Leica M9 Review: Shooting in Wetzlar, Germany
The Leica M9 could very well be the most anticipated Leica M ever. With film users holding out for a full-frame digital M before making the switch, the tens of thousands of existing M8 users waiting to upgrade, and photographers new to Leica waiting patiently for a camera that wowed them, the M9 has generated an unbelievable response. One of the most frequent questions I've received over the last six months has been, "When will Leica come out with an M9?" My honest answer has always been that I didn't know, just that the M9 was a top priority for Leica. What we didn't know was that they have been quietly working on one since April of last year. Then, back in July I was invited to make a pilgrimage to Germany and get a rare opportunity to test out the S2. No I didn't just make a typo. Yes, this is an M9 review.
M9 with 35mm Summicron ASPH, ISO 160, 1/500th at f/5.6
If you've been reading my blog you have a pretty good idea of how much I've been looking forward to the Leica S2. I had been at the VIP Launch Event in Cologne on the eve of Photokina when the S2 was unveiled. The following days at the show I spent countless hours exploring the camera and gathering information from patient Leica employees. Back in March, I headed out to Las Vegas to get some more answers directly from the S2 product managers and give an update on the status of the camera. All along, I've tried to provide the most in-depth coverage of the S2. Then, I was offered the chance to actually shoot an S2.
How could I refuse such a unique opportunity? I cashed in the frequent flyer miles, cleared my schedule, and prepared for some serious fun. Little did I know that there was more in store for me. Not only would I be working with a production-level S2, but I'd also be shooting with the P864, known more commonly these days as the Leica M9. In this first installment, I'll be covering my experience with the M9, as it seems to really be the main focus at this time and the camera is already en route to dealers around the world. In about a week, I'll be putting up part 2, that focuses in-depth on the S2.
In addition to shooting over 1800 pictures with the two cameras over the course of four days, I also got an all-access pass behind the scenes at the factory in Solms. Typically, the factory has a no photography policy (ironic when you think about it). But, I was allowed to shoot both still images (all with the M9, of course) as well as video. This was quite a treat and I even got to don the quintessential white lab coat, complete with light grey check pattern and red Leica dot. Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep it as a souvenir. Following all my camera reports, I'll have a factory tour post.
This trip wasn't done solo. Three other journalists were invited as well: the insightful Michael Reichmann, of Luminous Landscape fame, Sean Reid, the esteemed reviewer of Reid Reviews, and the precocious Phil Askey, creator of one of the largest photo sites on the planet, DPReview. The four of us obviously approach things from different perspectives and I felt fortunate to be among such a venerable crowd. Whether out shooting or just shooting the breeze over good German beer, you couldn't have asked for better companions. We've all enjoyed each other's writing over the years and it was fun to put faces to Internet bylines. Our hosts from Leica were Christian Erhardt, the always likeable and cheery VP of Marketing for Leica Camera USA and our new friend Amy Kosh, S2 product specialist for the US.
M9 with 50 Summilux ASPH, ISO 160, 1/1400th at f/2
Midday on Sunday, August 16th, we all met up in the hotel lobby to take a stroll around Wetzlar's old town. Christian played tour guide and showed us the major sights. For the others, it was their first time. This was my third time there and I always enjoy coming back. If you haven't been to Wetzlar, it is certainly worth a visit. Very friendly people, excellent food, great beer, charming winding cobblestone alleys amongst half-timbered (and some very crooked) houses, all leading down to the river Lahn with a classic arched stone bridge and flanked by lush public parks with shady walking paths. Really nice place. The LHSA Annual Meeting for 2010 is tentatively scheduled for Wetzlar. I attended the last meeting held there, in September 2006 and had a wonderful time. So, if you like Leica and you want to visit its birthplace with a group of like-minded photo enthusiasts, I highly recommend checking it out.
Getting an M9 in my hands, finally
We got an early start on Monday morning, August 17th, and headed over to the Leica Akademie in the neighboring hamlet of Altenberg . Ralph Hagenauer of Leica was there to present each of us with a loaner M9 (err.. P864) for use during our entire stay. We had our pick of lenses as well, but I had already brought a full set. I had the Wide Angle Tri-Elmar 16-18-21mm f/4 ASPH (known to many as the WATE), Summilux 24mm f/1.4 ASPH (was really curious how this would do on full frame), Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH (my go-to lens on the M8.2), the always amazing Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, and my trusty Elmarit 90mm f/2.8 (why did they stop making this one again?). I did opt to borrow a Universal Wide Angle Viewfinder (known to some as the Frankenfinder, although not to me), as I usually just use a Zeiss 21mm external finder on the M8.2 for my WATE.
After removing all my IR filters and stowing them away (hooray!), we headed out on the Akademie's grounds for half an hour or so just to get familiar with the camera. This proved to be quite easy as it felt and sounded just like my M8.2. The body is the exact same with a cosmetic change to the top plate. The circular frame counter and battery status LCD has been removed and the end now features a stair-step rounded cutout. Leica felt that this makes the M9 feel less blocky and look more like the M7 (sans rewind crank, of course).
