m9 vs m6

[hrryxgg]

i love my m6. i enjoy shooting it.

i do not love having to cart film around; the cost of processing; etc.

i bought a fuji xpro2. i find the menu systems and settings really confusing and makes me appreciate the simplicity of the m6.

does the m9 replicate that simplicity?

what do folks think about images from m6 film vs m9?

can you easily download m9 images to your desktop? is there a need for some kind of conversion? or can you simply plug it into the laptop and download (i use apple, so like the photos applicaton)?

thoughts please? thank you

 

[raid]

I would first get a less costly digital camera to see if you like digital images or not.

 

[helen.HH]

The M9 is a lovely camera

Easy to use... just like a Film M
Simple Menu ...
Post processing really depends on which system you buy into
when I had an M8 M-E I used lightroom and really did very little PP

Raid does bring up a Good point... is Digi the way to go for you
if you were happy with the Xpro re: overall digital imagery , then go for it

 

[raid]

I have an M6 and an M9. The M9 is very easy to use, as Helen has said. For film, I love using the M6. For digital, I love using the M9. Apples and Oranges?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

M6 is not so different from any film M.
M9 is very different. You could get clean bw at ISO 2500.
Color is great at ISO 400, not so much grain.

You have to connect camera or card to computer to get pictures. If they are in JPEG1 nothing else is needed.

M9 is good aid to film photographer who can't handle film in large quantities. Menus are almost none!
BW is not as good as with film, color is fne. Lots of details on macro level are visible if exposure was taken with low ISO. Rendering is special, but sometimes feels outdated.
To me it is great camera for bright day and saturated colors or it is great bw camera at ISO higher than film ISO.
M9 batteries have very small capacity, yet they are terribly expensive. Under freezing temperatures the camera will eat batteries quick.
It is also slower camera. Shutter lag is present. M6 had none.

 

[traveler_101]

i love my m6. i enjoy shooting it.

i do not love having to cart film around; the cost of processing; etc.

i bought a fuji xpro2. i find the menu systems and settings really confusing and makes me appreciate the simplicity of the m6.

does the m9 replicate that simplicity?

thoughts please? thank you

I shoot both film and digital and from what I read the M9 is not a particularly adept digicam.

I don't think that digital can ever replace film. As you have noted one of the advantages of film is its simplicity; another is having fun with development; a third is the look different films give you. I realise that the company you chose - Fuji - has made it its business to copy b&w film styles, but even so they cannot really replace the look of film. Imitation is idiotic and unnecessary. Digital has other advantages: shoot semi-automatic and it is very useful for working fast; play around with HDR; and enjoy the convenience of zoom lenses.

Keep your M6 and acquire a mirrorless camera that is less demanding than the X-PRO 2 - something like an Olympus E-M5 Mark II with the 12-40 f/2.8 zoom lens. Just my opinion and advice . . .

 

[David Hughes]

But the M9 feels very heavy to me. It might be worth looking at the weights if hauling it (and film) around is a problem. Also, I sometimes think the M9 is not very forgiving, for want of a better word.

Regards, David

 

[Ko.Fe.]

But the M9 feels very heavy to me. It might be worth looking at the weights if hauling it (and film) around is a problem. Also, I sometimes think the M9 is not very forgiving, for want of a better word.

Regards, David

M-E with Summarit-M 35 , battery and neck stripe is 831 gm.
M3 with Rigid 50 and film is 890 gm.
Both lenses with hoods and filters.

 

[gb hill]

I would first get a less costly digital camera to see if you like digital images or not.

raid I think you are missing his question. he mainly wants to know if the M9's menu is simple to use. Is the M9 digitally as simple to use as his film M6.

Wish I had an M9 or better yet for me an M6 to answer his question.😀

 

[Darthfeeble]

I hardly ever need the menu on my XPro1. Like all my cameras, I shoot it in the same manner as an old A priority, AF camera. I have no use for any of the auto and preset features, I have programed the Fn button for iso, I will use the AF button to prefocus when I am using Manual focus but that's pretty rare. Treat it like an old camera or even your M6 and you will love it. Auto focus is best when you use the smallest focus square, and Spot Meter for AE and life will be good.

 

[hrryxgg]

actually, i have the xpro1. sorry.

can you be more specific about how you are using yours? this sounds exactly like what i would like to replicate.

thanks!

 

[hrryxgg]

and where is logtown?
i live in SF.

