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Leica sent us a final production S2 for our studio event and demo day this past weekend. So, I took the opportunity to head down to South Beach for some hometown shooting. I'm not quite sure why, but I decided to […]

If you read my M9 review, you already know that I traveled to Germany in mid-August to test both the M9 and the S2. I was invited as part of a group of online journalists, consisting of myself, Michael […]

The Leica M9 could very well be the most anticipated Leica M ever. With film users holding out for a full-frame digital M before making the switch, the tens of thousands of existing M8 users waiting to upgrade, and photographers new to Leica waiting patiently for a camera that wowed them, the M9 has generated an unbelievable response. One of the most frequent questions I've received over the last six months has been, “When will Leica come out with an M9?” My honest answer has always been that I didn't know, just that the M9 was a top priority for Leica. What we didn't know was that they have been quietly working on one since April of last year. Then, back in July I was invited to make a pilgrimage to Germany and get a rare opportunity to test out the S2. No I didn't just make a typo. Yes, this is an M9 review.

If you've been reading my blog you have a pretty good idea of how much I've been looking forward to the Leica S2. I had been at the VIP Launch Event in Cologne on the eve of Photokina when the S2 was unveiled. The following days at the show I spent countless hours exploring the camera and gathering information from patient Leica employees. Back in March, I headed out to Las Vegas to get some more answers directly from the S2 product managers and give an update on the status of the camera. All along, I've tried to provide the most in-depth coverage of the S2. Then, I was offered the chance to actually shoot an S2.
How could I refuse such a unique opportunity? I cashed in the frequent flyer miles, cleared my schedule, and prepared for some serious fun. Little did I know that there was more in store for me. Not only would I be working with a production-level S2, but I'd also be shooting with the P864, known more commonly these days as the Leica M9. In this first installment, I'll be covering my experience with the M9, as it seems to really be the main focus at this time and the camera is already en route to dealers around the world. In about a week, I'll be putting up part 2, that focuses in-depth on the S2.

In addition to shooting over 1800 pictures with the two cameras over the course of four days, I also got an all-access pass behind the scenes at the factory in Solms. Typically, the factory has a no photography policy (ironic when you think about it). But, I was allowed to shoot both still images (all with the M9, of course) as well as video. This was quite a treat and I even got to don the quintessential white lab coat, complete with light grey check pattern and red Leica dot. Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep it as a souvenir. Following all my camera reports, I'll have a factory tour post.
This trip wasn't done solo. Three other journalists were invited as well: the insightful Michael Reichmann, of Luminous Landscape fame, Sean Reid, the esteemed reviewer of Reid Reviews, and the precocious Phil Askey, creator of one of the largest photo sites on the planet, DPReview. The four of us obviously approach things from different perspectives and I felt fortunate to be among such a venerable crowd. Whether out shooting or just shooting the breeze over good German beer, you couldn't have asked for better companions. We've all enjoyed each other's writing over the years and it was fun to put faces to Internet bylines. Our hosts from Leica were Christian Erhardt, the always likeable and cheery VP of Marketing for Leica Camera USA and our new friend Amy Kosh, S2 product specialist for the US.

 

Midday on Sunday, August 16th, we all met up in the hotel lobby to take a stroll around Wetzlar's old town. Christian played tour guide and showed us the major sights. For the others, it was their first time. This was my third time there and I always enjoy coming back. If you haven't been to Wetzlar, it is certainly worth a visit. Very friendly people, excellent food, great beer, charming winding cobblestone alleys amongst half-timbered (and some very crooked) houses, all leading down to the river Lahn with a classic arched stone bridge and flanked by lush public parks with shady walking paths. Really nice place. The LHSA Annual Meeting for 2010 is tentatively scheduled for Wetzlar. I attended the last meeting held there, in September 2006 and had a wonderful time. So, if you like Leica and you want to visit its birthplace with a group of like-minded photo enthusiasts, I highly recommend checking it out.

Getting an M9 in my hands, finally
We got an early start on Monday morning, August 17th, and headed over to the Leica Akademie in the neighboring hamlet of Altenberg . Ralph Hagenauer of Leica was there to present each of us with a loaner M9 (err.. P864) for use during our entire stay. We had our pick of lenses as well, but I had already brought a full set. I had the Wide Angle Tri-Elmar 16-18-21mm f/4 ASPH (known to many as the WATE),Summilux 24mm f/1.4 ASPH (was really curious how this would do on full frame), Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH (my go-to lens on the M8.2), the always amazing Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH, and my trusty Elmarit 90mm f/2.8 (why did they stop making this one again?). I did opt to borrow a Universal Wide Angle Viewfinder (known to some as the Frankenfinder, although not to me), as I usually just use a Zeiss 21mm external finder on the M8.2 for my WATE.

After removing all my IR filters and stowing them away (hooray!), we headed out on the Akademie's grounds for half an hour or so just to get familiar with the camera. This proved to be quite easy as it felt and sounded just like my M8.2. The body is the exact same with a cosmetic change to the top plate. The circular frame counter and battery status LCD has been removed and the end now features a stair-step rounded cutout. Leica felt that this makes the M9 feel less blocky and look more like the M7 (sans rewind crank, of course).

 

So, while on this topic, what exactly are the changes from the M8/M8.2 to the M9? Starting with the cosmetics, the top plate is shaved down a bit on one side, as I mentioned above, the Protect button on the rear is now the ISO button (see, Leica was listening), the black dot that used to be a red dot is now a red dot again and the black hot shoe that used to be silver is silver again as well. What we ultimately end up with is a black paint original M8 with a profile like an M7 and Vulcanite covering like an M8.2. Confused? Oh, and let's not forget the addition of the steel grey paint finish option, which looks pretty sharp. It has a smooth surface, almost identical to the black paint, just differing in color and featuring the “smooth sandpaper” finish of the original M8. Ah, and there is one more thing. In order to make the M9 more affordable, there is no more Sapphire Glass LCD screen. I actually like this feature on my M8.2, and Leica has stated that it might be offered as an optional upgrade at a later point. The actual LCD is improved, though. Still 235,000 pixels, the screen is now visible in bright sunlight. After using the M9 for several very bright summer days I can attest to Leica's claim. The screen is extremely good outside.

 
Now, under the hood. The M9 is packing the Kodak KAF-18500 CCD, which is an 18.5 MP full frame (24x36mm) sensor. It features a new offset microlens structure, revised 0.8mm IR cover glass, and new red filter in the Bayer color filter array. The sensor is capturing 14-bits per pixel, and supports an ISO range of 80-2500 (base of 160), with the promise of 1-1.5 stops of improved high ISO performance. In order to accommodate 80% more data throughput, Leica is now sporting twin DSPs and upped the RAM to accommodate nine shots with almost double the pixels in the buffer . The main PCB board and image processing algorithms are still developed by Jenoptik, the same partner as the original M8.
Many had thought (including myself) that the M9 would feature the Maestro ASIC chip, but Leica felt that in order to expedite development, staying with the same partner and building on the existing framework of the M8 would be a better approach. Some things were taken from the S2 project, like the algorithms for high-ISO optimization, which were shared with Jenoptik. Leica has branched out to the academic community as well, working closely with some talented image processing experts from the University of Cologne for noise reduction algorithms. With the amount of talk on high-ISO, you can see that Leica has placed a large emphasis in this area.