So, while on this topic, what exactly are the changes from the M8/M8.2 to the M9? Starting with the cosmetics, the top plate is shaved down a bit on one side, as I mentioned above, the Protect button on the rear is now the ISO button (see, Leica was listening), the black dot that used to be a red dot is now a red dot again and the black hot shoe that used to be silver is silver again as well. What we ultimately end up with is a black paint original M8 with a profile like an M7 and Vulcanite covering like an M8.2. Confused? Oh, and let's not forget the addition of the steel grey paint finish option, which looks pretty sharp. It has a smooth surface, almost identical to the black paint, just differing in color and featuring the "smooth sandpaper" finish of the original M8. Ah, and there is one more thing. In order to make the M9 more affordable, there is no more Sapphire Glass LCD screen. I actually like this feature on my M8.2, and Leica has stated that it might be offered as an optional upgrade at a later point. The actual LCD is improved, though. Still 235,000 pixels, the screen is now visible in bright sunlight. After using the M9 for several very bright summer days I can attest to Leica's claim. The screen is extremely good outside.
Now, under the hood. The M9 is packing the Kodak KAF-18500 CCD, which is an 18.5 MP full frame (24x36mm) sensor. It features a new offset microlens structure, revised 0.8mm IR cover glass, and new red filter in the Bayer color filter array. The sensor is capturing 14-bits per pixel, and supports an ISO range of 80-2500 (base of 160), with the promise of 1-1.5 stops of improved high ISO performance. In order to accommodate 80% more data throughput, Leica is now sporting twin DSPs and upped the RAM to accommodate nine shots with almost double the pixels in the buffer . The main PCB board and image processing algorithms are still developed by Jenoptik, the same partner as the original M8.
Many had thought (including myself) that the M9 would feature the Maestro ASIC chip, but Leica felt that in order to expedite development, staying with the same partner and building on the existing framework of the M8 would be a better approach. Some things were taken from the S2 project, like the algorithms for high-ISO optimization, which were shared with Jenoptik. Leica has branched out to the academic community as well, working closely with some talented image processing experts from the University of Cologne for noise reduction algorithms. With the amount of talk on high-ISO, you can see that Leica has placed a large emphasis in this area.
Meeting with Stefan Daniel
After departing the Akademie with gear and goodies, we headed over to the factory in Solms for a meeting with Stefan Daniel, Product Manager for the M System and super-nice guy. That day was actually Stefan's 25 year anniversary with Leica. He started as an apprentice in the machine shop when he was just 16 years old, and has now worked his way up to manage Leica's largest product family. Additionally, Stefan has the added responsibility of overseeing all products (not just M) as the Director of Product Management.
M9 with 50mm Summilux ASPH, ISO 250, 1/180th at f/1.4
Stefan gave us the lowdown on all the changes and improvements, as well as some of the thinking behind the M9 development. We also discovered (later at dinner) the origin of the P864 moniker. P stands for project (kind of obvious) and 864 is the product of 24 and 36 (not as obvious, but clever nonetheless). Funnily enough, the name was cryptic enough that certain journalists (we won't mention names...protect the innocent...all that) couldn't keep the numbers straight, so everyone just started changing the name at random, until finding one we all really latched onto to: the B-52, or "bomber." Close enough. But my experience with the camera tells me that the M9 will be anything but a bomb.
The two most significant advances from the M8 are pretty obvious: it offers a full-frame 24x36mm capture and doesn't suffer from IR sensitivity. So, no crop factor and no IR filters, precisely what the Leica community has been hoping for. Leica has been telling us for quite some time that both of these items were near impossible obstacles to overcome. So, what happened? The first step was to go further with offset micro lenses. In the Kodak KAF-18500 CCD, the pixel spacing is increased towards the corners to accommodate even greater offsets. The second step was to increase the thickness of the IR cover glass from 0.5mm to 0.8mm, which, combined with a new type of IR-absorbing glass, eliminates IR bleed and still preserves red channel information into the corners. With a new red color filter in the Bayer matrix, the red channel performance is improved further, increasing accuracy and tonal range.
M9 with 50mm Summilux ASPH, ISO 160, 1/350th at f/1.4
6-Bit coding and manual lens selection
Even with the revisions to the sensor and cover glass, cyan drift is still an issue in the corners due to the steep angle of incidence. A brief trip back to high school geometry and the Pythagorean Theorem teaches us that the light rays striking the corner of the sensor travel a greater distance through the IR filter than the light rays striking the center. As such, the M9 uses 6-bit coding data to correct for both vignetting and cyan drift. Don't have a 6-bit coded lens? No problem. Leica has finally implemented a manual lens selection option. This has been on the most-requested feature list for quite some time, and, with new firmware development, could finally be implemented on the M9. Apparently, retrofitting the M8 firmware with this option wasn't a practical possibility. With 36 different manual lens selection options (yes, I counted them), every lens from the WATE at 16mm to the 135mm APO-Telyt are covered. Lenses are organized by focal length, then maximum aperture and include Leica model numbers for easy identification.
I must admit to a bit of user error here. Shooting inside the Wetzlar Dom, I used the manual lens selection to set my WATE at 16mm when I noticed the camera didn't prompt me like the M8 does. Then, after I changed lenses and headed back outside, I forgot to set the camera back to Auto. So, I have a good number of shots that are meta-tagged as 16mm that were really shot on my 35 and 50 lenses. Incidentally, the correction being done is so non-aggressive that I don't see any real problems (red corners, etc) with these files. I found out later that in Auto mode, when the WATE is mounted, the 18mm setting is selected by default as it works well for all three focal lengths.
