Selling My Film Cameras for an M9 -- Wise?

I don't know about you, but I love all my cameras and I am shooting them all regularly. I am not a pro and certainly not a collector since my cameras have a low market value. I think if you are a pro and you make money from photography you should be able to save some cash for M9 without selling your stuff you probably were collecting/shooting over the years. Those cameras you have will never let you down. If you don't make enough to safe and buy an M9 then what is the point to have it? Of course it's just me, I never flipped any gear (photo or synth - another expensive hobby of mine) over the years so I don't understand how it works. I just appreciate every single piece of gear I have and just can't let anything go...
Well, I lie a bit... Actually I sold my digital camera and lenses because I used them several times (not more than 40!!!) over the last year.
Anyway, good luck whatever your decision might be and hope to see your next great digital pictures 🙂
Regards,
b.
 
OurManInTangier said:
I use D3 bodies and my M8
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Same here. Trouble is, I like the D3's files, high ISO capabilities, interaction design and screen much better than I do the M8's.

I love the M8's smallish form-factor, the M-lenses and the discreet mode (v2.004 firmware was a great upgrade) but want better files. And so I find myself considering the M9 as well, warts and all.

How do the M9 image files compare to those of the M8 – and the D3?

Anyone care to share and image or two?
 
If you don't use the film stuff, get rid of it. Sounds like you are already comfortable with digital, so you know what you are getting into.

On the other hand, you are replacing several cameras/systems with just the M9, so you might miss some of that. If you are thinking you might regret the decision, at least try sending your film off to Precision Camera once. Wait until you get about 10 rolls shot and drop them off in a small Priority Mail box. $100 is a small price next to the M9. You might be happier than you think with the results. I've been doing mail order with my color film for a couple years and don't really have any problems with it.
 
Film were made for convenience. If it's PITA to continue to use it then there's no point.

(I'm film user...because I haven't got decent digital and can still process film)
 
Depending on what you do, keeping film as a backup may be good. The m9 is great, but it is not weather sealed, and has known to have issues in extreme cold. A fully mechanical camera that does not need batteries is still something nice to have as a backup. In addition, as someone mentioned above, i missed the discipline of film after shooting digital for a while, since every shot counts and costs on film. Having said all that, the m9 is a fantastic camera and you will not regret getting it. Try to hold on to your favorite film M when you get it.
 
Have you held an played with an M9? I definitely would do that before purchasing. It does have a different feel from a film M.
 
I love film and haven't sold my film cameras since buying the M9. But, the M9 is a brilliant camera and I don't have time to process and scan (the latter particularly) film. I may also soon have a darkroom again which may make black and white a bit easier.

However, I keep going backwards and forwards on the film question. If it's also for work and you're not using the film bodies though just get on with it. You won't regret because of the camera.

Mike
 
Hmm I have thinking the same but because I don't have any Leica hardware... got to wait until Nikon does it.
Oh btw, you can try the X100 before selling everything... you can always sell it too... ;-)
 
I think Helen said so already, but I'll risk repeating her advice. Keep one 35 film camera for the moments when you just want to shoot a roll or two or three for fun, sell the rest or the 35mm bodies. Keep one MF camera if you think you'll miss it.
Save the lenses you like best, sell the rest. Then buy the M9.

If you don't like the M9, you can sell it less the usual depreciation. It will serve as a backup to your D700, or vice versa.
 
If I could afford an M9, I would, in a second. If you prefer digital in general, and film is a hassle for you, then there's no question. I am one who much prefers digital to film–the workflow is much more intuitive to me, plus I really hate scanning. You already have the lenses, and if you decide to sell the M9 you can buy a pristine M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6 with the funds.

And as for platinum-palladium, I think I read an article a while back, maybe on Luminous Landscape, about printing 8x10 transparencies from digital files and doing P-P from those.
 
Your question is a bit like asking if you should sell your apple pies to buy a cherry pie.

If you want an M9 and can pay for it by selling cameras you don't want, what's the problem?

If you really want to keep those cameras and buy an M9, that's different.
 
>My M2, M5, Robot Royal 36, Contax II, Hasselblad, screw mount
>Leicas, etc (I will probably hang onto my Contaflex TLR and maybe a
> screw mount Leica that I've had since 1988). I'm going to keep all
>my Leica lenses, but I've pretty well decided to do this.

Of the film cameras listed here, which do you use most? Which will being the most income, and be missed the least? The Contax mount lenses require an adapter for use on the Leica, which runs as much as a Contax body. The M5 will bring more than the M2. The Hasselblad is the most expensive in terms of cost to operate, 120 film and processing is more than 35mm.

If you sell them all, prices of film cameras allows buy-back. But if you have a favorite, keep it.

With me- after collecting for 40 years, lots of film cameras.
 
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Not sure why you think the crop of an M8 would drive you crazy. I shot film with all sorts of cameras and formats (including film Leica Ms) for decades and made the digital leap 2 years ago when I moved again (back home to Baltimore) and decided not to build a fifth darkroom.

I bought an M8.2 and the crop turned out to be no issue; the brain is quite adaptive. I use my 28 instead of my 35, and my 50 instead of my 75 for similar FOVs. Just so happens that I like the rendering of my 28 Summicron asph better than my 35 Summicron asph, and prefer the 50 Summilux asph to the 75 Summicron asph. In fact, I sold the latter and bought a nice used second M8.2.

The M8.2 is a better sorted camera than the M8 (I don't need 8000th), and in fact has things the M9 doesn't...sapphire LCD, top display and marginally quieter shutter (and chrome if that's your thing, or a black dot on the black version). The filters became a non-issue once I put them on and have never taken them off. Blacks are also better out of the box in some circumstances than with the filterless M9.

Jeff
 
Neare said:
And when the M10 comes out, how will you pay for that? 😀
Look, if film's not your thing move on. Everyone else in that boat already has.

Those of us on the film boat will continue paddling in the opposite direction.
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Brilliant dear sir...brilliant.
 
I have had my M2 for over 35 years. I will most likely never use it again, which is sad but I such history with it that I wouldn't sell it. Too bad film is so hard to deal with now. I haven't had anyone else develop my B/W for 40 years and couldn't start now, well unless they were awfully good but still, that was part of the joy of it and I know how I want to agitate for a certain shoot etc.

Well the m9 does a fine job and I don't see it going obsolete in 3 years. It takes good images now and the only thing that would hold it back in 3 years for 5 years or . . . would be me.
 
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