Meeting with Stefan Daniel

After departing the Akademie with gear and goodies, we headed over to the factory in Solms for a meeting with Stefan Daniel, Product Manager for the M System and super-nice guy. That day was actually Stefan's 25 year anniversary with Leica. He started as an apprentice in the machine shop when he was just 16 years old, and has now worked his way up to manage Leica's largest product family. Additionally, Stefan has the added responsibility of overseeing all products (not just M) as the Director of Product Management.

Stefan gave us the lowdown on all the changes and improvements, as well as some of the thinking behind the M9 development. We also discovered (later at dinner) the origin of the P864 moniker. P stands for project (kind of obvious) and 864 is the product of 24 and 36 (not as obvious, but clever nonetheless). Funnily enough, the name was cryptic enough that certain journalists (we won't mention names…protect the innocent…all that) couldn't keep the numbers straight, so everyone just started changing the name at random, until finding one we all really latched onto to: the B-52, or “bomber.” Close enough. But my experience with the camera tells me that the M9 will be anything but a bomb.
The two most significant advances from the M8 are pretty obvious: it offers a full-frame 24x36mm capture and doesn't suffer from IR sensitivity. So, no crop factor and no IR filters, precisely what the Leica community has been hoping for. Leica has been telling us for quite some time that both of these items were near impossible obstacles to overcome. So, what happened? The first step was to go further with offset micro lenses. In the Kodak KAF-18500 CCD, the pixel spacing is increased towards the corners to accommodate even greater offsets. The second step was to increase the thickness of the IR cover glass from 0.5mm to 0.8mm, which, combined with a new type of IR-absorbing glass, eliminates IR bleed and still preserves red channel information into the corners. With a new red color filter in the Bayer matrix, the red channel performance is improved further, increasing accuracy and tonal range.

6-Bit coding and manual lens selection
Even with the revisions to the sensor and cover glass, cyan drift is still an issue in the corners due to the steep angle of incidence. A brief trip back to high school geometry and the Pythagorean Theorem teaches us that the light rays striking the corner of the sensor travel a greater distance through the IR filter than the light rays striking the center. As such, the M9 uses 6-bit coding data to correct for both vignetting and cyan drift. Don't have a 6-bit coded lens? No problem. Leica has finally implemented a manual lens selection option. This has been on the most-requested feature list for quite some time, and, with new firmware development, could finally be implemented on the M9. Apparently, retrofitting the M8 firmware with this option wasn't a practical possibility. With 36 different manual lens selection options (yes, I counted them), every lens from the WATE at 16mm to the 135mm APO-Telyt are covered. Lenses are organized by focal length, then maximum aperture and include Leica model numbers for easy identification.

I must admit to a bit of user error here. Shooting inside the Wetzlar Dom, I used the manual lens selection to set my WATE at 16mm when I noticed the camera didn't prompt me like the M8 does. Then, after I changed lenses and headed back outside, I forgot to set the camera back to Auto. So, I have a good number of shots that are meta-tagged as 16mm that were really shot on my 35 and 50 lenses. Incidentally, the correction being done is so non-aggressive that I don't see any real problems (red corners, etc) with these files. I found out later that in Auto mode, when the WATE is mounted, the 18mm setting is selected by default as it works well for all three focal lengths.

A suggestion that I made to Stefan later than night was to have an option or default behavior that would either alert the user when a non-matching 6-bit coded lens was mounted in Manual mode or just reset it back to Auto. Personally, I'd prefer the latter option as I'd want any 6-bit coded lens to be recognized when I forget to reset the menu (similar to Nikon's handling of Non-CPU lenses). Currently, the selected lens is retained even when switching between Manual and Auto and back again. With the failsafe, this behavior could be kept. We may see some slight tweaking to this functionality in future firmware releases, but as it is, most users will be extremely happy.

A closer look through the viewfinder (rev. 3)

The M9 uses the same viewfinder from the M8 and M8.2, with a 0.68x magnification. The thickness of the body, which is the exact same as the M8, dictates that the eyepiece have a negative magnification. This also allows for greater eye relief, nice for eyeglass wearers like myself. Of course, with a larger sensor comes larger frame lines. For me, the 35mm lines are already close to the periphery, while the 28mm lines are out of view unless I look side-to-side and up-and-down. I'd say that the 28mm lines on the M9 are further out than the 24mm lines on the M8. I thought that perhaps the new 18mm viewfinder might be a nice solution for me, allowing me to have a small, compact viewfinder for my WATE, while also providing the inner (M8) frame lines for use with my 24mm Lux. The other two options which I'm considering are the Universal Wide-Angle Viewfinder or the 21-24-28mm Vario Finder. Either way, for eyeglass wearers who want to shoot wide angle lenses on the M9, I think that external viewfinders are going to be a fact of life.

With the elimination of the 24mm lines and addition of the 135mm frame, the alignment has changed as well. On the M8, we had wildly inaccurate framing set for a distance of 0.7m. Then, the M8.2 brought salvation with a distance setting of 2m. Apparently, perfect at 2m and beyond wasn't good enough. The M9 now has its frame lines calibrated for 1m, somewhere between the two previous attempts. How was rev. 3? Well, not too bad. Close-up was perfect, medium distance was very close and infinity gave just a bit more than I saw. All-in-all, this wasn't a step backwards for me. Leica felt that the 1m distance was a decent compromise and allows for more accurate framing for close quarters shooting, and I have to agree. Maybe the next round could be 1.5m, just to cover the whole gamut, or maybe 1m really is the sweet spot. The M7 and MP are set at 1m, and I never had any issues when shooting with these.
 

Bigger frame, different meter
Another consequence of increasing the sensor size was accuracy of metering. If the M8 meter was kept, it would be less center-weighted and act more like a spot meter, given the larger capture area. So, Leica went again to the M7 for inspiration. The M9 uses an elliptical-shaped center-weighted meter, very similar to its film brethren. To accommodate the larger active area, the shutter blades above and below the white-striped center blade are colored a middle gray tone. This mixture gives the M9 a feathered, center-weighted pattern which proved to be very accurate in my test shooting.

 

No top LCD, new Info screen

For styling purposes, Leica changed the top plate. For usability reasons, they removed the top deck, circular status LCD screen. Truthfully, with a lack of illumination, limited accuracy of battery life indication, and a three digit limit on the frame counter, the LCD had some shortcomings. Some people had thought that the top-deck color OLED of the S2 might find its way onto the M9. Well, this didn't happen and while the OLED is very cool, the clean design of the M9 is welcome in a very digital world. In lieu of a top-deck LCD or OLED, Leica opted to use the Info button and provide a new status screen. In regular shooting mode, just press the Info button to activate it. On the rear LCD, you get two horizontal bars, one for battery life and the other for SD memory card capacity, with green to indicate level remaining and red to show amount depleted. The bars are broken into 25% increments, with an additional marking at 10%. Actual MB remaining on the SD card is displayed directly below the visual indicator bar. Directly under this is a remaining pictures counter, a live shutter speed readout (when the meter is active), and a display of what lens is on the camera. The lens is either read through the 6-bit code in Auto mode or shows the current manual lens selection. The display is easy to see at a glance, with good use of color and the combined analog-style bar-charts and digital counter readouts. I did have to catch myself on multiple occasions though. Out of habit, I'd lightly depress the shutter release and glance down at the top of the camera to see battery and CD card status. Even after a few days with the M9, I continued to do this, but was able to train myself to use the Info button instead.

