M9 Brochure and Specs

[glenerrolrd]

Dedicated ISO button, ISO adjustable in 1/3 stops, 80 lowest ISO setting to name a few....

Modest improvements for a new model ... compared to viewfinder,battery,shutter , most of the body . Nothing wrong with the M9 spec but it really focused on the sensor technology.

Missing ?

(1)better ISO performance ..can t be much better if it tops out at 2500..thats 2EV more than 640 which I feel is the highest practical ISO on an M8..so I would expect maybe usable 1250..which is enough if 640 looks like 320 does on an M8.

(2)better weather sealing? the brochure highlights the durability but says nothing about weather sealing.

(3) 16bit color...this was confusing it implies 16bit in the discussion of LR but I could t find anything else ....I expect 14bit like the M8.

(4)built in diopter....no takes the individual diopters.

(5)longer lasting battery? not if its 3.7V 1900AMP same as M8.

(6)reduced lag time ..an M8 is slow compared to nikon D3. I can adjust for it most of the time but it bothers my friends that are working PJ.


All except the ISO performance seem reasonable trade offs in the interest in getting a FF camera into production.

 

[Bob Parsons]

..................................(5)longer lasting battery? not if its 3.7V 1900AMP same as M8...............................

Since the camera has a much higher level of circuit/functional integration than the original multi sourced component M8 with it's many switching mode power supplies I would expect the number of exposures per charge to be significantly greater.

Bob.

 

[Terry]

All except the ISO performance seem reasonable trade offs in the interest in getting a FF camera into production.

And that you will find out on Wednesday.

 

[jlancasterd]

One upgrade not mentioned so far is that they've also added auto-bracketing - see under 'Complete Control of all Picture Parameters' on page 33. Could be useful in difficult lighting.

 

[nei1]

That chunk taken out is plain ugly(not important);no weathersealing ??that is important.My money is going on a hotel for Mayfair .............Neil

 

[Paratom]

Interesting for me is that widest frame will be 28mm not 24.
So you would need for boeth 21 and 24 an external viewfinder.
1 step higher iso and full frame and some more mp - will it be worth to upgrade?
I guess will upgrade anyways-but I am not sure how much we will gain. I am glad its ccd and ni moirree filter.

 

[Reynolds]

This may have been covered someplace...has the viewfinder been enlarged or did I dream that? My one focusing eye could use it!!

 

[lambert]

LCD res = 230k

Very disappointing!

Ricoh are using 920k screens on the CX1 and GRD3, yet Leica continue with the same low-res screen you will find on a $150 P&S.

 

[bradhusick]

There's no mention of a sapphire glass screen cover, so is this going away to cut costs? I love the sapphire on the m8.2.

 

[leica007]

I think it's good that Leica has not used sapphire glass screen cover or any other fancy bells and whistles. This may have been done to keep the price low.

Did you guys notice one thing about the M9 brochure : the motif is boxing and Cuba - as the brochure says, in Cuba boxing is untouched and retains the spirit of fight between two men, nothing else.

I think it's allegorical - Leica is sending feelers to Canonikon that Leica is ready for a fight with its pure 18mp-16 bit- 2500iso tool. Bravo.

I have a strange feeling that Leica might surpise us with an attractive price - $7000-7500. [But yes, Leica can be notorious to price us out - just see what they have done with S2]

Btw, this is my first post at GetDpi , though I regularly follow it. I am a refugee from LUF. I have been temporarily banned (until 9.9.9 ) there because I broke the news and put up the links of M9 microsite and brochures ! and now the whole world is talking and posting about it.

 

[bradhusick]

Re: LCD res = 230k

Very disappointing!

Ricoh are using 920k screens on the CX1 and GRD3, yet Leica continue with the same low-res screen you will find on a $150 P&S.

Just snap your Luigi case over the back of the camera and you won't notice that the screen hasn't changed.