A suggestion that I made to Stefan later than night was to have an option or default behavior that would either alert the user when a non-matching 6-bit coded lens was mounted in Manual mode or just reset it back to Auto. Personally, I'd prefer the latter option as I'd want any 6-bit coded lens to be recognized when I forget to reset the menu (similar to Nikon's handling of Non-CPU lenses). Currently, the selected lens is retained even when switching between Manual and Auto and back again. With the failsafe, this behavior could be kept. We may see some slight tweaking to this functionality in future firmware releases, but as it is, most users will be extremely happy.
A closer look through the viewfinder (rev. 3)
The M9 uses the same viewfinder from the M8 and M8.2, with a 0.68x magnification. The thickness of the body, which is the exact same as the M8, dictates that the eyepiece have a negative magnification. This also allows for greater eye relief, nice for eyeglass wearers like myself. Of course, with a larger sensor comes larger frame lines. For me, the 35mm lines are already close to the periphery, while the 28mm lines are out of view unless I look side-to-side and up-and-down. I'd say that the 28mm lines on the M9 are further out than the 24mm lines on the M8. I thought that perhaps the new 18mm viewfinder might be a nice solution for me, allowing me to have a small, compact viewfinder for my WATE, while also providing the inner (M8) frame lines for use with my 24mm Lux. The other two options which I'm considering are the Universal Wide-Angle Viewfinder or the 21-24-28mm Vario Finder. Either way, for eyeglass wearers who want to shoot wide angle lenses on the M9, I think that external viewfinders are going to be a fact of life.
M9 with 24mm Summilux ASPH, ISO 160, 1/180th at f/2
With the elimination of the 24mm lines and addition of the 135mm frame, the alignment has changed as well. On the M8, we had wildly inaccurate framing set for a distance of 0.7m. Then, the M8.2 brought salvation with a distance setting of 2m. Apparently, perfect at 2m and beyond wasn't good enough. The M9 now has its frame lines calibrated for 1m, somewhere between the two previous attempts. How was rev. 3? Well, not too bad. Close-up was perfect, medium distance was very close and infinity gave just a bit more than I saw. All-in-all, this wasn't a step backwards for me. Leica felt that the 1m distance was a decent compromise and allows for more accurate framing for close quarters shooting, and I have to agree. Maybe the next round could be 1.5m, just to cover the whole gamut, or maybe 1m really is the sweet spot. The M7 and MP are set at 1m, and I never had any issues when shooting with these.
M9 with 35mm Summicron ASPH, ISO 400, 1/125th at f/4
Bigger frame, different meter
Another consequence of increasing the sensor size was accuracy of metering. If the M8 meter was kept, it would be less center-weighted and act more like a spot meter, given the larger capture area. So, Leica went again to the M7 for inspiration. The M9 uses an elliptical-shaped center-weighted meter, very similar to its film brethren. To accommodate the larger active area, the shutter blades above and below the white-striped center blade are colored a middle grey tone. This mixture gives the M9 a feathered, center-weighted pattern which proved to be very accurate in my test shooting.
No top LCD, new Info screen
For styling purposes, Leica changed the top plate. For usability reasons, they removed the top deck, circular status LCD screen. Truthfully, with a lack of illumination, limited accuracy of battery life indication, and a three digit limit on the frame counter, the LCD had some shortcomings. Some people had thought that the top-deck color OLED of the S2 might find its way onto the M9. Well, this didn't happen and while the OLED is very cool, the clean design of the M9 is welcome in a very digital world. In lieu of a top-deck LCD or OLED, Leica opted to use the Info button and provide a new status screen. In regular shooting mode, just press the Info button to activate it. On the rear LCD, you get two horizontal bars, one for battery life and the other for SD memory card capacity, with green to indicate level remaining and red to show amount depleted. The bars are broken into 25% increments, with an additional marking at 10%. Actual MB remaining on the SD card is displayed directly below the visual indicator bar. Directly under this is a remaining pictures counter, a live shutter speed readout (when the meter is active), and a display of what lens is on the camera. The lens is either read through the 6-bit code in Auto mode or shows the current manual lens selection. The display is easy to see at a glance, with good use of color and the combined analog-style bar-charts and digital counter readouts. I did have to catch myself on multiple occasions though. Out of habit, I'd lightly depress the shutter release and glance down at the top of the camera to see battery and CD card status. Even after a few days with the M9, I continued to do this, but was able to train myself to use the Info button instead.
The M gets bracketing
The M9's auto bracketing feature is really, really cool. In the menu, you select the number of frames, either 3, 5 or 7, the sequence (-/0/+ or 0/-/+) and the EV steps (0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2EV). In the SET menu, you have the option to turn bracketing on or off. Just turn this option to On and press the shutter release, or do as I do and use the 2 sec self-timer. The camera automatically shoots the bracketing sequence just by varying shutter speed. I did notice, though, that when shooting at night, the camera opted to shoot a sequence one image short. I discovered that the last shot would have required a shutter speed longer than 32 seconds, which is the maximum in A mode. So, I don't classify this as a bug, just something to be aware of.
Also note that all of the EV steps aren't always available, depending on your settings. The bracketing range is +/- 3EV, meaning that if you chose to shoot 7 frames, you won't be able to use 1.5 or 2EV steps, only 0.5 or 1EV. For 5 frames, you could go up to 1.5EV steps and for 3 frames, you can utilize 2EV steps. I found the auto bracketing feature extremely useful for night shooting on a tripod. While it does create a fair amount of extra data, you don't have to be so precise in tricky lighting situations.