The M gets bracketing

The M9's auto bracketing feature is really, really cool. In the menu, you select the number of frames, either 3, 5 or 7, the sequence (-/0/+ or 0/-/+) and the EV steps (0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2EV). In the SET menu, you have the option to turn bracketing on or off. Just turn this option to On and press the shutter release, or do as I do and use the 2 sec self-timer. The camera automatically shoots the bracketing sequence just by varying shutter speed. I did notice, though, that when shooting at night, the camera opted to shoot a sequence one image short. I discovered that the last shot would have required a shutter speed longer than 32 seconds, which is the maximum in A mode. So, I don't classify this as a bug, just something to be aware of.

Also note that all of the EV steps aren't always available, depending on your settings. The bracketing range is +/- 3EV, meaning that if you chose to shoot 7 frames, you won't be able to use 1.5 or 2EV steps, only 0.5 or 1EV. For 5 frames, you could go up to 1.5EV steps and for 3 frames, you can utilize 2EV steps. I found the auto bracketing feature extremely useful for night shooting on a tripod. While it does create a fair amount of extra data, you don't have to be so precise in tricky lighting situations.

Soft release and/or discrete… choices, choices

A new feature introduced on the M9 is the really nice soft release option. The shutter release button has multiple activation points as you press down. The very first press activates the meter and wakes the camera from a power-saving sleep. The second position usually enables AE lock and the third releases the shutter. Some users felt that pressing down the entire way created unnecessary movement on slower shutters speed (ie. The stabbing effect). Leica responded to this by having the camera fire when you get to the second shutter release spot, requiring very little pressure and consequently allowing for smoother triggering. When you combine the Soft option with Discrete advance, you get the ultimate stealth machine – a hair trigger and a separate advance.

At first the Soft mode felt too sensitive, so I just used the camera in my usual Discrete mode. But, after a short period of trying out the Soft mode again, I felt it gave me a real advantage for hand-holding at slower speeds and I started using it for all my shooting. If you give this option a chance, I think you'll have a hard time turning it off. The only drawback is the loss of the AE lock, which is solved by the ever-so-sweet revised Exposure Compensation.

Really sweet Exp Comp options

In the M8.2, Leica added the ability to half-press the shutter and turn the rear wheel to effect an EV change which you could see in the viewfinder. This sounded so nice in theory, but in practice just never worked for me. The touch had to be just right on the shutter release and the contorted position my hand took trying to keep light pressure on the button, while attempting to spin the thumb wheel, just wasn't very comfortable or natural. A new option in the M9's menu made me a very happy shooter. You can now select EV comp through the menu only (like M8), using the thumb wheel only (called setting ring in menu), or the wheel plus shutter release (Like M8.2). That middle option is one of the best improvements on the M9. Seriously. Look through the viewfinder and lightly spin the thumb wheel. EV compensation is displayed clearly in the viewfinder and no right hand acrobatics are necessary. The thumb wheel adjustment proved to be a valuable asset for my shooting style, especially when combined with the soft release.

Direct ISO control

I think I still hear the cheers on this one. One of the first things you notice is the ISO button on the left side of the LCD. Gone is the little-used Protect button (you can still access protect functionality in playback via the SET button, if you must). To change the ISO, just push the ISO button and turn the thumb wheel or use arrow keys to select. Options include Auto ISO, Pull 80, then 160 through 2500 in 1/3 stops, arranged in a three by five grid. Just like other menus, you can navigate by the thumb wheel or the direction keys.

Another new item is the Pull 80 ISO setting. The native sensitivity of the sensor is 160, not 80, so this setting is not going to improve noise or sharpness. In fact, the dynamic range will be slightly less as a result of the 1 stop pull. What’s nice, though, is the ability to shoot f/1.4 in bright daylight without an ND filter. And, in my testing, I found the ISO 80 setting to be very good quality. Get out those fast luxes.

A few other odds and ends
Because we've all missed a shot or two by flipping the shooting mode selector switch to self-timer by accident, Leica has come to the rescue with a 0 sec self-timer menu setting. In other words, it disables the self-timer and makes the shutter release behave like it would in single shot mode. Just another example of working to address user concerns.

The addition of a Mass Storage USB mode should make Mac users happy (the three that are using USB anyway) as OS X had issues with the PTP protocol.

The histogram setup is revised, adding options for clipping settings. You can choose for the camera to warn you on over and underexposures, on just overs, or not at all. Other histogram features like single channel or RGB, and duration are unchanged. Zooming in on an image in Info Playback still changes the histogram to reflect the zoomed portion, which is helpful for challenging contrast ratios.

Did I mention that the S mode is gone from the shutter speed dial? Well, not on the dial at least. Leica buried it as the Snapshot Profile under Set User Profiles in the SET menu, for those special times when you really want to…hmm…. I actually can't think of any times to use it. Well, let's just rejoice in the fact that it's mostly gone and we gain 8sec on the dial, great for manual night shooting.

And last, but certainly not least is the option to store either compressed 8-bit DNGs or uncompressed 16-bit DNGs. Hmm. Let me think about this one for a second to see which I'd recommend. Of course, if you are looking to get the most quality out of the M9, you should only shoot uncompressed DNGs. The DMR had 16-bit RAW files, then the M8 limited us to non-linear compressed 8-bit DNGs. While I certainly have no complaints about the quality of my M8 files, I have always wondered what I was missing out on. Now, I don't have to wonder anymore. With just shy of 1,000 M9 files under my belt and in my Lightroom Catalog I have a pretty good feel for what the files are capable of handling, which brings me conveniently to the real test – actual shooting. After lunch and an incident involving a wasp, a hat, a salad, and my lap, we headed back to Wetzlar for a change of clothes and five hours of wandering and shooting.
Shooting with the M9

Shooting with the M9 was a blast. It was so familiar coming from the M8.2, yet the subtle improvements were welcome. The revised LCD was so easy to see in the bright sun. The direct ISO button with 1/3 stop increments was convenient, as was the revised EV compensation control. Manual lens selection was good, but could potentially lead to a bit of user error (as happened with this user – see above). I could also immediately see that the M9 was holding more highlight detail in high-contrast, mid-day lighting situations. If I had to guess, I'd say that DR was increased by 1 stop in the highlights. So far, so good.

Lenses on full-frame, again
Mysteriously (or not so mysteriously), the 50 Lux ASPH just kept finding its way back onto the front of my loaner M9. While the 35 Cron ASPH has been my go-to lens for the last couple of years on the M8, it felt much wider than I was used to. I had to literally relearn what focal lengths I liked on full frame, which is crazy considering I've been shooting film since I was 7 years old and only stopped four years ago.

The 90 felt a bit short and I had wished that I borrowed a 135 APO-Telyt to try out. The WATE was really, really wide, but quite fun. And that 50 Lux ASPH was just marvelous as it stretched its legs on full frame again. I did end up finding a place for my initially neglected 35, and it served well as a moderate wide-angle, just as it was designed to do. In fact, I found the 35 Cron ASPH to be one of the sharpest lenses I used on the M9 with its characteristic color and snap that I love so much. Ultimately, this lens will stay in my bag, just serving a different role.

