Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I am surprised that even though for the first time ever, a digital full frame ( 35mm ) rangefinder has been
introduced to the market place and no mention of it here at OPF!
I also know at least one OPF forum member contributes to discussions re: RFs on other forums.
This introduction is no small feat. Kodak deserves all credit for having surmounted the technical challenges by creating the sensor in the M9. Only last year it was said, it could not be done!
Hopefully now the M9 will allow Leica lenses, arguably the best made for 35mm format photography by
any manufacturer, to really shine in the digital world.
Well done Leica and Kodak.
Hi Fahim,
First, I have only shot with the M8 and never knowingly been within spitting distance of the M9. However, in the several days, I have devoted considerable effort reading all the reviews I can find and looking at posted/linked images. This full frame, (FF), camera is an important addition to the Leica M 35mm line, something Leica engineers assured us couldn't be built because of the oblique angle of light rays that would hit the periphery of a FF sensor.
Essentially, this is my take:
The Good: Leica has finally come up with a good platform for those careful photographers who own an array of Leica glass, amongst the finest 35 MM FF lenses made. This involved solving a technical problem of capturing light so close the the back of the lens and at the periphery of the image plane. They did this through the obvious, but nevertheless genius solution of angled microlenses. With this obstacle removed, the full benefit of Leica's stellar optics can be imaged. The density of the sensels, 1.2/mm2 remains the same as with the M8. This innovation means that the full benefit of wide angle lenses is delivered. The new sensor has a stop more of light sensitivity. That might come to even 2 stops after post processing in C1 is optimized, but that's still just a hope, not an expectation. There's a built in IT filter that should take care of most of the IR issues plaguing the M8 (before Lecia gave out IR filters to abolish the purple color of the grooms who sneaks into his wedding with synthetic formal duds). A wonderful feature in accessories is has curved piece for the thumb to stabilize one's grip on the camera.
Downsides:
1. There are downsides to Leica's success in getting Kodak to build the first FF sensor. M8 shooters who chose lenses for their kind of work, matched the frame lines of the M8, with the reduced sensor size factor, now have lenses that give different results and are much wider! So why on earth should they upgrade if the camera, which is just a tool, allows them to do what they did well in the past year? For some, going wider and having an extra stop of light and more pixels might make a difference, but a lot of folk simply are too happy with what they already can deliver!
2. The color is still not quite right in the reds, but doubtless our Canadian Leica Wedding Photographer and moderator here, Jamie will no doubt create solutions for this as he valiantly did to rescue the M8.
It looks as if C1 with the updated profile will be a very good solution for M9 RAW files.
So how good is the M9? My reading is that it's now a matured camera that proudly leads the venerable M line of cameras. There will be a slew of issues that will be solved by firmware updates, of course. This is a gem of a camera capable of really leveraging on the superb glass that makes Leica so exclusive and able to demand a premium price. This is my preliminary opinion just from the images I have seen so far. If you can command the light on your subject, this camera is superb up to ISO 400, good at 640 and from then on workable until 2400. However, the higher levels are very sensitive to under-exposure with awful noise in the shadows. So in the hands of a careful photographer, this camera will allow you to view the scene with the right eye while the left sees the world in which your subject moves, the essence of the RF experience that Bresson so iconized. It's this experience, the finest lenses and a robust 14 BIT RAW file that one is paying a well-justified premium for with the M9.
However, current owners of the M8, especially who have methodology matched by their lenses and frame lines in the viewfinder should not rush to "upgrade", unless they find the print size is limiting their photography. The M9 gives a larger file but under good lighting, with Leica glass, so far, the only other practical difference seems to be that the DOF being slightly different.
Is it a cutting edge tool of the trade? Maybe for some, but to others it's flawed. Let me tell you where I feel that Lecia might possibly come up short as a choice for a pressured photographer in tough conditions. Take for example the war correspondent. Many today are freelance. These news photographers make a living getting relevant images from transient sightings in often dangerous circumstances. Squeezing into a humvee with a flash jacket, the line of buttons on the left of the M8 Lecia, could reset the camera functions so pictures were lost. The green-tinged useless images or the sequential images with totally different color balance might be solved in the M9 but the line of exposed buttons to the left of the LCD remains. (BTW, unlike the Lecia M8.2, the scratch resistant sapphire crystal shield is absent in the M9 flagship, go figure!).
Imagine risking life and limb to cross a dark street in a combat area to squeeze of a shot when the camera brushes against the flak jacket and the LCD screen lights up like a beacon making the reporter an easy target! Again, if shooting after a homicide bomber blows up 50 shoppers in a Bagdhad supermarket, when the police demand your SD memory card, one has to remove the baseplate of the camera and then try the old trick of handing the fellow an alternate card without him noticing it. With any other camera, one can have that card safely in a pocket as soon as one sees the guy eying you and moving in your direction!
The camera does well in good lighting. Most artistic photographers, wedding photographers know how to deal with their subjects, so if the rangefinder experience is what they want, then the M9 will do well. However, with other cameras being able to take advantage of Leica lenses, only the unique RF view of the world is missing from the front runners of new breed of cameras like the Panasonic GF 1. This camera has a smaller sensor than the G9, but will satisfy a lot of folk who already have a film Leica for full frame work. Hey, spend $900 on a state of the art new GF-1 Panasonic body and save $6,100 for a bunch new lenses!
Would I buy and M9 Cost aside, for me, I was hoping that the new camera would do well in three areas:
- quiet shutter,
- high ISO performance with low noise
- ability to deliver in less than optimal lighting
Well, lets grant Leica has made the shutter quieter. I have to hear it at the store, but from recordings, I feel they have done a better job than with the M8. Is it quieter than the M8 1.2, I don't know yet. Still, lets assume that the M9 is now true to the M series breed of cameras that are great for surreptitious shooting, what else could I not like?
The picture quality of the Leica M9, at least from pictures, albeit mostly jpgs, shown/linked to on the web, is well below the standards set by Canon and Nikon above ISO 400 and certainly at and beyond ISO 1600. The images seem to show poor tolerance to under-exposure and this shows up as horrible shadows. So for my work, taking pictures at music performances lit from above, shadows on the face are a challenge and that's where I fear the Leica M9 might or might not be able to deliver good enough quality.
The 5DII, even in a blimp to muffle the mirror and shutter sounds, is a disturbance to the audience. Nevertheless, the Canon 5D II handles such difficult stage shots well. The the shadow-highlight filter, in Photoshop, is all one generally might need in post prtocessing. Sometimes noise reduction is also required. Still, the bottom line is one reliably has a picture that can be delivered to an editor for publications that a music and arts institute requires to thrive.
I'll try to get hold of an M9 for a tryout at the risk of my fears being unfounded and finding myself "needing" the little gem and its expensive lenses.
Asher
Let me stress, this report is solely gleaned from other reviews and links to Leica M9 files. My impressions are merely that and just my personal assessment today. With more knowledge and experience, I'll no doubt refine my ideas, but likely, beyond getting the color issues solved and optimizing RAW development, little is likely to change.
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