Soft release and/or discrete... choices, choices
A new feature introduced on the M9 is the really nice soft release option. The shutter release button has multiple activation points as you press down. The very first press activates the meter and wakes the camera from a power-saving sleep. The second position usually enables AE lock and the third releases the shutter. Some users felt that pressing down the entire way created unnecessary movement on slower shutters speed (ie. The stabbing effect). Leica responded to this by having the camera fire when you get to the second shutter release spot, requiring very little pressure and consequently allowing for smoother triggering. When you combine the Soft option with Discrete advance, you get the ultimate stealth machine - a hair trigger and a separate advance.
At first the Soft mode felt too sensitive, so I just used the camera in my usual Discrete mode. But, after a short period of trying out the Soft mode again, I felt it gave me a real advantage for hand-holding at slower speeds and I started using it for all my shooting. If you give this option a chance, I think you'll have a hard time turning it off. The only drawback is the loss of the AE lock, which is solved by the ever-so-sweet revised Exposure Compensation.
M9 with 24mm Summilux ASPH, ISO 640, 1/30th at f/2.8, handheld
Really sweet Exp Comp options
In the M8.2, Leica added the ability to half-press the shutter and turn the rear wheel to effect an EV change which you could see in the viewfinder. This sounded so nice in theory, but in practice just never worked for me. The touch had to be just right on the shutter release and the contorted position my hand took trying to keep light pressure on the button, while attempting to spin the thumb wheel, just wasn't very comfortable or natural. A new option in the M9's menu made me a very happy shooter. You can now select EV comp through the menu only (like M8), using the thumb wheel only (called setting ring in menu), or the wheel plus shutter release (Like M8.2). That middle option is one of the best improvements on the M9. Seriously. Look through the viewfinder and lightly spin the thumb wheel. EV compensation is displayed clearly in the viewfinder and no right hand acrobatics are necessary. The thumbwheel adjustment proved to be a valuable asset for my shooting style, especially when combined with the soft release.
Direct ISO control
I think I still hear the cheers on this one. One of the first things you notice is the ISO button on the left side of the LCD. Gone is the little-used Protect button (you can still access protect functionality in playback via the SET button, if you must). To change the ISO, just push the ISO button and turn the thumb wheel or use arrow keys to select. Options include Auto ISO, Pull 80, then 160 through 2500 in 1/3 stops, arranged in a three by five grid. Just like other menus, you can navigate by the thumb wheel or the direction keys.
Another new item is the Pull 80 ISO setting. The native sensitivity of the sensor is 160, not 80, so this setting is not going to improve noise or sharpness. In fact, the dynamic range will be slightly less as a result of the 1 stop pull. What’s nice, though, is the ability to shoot f/1.4 in bright daylight without an ND filter. And, in my testing, I found the ISO 80 setting to be very good quality. Get out those fast luxes.
A few other odds and ends
Because we've all missed a shot or two by flipping the shooting mode selector switch to self-timer by accident, Leica has come to the rescue with a 0 sec self-timer menu setting. In other words, it disables the self-timer and makes the shutter release behave like it would in single shot mode. Just another example of working to address user concerns.
The addition of a Mass Storage USB mode should make Mac users happy (the three that are using USB anyway) as OS X had issues with the PTP protocol.
The histogram setup is revised, adding options for clipping settings. You can choose for the camera to warn you on over and underexposures, on just overs, or not at all. Other histogram features like single channel or RGB, and duration are unchanged. Zooming in on an image in Info Playback still changes the histogram to reflect the zoomed portion, which is helpful for challenging contrast ratios.
Did I mention that the S mode is gone from the shutter speed dial? Well, not on the dial at least. Leica buried it as the Snapshot Profile under Set User Profiles in the SET menu, for those special times when you really want to...hmm…. I actually can't think of any times to use it. Well, let's just rejoice in the fact that it's mostly gone and we gain 8sec on the dial, great for manual night shooting.
And last, but certainly not least is the option to store either compressed 8-bit DNGs or uncompressed 16-bit DNGs. Hmm. Let me think about this one for a second to see which I'd recommend. Of course, if you are looking to get the most quality out of the M9, you should only shoot uncompressed DNGs. The DMR had 16-bit RAW files, then the M8 limited us to non-linear compressed 8-bit DNGs. While I certainly have no complaints about the quality of my M8 files, I have always wondered what I was missing out on. Now, I don't have to wonder anymore. With just shy of 1,000 M9 files under my belt and in my Lightroom Catalog I have a pretty good feel for what the files are capable of handling, which brings me conveniently to the real test - actual shooting. After lunch and an incident involving a wasp, a hat, a salad, and my lap, we headed back to Wetzlar for a change of clothes and five hours of wandering and shooting.
Shooting with the M9
Shooting with the M9 was a blast. It was so familiar coming from the M8.2, yet the subtle improvements were welcome. The revised LCD was so easy to see in the bright sun. The direct ISO button with 1/3 stop increments was convenient, as was the revised EV compensation control. Manual lens selection was good, but could potentially lead to a bit of user error (as happened with this user - see above). I could also immediately see that the M9 was holding more highlight detail in high-contrast, mid-day lighting situations. If I had to guess, I'd say that DR was increased by 1 stop in the highlights. So far, so good.
