1090

[d2creative]

That's how many photos I came back with from 8 days in Europe and probably 95% were shot with my new M9 and 35mm Summicron while the D700 with 24-70 collected dust in the hotel rooms.

I spent all day yesterday processing keepers and I'm still on London (our first destination)!

[srwatters]

The Leica legion has assimilated another...

Glad you enjoyed your trip Dennis. Now post those edited keepers!

Don't forget to edit your signature line. And you can always donate that 14-24 to me rather than let it collect dust...

[d2creative]

LOL, i don't think so Scott!
That 14-24 is my money maker. (aka future leica glass saver-upper)

[Wil_Bloodworth]

Dennis,

So... what is it about the M9 that you liked so much?

- Wil

[srwatters]

You can't blame a guy for trying...

[d2creative]

Originally Posted by ParkImaging

Dennis,

So... what is it about the M9 that you liked so much?

- Wil

Well honestly part of it was having a new toy to play with, and on an awesome trip. Double bonus.

But even so, it was a very enjoyable camera to use. For one, the size. It's bigger than my EP1 (bigger than I imagined it to be and very heavy for its size) but still quite a bit smaller and lighter than my D700. So walking around with this on my neck was so much nicer and less cumbersome. And of course my camera bag was nice and small. A brand new Artisan and Artist bag I got for Xmas. But I knew I was shooting with a full frame 18mp camera so there was no thoughts of compromise running through my head!

The shutter is quiet, and it has a "discreet" feature you can turn on which is very cool. The shutter itself is very quiet, but the shutter cocking mechanism is a bit loud. When set to discreet mode, the shutter won't cock until you release the shutter button. So you can take a shot so quietly no one will notice, and then walk away or stuff the camera under your coat before releasing the shutter button, at which point the shutter will then re-cock itself. Sneaky.

I'll be honest, I did miss having auto-focus but I just had to change my style of shooting a little bit. For instance, shooting from the hip on the street is extremely difficult. I actually did quite well considering how quickly I had to shoot. There was 8-10 of us at different times and we were trying to stick together and on sightseeing tours. So i didn't have the luxury of taking my time to set up shots. I would see something, stop... focus... click, and then run to catch up with the group. But I'm quite shocked at how many keepers I have, especially considering I've never had to manual focus before.

I shot in A priority most of the time unless it was a tricky situation. So getting correct exposure was just as easy as the nikon. Speaking of easy, everything on the camera that you need is right there at your finger tips. Aperture on the lens of course, a big dial on the top of the camera for shutter speed and a-priority setting, and iso is done with a dedicated button on the back of the camera which brings it up on the screen. Pic info like histogram and such is another dedicated button. Viewing pics is another dedicated button. And another button for the menu system which is pretty simple to navigate. My favorite thing about this camera is it has everything a camera should have and nothing it shouldn't. K.I.S.S. at it's finest.

Finally, it was GREAT having a nice, large, bright viewfinder unlike the EP1 or GF1. No matter what the situation, I could always see my subject clear as day.

So that was what I liked WHILE shooting.
But back at the ranch, going through all my pics... I'm amazed at the detail! I keep zooming in to 100% to check sharpeness or whatever and I'm seeing details in things that are insane. 18 full frame mega pixels of goodness. Great tonal range and silky smooth bokeh too. The iso performance can't match the D700, but I have some shots at 1000 iso and some even a little higher that were a bit underexposed and they processed beautifully considering. I forgot to change the iso back down to 160 after shooting at 1000 the night before and didn't realize it for a few hours, so I was worried those shots were going to be trash. Nope. They actually turned out VERY well.

[groovyone]

Sounds like you enjoyed the trip and the camera! I am looking forward to seeing the photos. Maybe my wife will let me get an M9 if I pay for the European trip too.