THE LEICA M9 REAL WORLD REVIEW

PAGE 1 - THE FULL FRAME BEAUTY ARRIVES

PAGE 2 - The goods. What comes in the box and what’s new?

PAGE 3 - Is FULL FRAME really that much better?

PAGE 4 - High ISO low light photography, and the M9

PAGE 5 - Color - M9 packs a PUNCH!

PAGE 6 - Some M9 Black & White conversions

PAGE 7 - The 35 Summilux and the M9 - A match made in heaven or hell?

PAGE 8 - Full Frame = Vignetting? Not on the M9!

PAGE 9 - Untouched Full Size Sample Downloads

PAGE 10 - My favorite images form my time with the M9

PAGE 11 - More M9 from other Leica photographers

PAGE 12 - My final thoughts and conclusion

PAGE 13 - Why I prefer shooting with a rangefinder camera.

NEW! > - My Ongoing Leica M9 Daily Diary - Updated DAILY!

PAGE 4 - High ISO shooting with the Leica M9.    next---->

One major complaint with the M8 and M8.2 was the HIGHER ISO performance. Trying to shoot the M8 in low light and high ISO meant trouble in most cases and many shooters would never go any higher than ISO 640. As for me, I shot at ISO 1250 on many occasions and had wonderful results. I feel if you can nail the exposure of the M8, then you can get acceptable ISO 1250 performance. I have some ISO 1250 images from the M8 and M8.2 that look like ISO 640 shots. Again, it’s all in the exposure and learning how to use the center-weighted metering of the M8 and M9. But, it did not ALWAYS work and many times it was frustrating.

Speaking of center-weighted metering, even when I shoot a fancy high tech DSLR full of gizmos and gimmicks, I usually use center-weighted metering as it is just what I am used to. With the M8 and M9, I look around the scene, pick the best spot in that scene to expose for, and then recompose for the shot. I also ALWAYS shoot in RAW mode. This way, if my exposure is a bit off, I can adjust it with the RAW processor.

With the M9, I had HIGH, HIGH hopes. When I first heard of an M9 coming, I thought YES!!! ISO 6400 with an M! I then found out the max ISO was 2500 and was like WTF? THEN, I found out the high ISO of 2500 was actually usable and acceptable. This made me happy and due to the M9 being a rangefinder, and having the ability to use the fastest lenses in the world, all you will ever need is ISO 2500.

Look at film! When shooting an M7, what is the highest speed color film you shoot? 400? 800? How about black and white? 1600? You can shoot the M9 at ISO 1600 or 2000 all day with great results. Even 2500, if you nail the exposure. Want proof?

Here are some high ISO shots. The first image was taken in the old factory I often visit for my photo tests. On this day, it was early evening and it was actually MUCH dimmer in this room than it appears. I jacked the M9 up to ISO 2500 and took this shot. Click on the image for the larger version and look at the 100% crop. It holds the detail, the color, and the noise is not an issue at all! This looks like ISO 640 on the M8 to me.

Here is an ISO 2000 shot I took when it was getting late and dark outside. Here, you can click on the image to see the FULL SIZE original image so you can see if it is acceptable to you. This is ISO 2000 folks and when you view the original keep in mind it is untouched and has no processing. It is straight from the camera, unlike the one you see on this page. But still, it holds the detail. This is ISO 2000 in evening light.

How about in darkness? Late at night? Here is an ISO 2500 image taken at night. Click for full size original.

Click on this next shot for a larger version and to seethe 100% crop correctly.

Taken at the same time as the image at the top of this page as I was taking a walk late at night I saw what appeared to be BATS flying out of a chimney. I could barely see them but decided to see if the M9 could capture the bats in flight. I set the camera to ISO 2500 and snapped off a few frames. I converted this to B&W as it made the bats easier to see.

Here is one that was taken by accident at ISO 2000 during the day. I had the 24 Summilux set to F8 and the ISO to 2000. As you can see, shooting at any ISO in daylight will give you great results. This is why I also tested it at night, in VERY low light with the samples above. That will be the test of any camera and its high ISO capability. DARKNESS. Daylight and the M9, (or any digital for that matter) at high ISO = no problem.

The 1st image, while not any kind of a great image, can be clicked on to see the full size original ISO 2000 image. What I find interesting is the detail is still pretty amazing for ISO 2000. Also, you can clearly see NO vignetting on the 24 Lux at F8.

With these tests, I hope to put to rest that the M9 is not improved over the M8 in regards to high ISO shooting. Expose properly at night with high ISO and get some great results, even at ISO 2500. Shooting at 2500 on the M8 led to color loss, dynamic range loss, and extreme noise. With the M9, low light shooting just became much easier for M shooters. To me, this is a worthy upgrade! I also appreciate the extra ISO stops as well as the PULL ISO 80 option. We can now shoot at wider apertures in bright light with that ISO 80 option!

In past reviews, I took shots of a clock to show the ISO range and noise at each ISO. I realized that I needed to shoot more REAL WORLD examples at HIGH ISO. I mean, when will I be shooting a clock at high ISO? NEVER! When shooting in the dark at ISO 2500 and showing great results...that is all the proof I need. Hope you agree.

NOW, DON’T GET ME WRONG! The high ISO performance is not a HUGE improvement, as in ISO 2500 will not be silky smooth or clean. But compared to the M8/M8.2, I find it much much better, and yes, perfectly usable for most situations. In the REAL WORLD at least :)

Again, to get the best results with high ISO.

SHOOT RAW and nail the exposure!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO PAGE 5 - COLOR, THE M9 PACKS A PUNCH!

" My favorite thing is to go where I've never been. " - Dian Arbus