M9 with 50mm Summilux ASPH, ISO 160, 1/1400th at f/4
Lenses on full-frame, again
Mysteriously (or not so mysteriously), the 50 Lux ASPH just kept finding its way back onto the front of my loaner M9. While the 35 Cron ASPH has been my go-to lens for the last couple of years on the M8, it felt much wider than I was used to. I had to literally relearn what focal lengths I liked on full frame, which is crazy considering I've been shooting film since I was 7 years old and only stopped four years ago.
The 90 felt a bit short and I had wished that I borrowed a 135 APO-Telyt to try out. The WATE was really, really wide, but quite fun. And that 50 Lux ASPH was just marvelous as it stretched its legs on full frame again. I did end up finding a place for my initially neglected 35, and it served well as a moderate wide-angle, just as it was designed to do. In fact, I found the 35 Cron ASPH to be one of the sharpest lenses I used on the M9 with its characteristic color and snap that I love so much. Ultimately, this lens will stay in my bag, just serving a different role.
The 24 Lux on the M9 behaved like the 18 on the M8, which is to say it felt very wide for me. I can see the new 21 and 24 Luxes being popular for low-light reportage photography and opening up some really interesting creative possibilities, but for most the 28 will probably become the most popular wide-angle lens choice. With the compact, distortion-free, and affordable 28 Elmarit ASPH and the stunning and not much larger 28 Cron ASPH to choose from, this won't be too much of a problem. 28 was another focal length that I wish I tried out during my test run with the M9, but unfortunately Leica didn't offer me a Sherpa to carry the entire arsenal of Leica M glass. I had to carry what I wanted to use, and I limited myself to five lenses, which is the limit of what I'd normally pack in my bag.
I predict a fair amount of shifting around of lenses when people start really using the M9. I imagine many will once again adopt the 28, 35, 50, 90 pantheon. For some, the 35 will be the main attraction. For others, like myself, the 50 will shine. The wider lenses, like the 18, 21, and 24 will still find a place for full frame shooters. M9 users will reap the benefits of the recent focus on spectacular wide-angle lens options developed since the introduction of the M8, like the WATE, 18 Super-Elmar, 21 Lux, 24 Lux, and 24 Elmar. I'll be curious to see how lenses like the 75 APO-Summicron and 75 Summarit fare, as 75 will be 75 again, rather than 100. I could see those wishing to minimize going to a 35 and 75 combo, which was the equivalent of 28 and 50 on the M8. I'll be trying out more lens combinations as I start to use the M9 as my daily shooter.
Performance and speed
Even though the M9 is pushing 80% more pixels, it does feel a little faster than the M8. By doubling the processing power and using twin DSPs instead of one, Leica is able to eek out a small performance gain. My camera had the latest (at the time) firmware version 0.912, in other words, a pre-release version. Stefan assured us that optimizations were still being done to improve image playback and review speed at 100% view. If I had to put a number to it, I'd say that the M9 felt about 25% faster than the M8 with this early firmware, which is certainly not earth-shattering, nor anywhere as fast as the S2. Unfortunately, this was a case of sticking with the tried and true in order deliver a full-frame digital M to market in a timely way. As I mentioned before, switching to the Maestro chip, while being much faster and more powerful, would have also meant much more development time. Had Leica gone this route, we probably wouldn't have seen the M9 till Photokina 2010, a full year longer. The other advantage of staying the course with regards to CCD sensor architecture, image processing and working with Jenoptik, is that the files coming out of the M9 look like M8 files with more pixels. This point is important. I've read so many comments online about wanting this exact result. The M8 is a phenomenal image maker. The quality of the files bests cameras with significantly higher numbers in the megapixel department. So, to have the M9 produce an almost identical per-pixel look and feel is great news for Leica digital shooters, especially considering the jump from 10 to 18MP.
Battery life is quite good. I found that my battery life tracked my 16GB SDHC card almost perfectly on the info display. At a bit over 400 pictures on this card, it's not too bad considering the size of the images. And yes, the battery is identical to the battery used in the M8. This is excellent news for people like me who have a fair amount of extra batteries laying around.
Image quality
Yes, the image quality is excellent. No, there are no surprises. No IR issue. No green blobs. No freezing cameras. As Stefan put it, the M9 in the prototype stage is well ahead of where the M8 was at launch. They have learned quite a lot in the last three years.
I shot with the M9 over the course of a few days, shooting in bright sun, indoors, and at night. I used the ISO range from 80 to 1600. My impressions when looking at the files on my laptop in Lightroom over in Germany were very good. Now that I've had some more time with them and had a chance to make a bunch of 20x30 inch prints, I'm pretty confident in the conclusion I mentioned earlier, but I think bears repeating: The M9 files look almost identical to M8 images on a per-pixel level and when viewed in print up to 20x30.
There is a noticeable improvement in the ability to hold highlights and the high ISO performance is also improved, although not by a huge amount, in my initial opinion. I can't speak authoritatively on this topic quite yet. All my M8/M8.2 processing over the last three years has been in Capture One and all my M9 images are going through Lightroom, which was lacking cameras-specific profiles during my test. I'd hope that fully tweaked, the noise performance will be even better than what I've been seeing. While the current C1 v4.8.2 doesn't recognize M9 files for import, the previous v4.8.1 does (you can download previous versions from the archive). I played briefly with some ISO 1600 shots in both programs. C1 offers some more aggressive noise reduction adjustments and really cleans up shadows at the slight expense of fine mid tone detail. LR has more clumpiness in shadows, but the details and overall image look more natural and pleasing. I didn't go so far as to try specialized software like Noise Ninja or Nik Define. The bottom line here is that we're certainly not looking at Nikon D3 low light ability, but I think that with proper workflow (and expected profiles for the M9 from Adobe) as well as good exposure, 1250 ISO should be comparable to the 640 ISO we have on the M8.2 today. Proper exposure plays an important role. If your high ISO shots are even the tiniest bit underexposed, noise becomes a real issue when boosting exposure back up in post. 
