The M9 Chat Box

[Guy Mancuso]

Guy, Erik,
Why should i, as an amateur, give more thrust to a pro, like you Guy for instance (no pun intended), than to a famous person like seal? Not all pro's are like you describe, nor does that give me an indication whether that particular system is ok for me.

At the end of the day i believe it is about what suits one selves. Just like you said in earlier posts: give me some raw to start with, explain how test was done, above all take the time to test for yourself before engage in a system with its support. Indeed one buys a system and the support backing it up, regardless of what brand or model you buy.

So i do believe from a marketing point of view, which in essence about getting awareness, Seal is as good as any other well known person, not necessarely a famous photographer. For me personally the choice to buy or not is based on my own as objective as possible evaluations, with a touch of bias towards Leica.
Forums like these give me value in those evaluations, as do certain review sites, simply because the contributos/reviewers focus more on arguments (facts as they perceive it) than on unfunded opinions. Sites like the Jono also as it gives his experience and the results to accompany his findings.

Lookin forward to yours and others findings regarding the Leica paradigm.

Jan R. Smit
www.janrsmit.com

It's a great question and does relate to what i said earlier as well but it comes down to a trust issue when a new system is introduced. Let's take the M8 for example people like me found immediate issues and tried to work them out with Leica. The thing here is the experience to find those issues within days instead of someone that may not know better or is not paying attention to it or simply does not see it because they may not know what to look for in a file or in the camera itself. Seal maybe a great shooter and all that but his mind may not be on the technical side to find things wrong . Not saying he is or is not but just a example per say. If someone jumps on the podium that has vast experience the trust factor comes into play in that guy went through the whole system and found it is working as it should and more importantly he trust it under the scrutiny and neck stretching eyes of his clients. This is not the same as a actor doing a makeup commercial, that sells those type of products. This is different with multitude of electronics , optics , mechanical parts that has more effect on is it working as advertised.

 

[Alexander Bauer]

Nice write-up of the M9 by MR at Luminous Landscape if you haven't seen it already.

thanks

 

[Riccis]

If you saw the webcast, you could see some of Seal's work projected on the screen during his talk...

Seal is a very close friend and his work is very good. Yes, he is a celebrity but once you get to know him, you realize he is just like the rest of us, passionate about our work and always looking to learn and become better photographers regardless of whether you are a pro or not... After all, our passion for photography is what brings us here, right? (well, with the exception of a few pixel peepers and technical geeks )

I don't know if the interview he did after the event with Mr. Spiller is available already but once it's posted you should check it out in order to learn more about his passion for photography and Leica.

BTW, you will be able to see some of his work soon.

Cheers,

 

[gero]

Have a look on his home page.....

http://sealsong.smugmug.com/

he looks like a grate artist and that is good enough for me.

 

[kinok1]

It's a great question and does relate to what i said earlier as well but it comes down to a trust issue when a new system is introduced. Let's take the M8 for example people like me found immediate issues and tried to work them out with Leica. The thing here is the experience to find those issues within days instead of someone that may not know better or is not paying attention to it or simply does not see it because they may not know what to look for in a file or in the camera itself. Seal maybe a great shooter and all that but his mind may not be on the technical side to find things wrong . Not saying he is or is not but just a example per say. If someone jumps on the podium that has vast experience the trust factor comes into play in that guy went through the whole system and found it is working as it should and more importantly he trust it under the scrutiny and neck stretching eyes of his clients. This is not the same as a actor doing a makeup commercial, that sells those type of products. This is different with multitude of electronics , optics , mechanical parts that has more effect on is it working as advertised.

Agreed. 100 percent.

 

[gero]

there where 120 beta testers and I agree that among them there should have been a lot of people like guy is saying.

 

[robertwright]

wrt to spokespeople, I think Leica is just trying to cast the net as wide as possible, make as big a splash as possible, and also encourage younger buyers into the fold. Seal is good for that. dunno about brian adams....trotting out DAHarvey is great and all to speak to the pro community but it does nothing to advance the brand with younger photographers who don't know who he is, and honestly, with new photographer never even having loaded a film camera, the number is high.