The 24 Lux on the M9 behaved like the 18 on the M8, which is to say it felt very wide for me. I can see the new 21 and 24 Luxes being popular for low-light reportage photography and opening up some really interesting creative possibilities, but for most the 28 will probably become the most popular wide-angle lens choice. With the compact, distortion-free, and affordable 28 Elmarit ASPH and the stunning and not much larger 28 Cron ASPH to choose from, this won't be too much of a problem. 28 was another focal length that I wish I tried out during my test run with the M9, but unfortunately Leica didn't offer me a Sherpa to carry the entire arsenal of Leica M glass. I had to carry what I wanted to use, and I limited myself to five lenses, which is the limit of what I'd normally pack in my bag.

I predict a fair amount of shifting around of lenses when people start really using the M9. I imagine many will once again adopt the 28, 35, 50, 90 pantheon. For some, the 35 will be the main attraction. For others, like myself, the 50 will shine. The wider lenses, like the 18, 21, and 24 will still find a place for full frame shooters. M9 users will reap the benefits of the recent focus on spectacular wide-angle lens options developed since the introduction of the M8, like the WATE, 18 Super-Elmar, 21 Lux, 24 Lux, and 24 Elmar. I'll be curious to see how lenses like the 75 APO-Summicron and 75 Summarit fare, as 75 will be 75 again, rather than 100. I could see those wishing to minimize going to a 35 and 75 combo, which was the equivalent of 28 and 50 on the M8. I'll be trying out more lens combinations as I start to use the M9 as my daily shooter.

Performance and speed
Even though the M9 is pushing 80% more pixels, it does feel a little faster than the M8. By doubling the processing power and using twin DSPs instead of one, Leica is able to eek out a small performance gain. My camera had the latest (at the time) firmware version 0.912, in other words, a pre-release version. Stefan assured us that optimizations were still being done to improve image playback and review speed at 100% view. If I had to put a number to it, I'd say that the M9 felt about 25% faster than the M8 with this early firmware, which is certainly not earth-shattering, nor anywhere as fast as the S2. Unfortunately, this was a case of sticking with the tried and true in order deliver a full-frame digital M to market in a timely way. As I mentioned before, switching to the Maestro chip, while being much faster and more powerful, would have also meant much more development time. Had Leica gone this route, we probably wouldn't have seen the M9 till Photokina 2010, a full year longer. The other advantage of staying the course with regards to CCD sensor architecture, image processing and working with Jenoptik, is that the files coming out of the M9 look like M8 files with more pixels. This point is important. I've read so many comments online about wanting this exact result. The M8 is a phenomenal image maker. The quality of the files bests cameras with significantly higher numbers in the megapixel department. So, to have the M9 produce an almost identical per-pixel look and feel is great news for Leica digital shooters, especially considering the jump from 10 to 18MP.

Battery life is quite good. I found that my battery life tracked my 16GB SDHC card almost perfectly on the info display. At a bit over 400 pictures on this card, it's not too bad considering the size of the images. And yes, the battery is identical to the battery used in the M8. This is excellent news for people like me who have a fair amount of extra batteries laying around.
Image quality

Yes, the image quality is excellent. No, there are no surprises. No IR issue. No green blobs. No freezing cameras. As Stefan put it, the M9 in the prototype stage is well ahead of where the M8 was at launch. They have learned quite a lot in the last three years.

I shot with the M9 over the course of a few days, shooting in bright sun, indoors, and at night. I used the ISO range from 80 to 1600. My impressions when looking at the files on my laptop in Lightroom over in Germany were very good. Now that I've had some more time with them and had a chance to make a bunch of 20×30 inch prints, I'm pretty confident in the conclusion I mentioned earlier, but I think bears repeating: The M9 files look almost identical to M8 images on a per-pixel level and when viewed in print up to 20×30.

There is a noticeable improvement in the ability to hold highlights and the high ISO performance is also improved, although not by a huge amount, in my initial opinion. I can't speak authoritatively on this topic quite yet. All my M8/M8.2 processing over the last three years has been in Capture One and all my M9 images are going through Lightroom, which was lacking cameras-specific profiles during my test. I'd hope that fully tweaked, the noise performance will be even better than what I've been seeing. While the current C1 v4.8.2 doesn't recognize M9 files for import, the previous v4.8.1 does (you can download previous versions from the archive). I played briefly with some ISO 1600 shots in both programs. C1 offers some more aggressive noise reduction adjustments and really cleans up shadows at the slight expense of fine mid tone detail. LR has more clumpiness in shadows, but the details and overall image look more natural and pleasing. I didn't go so far as to try specialized software like Noise Ninja or Nik Define. The bottom line here is that we're certainly not looking at Nikon D3 low light ability, but I think that with proper workflow (and expected profiles for the M9 from Adobe) as well as good exposure, 1250 ISO should be comparable to the 640 ISO we have on the M8.2 today. Proper exposure plays an important role. If your high ISO shots are even the tiniest bit underexposed, noise becomes a real issue when boosting exposure back up in post.

Also, because of the pixel count increase, I didn't need quite as much enlargement for each given print size. I found some 20x30s I ran from ISO 1250 files looked every bit as clean and detailed from M8 prints shot at ISO 640. So, while you can get an overall feel for image quality by pixel peeping on screen, nothing will tell you the final print quality besides actually printing big and looking at it.

Overall, the color tones and feel echo the M8, which is my basic point. The M9 produces M8 quality with more pixels, slightly less noise and more dynamic range. One caveat, though. With all this shooting, I never shot a single JPG. Not one. Considering that Stefan told us that the JPG output had been significantly improved over the M8, I really should have. The reality is that I shoot an all-RAW workflow and I believe most people looking to get the most out of the camera will do the same. Once I get my M9 in the next few weeks (customer orders come first, after all), I plan on experimenting with in-camera JPGs vs. LR-processed DNG files.
Conclusion

I fully expect the M9 to be a home run for Leica. Just about every user request made since the M8 came to market has been addressed and implemented. Full frame? Check. No IR filters? Check. Ability to use non-coded lenses? Check. Direct ISO button? Check. Better LCD? Check. Better ISO performance? Check. More megapixels? Check. Soft release? Check. It's all in there. If the M8 represented a pivotal move to digital, the M9 shows the full potential of what is possible in a digital M body. While not revolutionary, this natural evolution is exactly what 99% of M users have been waiting for. Taken as a whole, the Leica M9 is the most compact, highest quality image-making tool on the market, with a full frame sensor looking through gorgeous Leica M glass. And isn't that what it's all about anyway?

 

I wish I could say that I slept more last night. What I can say is that I got a nice early start and a couple cups of Earl Grey to get me going.

My first stop today was at Zeiss. As you may know, we became Zeiss dealers this past year. We had been approached by them after the last Photokina, but frankly there was no depth of product, so we took a rain check. When they had a full line of really nice ZF lenses for Nikon and simultaneously Nikon kept introducing great digital bodies, starting with the D3 and D300… well, we jumped at the opportunity the second time around. I’m glad we chose to carry the product.

I met with Richard, the National Sales Manager for the US. Super nice guy. He showed me the new ZE lenses, the 50 f/1.4 and the 85 f1.4. I got to try them out on a 5D and I’m really liking them so far. Being electronically coupled with the EF mount is very convenient. Essentially, they act like Canon lenses, but with manual focus. Aperture is set with the rear dial, all shooting modes work without restriction. DOF preview works perfectly. When you manually focus on the 5D, the camera will beep at you and light up the focus point that is in focus. Nice. The styling is quite attractive on the ZE lenses. More tapered and rounded than the ZFs. Also learned they are slightly different optical formulas. The low pass filters used in Canons are quite different than those in Nkons, so the lens design had to be modified to properly focus on the Canon sensor. These two lenses will be available starting in November, then Zeiss will continue to roll out the rest of the lens line by early Spring 2009, matching the full offerings of the ZFs. I can only say that this is great news for Canon shooters and I can see a lot of 5DmkII shooters with these lenses.

