Leica M9 or M-Monochrom?

Mr_Flibble

All-Pro
Location
The Lowlands
Name
Rick
So, a seller in the UK is offering his M9 and M-Monochrom up for sale.
He's asking 2000 and 3000 GBP respectively.
The M9 has around 7000 shutter activations and the Monochrom something like 4000.

I'm seriously tempted to get one of them (while I still have the disposable income).
I'm a bit worried about the M9 camera's age..presumably from between 2009 and 2011 I think.
It did get a new sensor recently.

I don't think I would miss the color with the Monochrom, but the extra 1000GBP price tag makes it a bit daunting.

I'd love to hear your input if given a choice between these two camers. Is the M9s age a problem at all?
 
If the M9 is in very good condition, with new sensor, and firmware upgrades, seems like an excellent deal. But the condition is the unknown.
 
Knowing what you shoot through your film cameras: I would go for the M Monochrom. They are going for $3500~$4000 here, maybe you can talk him down a bit?

Silver-Efex2 is now free, the original came as a download with the camera.

28676980844_8fb56a5089_b.jpg
Civil War Days, Manassas
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

1936 5cm F1.5, wide-open, Yellow filter, M Monochrom, "Antique Plate" SEFX2.

You need one to go with that Sonnar...

28676985984_0a3935483b_b.jpg
Civil War Days, Manassas
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Honest...
 
The M9 "Nice, but used". Externally it looks good in a slightly used condition.

Both come with a grip, thumbie and the original boxes with instructions.

3000GBP for the M-Monochrom would be about $3600-3700 I think.
 
I started with the M-E, replaced it with a used MM and shot with that for an entire year. Since I mainly shoot B&W film replacing the M-E with the MM was an easy transition for me. Last year I was able to purchase a used M9, with a replaced sensor, on the cheap (it's definitely been used and abused). That year of only B&W really changed my mind set and even now I only use the M9 for shooting one subject. If you think you can get along without color, I suggest the MM over the M9, it may completely change the way you shoot.

Off topic - I expect the price of second hand M9s to fall once the successor to the 240 is announced. I've seen some of the lowest prices on M9s recently, camerawest has a steel M9 for $1900 (I've never seen one this low before). The original MMs will decline as well but seeing as they were released after the M9 and more specialized, I don't think they will be priced lower than used M9s. At some point you may be able to pick up a M9 to add to your MM (if you should go that route).
 
The British Point is at $1.31 today, so 3000BP ~ $4000.

Going for an M9- I would wait a month to see if the new m finally arrives. It has been 4 years since the M240.

For the M Monochrom- I would not sell mine. It is a unique camera. AND i wrote my own DNG processor to add a gamma curve and convert to 16-bits/pixel... I don't like the Big-Endian DNG file format used by the M246. The DNG format used by the M9, M Monochrom, and M8 is much easier to unpack and process.
 
I started with the M-E, replaced it with a used MM and shot with that for an entire year. Since I mainly shoot B&W film replacing the M-E with the MM was an easy transition for me. Last year I was able to purchase a used M9, with a replaced sensor, on the cheap (it's definitely been used and abused). That year of only B&W really changed my mind set and even now I only use the M9 for shooting one subject. If you think you can get along without color, I suggest the MM over the M9, it may completely change the way you shoot.

Off topic - I expect the price of second hand M9s to fall once the successor to the 240 is announced. I've seen some of the lowest prices on M9s recently, camerawest has a steel M9 for $1900 (I've never seen one this low before). The original MMs will decline as well but seeing as they were released after the M9 and more specialized, I don't think they will be priced lower than used M9s. At some point you may be able to pick up a M9 to add to your MM (if you should go that route).

I bought the M Monochrom in late 2012 and the M-E in 2014. I always thought that the M-E would ride in my bag and only come out for that shot that had to be in color, but I've found the opposite to be true and that M-E has become my most-used camera.

I love the M Monochrom, but I don't use it as often as I should lately.
 
I had a similar dilemma before I bought my M(240). On offer were an M9-P, an M Monochrom (not the 246) and the M(240). I have an M7 and a set of lenses from 28mm to 90mm and wanted a full-frame Leica digi to give me ISO flexibility that the film camera doesn't. I toyed with the idea of using the M7 with colour film and going exclusively black and white with digital. Although this seemed logical (and the M Monochrom appears to have better low-light capability than the other two) I realised that, if I got the M9-P or M(240) I could shoot colour and black and white in both cameras. Much as I love mono, I couldn't see having a mono only camera (as my only digital camera) working for me in the long run. That put the Monochrom out of the running - fantastic camera that it is.

