M9 pictures

[TimF]

........ plus a brief write up by Jonathan Slack who's been road testing a prototype (with M8 logo!) for the last few months.

[parisian]

That seems to be a very rational review Tim and thank you for posting it. Not all the pictures are to my taste but his comments are what we want to hear. A working photographer who could make genuine comparison between 8 and 9 without going all gooey eyed over his new toy.
What has surprised me with the whole episode is the lack of a huge lead in time which has become a standard for Leica over the past few releases and the secrecy they have managed to attain. Perhaps our Government could learn a lesson or two there
I really think that Leica have become almost the complete manufacturer now, providing for beginners, enthusiasts and pro's from compact to medium format and even still including film users in their range. No other maker does that.
I really hope that this is the kick start to a 'new world' for them.
Price will always be an issue of course but any thinking photographer would see that as a challenge to be overcome rather than an immovable object.
Of course, as they have never even attempted to produce lenses suited for smaller sensors only, then the whole gamut of wonderful glass is available and the WATE looks to be very tempting indeed at full frame.
The more I read, the more the 'WOW' factor creeps in .
That would be a very discreet WOW of course within these hallowed halls

[parisian]

From Ur to M9 - what a journey of excellence.

[TimF]

What has surprised me with the whole episode is the lack of a huge lead in time which has become a standard for Leica over the past few releases

Indeed Peter; maybe they've learnt that customers become miffed when new products are announced but don't appear in the stores for many months afterwards, as happened with the 21 and 24 Summiluxes and Noctilux! That doesn't mean that supplies in the initial period won't be short of demand (even in these straitened times), but some lucky few at least will be, and are, experiencing the delights of a full-frame d-Rangfinder immediately.

[Barney]

What has surprised me with the whole episode is the lack of a huge lead in time which has become a standard for Leica over the past few releases

Indeed Peter; maybe they've learnt that customers become miffed when new products are announced but don't appear in the stores for many months afterwards, as happened with the 21 and 24 Summiluxes and Noctilux! That doesn't mean that supplies in the initial period won't be short of demand (even in these straitened times), but some lucky few at least will be, and are, experiencing the delights of a full-frame d-Rangfinder immediately.

Er don't get too carried away chaps, there's still a significant lag on the arrival of the X1. If it were to arrive in the shops in the next month, I'd have a hard choice on my hands. January is quite simply just too long to wait.

[gollum]

The more I look at this the more im warming to it and how ture is the bit on the feautures we are paying for in other cameras that we don't use!

[Barney]

and how true is the bit on the feautures we are paying for in other cameras that we don't use!

Not very, I suspect. Most features are included to widen the appeal of a camera and as few are restricted to single models the R&D costs will be spread across the range. If a wider range of features increases the wider appeal of a camera and therefore increases sales, the actual cost of features you don't use is negligible.