Seriously, several people here have been asking for features that appear on DSLRs that are more appropriate for fast-shooting machine guns like the D3 and 1DS. I still believe in "horses for courses" and I don't expect my M9 to have auto-everything nor my 5Dm2 to have pictures that don't suffer from an AA filter. The M9 also doesn't have a movie mode, and new DSLRs take HD movies! I am glad they're both made and I am fortunate enough to use them.

 

[JimCollum]

Welcome to the forum! Hope you stay even after the ban lifts over at LUF. Anything more about yourself? name, website, images? Always good to see more Leica folks here (loving the M8, and looking forward to what's comin)

jim

I think it's good that Leica has not used sapphire glass screen cover or any other fancy bells and whistles. This may have been done to keep the price low.

Did you guys notice one thing about the M9 brochure : the motif is boxing and Cuba - as the brochure says, in Cuba boxing is untouched and retains the spirit of fight between two men, nothing else.

I think it's allegorical - Leica is sending feelers to Canonikon that Leica is ready for a fight with its pure 18mp-16 bit- 2500iso tool. Bravo.

I have a strange feeling that Leica might surpise us with an attractive price - $7000-7500. [But yes, Leica can be notorious to price us out - just see what they have done with S2]

Btw, this is my first post at GetDpi , though I regularly follow it. I am a refugee from LUF. I have been temporarily banned (until 9.9.9 ) there because I broke the news and put up the links of M9 microsite and brochures ! and now the whole world is talking and posting about it.

 

[Ranger 9]

I have a strange feeling that Leica might surpise us with an attractive price - $7000-7500.

Welcome to the world of relative sanity.

Re price, shall we start a pool? Because of all the "9" motifs in the marketing run-up, I'm betting on US $ 9,999...

 

[leica007]

Welcome to the world of relative sanity.

Re price, shall we start a pool? Because of all the "9" motifs in the marketing run-up, I'm betting on US $ 9,999...

Well, as I mentioned [on RFF], Leica might price it above $8000, and very well $9,999, if they get obsessed with 9- this is not unusual given Leica's history. But in the UK '999' is the emergency number, we will make a call there, instead of a dealer:ROTFL:

But the point is how many people will buy one at $10k? :deadhorse:

Even $8K will bring down the number of prospective buyers considerably. Hence, we can just pray and hope that it's $7-7.5K. sanity is required on Leica's part too.


Leica wants to be the boxing campion: :thumbs:

" Even today, Cuba’s boxers train under the simplest .. conditions. Perhaps this explains why the sport of boxing in Cuba has retained its original character – as an authentic contest between two men, for fame and honor. .... the new Leica M9. ....What camera is better suited to telling the story of this up-and-coming boxing champion, authentically and vividly, than a genuine M. Discrete, compact, precise, lightning-fast, and, like the young Cuban, ready to claim a place among the best in the world. "

But, please, not at the best price:scry:

 

[stevem8]

Place your bets...

I say approx $7700 - $7800 USD

 

[monza]

The M8.2 is gone from the product line....therefore I'm guessing $6500. Maybe optimistic? We'll see...

 

[leica007]

Place your bets...

I say approx $7700 - $7800 USD

Ah Steve, you are converting €5500 into USD !!! that's cheating

then I might say, it will be £4780 or even 5000 gbp.

in the USA things tend to get slightly cheaper [less tax? bigger market?]; you guys are lucky not to get ripped off like people do in Europe.

Hence, my bet is on 7500 USD , but being an optimistic [and recently got slapped on the face because of that, i.e. overestimating the freedom of expression in the liberal world !], let me spend my 2cents on a $7000 bet.

 

[Double Negative]

If the price is right, I'm game. I'm sure a lot of other people are watching this camera as well. Let's hope Leica chooses wisely...

 

[leica007]

Btw, Steve , you haven't updated your "up-to-date M9 news" page?? got an NDA? ha, ha...

com'on, spill some beans!

ps: I love your reviews. great stuff. keep it up.

 

[Mark Gowin]

So far the lowest guesstimated price is $6,500. I am going guess $5,995 which is the same price as the M8.2 it replaces. I know that is probably wishful thinking on my part, but it is common for other camera companies to release new updated cameras for similar prices as the cameras they replace.