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Noise (M9 CCD)
Noise is given too much attention with digital cameras, but it is a limitation with the M9.
For low noise and high ISO, get the Nikon D3s/D4 or D700 or D3x (DAP). It’s simple: you can get a D700/D800 and a nice collection of Zeiss ZF lenses for the price of the M9 camera body alone.
Base ISO for the M9 is 160, with an ISO 80 available at the loss of some dynamic range. I would personally have preferred a native base ISO of 80 for ultra clean-images at low ISO, but the M9’s approach is not too unlike that of medium format digital backs, whose low ISOs are very high quality, but with rapidly deteriorating quality by ISO 400-800. Perhaps this is driven mostly by CCD technology, whereas CMOS is used by Canon and Nikon for ultra-high ISO performance.
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Diglloyd Guide to Leica is by yearly subscription. Subscribe now for about 25 cents a day ($90/year).
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Diglloyd Guide to LEICA contains in-depth coverage of Leica M system cameras and lenses, with additional coverage of Leica M Monochrom, Leica Q.
Special emphasis is placed on Leica M lenses and certain Zeiss ZM lenses.
- Make better images by learning how to get the best results right away.
- Save money by choosing the right lens for your needs the first time, particularly the Summilux/Summicron/Elmarit choice and/or Zeiss ZM.
- Make better images, a sort of “cheat sheet” saving yourself months or years of ad-hoc learning. Processing parameters are discussed and shown.
- Jaw-dropping image quality found nowhere else utilizing Retina-grade images up to full camera resolution, plus large crops [past 2 years or so].
- Real world examples with insights found nowhere else. Make sharper images just by understanding lens behavior you won’t read about elsewhere.
- Aperture series from wide open through stopped down, showing the full range of lens performance and bokeh.
- Optical quality analysis of field curvature, focus shift, sharpness, flare, distortion, and performance in the field.
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