On the ZF side, I tried out the new 21 Distagon. Relatively compact and lightweight versus the pictures online, the 21 can easily fit into any photographer’s bag. It has the same front filter diameter as the 18 ZF, 82mm. This is, of course, one of main reasons for choosing the 18 and/or 21 over the Nikon 14-24 – You can use filters on the front. The other one being portability of the prime lenses versus the massive zoom. This is also a slightly modified version of the famous Contax mount 21 Distagon, as the old one used lead and arsenic in the glass. The new ZF uses eco-glass and had to be tweaked slightly.

I also handled the new 85 f/4 ZM lens. Smallish and very light. Reminded me of a lightweight 90 Elmarit, sharing the same basic dimensions. About $800 and compact make it a nice option for traveling, taking mostly outdoor shots.

Other interesting things in the booth. There was a display of how the 100 Makro ZF is manufactured, from raw glass to finished product. Starting with the block of raw optical glass, blanks are cut out then ground and polished. They are then coated, cleaned, and the edges are blacked out using enamel paint, applied by hand. This cuts down on internal reflections. Then all the glass elements and mechanical components are assembled into a finished, working lens. Interesting little tour.

Across from this display were some noteable Zeiss products including the 50 f/0.7 that Stanley Kubrick used to film his candle-lit scenes in Barry Lyndon, a 500EL Hasselblad with 60mm Biogon from the Apollo Lunar missions, and an integrated lens/camera systems used to produce the Google Earth project. And while there wasn’t a 1700mm lens hanging from the rafters like last time, there was a semiconductor imaging lens that cost 3 million Euros in a glass case.

Another product, currently not available in the US is the Zeiss CineMizer. These glasses have ear phones and dual LCD screens for a take anywhere, virtual viewing experience. They work with any video-enabled iPod currently, with plans to have connections for computers in the near future.

Over at the Mamiya booth a little later, I checked out the new(ish) ZDb back which is being touted as a double buffer memory ZD. The back looks pretty much identical to its predecessor, but the ZDb is now more integrated with the AFDIII, allowing you to set custom camera functions from the rear LCD menu system. It is, of course faster to operate with files previewing and zooming quicker. And, you can shoot 20 shots before the back starts to get mad at you.

The vertical grip for the AFDIII was only a mock-up and was locked in a case so I didn’t get to feel it in my hand. They did have a few original ZD cameras at the booth. I handled one just to see how it compared to the new Leica S2. Bigger, thicker, and bulkier. But, the ergos of the ZD camera are not bad. If Mamiya updated that camera with a 3” LCD, speedier processing, and faster AF they might just be the first competitor to market in response to the S2. The tilt-shift bellows was also hidden under glass, as was the new 80mm LS leaf shutter lens and the redesigned 45mm f/2.8D. But, the view camera adapter was real. One visitor to the booth mentioned that there was no way to mount the ZD back in a vertical position. Oops. Maybe this was an oversight and will be fixed before shipping. We will see. Other that that it felt well-made, with smooth sliding action and high-quality anodized aluminum finish.

Leaving the Mamiya booth I walked by Novoflex something strange, a four legged tripod, which is aptly named the quadpod. Did they make a better mousetrap, so to speak, or what? Well, let’s just say I won’t be trading in my Gitzo anytime soon. If anyone has ever been to a restaurant where the table wobbles, you may know where I’m headed. Three legs always make positive contact with no wobble as all three points touch equally. Four points require much more fine-tuning until there is no wobble. Their theory is that more legs means more stability, but despite their large size and weight, a small Gtizo 1 series would be more stable. The legs had a lot of flex and the fourth leg had issues. Also, by adding another leg, you increase the size and weight by 30%, making this something you really don’t want to carry. I’m all for technical innovation, but I’m sticking with three legs.

Next on the tour was Hasselblad. They had a really cool shooting setup with a huge light bank overhead with fake trees and snow and Victor magazine-looking models where people could test out the H3D (or use their iPhone cameras). Hassy’s tilt shift adapter, the HTS 1.5, was working. By pressing a button on the H3D handgrip, the LCD will show you how much tilt, shift, and angle you have in real time. The same info is passed in the RAW file to Phocus as well. I must say that this is very cool.

I took a look at the new HCD 35-90mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens. Reading about the tech in this lens is interesting. It is only for use with “full frame 48mm” and the designers knowingly created the lens with increased distortion and vignetting. The new Hassy philosophy seems to be that we’ll just fix it in post, a la digital lens correction. Seems a bit fishy, especially at this price ($6,999 USD). Speaking of fishy… in the pro demo studio area a photographer and food stylist were photographing smelly raw fish. With large LCD suspended from the ceiling for the audience to watch the action top-down it felt more like a cooking show that a photo demonstration. The concept was interesting, but the smell was a bit much.

I headed upstairs to Nikon. There really wasn’t much new for me to see, but I did want to take a look at the D90 and the advanced compact camera, the P6000. The compacts were not a problem. I walked up to the counter, picked it up and played. The D90 is another story. But first the the P6000. It shares very similar menus and settings as the D300/700/3, which is pretty smart actually. Nikon realizes that the market for that camera is as an advanced P&S for existing Nikon DSLR shooters. Having menu and button consistency is good. Full set of manual controls and solid metal body. RAW support and built-in GPS round out the 13.5MP flagship Coolpix.

Everyone wanted time with the D90 and there were only three in the booth. So, I tried to get in a faster moving line. It was slower. I saw an opening and went for the more remote third camera location, only to have the D90 taken away by one of the Nikon folks to fix the security tether that had snapped. Back to the line. I did eventually get hands-on. It feels like a big step up from the D80, almost a D300, but a little more compact. The viewfinder and LCD are quite similar. Video mode was decent at 720p but limited to 5 minute clips. The AF doesn’t work during movie mode so you have to manually focus while shooting. Cool feature, though, and I’m sure it will only improve. And. I doubt that the Canon 5DmkII will be the last to emulate the D90.

Where to next? Canon, to check out the 5DmkII. If I thought the crowd was big at the Nikon booth to see the D90, I hadn’t tried to see Canon’s highly anticipated 5D successor. No worries. I waited my turn and got to handle the camera of myth and legend. It felt like a 5D. No great surprise there. The LCD looks like any of the recent Nikons. Again not a shocker. I did get to see a sample of Canon’s movie mode implementation, though. They raised the bar with full 1080p HD recording and it looks good. Maybe a little too many compression artifacts for my taste, but very detailed and sharp. Look, dedicated, high-end HD cams will do a better job because that is what they were designed to do. I’m sure the 5DmkII will take excellent pictures because that is what it was designed to do. Time will tell to see how this market convergence works itself out.

Yesterday's post, the lack of sleep over the last few days and general jet lag finally caught up to me. I had to give in and relent to sleep and taking it easy today. I regret having to sit today on the bench as I […]

Yesterday's post, the lack of sleep over the last few days and general jet lag finally caught up to me. I had to give in and relent to sleep and taking it easy today. I regret having to sit today on the bench as I have a lot on my agenda and there are a ton of products I want to try out. Tomorrow I’m getting an early start and will be at the show when it opens. But today wasn’t a waste at all. Read on for more.

