Leica M9
Luminous Landscape has published a 70 min. interview with Leica M9’s Product Manager, Stephan Daniel. Sure, you know all the specs already by now, but if you want to know WHY Leica did what they did in the M9, listen to the interview (which, by the way was shot with a Panasonic GH1). It’s a long interview and there is no Fast Forward, so if you X out of the browser, you’ll have to listen to it all over again.
Highlights:
– Continuing cooperation with Panasonic for compact cameras only — not for Micro Four Thirds system cameras. So, no Leica MFT cameras.
– Looking to add Live View in next generations of Leica system cameras.
– Articulated LCDs — someone asked the question, someone else interrupted before a proper answer could be given.
– No Leica R DSLR.
– Smaller digital M rangefinder (aka digital CL) – no, don’t want to compete with Leica M8 used market.
– Leica consistently sells 10-12,000 M system cameras (digital and, surprisingly, film — mostly to the Asia market) a year.
– Send a Leica M camera for repair, and you get a one-year warranty not just on the repair, but on the entire camera (has been the case forever).
– New shutter release soft mode: first point is light meter on, second point is AE lock, and that’s where the shutter release occurs instead of having to press all the way down (which can introduce camera shake).
– Unhappy with the time lag to zoom a picture on the LCD after it is taken. Still working on it and should come as a firmware update later.
