From the first time I went out with my new Leica M9 I could not believe how much I missed the days of manual photography. Granted that the Leica M9 has plenty of automated features (like Aperture priority shooting), but the need to construct your shot with this camera took me back to the golden days of manual photography. Point-and-shoot is definitely not what this camera is all about. With the M9 I found myself back in the world of photography as art. Composition, aperture, f-stop, distance, white balance, etc., were again something I had to think about, and this gave me the feeling that photography was once more all about the photographer than about the camera. You, the photographer, are back in charge, but with an extremely modern work of art at your disposal. The experience is so great that you tend to put up with some of the challenges presented by these rangefinders: people with glasses find it hard to see the whole finder coverage, you sometimes forget you have the lens cap on, some lenses partially cover the rangefinder view, and the viewer doesn't have all the info goodies we have grown used to with late model DSLR's. The thing is that after taking this camera for a ride, you really won't care much about what's not there. You'll be plenty distracted with the art of making photographs. That's right, the Leica M9 is not one of those cameras that allow you to "get lucky." Leica photographs are the product of some photographic reflection, composition, and manipulation of the simple functions of photography. You will have to put some time on taking a photo, but the rewards brought about by impeccable optics and a machine reminiscent of a high-end Mercedes Benz will make every minute worth it. Never thought that photography on the slow lane would be that much fun. Leica M9 18MP Digital Range Finder Camera (Steel Gray, Body Only)
I have wanted a Leica Rangefinder for a very long time. I am an experienced amateur photographer with an extensive portfolio in sports, landscape, portrait and travel photography. I have an immense collection of Canon digital and film bodies and nearly every lens Canon has produced in the past 20 years. I have been more than satisfied, more like enthralled, with the photography this equipment makes possible. Then I took the plunge and bought that Leica M9 I had been eyeing for the past year. After the sticker shot passed though I very nearly experienced buyer's remorse. Although I usually shoot all manual settings on my Canons, still the M9 looked painfully plain and unadorned without all the knobs, buttons, menus and gizmos to which I have become accustomed (alright addicted). I mean did I really intend to pony up $7000 for the body and another 3K for a lens so that I could step back twenty years? Then I took the camera on a winter photography trip to Venice along with my two adult sons who were both carrying Canon 7D's and 100 pounds of lenses. I couldn't believe how much fun photography became again and how this straightforward and exquisitely built camera freed the operator to become a photographer again. The learning curve is a little steep but fast and the immediate results are impressive. I knew that I was on to something in Venice but was blown away when we returned stateside and I have had several weeks to review all the images from the trip carefully. The Leica is a pleasure to carry, elegant to use and produces the sharpest photographs I have ever taken. This was apparent across the board, in all lighting conditions and when used for long exposure or for HDR work. I could not be happier with this camera and take it with me everywhere now. This camera can only be described with superlatives. If you can afford it, buy it.
First, if you have only looked at this version of this camera, there are a lot more reviews under the Black Body version on Amazon to read so you might want to check those out. It is the same camera.
I totally agree with the other two reviews I see here to date. Leica did a superb job transitioning from classic film version to the full frame digital. I am so thrilled with this camera! I had a Leica M6 for years and given up using it when film essentially died for all practical purposes. There still are a lot of people out there shooting film, but you have to wonder how much longer that will last?
Note, if you don't have any lenses, these may be hard to find. I luckily held onto my older non Aspherical lenses. For some reason, Leica is now making mostly Aspherical lenses these days, although they still make a few non Aspherical in slower lenses. To me, the Aspherical lenses are a totally different animal and I am still loving my old lenses. So, if you have your old lenses, hang onto them because you might like them better.
Leica is impressive. You change the way you take photos after using one M9. Just perfect for street photos. You feel good using it. I remenbered the old days of my first photographs, when I was presented to my first camera. I used to work with Nikon, but I can assure you Leica is better.
The Leica M9 is amazing. Coming from full frame Nikon with tons of lenses and auto-focus, I was initially worried that the transition to manual focus and a small set of primes would be too difficult. After several months of shooting solely with the M9 I am 100% blown away with this camera. At first I was frustrated because I was unable to shoot as many frames as quickly with the Nikon but then I realized that the only reason I was shooting so many frames was because it took so many more shots to get the perfect one. The M9 forces you to compose and focus with so much more precision that I now usually get the shot within the first or second shutter click, whereas I used to have to fire off a couple dozen with the DSLR to get the same quality. The camera and lenses are very expensive but the quality of the images, the build quality and compact size and precision far outweigh the cost. - Leica - M9'
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