I did eventually get to the show in the early afternoon and had some meetings at Leica (been having a lot of those recently). After which I ran into Peter Karbe and Justin Stailey. You may recognize Justin from the myriad of video interviews circulating around cyberspace right now. Peter apologized for leaving the MTF charts for the new S lenses at his hotel and promised to bring them tomorrow. If I get permission, I will try to post these.

I asked him about the MTFs on the new M lenses. Sure. He had those handy and asked if I’d like to see them. I thought he’d bring me a slip of paper to look at in the booth, but he said to follow him to the VIP lounge so he could get an espresso. We sat down. He got his espresso. Then, Peter proceeded to enlighten me not only to the new M lenses, but give me an education in optical design. This was unbelievable. Peter Karbe, the head optics designer of Leica spent over an hour with me, one on one, answering any questions I had (which were a lot), letting me in on what happens behind the scenes and his approach to lens design. Few people get an opportunity like this to talk to an individual who quite literally is the foremost expert on optics in the world right now. Anything else that I had planned could wait. This was truly exciting.

I don’t take notes, but maybe I should have started today. The amount of information that was doled out was just mind-boggling.

First, we discussed the new lenses. The 24mm Elmar is quite possibly the best performing 24mm they have ever made. The MTFs are just stellar from wide-open on. Apart from the 2/3s of a stop, this new lens trounces the legendary 24 Elmarit. No one is talking about this lens right now, but I guarantee that when people start shooting with it, they will fall in Leica love. The 21mm Summilux is also outstanding. By 2.8 it also bests its 21 Elmarit brother. The new 50mm Noctilux 0.95 has much less curvature of field, color aberrations and vignetting than the classic Noct. Wide-open, Peter said it should exude the same look and feel as the classic and stopped down to 2.8 the MTF starts to look like the 50 Lux.

From sitting with Peter you really get the feeling that these lenses are his children and he is a proud parent. Talk of certain lenses puts a small smile on his face and a glint in his eye. Then, he’ll go on about why it is special and unique. For instance, many know of his many years of work on the 50mm Summilux ASPH. He is extremely proud of this lens, pointing to the MTF chart and exclaiming that wide open at f/1.4 it resolves 40lp at above 50%. He went into how he came up with the modified special double Gauss design and how the back half of the lens is identical to the 35mm Summilux ASPH, while the front half is identical to the 50 Summicron. This was the secret to achieving such performance in a fast 50. Then, he said that one Saturday morning over his first cup of coffee in his kitchen he thought about Mandler. Apparently, after Mandler designed the Noctilux, he used the same design to build the 75 Lux. And becuase the 75 Lux wasn't one of Peter's favorite lenses, he decided that he needed to design a new 75 based on the 50 ASPH design. Shortly thereafter, keeping everything the same, except for removing one lens element in the first doublet behind the central ASPH element used to correct for aberrations caused at 1.4, he minted the design for the 75 APO Summicron ASPH. I asked if the design was the same why the 75 was an APO lens and the 50 wasn’t. Here is a bit of a shocker… the 50 lux ASPH is an APO lens, containing an APO correction element. But, he thought the idea of an APO 50 was a bit silly so they never put it on the lens or in any marketing materials.

35 Summilux ASPH


50 Summicron


50 Summilux ASPH


75 APO Summicron ASPH

He really believes in revisiting the past for inspirations on the future. Peter said that he often thinks about what his predecessors from decades ago would do with today’s technology. This was his inspiration with the Summarits. Classic designs with a modern twist. He studies and claims (who would doubt him) that he is familiar with the designs of almost all of the Leica lenses made to date. He has his favorites as well as examples that were not so successful.

According to Peter, the great leaps in lens design were brought about by technological advances. The first was with new types of glass, then with coatings, followed by computer modeling, and now just recently, advances in mechanical design and manufacturing. This is why the S lenses and the new 21 Lux are as lightweight as they are. A lot of attention is now being paid by the design team to the manufacturing process. Karbe has organized small design teams in his fast-growing department to be more efficient and productive. An optics designer is paired with a mechanical designer and a production manager to develop the entire product, not just the optical path. Handling, feel, ease of manufacture, and consistency in quality control are equally important to imaging performance. Also, by using more shared designs and more common components, more lenses can be brought to market faster. The 35 and 50 Summarit. The 75 and the 90 Summarit. The new 21 Lux and 24 Lux are all examples of this. With the 21 and the 24, one designer did both lenses simultaneously as they are fundamentally the same optical formula.

Another interesting thing I learned was that Leica started using computer-aided modeling back in the 1960’s before anyone else. Since that time, they have had their own proprietary software (kept up to date, of course) based on calculations made at Leica over the last 100 years. He says this is one of Leica’s real advantages that no one can copy. The foundation of knowledge and expertise is handed down from each generation of lens designers to the next. The Leitz Glass Works has also been invaluable in learning about new formulations and the handling of exotic glass elements. These latest exotic glasses require a great deal of care in handling. Much like a piece of raw steel, this glass reacts adversely and rapidly with gasses in the air. They use a wet to wet to wet process in Solms, whereby the glass moves through the grinding, polishing and coating steps in one go, not spaced or binned. This is crucial to maintain the performance of these expensive elements which can cost more per ounce than pure silver.

We talked more about how the type of glass for certain lens elements are chosen and how, based on his experience, he just knows what effect this will have on aberrations. We discussed the trade-offs lens designers have to make and how MTF only tells part of the story. I can also read an MTF chart much better now, as he explained this in depth as well. And, we drifted to the future and possible new designs and challenges faced with having lenses for three different product lines.

After his second cup of espresso I told Peter that since I wasn’t taking notes I might only be able to recall 30% of what he told me. Of course, at just 30% I think I know at least three times what I did about Leica optics design. What a great opportunity. How often do you get to pick the brain of someone at his level? I realize that I am fortunate to have had this opportunity. Later, when I told Justin about my private lesson, he smiled at me and said that it doesn’t happen very often. Very cool.

Well, where else do you think I’d spend my first day at the show? After last night’s marathon of typing, I decided to sleep in. No worries, as I had plenty of time at the Leica booth and no where else to be today.

The booth design this year is nice and a little fancier and larger than in 2006. As I came down the escalator into Hall 2.1, I saw a legion of Leica employees armed and ready with the new M products, defending their posts at the front of the stand. I saw Peter Karbe and said hello. As many may know, Peter is the head optics designer of Leica, personally responsible for the slew of excellent glass in the last few years. He worked on the 50mm f/1.4 ASPH for ten years to perfect it…in his spare time. Totally brilliant optics designer. We spoke briefly about the new S lenses and wanted to show me the MTF charts for them. He didn’t have them with him, but I am hoping to see them later on in the week. He said that they are perfectly flat lines all the way up to the top, from one side to the other. Apparently, Peter believes these lenses might be the best Leica has ever produced. Now that is saying something.

After our brief chat, I made my way over to the AFRika VIP area. AFRika is the internal code name of the S2, standing for Auto Focus Reflex Kamera. So, trusty VIP Access badge in hand I made my way into the VIP lounge. The S2 room was packed, so I was told to just have a coffee and relax for a while. Well, I don’t drink coffee and I was way too excited to relax. So, I made the most of my time in the back area and played with the M8.2, Noctilux, 21 Summilux and 24 Elmar.