Also, because of the pixel count increase, I didn't need quite as much enlargement for each given print size. I found some 20x30s I ran from ISO 1250 files looked every bit as clean and detailed from M8 prints shot at ISO 640. So, while you can get an overall feel for image quality by pixel peeping on screen, nothing will tell you the final print quality besides actually printing big and looking at it.
Overall, the color tones and feel echo the M8, which is my basic point. The M9 produces M8 quality with more pixels, slightly less noise and more dynamic range. One caveat, though. With all this shooting, I never shot a single JPG. Not one. Considering that Stefan told us that the JPG output had been significantly improved over the M8, I really should have. The reality is that I shoot an all-RAW workflow and I believe most people looking to get the most out of the camera will do the same. Once I get my M9 in the next few weeks (customer orders come first, after all), I plan on experimenting with in-camera JPGs vs. LR-processed DNG files.
Conclusion
I fully expect the M9 to be a home run for Leica. Just about every user request made since the M8 came to market has been addressed and implemented. Full frame? Check. No IR filters? Check. Ability to use non-coded lenses? Check. Direct ISO button? Check. Better LCD? Check. Better ISO performance? Check. More megapixels? Check. Soft release? Check. It's all in there. If the M8 represented a pivotal move to digital, the M9 shows the full potential of what is possible in a digital M body. While not revolutionary, this natural evolution is exactly what 99% of M users have been waiting for. Taken as a whole, the Leica M9 is the most compact, highest quality image-making tool on the market, with a full frame sensor looking through gorgeous Leica M glass. And isn't that what it's all about anyway?
posted by David Farkas @ 10:16 AM
65 comments
65 Comments:
David,
A great review and a nice set of "non-test" images which I'll have to look at in greater detail later. You deliver a fantastic first impression and I appreciate your casual, non-pedantic approach.
I think a lot of us will be re-finding our favorite lenses. This review, even more than your review from Vegas, makes me covet a 24mm Summilux, for sure.
Thanks!
Good article.
Thanks David! Great review indeed.
A great read!!! Thank again David for writing one of the best blogs for photo buffs online!!
Can't wait to test my Zeiss M mount lenses on an M9!!
Really well writen review.Thank you
If I lived in USA I would buy my Leica gear from you.
Regards
Brian Phythian Manchester/England
David,
Great hands on review, appreciate you taking the time to write this.
Bo
If you could post some 14-bit DNGs for download, that would be really nice. Preferably ISO 160 so we can get a taste of the M9's best quality. Thank you for the review.
Nice overview and very good shots. The detail is very good, I'd say as good as any, including those from D3x, I've seen from 35mm format cameras.
Now one issue: in the images with deep blue skies, in particular on the last one, I noticed some pixelation and/or noise. Was that in the original RAW or is likely a sharpening/pp'ing effect?
Thanks, Renato.
@Renato
Thank you for the comments and good observation on the last shot. I did bump the exposure by 0.85 stops and added 17 Fill Light in LR. Also, the effect is much more visible when converting to sRGB and JPG for web.
David
Stunning images David! I am going to have to drive over to your neck of the woods to check the new M9 out!
Very nice indeed
I am using Canon 5D for 2 years but
i was totally blown by the quality
High dynamic range , nice shooting
Thanks for this wounderful review
Thanks for Your nice article!
Thanks for tempting me further: you mentioned shooting in linear compression and without and hinted that you had a preference, but I could not find what that preference was. Can you expand. I love the files from the DMR and would be tempted to use the larger option.
Alastair
As so many have already said, thanks for a well rounded review
@David:
thanks for reply. KUTGW!
Terrible. Reading your review is likely to cost me dearly in the future (some 5,500 Euros to be precise).
Seriously, best review of the M9 I read so far. Thanks a lot!
Thank you Dave for a great review. The M9 is the dream camera for Leica Fans. Sources say that supply is scarse in Hong Kong. Hope I will get mine very soon.
I saw that Brian from England wrote:
Really well writen review.Thank you
If I lived in USA I would buy my Leica gear from you.
Well I do, and I am.
Jack
David - one thought is the issue of rendering of red without a really well thought through profile for Lightroom - any thoughts how this happened as it's already raising niggles from the community. Was it to do with the very late change in relationship with C1?
Thanks for a great review. One thing strikes me about the photographs is that do not appear to be "tack sharp". In fact they look quite ordinary to me. I would have thought that the major rationale for Leica was crisp details. Am I missing something here?
Very well written review. I appreciated your article which exactly reflects what the Leica M9 is all about: A constant maturity process for authentic photographers hoping that the gadgetry and gimmicks from the Japanese camera makers don't strangle what little is still left from perfectionists passionate camera makers. I was an M6, M8 user and eagerly awaiting my pre-ordered M9 which will give my M lenses all the letters of Glory they have been waiting for since the Digital debut.
Thanks for this *very* nice review! Could you make some of the DNG available for download? I think I'm not not the only one interested in some of the high ISO files.
