Leica X1 and M9 announced

usayit

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9/9/9 09:09:09 supposedly was the time of the announcement. Leica announces the X1 and M9. It will be a while before the M9 is within my reach and it basically brings much of the M8 user's suggestions into reality; full frame sensor being a big improvement. More interestingly is the X1 with a move into a serious compact market. A camera that wasn't all expected out of Leica. I think price and performance will be the determining factor. If rumors are true, the X1's price point is way too high..

Leica M9 Hands-on Preview: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

Leica X1 and brief hands-on: Digital Photography Review

btw.. interesting view into Leica's factory. I bit different than pictures of the other big manufacturers.

Leica Factory Tour 2009: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
 
I'm not too familiar with Leica's products and history but from the review you posted it seems like their camera have a lot of issues and are a step or two behind in technology aside from the size. Are they mainly for collectors or is there something I'm missing?
 
If rumors are true, the X1's price point is way too high..
An expensive Leica....you must be joking. ;) :p

Are they mainly for collectors or is there something I'm missing?
Historically, Leica cameras could be compared to Rolls Royce cars.
They aren't technically groundbreaking, they are not the fastest etc. They are very expensive though.
There is, however, something special about them. It's one of those things that are hard to explain, but if you use one it usually becomes clearer.
Also, their lenses are very, very good.
 
itznfb wrote, "I'm not too familiar with Leica's products and history but from the review you posted it seems like their camera have a lot of issues and are a step or two behind in technology aside from the size. Are they mainly for collectors or is there something I'm missing?"

You're probably missing the 1953-2009 period of the M-Leica. Phil Askey wrote in the M9's preview that even though he had never used a rangefinder camera, after he had the opportunity to work with the M8 while conducting dPreview business....he bought his own M8. Askey dropped $4995 on an M8 body and probably $3,495 for a Summicron-M f/1.4 Aspherical, and maybe another three to four thousand dollars for another lens.

Yeah, dPreview's founder dropped eight thousand plus dollars on a camera of a type he had never ever tried before. Leica cameras and Leica optics are not about "technology", but about results. The optical quality and mechanical assembly of Leica bodies and lenses is a couple orders of magnitude higher than what Canon or Nikon offers. Serious photographers, as well as collectors, have an appreciation for the Leica camera and its lens options.
It's like opera versus reality TV, or French cuisine versus Burger King.
 
I love my M6.. I still like shooting my Nikons too.

Full frame digital leica sounds nice, but I could barely afford my 20 year old film version.
 
I'm not too familiar with Leica's products and history but from the review you posted it seems like their camera have a lot of issues and are a step or two behind in technology aside from the size. Are they mainly for collectors or is there something I'm missing?

I don't know today's Leica product line but they used to be very well built and had beautiful glass. Great german engineering. I have one from the 50's that I got from my dad and that camera has never needed any repair even though it went through a lot.

I got mine for the same reason as a lot of photojournalists did. A rangefinder does not make any noise when you shoot since there is no mirror moving out of the way. And that is extremely important sometimes. When it is not a good idea to be seen shooting for example.

Otherwise, tbh, I would never have put the money into a Leica SLR. Just never saw the point. But, then again, I don't see the point of owning a Rolls Royce. :lol:
 
It's like opera versus reality TV, or French cuisine versus Burger King.

Very creative way to put it.... I certainly can understand Mr. Askey.

I am was/still a Canon shooter. As an amateur, I was lucky enough to have at my disposal a boat load of Canon glass all used in pursuit of enjoying photography even more... One day, I purchased an M3 to add to my collection of cameras. After all, it is arguably the best camera ever to come out of Leica. It took one trip with my smallest bag containing the M3, two lenses (35mm summaron w/ bugeyes and 50mm summicron), and a few rolls of B&W film to convince me that I enjoyed this much more. I proceeded to offload almost everything Canon and my 1DMII does collect more dust than I'd like to admit.

My only reservation is going through the experience of walking in with a box full of stuff and walking out with just a single camera body + lens. :-/

I am excited about the M9 but it is beyond my reach financially at the moment. I am content with my M8 and R-D1.
 
I can't believe you would pay that much money for a camera and it's not even an SLR! :)

Great camera... for someone else to own. :)
 
Yeah, I thought the draw for rangefinders was the fact that they are discreet, for street photography and photojournalism. But, nowadays I think you'd be hard pressed to find a press photographer still using a Leica.

Regardless, I'd never drop that kind of cash on a rangefinder. The only thing that's really going for it IMO is the size. And a thief would have to know a lot about photography to know how much its worth. A big SLR with a big lens looks far more tempting to a thief.
 
I would have taken a look if the X1 was an interchangable lens system. But as usual, both these cameras will be out of 99.9% of most photogs price range. I am sure Panasonic will unveil a X1-esque camera in December at half the price.
 
Yeah, I thought the draw for rangefinders was the fact that they are discreet, for street photography and photojournalism. But, nowadays I think you'd be hard pressed to find a press photographer still using a Leica.

Someone on rangefinder forum recently made a thread about pros that use Leica Ms.. it had plenty of links. I'm sure the ratio of M users compared to Canon/Nikon is pretty small though.
 

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