I tried the M9-P and the M(240) and decided that the M(240) was the one for me in terms of how it felt and the files it produced. I know some prefer the M9 files to the M(240) but it's subjective and I prefer the M(240).

I don't get hung up on what's coming next as there will always be something newer and, possibly, better over the horizon - where digital's concerned. I say possibly as it's never a given that newer is better. In all honesty, I doubt there's a truly right or wrong answer to the dilemma - unless you definitely must have a colour output option.
 
My hand has been more or less forced. I just came home after 8 days of gallivanting across Belgium with a large group of WW2 Re-enactors.
My Epson R-D1 let me down horribly during the trip. The shutter would fail to open after the first image after switching it on. Not sure if it was the moisture, the cold or just old age. It seemed to work better on hot days. Shooting in JPG and Monochrome did allow me to get at least some images with it....My Leica IIIc, Anniversary Speed Graphic and Contax II came through though.
Looks like I'm in the market for a Full Frame M now :(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well- if you do go with an M9,

16991248947_6487e3a71f_b.jpg
M1012676_small
by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Buy a Panasonic CF-51 Toughbook (~$50) and I'll send you my custom monochrome conversion code, used with a Yellow filter over the lens. Custom demosaic routine...

Can that work on any PC? I have Parallels on my MacBook running Windows 7 and can also (if needed) create a Windows 98 or XP image. I would to get near M Monochrom quality from. My M-E when traveling with only one camera.
 
I need to check how much memory is used, and that I did not use any reserved instructions- The software is written in Microway Fortran-77, PharLap ASM, and runs using PharLap TNT.exe under DOS. It uses ~200MBytes of memory. Load up all of your DNG files in one subdirectory and it batch processes them.

Dropbox - DNG Processing Software

I found that the Panasonic CF-51 includes USB device support under DOS! This means my code can read the SD cards directly without ever going into Windows.

Download TNT Dos Extender 8.0 by Pharlap | VETUSWARE.COM - the biggest free abandonware collection in the universe

Download NDP C++, Fortran 4.4 by Microway | VETUSWARE.COM - the biggest free abandonware collection in the universe

Phar Lap DOS 8.0 and Microway Fortran 4.4 are what I used to develop, compile, and link the code. I run it with a Panasonic CF-50 and CF-51 booted to realmode DOS. The phar Lap allows all of memory to be used on a DOS machine. A virtual machine booted to DOS should work.
 
Still hedging my bets, currently looking at a few M9Ps from mainland Europe for around $3500.
My luck with international packages lately will probably mean I'll have to pay import durty if I order outside of the EU.
I already had a Mr Zhou case go missing in the mail last month, as well as a pendant. :(
 
I need to check how much memory is used, and that I did not use any reserved instructions- The software is written in Microway Fortran-77, PharLap ASM, and runs using PharLap TNT.exe under DOS. It uses ~200MBytes of memory. Load up all of your DNG files in one subdirectory and it batch processes them.

Dropbox - DNG Processing Software

I found that the Panasonic CF-51 includes USB device support under DOS! This means my code can read the SD cards directly without ever going into Windows.

Download TNT Dos Extender 8.0 by Pharlap | VETUSWARE.COM - the biggest free abandonware collection in the universe

Download NDP C++, Fortran 4.4 by Microway | VETUSWARE.COM - the biggest free abandonware collection in the universe

Phar Lap DOS 8.0 and Microway Fortran 4.4 are what I used to develop, compile, and link the code. I run it with a Panasonic CF-50 and CF-51 booted to realmode DOS. The phar Lap allows all of memory to be used on a DOS machine. A virtual machine booted to DOS should work.

That is way beyond my understanding level.
 
I'll check out if a window can be setup and run it in. A virtual machine would probably work- BUT, I end up buying $50 laptops instead of virtual machines.
 
I let the R-D1 air out a bit in the warm after-summer air. The black frames seem to come in phases. Usually shortly after switching on. Then after taking several 'blank' shots in sequence the camera starts to work fine.
 
Any chance that the batteries are old and not putting out enough cvurrent until "warmed up"?

My Nikon D1 did this. Old battery could not put out enough current for the CCD.
 
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