Why an M9?
Before getting into commentary about the new Leica, I want to go back to something I wrote about in the second paragraph. What makes the M9 an important development beyond providing long-term Leica stalwarts with a dream come true, is its size. It is no small feat of engineering to bring forth a full 35mm-frame digital camera in such a compact camera. I was struck by this image in a Leica training document comparing the M9 footprint to those of DSLRs. This sums up the size issue very clearly. Certainly there are times when the speed and telephoto lens capabilities of a DSLR are necessary. But for photographers who carry their camera everywhere, every day, and who demand the highest image quality, the choices are limited. When purchase price is set aside (the M9 carries a list price of $6,995 as of this writing), the diagram above makes a pretty compelling case for the M9. One more thing. Look at the images to the right. That’s the M9 on top, the Canon 5D Mark II, and finally the Nikon