 

[Rob-F]

The M9 is a lovely camera

Easy to use... just like a Film M
Simple Menu ...
Post processing really depends on which system you buy into
when I had an M8 M-E I used lightroom and really did very little PP

Raid does bring up a Good point... is Digi the way to go for you
if you were happy with the Xpro re: overall digital imagery , then go for it

I have an M6 and an M9. The M9 is very easy to use, as Helen has said. For film, I love using the M6. For digital, I love using the M9. Apples and Oranges?

I agree: my M9 is a lot closer to shooting a film Leica than your typical digital camera is. I haven't used the Xpro, so can't comment specifically. But for me, the two cameras closest to shooting with a film Leica are the M9 and my Fuji X100. The viewfinder in the latter is just fantastic! It's a lot like shooting with a film Leica except for its fixed 35mm focal length. The M9's menu system is simple and intuitive. I like it a lot. On a recent trip I took only an M7 and M9. I left the Nikon D700 and the rest of my digital gear home. Well, I did bring the Fuji X20. That's another camera I can recommend. Small, almost pocket size, and easy to use!

But let me assure you, I find the M9 easy and relaxing to use. No worries.

 

[Gregm61]

The M262 is vey much like shooting an M6, just without all the film changes, to the point I do not use my M6 (or M4) as much as I should. Love the colors and the raw file quality. The M9 works great to ISO 800 or so for color, but I take the M262 to ISO 3200 easily as needed with the f2 primes and the quality is awesome.

 

[Richard G]

I think the advice to simplify your use of the Fuji you already have is good advice. Had I not bought an M9 in 2012 I was going to get the X-Pro 1. But that was an uncertain route, likely leading to a whole new stable of lenses, and worse, a camera body upgrade cycle. Once the M240 came out, which was heavier and less pretty, I was happy to go with the M9 for which I already had more than enough lenses. And with my M2 (and M6 and others) still in use and already accepting the inevitability of M9 successors I would not need, I was happy. The worst of the M9 is no advance lever to hang onto, and the thickness of the body when carrying it.

The metering is sort of the same as the M6, except you can't be as slack as you can be with the M6 and colour negative film, choosing a one or two stop dimmer area to lock exposure and get a good result. Think slides not colour negative. The 50 frame lines are awful and include much more than the M6 frame lines. You get used to that and the files are detailed enough to bear a little cropping.

Don't worry about digital. Get Lightroom and shoot DNG (raw) or even just jpegs if you want. With the DNG I will sharpen slightly, raise shadows, tweak exposure slightly, apply a subtle vignette and correct distortion of verticals. It's easy and quick and black and white jpegs are very nice. You can still adjust them too, but you don't have to do anything. I remember my first download of digital raw files. Bingo! Recognizable images. I was prepared for the shock of 110001010011111 but I needn't have worried.

 

[Duane Pandorf]

Whether you go with the M9 or another digital camera, the time you spent learning to properly develop your film won't be much differently than the time you will need to spend learning whatever software program you choose to "process" your digital files.

I don't think you will find a simpler digital camera than the M9. The beauty of digital is you can adjust the ISO and White Balance between shots vice having to shoot your entire roll of film to use a different film type or slower/faster ISO film.

 

[pepeguitarra]

I have both, the M6 is very similar to the M9 except that it is digital. The menus are very easy and simple to follow. I love my M9 and refused to move to the Ms that followed. Instead, I went back to the M3, M2, M5, and M6. Before Leica, I almost buy a FujiXpro-1, it has AF and looked like the Leicas. I read a review in Leica Rumors that said that the Xpro-2 is a copy (or try to copy) of the Leica M. Not sure.

 

[Ronald M]

M8 and M9 have a usb port to connect to a computer. Lost for some reason on later models.

 

[narsuitus]

i bought a fuji xpro2. i find the menu systems and settings really confusing and makes me appreciate the simplicity of the m6.

I own the Leica M6 and the Fuji X-Pro1. I also find the X-Pro1 menu systems and settings confusing. However, compared to the M6, all five of the digital cameras I have owned have had confusing menus and settings. That is just the nature of the beast.


Leica M6 & Fuji X-Pro1 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[Fraser]

I still have an M9 and don'y worry about the high ISO 1600 is fine and all my lenses are quite fast you've already got the fuji for high ISO anyway, even if you went for a newer M I would be surprised if they are any better high ISO wise. On the other hand if i didn't have a lot invested in Leica lenses I would probably just get myself a xpro 1 or 2 with the smalllest prime.
For the price of a secondhand M9 you could have a lot of fun with quite a few fuji lenses!