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M9

felix5616

Member
I am waiting for an M9 to be delivered. Are there any issues or advice from M9 users about what to expect or things i should know before i start shooting?
None of my lenses are code and i shoot with 12mm to 90mm lenses.
Any tips would be appreciated.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
The biggest time saver would be to get some of your lenses coded. If you are in the US I would send say your top three lenses to DAG Camera Repair and have them coded and checked for focus accuracy. Coding can be important on lenses wider than 50mm....above that and your really only benefit by having the EXIF reflect your lens. DAGs charges are very reasonable and if the lens is ok he will not do anything saving you the cost of adjustment.

This way you start with a few lenses that you know are calibrated .

The other longer lead time item can be the case ..and you want one when the camera arrives to protect it. Go through the threads here and on the Leica User Forum as there are many good opinions. The best case is Luigi s Leicatime with the grip ..its the most expensive . The best value maybe the Zhou case as its less than $70 .

Read Tom s (in Memphis ) posts on this forum as he covered all the accessories .
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
I got my M9 a short 3-week ago and in that time I’ve added a thumbs-up, soft release button and the Giottos screen protector. The one thing I found I really needed to change quickly was the camera strap which I did with a soft leather one from Camera West.

I kept reading the questions Tom in mpls asked as they were very similar to what I wanted to know so his threads with the answers were very helpful. :thumbs:

I’ve had the M9 now for just over 3 weeks and in that time it’s gone on a 3,800 mile journey and has operated flawlessly the entire time including rain, snow, sleet, and cold weather.

The other great accessory is picking up a second battery; I did that a couple weeks before the camera arrived. My recommendation is to buy one now while their in stock again.

Don
 

gogopix

Subscriber
I am waiting for an M9 to be delivered. Are there any issues or advice from M9 users about what to expect or things i should know before i start shooting?
None of my lenses are code and i shoot with 12mm to 90mm lenses.
Any tips would be appreciated.
I agree coding can save time, but now you can just enter the lens directly (takes about 20 sec)
Sounds like you have the cv 12mm. great lens there is an 'equivalent' that you can put in for the 15m (16mm?)
Maybe someone here knows the best 'leica equiv.' for the 12mm

In general, the M9 is pretty neat. A grip is nice, but actually a bare camera is more flexible and easier to handle. I had the M8 for 2yrs and it was pretty clean when I traded it. Just don't drive nails with it!

Victor

PS If you use the right SW, the 'aperature guess' also works.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
What I would recommend is:
- 2nd battery for sure
- when you get your camera test all your lenses for focus accurancy at small, medium distance and infinity. That way make sure that this orks all correct and you do not have any oof images where you do not know if it was lens or user error. If a lens is off send it to Leica, and you can get coding and focus adjustment within one "trip"; maybe you are lucky and all your lenses are fine. I had brand new lenses which needed adjustment
- Other than that the M9 is so simple to use that you can probaly startshooting right away. I often use -0.3 as a starting point for exp metering.
 
D

disambiguated

Guest
I got my M9 a short 3-week ago and in that time I’ve added a thumbs-up, soft release button and the Giottos screen protector. The one thing I found I really needed to change quickly was the camera strap which I did with a soft leather one from Camera West.


I second these, plus the M8/M8.2/M9 grip, a Leicatime half-case with the customization options for grip/Thumbs Up/snap-off rear cover/tripod-mount screw, an extra battery, the lens self-coding kit from Match Technical (makers of the Thumbs-Up and Beep/Boop soft releases), the E-Cypse 1.25x rangefinder magnifier from Match Technical for use with lenses of 50mm and above focal lengths, a LensPen (they make both small and large), a SensorPen (ditto), a lens-cloth, a Rocket blower, HoodHats for your lenses, a decent 32GB SD card or two, and a LumaLoop rifle-sling-style strap from James Duncan Davidson.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
You talkin' to me? :grin:

If so, Mpls is the local abbreviation for Minneapolis. Nobody knows that except us locals.

I might suggest immediately ordering the Giottos Aegis 8250 LCD protector. It's great; you cannot tell that it's been added.
Sorry Tom in Mpls...now I understand . Its so cold you have months to get ready .:ROTFL:

I though you covered the bases on all the accessories . I often though it would be nice to have a sticky on best practices ..to organize all the advice on bags,straps,screen protectors,cases etc.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
On Sdhc cards ..you should be aware that with the current firmware(which will be updated someday) the fastest cards are the Sandisk ultra 16gb . The 4gb are also rated ++ by Leica but the 8gb are a notch slower. The M9 is picky about cards ...many different cards work most of the time but the SD 16gb is the top rated and its cheap. Check out Reid reports for his discussion with Leica.

The advice on the battery is good .... A good practice is never go out without a fully charged battery and a backup. Only buy Leica batteries . Popflash has a new shipment at $111 ....buy 2 you will forget at some point .

A point on cases ...if you have a large hand (like a LRG glove size) you will like the cases with grips (see Luigi s site) but if you have smaller hand you maybe happy with the std cases or those with a small bump.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Hah
Good Luck - I hope you'll be happy together!
I'm a minimalist myself, however, some things . . .

1. I think the rather naf looking shoulder strap is completely brilliant - I keep trying to replace mine with something sexier and going back to the simple one - it's very floppy, has a very small amount of bulk and a rubber grip which sticks to almost any shoulder. it also has no metal bits to scratch the camera. The small bulk means you can scrunch it up in your hand whilst carrying the camera in your hand.

2. Coding - it's a must really, using the manual selection does only take 20 seconds, but when you forget to change it back from 21mm to 50 you get a load of shots with coloured corners.

on the other hand . . . I've had all my lenses coded since the early days of the M8, but I recently bought a secondhand tri-elmar uncoded, and I used a coding kit to code it with ink - if I remember to re-ink it every month, then it works flawlessly. If you ARE going to get all your lenses coded by DAG, why not do it all together with the camera and get everything adjusted perfectly at the same time? But you might just find that the ink coding is good enough

Coding Kit Here

3. Thumbs up - soft release - half cases - hand grip blah blah - spent money on all of them and they sit there looking at me!

4. Giottos screen protector - absolutely - it's hard to know it's there and it's great (just make sure you fit it straight and there's no dust underneath :ROTFL:)

5. You'll need a spare battery (at least one)

6. Enjoy!
 

tom in mpls

Active member
Beware the Luigi half case with snap-off back cover. You will lose it, or store it and never use it. Either no cover at all (why is it different from removable? no snaps on the case!) or back flap attached on the bottom. I think the case is nice but a necessity.
 
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