. The pictures aren't any different than my M-E, but it sure is a beautiful camera.
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Yeah, I have to agree, and I'm not ordinarily a chrome camera guy, but there is something special about the Chrome M9-P. It seems to shoulder the heritage of the M3 and M2 with real conviction. Quite happy with mine.
 
I have recently been having fantasies of getting an M9P also. Currently I use an M8.2 (in addition to X100, X20, D-Lux 6). My main reason is get the full frame instead of the M8.2 crop sensor. That way, my 21mm is really a 21mm, the 28mm is really a 28mm, etc. And I'd like being able to manually put in the lens coding. I don't really feel like sending my lenses off to have them coded. But I'm concerned about the comments around color shifts at the edges, which is apparently a problem with some wide angle lenses. I use 15mm CV, 21mm/2.8 ASPH, 24mm 2.8 ASPH, 28mm Summicron ASPH, 35mm f/1.4 ASPH, as well as 35mm Summicron versions I and IV, and 2.8 Summaron. Should I think twice about the M9?
 
Rob: only the CV pre-v3 15 will shift colors. All the others have profiles (or ones that are good) and work fantastic on the M9. I think jaapv once admitted it took him a month to learn to make the M240 files look so nice ;)

In fact it would be easy to make the case that with the cron, the M9 is the best 28mm shooter on earth.

M9: the people's rangefinder! :)


M9 in wild by unoh7, on Flickr
 
Silver M9-P. You soon forget the extra cost. No screen protectors you forget to replace, and no red dot. Looks like my M2 and has already taken more photos than the M2 did in nearly 40 years. Silver cameras wear well. Mine's out with me every day nearly. My M6 seems a little bit vulgar now when I take that out, LEICA M6 and RED DOT.
 
uhoh7 said:
Rob: only the CV pre-v3 15 will shift colors. All the others have cameras profiles (or ones that are good) and work fantastic on the M9. I think jaapv once admitted it took him a month to learn to make the M240 files look so nice ;)
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Indeed I did, however since then both Leica and Adobe (and other raw converters) have been tweaking their camera profiles. I still like my own, though ;)
 
uhoh7 said:
Rob: only the CV pre-v3 15 will shift colors. All the others have profiles (or ones that are good) and work fantastic on the M9. I think jaapv once admitted it took him a month to learn to make the M240 files look so nice ;)

In fact it would be easy to make the case that with the cron, the M9 is the best 28mm shooter on earth.
Click to expand...

Even the 21mm and 24mm are problem-free? OK then! An M9P it will be!
 
I'm happy I went with the M9P. Even though it's not important I think the lack of red dot and M9 makes it seem more like an old black paint M.
 
Lovely camera Maggie, and a perfect balance with th ZM C Sonnar. The Zeiss silver is slightly cooler and whiter. I bought my chrome M9-P almost on impulse. In the cabinet it was like a brand new M2. I often take the two out together. People mistake my M9-P for an M2.

I have my old version 4 35 Summicron on right now, and often the modern 50 Elmar M collapsible. (Modern--mine's from 2000, 16 years old.) The M9-P chrome matches those lenses perfectly all the way back to the 1950s. I have to go to an old Elmar 9cm collapsible or some Summaron 35s to get any hint of mismatch. Already I have forgotten the completely unexpected miracle of a full frame Leica rangefinder digital. For forty years I've been using the same rig it feels like.
 
Rob-F said:
Even the 21mm and 24mm are problem-free? OK then! An M9P it will be!
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They both have special profiles on the M9 and shoot unbelievable. You will go nuts, I'm not kidding. M9 or M9P :)

Credit to jaapv, he truly is an M expert. He rightly points out the actual footprint of the 240 is the same as the M9, despite Leica's specified dimensions, which I had totally fallen for. The M240 is heavier, but not bigger, and the 262 is nearly identical weight to M9, also.

I hope they will get us back to the M6 footprint someday :)
 
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