I think we are finally seeing a new Leica, one that is focused on a direction finally, their product lineup has something for everyone, they aren't pandering to us with "S" mode anymore, if you want a piece of the leica badge well you can get a dlux if that floats your boat just to be "in". Or you Think Different and get an X1 which is going to provide a different experience than your typical dslr. Doesn't seem like they want to go directly head to head with the dslr market, and who can blame them, it is saturated.

Finally the M9 is the camera we all wish they could have made instead of the M8. We can quibble about ISO and price but it is unique in the market, has more than enough res for 99% of what you want to do with it, unmatched optics, the only question is reliability in my mind.

the S2 is a bigger question, but a price drop would help that in a heartbeat. We'll see if the medium format market embraces the 3:2 format, I have my doubts about that. Other than that, it is probably going to be a great performer.

finally all the oars going in sync to me.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Yes it does work both ways and maybe should of had two people instead of one with different backgrounds anyway no matter whatever works. Not my real concern anyway for myself i will test it anyway before I buy anything anymore with photo gear but that is me. LOL

 

[Vivek]

120 beta testers?!:shocked:

This is getting more and more interesting.

 

[gero]

120 beta testers?!:shocked:

This is getting more and more interesting.

http://jerphotography.com/blog/

 

[Riccis]

For everyone expecting a top notch technical review, just keep an eye on Sean Reid's and David Farkas's site/blog as both were part of a Solms covert operation during the summer

Oh, and as far as I know there were 12 bodies out there not 120...

Cheers,

 

[LJL]

Actually, the article says that there were "120 prototypes" and those were sent out to beta testers, kept in-house for employee evaluations, etc. I read that as there being 120 "bodies" not necessarily 120 "beta testers".

LJ

 

[Paratom]

In the end I believe the critical thing of the m9 - or call IT THE BOTTLENECK is accurate focus.
One has to make sure to have camera and lens totally accurate calibrated, and to use a lens without focus shift.
Therefore I still question the Noctilux - enough to master the 50 lux.

 

[emmawest72]

I know I'm a bit late but is there a place where one can watch the full webcast?

Thanks!

 

[wjlapier]

I know I'm a bit late but is there a place where one can watch the full webcast?

Thanks!

I would like to see that too if someone has a link.

 

[Woody Campbell]

Non compatible lenses

Page 110 of the manual says that the"Summicron 50mm f/2 with close up setting" cannot be used on the M9. Do we think they are referring to the DR Summicron? I've got one of these - I've been saving it for a FF M - I may have to have the close focus cam ground off after all.

 

[francishmt]

Reid's review on the M9 is up!

 

[deepdiver]

This Leica M9 is so baddddd..!!!:angry:
I can't believe it after i read some of the reviews on this forum and other websites...
Leica M9 is a pure evil.!!
I never wanted a camera as bad as this one. :banghead:

So...
I decided to sell my ZF 28/2 and ZF 35/2
and i already sold my Lumix G1 too...

I need that money to buy the New Leica M9 :grin:
I dont know, when will Leica M9 available in my country.

Well done Leica.!

 

[Ranger 9]

IYes, he is a celebrity but once you get to know him, you realize he is just like the rest of us, passionate about our work and always looking to learn and become better photographers...

Except that, being a celebrity, he has total control over how he chooses to spend his time, lots of people who want to be his buddy, and near-infinite leisure and resources to devote to his quest to become a better photographer (or whatever else he feels like doing.)

For all practical purposes, he and I don't even live on the same planet. And if you're his pal, you probably are in the same category.

I'm okay with that, but let's not kid ourselves by denying that in photography, as in everything else, there's a very distinct division between the haves and the have-nots, and that photography, and everything else, is much, much easier for the haves.

 

[etrigan63]

If you saw the webcast, you could see some of Seal's work projected on the screen during his talk...

Seal is a very close friend and his work is very good. Yes, he is a celebrity but once you get to know him, you realize he is just like the rest of us, passionate about our work and always looking to learn and become better photographers regardless of whether you are a pro or not... After all, our passion for photography is what brings us here, right? (well, with the exception of a few pixel peepers and technical geeks )

I don't know if the interview he did after the event with Mr. Spiller is available already but once it's posted you should check it out in order to learn more about his passion for photography and Leica.

BTW, you will be able to see some of his work soon.

Cheers,

He did mention you by name when he was up there, Riccis.