A small dream came true for me today. I got to spend some quality time shooting a Leica M9.

Leica spent much of the 20th century earning a reputation as one of the finest camera makers. A relatively small operation, their precision, build quality, and top lenses won them devoted fans, including Henri Cartier-Bresson (go to MoMA!). For a long time, all the company had to do to keep that reputation was make slight refinements. Then digital photography hit. Lacking the vast resources of a Nikon or Canon, Leica had to work fast to partner with other companies (such as Kodak and Panasonic) to move into a future of sensors and software. There were a few hiccups moving from the film based M7 to the first digital M8, necessitating a rapid replacement with the M8.2. But the M9 represents Leica finally coming into their own on the digital playing field. Its quality has been praised almost universally, and for someone like me, it is a design object worth lusting over. Its $7000 price tag makes my few hours of shooting akin to sampling a bottle of Louis XIII or the like. It’s not an experience most of us can expect to have regularly.

So how did I get to spend an afternoon with an M9, and what was it like to shoot it? Continue reading →