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amazon Leica M9 reviews
Leica has spent quite a long time moving into the digital era. Focus problems delayed the launch of the digital back for the R-series SLRs, then the infrared filters on the M8, which added special filters to the tubes glass fitting. Leica fans have also waited years for a more professional full-frame M-series Leica. With the launch of the 18 million pixel M9 sensor and the ability to accurately reproduce colors, Leica has not disappointed the fans.
If you have never used Leica, you should note that the M9 is not a DSLR, so the framing will be very different. And you will also need to be more familiar with handshaking rather than automatic features that are familiar.
If it is determined to go wild then it is best to bring another camera, because the longest lens that can be mounted on Leica is a 135 mm tube. But if you want to shoot in low light conditions, Leica has very special pipes (such as Noctilux focal length 50 mm f / 0.95, up to $ 10,000). And if you want features like matrix lighting or video recording, you will be disappointed, because the Leica machines do not run by the integration of many features that are greatly simplified.
Although the metering system is also through the lens (TTL), you will not see the view through the lens (flip mirror) as you would with DSLRs. Will look at the scene through a direct viewfinder, like the old film travel camera.
In Leica’s focus system, the two images will be captured through the small frame next to the lens, and in the viewfinder displays with this image superimposed on the image. When focusing (manual) the overlapping parts in the middle will move until they overlap and the image is right now. This type of focus is easier than DSLR mode under low light conditions.
But it also has limitations, which is due to manual adjustment so the focus can not be as fast as the current AF system. The photographer also has to pay attention to the baseline in the viewport because the baseline will change depending on which lens is attached to the camera. The camera will recognize the lens via the code printed on the tube.
The M9 has frame bases for focalities of 28 and 90 mm, 35 and 135 mm, or 50 and 75 mm. Users can hardly be confused because the lines are quite different in the viewfinder. However, because of this type of focus does not zoom, although using 135 mm tube, you still see the panorama and detailed view in a small box equivalent to the 135 mm focus on the viewfinder is no less difficult.
However, all Leica lenses clearly show the aspect ratio and depth of field. Therefore, if the photographer determines the distance from the camera to the subject, the rest of the action is to set the distance and the frame. If you practice well, you will find that this way of estimating distance is not difficult.
If you have mastered the distance, forethought will be very useful, especially for everyday scenes. The depth-of-field ratio in this case is important because it gives you an idea of the area of the image. With a wide-angle lens and a large field of view, when you are able to master handwriting through imagery, you’ll find that you can still take beautiful photos without even looking through the viewfinder. .
Leica is designed with a full body of metal, although small in size but weight is still very compact. All the details are designed to be very reliable to minimize noise and vibration. Metal shutters are made to sound very light and even difficult to see if Quiet Shutter is activated.
The shooter can set the shutter speed through the control loop on the top side or let the camera calculate itself if the aperture priority mode is set. The “Info” button at the bottom of the screen shows the remaining battery life, remaining card capacity and some other basic features. The “Set” button allows adjustment of white balance, image quality and compression, exposure compensation and bracketing. ISO is controlled by dedicated button and rotary control wheel.
The controls on the camera are simplified to the maximum. There is only one metering mode, that is measuring the center. The aperture and focus are manually adjusted by the rings on the lens.
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Leica M9-P 18MP Full-Frame Digital Rangefinder Camera (Silver Chrome): Buy it now
Leica M9 18MP Digital Range Finder Camera (Black, Body Only): Buy it now
Leica M9 18MP Digital Range Finder Camera (Steel Gray, Body Only): Buy it now
In terms of shooting good practice, lab testing, M9 is better with very accurate color reproduction, excellent image quality, deserves a perfect succession for the version Leica M8 before.
Noise tests have not reflected much, as Leica does not have its own raw-type RAW mode that uses Adobe’s DNG format (which will be Adobe Camera RAW_ACR) and the JPG compression format. This means that there is no default noise reduction. Therefore, in this test, M9 is subjected to multiple noise at the highest ISO of 2,500 due to ACR noise reduction at default (0 luminance, 25 chrominance). However, when pushing the luminance to 50 and the chrominance to 75, the noise was reduced to an average.
With this noise reduction mode, the resolution of M9 only reduced to 2,560 lines compared to 2590 lines in the default mode of the ACR file. Even at its maximum resolution of 2,675 lines at ISO 80, the default ACR mode, resolution quality is also negligible.
It is difficult to judge M9 as compared to its competitors because there is no one to compare. Epson has not found inspiration in developing the rangefinder RD into digital yet Voigtländer is still the only film machine.
Even when it was planned to compare the M9 with full frame DSLRs such as the Sony Alpha 850, or professional cameras priced at M9 equivalent to the Nikon D3s, it was difficult to figure out what to compare. These machines are completely different tools for different styles of photography. Alone of a playground, the M9 can hardly be considered professional (due to its size and features) but it can not be classified as a tourist machine with its overwhelming price.