The new lenses aren’t recognized by the new firmware. So, there is no focal length displayed in playback. There will be an update around the time the lenses ship in November. All of the new wide angle lenses have screw-on metal hoods. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. First the WATE, then the Summarits, now the new exotics. Users have been complaining about the plastic clip-on hoods for a while and Leica listened.

The new Noct there was a working lens, just not finished yet. I won’t post any shots from it as it is too early to judge anything by them. The good news is focusing is much smoother and the focus throw is a lot shorter. The pull-out hood protrudes just a few millimeters further than the IR filter and I’m not sure if it is that effective. Looks nice, though.

The 24 Elmar is nice and small. I’d compare it to a 28 Cron in size. Shot wide open, the lens is dangerously sharp. I think I underestimated this little guy. Small, lightweight and somewhat affordable, this lens might even find its way into my bag someday.

There was no 24 Lux to play with back in the lounge, so I made do with a 21 Lux. As I mentioned in my post from the launch event, the 21 balances extremely well on the M8. The mechanics of the lens are super smooth and focusing is easy. This lens is certainly usable wide open. I took a few shots and they are spot on. Really nice look to them. Crisp and contrasty with smooth nuance. Definitely Leica. The filter arrangement makes a lot more sense now that I’ve dissected one. The hood just unscrews and the filter (sans threading) just drops into the hood. Screw it back on and it’s done. So, series 7 for the 24 and series 8 for the 21.

While waiting, I had a nice conversation with the editors of LFI. Great guys and very knowledgeable about Leica. If you don’t already subscribe to their magazine, you should.

After patiently waiting, I couldn’t hold out any longer. I made my way to the S2 room. There were several Leica reps there each with an S2 and two lenses, the standard 70 Summarit and the 180 APO-Elmar. I am pleased to report that the S2 works very well, even in the prototype stage. It autofocuses accurately and quickly, shoots with little-to-no-shutter-delay, handles nicely, and displays pictures on the LCD. The playback zoom is instantaneous. No waiting like on the M8. Menus are intuitive and quick once you get the walkthrough. I would like a direction pad like on Nikon, but once used to the S2 review system you get pretty quick with scrolling around. The camera balances nicely in the hand, especially with the 70mm mounted. The vertical grip is very comfortable as well. Wow. Where to start?

The viewfinder is big and bright with plenty of eye relief. It isn’t as large as the viewfinder of the Mamiya 645 or Sinar Hy6, but larger than a D3 or 1DsIII. There is but one AF point in the center of the frame. This honestly doesn’t bother me, as I usually focus and recompose anyway. The lenses all have a slip differential so you can switch to manual focus by turning the focus ring, like on Nikon AF-S lenses, just with much better feel. The lenses feel like quality. They are lighter and smaller than comparable Hasselblad H lenses, yet made of aluminum and not plastic. Manual focusing was insanely easy, with great tactile feedback and nice ground glass focusing screen. Sorry, no split image or microprism for all you R fans out there. Trust me, you can easily tell when you are in focus and when you’re not.

The design of the camera has been a point of contention out there in forum land. It does fit nicely in the hand with the front and rear finger and thumb notches. The prototype cameras are covered in a soft-touch smooth rubber, but the final production cameras will have a finish closer the R9 with a texture to it. The 3” screen is large and the menu access buttons are easy to get to, but not overly easy to accidentally press. The top right button is dedicated to EV lock in shooting mode as it sits pretty close to your thumb when shooting. This is customizable to be AF-on, AF lock, EV lock, or AF/EV lock. Press the top left button to activate the screen. Four quadrants come up with various settings at a glance. The soft keys are displayed as well, allowing you to access Camera, Image and Setup menus, as well as image playback (in the upper right position). The upper left, lower left, and bottom right are user customizable for use as quick access keys in shooting mode. So you can access EV comp, ISO, WB, advance mode, etc. with one button press and arrange them how you prefer.

Perhaps I should stop for a moment and take notice that this camera and its firmware is pretty well thought out, certainly not what I expected to see this early on in the development cycle. Aside from the lack of finishing touches on the body like covering and nicer memory card door, it feels like a real camera, not something engineers cobbled together in a workshop to show off in a dog and pony show. To say that the reps showing off the S2 were proud of all the work they did in house would be an understatement. No nervous shuffling around or waiting for a camera to break. They were all smiles and looking really confident that they had hit a grand slam for the home team (do they have baseball in Germany).

The thumb wheel on the back of the thumbrest also depresses, acting as an OK or Enter key. So spin the wheel to your menu item and press in to activate the sub menu, scroll, press in again, then press the shutter to start shooting again. Fast and intuitive. Not one handed as you need your right thumb to activate the screen, but almost everything else is. The CS/FPS/Off switch on the back turns the camera on and off, as well as letting the photographer select focal plane shutter or leaf shutter without digging through menus. Pretty smart to keep this analog, actually. The shutter speed dial controls both shutter mechanisms. I asked what would happen if you had the focal plane shutter set for 1/4000th and switched to CS mode. The camera will automatically set the leaf shutter to the highest possible speed and display it in the viewfinder and on the OLED screen on top. No problem. To change shooting modes, just press the wheel and turn to your desired setting: P, A or M. Where is S? Turn the shutter off of A and your in S mode. If you want to change aperture, just spin the thumb wheel. Leica really did a great job making the camera super simple and intuitive with the least amount of clutter.

The camera can take CF and SD cards as we already know, but I did find out that it can operate like the Nikon D3. Mirror output to both cards, write to CF or SD based on selection, or write the DNG to one card and the JPG to the other. The card door will be much stronger and more robust than what was shown here. Of course, SDHC and UDMA are fully supported. The S2 has a 1GB buffer, which clears pretty fast using the Maestro DSP and UDMA cards. Other storage options include external and a future WiFi capacity. The tethered setup uses high-speed USB with a unique cable. It is not the mini USB, but rather a round metal connector with a safety lock. My Leica fellow plugged the cable in and dangled the camera and lens over the floor held up by the USB connector! I nearly had a heart attack and he had a good laugh. Apparently, they had been pulling that one all day. Then he showed me a neat trick. By opening the PC Sync/HDMI cover and pressing a super secret button with a pen tip the left strap lug comes out of the camera and a yet-to-be-designed WiFi adapter will plug in to enable wireless tethering. Sweet. Another example of a totally clean and seamless design. The HDMI cable allows both 1080p and 1920×1200 outputs for image review on external LCD monitor at high res while still enabling CF/SD storage. Great for commercial shooting where straight tethering is a slowdown and you need to have a large real-time image display in studio.

The vertical grip is also a beautiful design. Instead of being like every other grip in the market which requires you to turn a wheel to attach and detach, the S2 grip has a single slide on the back. Put your thumb on and slide to the left, put the grip on the bottom of the camera and release. The vertical grip is now solidly locked to the camera. Easy, fast, and secure. A second battery fits in the side of the grip.

The main battery fits in the bottom of the hand grip. It has no door; just push the safety button, turn the lever and the battery pops out in one go. It is gasketed and sealed, just like every other seam on the S2. The battery is smaller than an EN-EL4 Nikon battery but larger than an M8 battery. Expect about 500 shots on one battery, 1000 with the vertical grip. The standard charger will charge two batteries simultaneously. Another nice touch for pros on the go.