Thanks again!
Many thanks for the review—I learned more here than from all the other first impressions available on the web combined.
Those of us who bought lenses based on the sweet-spot performance with the M8, and not for full-frame film, are keenly interested in the edges of the posted photos, looking for signs of softness of specific lenses or unanticipated behavior of the sensor. I need to feel comfortable that my lens set will work well before upgrading. Any initial observations would be appreciated, especially if they pertain to images not selected for this post.
Nice review one comment:
>The M7 and MP are set at 1m, and I never had any >issues when shooting with these.
Since the M6 all analog bodies, with the exception of the MP3, have been set to .7 meters.
Basically the M6/M6ttl/M7/MP are all set to .7 meters.
The last film body set to 1 meter was the M4-P, although the last few batches with the M6 top plate appear to use the M6 mask, which is set to .7 meters.
The M3/M2/M4/M5/M4-2/M4-P (most)/M5/MP3 and now M9 are all set to 1 meter.
Can you ask Leica if they will make the 1 meter mask from the MP3 available to those of use who are still shooting film? I would love to be able to upgrade my M6ttl and M7, so they frame as accurately as an M4 or M9. If they do this I may even buy a new MP. ;-)
thanks
PS: What about the M9 and weather sealing? Are we still playing Russian Roulette with a very expensive camera?
Nice read, David.
Thanks David !
It's helpful for buying M9.
Is higher ISO really OK in comparison with DSR like EOS 5D Mark II ?
David,
Wonderful review, many thanks.
Were the images mostly DNG or JPEG? What did you process the DNG with?
When expanded, I found them to be very sharp.
Best,
Roger Beamon
Sahuarita, AZ
Thank you for this very intelligent, sensitive and reasonably complete review. Looking at your sample photos, I derived the impression that you really experienced a wonderful feel with this M9 camera. This new M offspring clearly seems to have been thought out for you and a few other visual poets who are still interested in looking, framing, seizing, and sharing their visions. It brings me back to my first tactile and visual impressions when holding my brand new M4 in the late sixties. You are holding quality, discreteness, a real presence, but no obstrusive bulkiness. Something like a perfect presence-absence tool allowing you to develop your visual poetry freely. No extra weight, volume, or electronic sophistication to drag you down and away from this strange active contemplation of ours. Can't wait to actually try one around !
Thanks again. Bruno Sauerwein, France
Very nice, concise yet thorough review. Your images really shine. Thanks for putting this up... even though it makes my wallet hurt.
Thanks for the concise review. Many of us are jealous. My M6TTL and MP have been collecting dust along with five great lenses. I waited and have been filling time with my Canon 30D. Previously, I couldn't justify the expense for an underdeveloped M8. Mac and Aperture transformed my photography the way Leica did before. Now, I'm looking to combine the technologies with an M9.
I mind as well stock up on the Ramen Noddles now-Thanks a lot!
Nice article. As an aside, I wonder how the leica digitals will fare compared to the film cameras in resale value. Pricewise, you could justify buying an M in the old days as it would hold its value for years and years. Will we be able to say the same thing about the digis? Something us poor folk consider when purchasing stuff. Perhaps not something typical leica owners even ponder? ;>
Excellent review, I came to your blog via Luminous lanscape. We have just lost Kodachrome film, at least in terms of sharpness and detail we now have a digital version with M9. I think the s2 could rival kodachrome or Velvia roll film? It's still the lens that counts.
Fascinating read. Though I don't shoot Leica, it is still very interesting both from technological and pictorial points of view. Added your blog to the list of my favorite blogs ;-).
David,
Thank you very much for this great reviewstory. It makes me want to plunder my savingsaccount and buy a Leica M9 right now.
One question, if I may. Just like you I wear glasses. Because of that I only see part of the frame. Especially with wides this is a problem. How did you adapt to this issue?
Thanks again. Wilco from Amsterdam
Da haste aber sehr schöne Bilder gemacht. Schöne Grüße aus Wetzlar. :-)
As a former M8 owner with a pretty nice set of Leica primes, I'm very pleased with this review. It's clear and easy for a low-level user as myself to understand. I've decided to return to the digital M for another try at rangefinder shooting.
Regards,
David,
The best review of te M9 I have sen yet and your pictures prove out the quality of the images. I have been a long time Leica film guy but didn't like the problems that kept being correctedon the M8, etc.
Now all Ihave to do is decide that I can absord the price tag and I will jump to the M9 and bring my film lenses with me.
Very nice review. I've been playing with cameras myself since the film era. I read many so-called professional reviewers wrote Nikons blew away Leica M8 and so on and so on. The fact that Leica produces more "alive", more 3-dimensional result has not been mentioned (or perhaps they dont have the "eye" to see it). Again: Superb review
What a splendid review. Every picture simply define what the camera can showcase.
____________________
Paris Photography Tours
Strange how the photos you took at Wetzlar so reminded me of some of the originals taken by Bernack with the first Leica prototype including the the callup for WWI. Not that the material was similar, and given the differences in what you and Bernack were doing, he illustrating the use of 35mm photography; yourself, that of a trail blazing new Leica, I find myself traveling from historical coverage to travelog. But they're both fun.
However, my main reason for writing is to express to a fellow eyeglass wearer my continuing disappointment that even for $7000 Leica has never really taken the bull by the horns when it comes to seeing the outer framelines. The .58, which the digitals don't offer, was a good try especially if you didn't mind the smaller image. But as I use the 35mm as my main lens, all I ever really wanted was to be able to see full frame at .7. And while I know very little about camera design, it always seemed to me that simply building a slightly wider eyepiece is all that is really needed...and y es I know about letting in extraneous light, etc, but...Nonetheless the M2 and M4 I still use have served me admirably except when with quickly moving subject matter it becomes difficult to notice important details at the edges. But when recently I bought a little Zeiss-Ikon rf the difference in having "high eyepoint" with the 35 was all I ever needed - besides digital - to make me perfectly happy. Alas, for after reading your review I can only hope that either Bessa or ZI will come up with a rf digital that provides the same full frame coverage as their film cameras
Many thanks for your excellent article and review.
Jack
Many thanks for your excellent review. It's hard not to be tempted to get one of these after having gone through it ...!
One thing which really concerns me though is the bokeh ... in a number of the pictures the bokeh looks a bit odd, it looks less "out of focus" and more as if there is slight "double vision." Is this just me ... ?
An excellent review.
I hope, if possible that you might 'review' some other previous lenses using M9.
Fantastic review, you really went on a trip of a life time there. The review feels like a journey in itself. This camera is very tempting, if I go broke, you will be the reason. I think leica should give you a commission for all your good work.
King Regards,
Shimmy
Nice review, Thanks for the effort. The images however seem plagued by color and contrast issues. In particular the reds seem broken and the files while not as flawed as the original M8 files appear to have weaknesses I find unacceptable in a professional system. Are the issues I am seeing a result of processing or do the M9s files actually fall short?
I am sure the M9 is an outstanding tool, but honestly I do not see the point of going through the burden of such a challenging development and then coupling it with the electronics of a previous generation only to shorten the time-to-market. This is a niche product, I do not believe we could consider not buying it only because it comes 6 months later. The second surprising detail is that they did not think at implementing sensor cleaning and stabilization on the sensor: there might be royalties to be payed to do it, but they should have the margin - given the price tag of the M9.
B-B-Brian Phythian Manchester/England ..?
No, can't be: I thought Brian died a few years ago. Schoolmaster, Dramatic Society, thick chunky-knit white pullover, lived at "Luncheons" with Colin and John Thingummy..?
Nah, you're making this up!
David Babsky, ex-Manchester. England. (..And thank God they got rid of that M8 and put a proper 35mm chip inside!..)
It is certainly interesting for me to read this article. Thanks for it. I like such themes and everything connected to this matter. I would like to read more soon.
Good review.
Very useful.
Thanks, David.
David,
Thank you for your superb review, including the terrific pictures. After 25 years of SLR and 5 years of DSLR photography, and as a current owner of a Nikon D300 system, I didn't think I could be so inspired.
I just placed an order with B&H for an M9 and a 35mm Summilux lens, and I'm already thinking of adding a 50mm and a couple of other lenses. I don't know exactly when I will receive the camera, but I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!
I think I just vindicated Leica's decision to invite you and the others for this M9-a-thon.
Now that I have also discovered you and the other master photographers you have identified in your review, I will start paying attention to what you guys do, and hopefully, see more examples of your works!
Thanks again,
Roy
David,
I had not realized that you are a Leica dealer. I thought you were either a journalist or a professional photographer.
It doesn't take anything away from your excellent review of the M9 (and the S2), of course, and what you have said is amply substantiated by others, so your objectivity is not under attack! I am still very much looking forward to my M9.
However, to balance out your review, I would suggest you also point out what the designs might be lacking, if any. Perhaps after M8 and 8.2, the M9 has very few issues right out of the gate (I certainly hope so!)
I guess I could have ordered my M9 from you, but living in CA, I had never heard of Dale Photo until I read your S2 review.
I'm sorry that your excellent review led to my purchase of a couple of big ticket items from somebody else. Perhaps we can do business on some future items.
Best,
Roy
Mr. Farkas, thank you for a very thorough review.
Could you kindly share any insights on what lenses go best with the M9?
Thanks again.
Could not find a suitable section so I written here, how to become a moderator for your forum, that need for this?
Interesting review, beautiful pictures.
What can you tell us about the Dynamic Range of Leica M9. Does it have a setting for improving its Dynamic Range?
David,
Thanks for a fine review and after our visit today I am even more convinced than before about making the switch to the M9. I appreciate your time and valuable advice along with the very convincing example shots included in your review.
Regards...
Nice review. The body is available in a new "Steel Gray" finish and offers minor button re-arrangement over the M8 - all the major changes relate to the internals.
Your photos with the M9 look wonderful. The natural accutance that the Leica M9's sensor creates via the absence of an AA filter is beautiful. Thank you for taking the time to share this with the rest of us!
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Thank you very much for this excellent information.. the pictures given as examples are very beautiful...
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Thanks David, for the great review. I am one of those that held out for the full frame digital Leica M and am waiting for my M9 to arrive in about three weeks. With my Canon digitals, I have more or less married a specific lens, usually a zoom, to a particular camera body to avoid sensor dust and the headaches of cleaning. I do have a bunch or great Leica M lenses for my film cameras, and can't wait to shoot them with the M9. However, I am concerned about sensor crud with frequent lens changing. Any thought on that. Roger Dreyling
An useful review
Good deal. I really hope you won't stop writing such interesting and great posts!
I have read some of your previous posts and I can surely say, that you write amazing things!
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