The ISO range will start at 100 and go to either 1600 or 3200. The high ISO performance is supposed to be superior to any other MFD system. The prototypes only shot at 100 ISO, so I can’t report on the results yet.

The shutter feel was nice. Pretty quick on focus and responsive when you press the shutter. The mirror blackout is quite short for medium format and the internal vibration feels more like a 35mm FF DSLR than a 645 camera. There is no loud clunk with a dark viewfinder. Actually, I think the S2 was quieter than my R9. The mirror is large as is the ground glass, but there is nice dampening in the camera.

Metering has been carried over from the R9, with multi-zone, center weighted and spot built-in. TTL flash is compatible with SCA 3502 shoe mount flashes. There is also a new pro Leica flash that will be available shortly after the camera. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that this will be one of the new Metz flashes with built-in digital TTL for Leica. This is just another example of Leica’s commitment to an entire system, not just a body and one lens.

The rear LCD was clear and bright. There are actually two settings for the screen: image brightness and backlight brightness, which I think might be a first. There is also an ambient light sensor that will automatically adjust screen illumination. From what I can tell by holding the camera up to the halogen track lighting, the screen doesn’t wash out and should be 100% visible in daylight, which should come as a nice change for anyone not using a DMR already. Upon my trying this, Jurgen, the Leica rep (in charge of Quality Assurance, btw), commented that the screen has anit-glare coating on it. They just keep racking up the points.

And to prove that the images actually exist, I was shown DNGs in Lightroom from the S2 that were shot today in the demo room. Everything works perfectly in LR from WB to exposure to sharpening. We zoomed in 1:1 and I will say that it is certainly medium format quality, even at this early stage. Loads of detail and great color (even in our trade show lighting).

I don’t know if this is getting repetitive but I was incredibly impressed with Leica’s effort and their ability to deliver the goods. Jurgen told me that he just got the final prototypes on Friday before Photokina to start QA. This process usually takes weeks. They got it done in days. And no hiccups. Amazingly the S2 just worked when all the pieces were assembled. I have to think this is more than luck. The engineering minds at Leica are unmatched. Now, with Andreas Kaufmann at the helm, the engineers are getting the proper resources and support that has been lacking for some time at Leica.

Some fellow who came by to check out the S2 had a Nikon D700 with 24-70 f/2.8 zoom. I kindly asked if he would mind setting his camera down next to the new Leica. It didn’t take too much convincing as he whipped out his compact digital as well and snapped away right beside me.

Maike finally kicked me out of the demo room. Well, not really. But she did joke with me that she would put me to work tomorrow to demo the camera, as I knew as much about the S2 as the booth staff. Before leaving I got the hold and photograph the KAF-37500 sensor next to a full-frame 35mm chip, as well as the Maestro DSP chip.

Outside in the main booth, I took a look at the new Pradovit-D 1200. They set up a viewing area with slide shows playing. Standing with my ear to the running projector I couldn’t hear anything except silence. The magnesium alloy casing was warm to the touch as the outside housing acts like giant heat sync. Motion was smooth; images were just 3D with pop and sparkle. The clarity and vibrancy were outstanding, as was the nuance in the highlights. With a contrast ratio of 2500:1 black was pure black. The Pradovit is truly class leading. And, it is really compact. I put my Moto RAZR phone next to it for scale.

Keep in mind that this projector is exclusive to Leica. They worked with a company in Norway (which is where the projector is made) to design it to Leica specs. The Philips lamp has an adjustable color temp and there is a six panel RGBRGB color wheel to eliminate rainbow effects in moving images, as this effectively doubles the refresh frequency. The lens is Leica designed and is a big piece of glass, but required to display the 1920×1200 resolution sharply and distortion-free.

At the M product counter I got to finally try the 24 Summilux. Same width as a 35 Lux and just a tad longer. Very reasonable size. Deciding between the 24 Lux and 24 Elmar is going to be a tough choice. Also tried the new viewfinders. Small, distortion-free and bright. What’s more to say?

Next stop was the compact digital cameras. I finally got to shoot with the D-Lux 4. That is one fast camera. The shooting speed and lack of lag is phenomenal. The screen is large and bright with good sharpness and accurate color. The camera as I mentioned yesterday is a little thicker and denser than the D-Lux 3, but it does use a larger sensor. The accessories were unfortunately behind glass that had no door, so I wasn’t able to try them out. I have a “real” meeting with our rep Roland on Thursday, so I may get a chance then. Also, tried the C-Lux 3. Small, light and easy. I shot a little HD video and the quality looked good (at least on the LCD). When I get more in-depth, I’ll post an update.

Lastly, I checked out the Future of Memories display. The Ur-Leica came out of the vault and was on display with a guard watching it from two feet away from morning to night. Also there was the S1 digital camera from 1996, a few other system products and an architectural model of Leitzpark. This will house the new factory and visitor center, to be completed by 2010.

At 6:00 PM the trade show closes, but we stuck around as the Leica party was just getting started. Tonight was a dealer/employee party at the booth. The Kolsch was flowing and the food was non stop. Dr. Kaufmann gave a short speech, then mingled among the crowd. I got a chance to speak with him about some of the new product. I had met Kaufmann at the LHSA meeting in Rochester back in October of last year. He is so affable and approachable. Everyone at Leica truly respects and admires Kaufmann. He has charisma and charm to spare, not to mention a clear plan and the financial wherewithal to make it happen. I do believe that he is the best thing that could have happened to Leica.

Finally around 9:30 I left with the Leica folks and headed back to the hotel. Perhaps it is the Kolsch, but I am even more excited than I thought I’d be by the direction Leica is taking. Everything is clicking into place. My conversation with Maike about a new reflex two years ago. Kaufmann’s keynote at the LHSA meeting. Hints and teasers from our USA contacts. The plan makes sense. Some might complain about the choices they have made, but if you put all the information together and take a wide view, I think that the decisions were logical and necessary to the continued health and prosperity of the company.

Leica has worked extremely hard to get to this point and I think they deserve all the success in the world.

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Well, where else do you think I’d spend my first day at the show? After last night’s marathon of typing, I decided to sleep in. No worries, as I had plenty of time at the […]

I’ve been looking forward to the Leica VIP launch event for some time now. The cryptic invitations, the tight-lipped Leica reps, the air of secrecy, the Internet rumors. Something big was in the w […]

The doors to Photokina open in two weeks from today. The rumor mills are running full tilt. The forums are ablaze with pontification and prognostication. I'm getting phone calls and people walking in the store all asking for juicy tidbits and insight on upcoming gear. This photography stuff is serious business, folks.

I must admit that as a gearhead and tech nerd myself, I find myself getting a bit wound up as well. I'm counting down the days to the show. I'm planning my route at the show and dreaming about the tech goodness that awaits me in Germany. Hands-on play time is fun time.

I attended the last Photokina show in 2006 and was totally blown away by the sheer scale of the thing. Over 160,000 people decided to join me, yet the show was so large and spaced out that it never felt crowded. Last time I went for 3 days. This time, I'm there from opening day on the 23rd straight through the last day on the 29th. This should mean less rushing and more info gathering at each booth, with plenty of time to wander the uncharted smaller booths in search of cool stuff.

I will, of course, be bringing you all the info and my take on it each and every night after the show closes. If there are any requests to scope out certain products, please let me know in advance so I can plan accordingly.

Keep checking back for updates as Photokina approaches.