Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder
Leica this week announced their new Leica M9 Digital Rangefinder - a camera that many will lust after but few will afford. Priced at around $7000 USD this is not a camera that most will be realistically be putting on their Christmas wishlist but it’s certainly a camera worth us taking a moment to profile. Leica are promoting it as the world’s first full frame digital rangefinder camera - of course there’s not a lot of competition, not many manufacturers are making rangefinders these days. It’s also the smallest full frame camera currently available. The Leica M9 takes most Leica M lenses, has a shutter speed of 1/4000 to 32 seconds, 2.5 inch LCD, ISO of up to 2500 and has an 18 megapixel CCD sensor (developed by Kodak). Expect this camera to be impeccably crafted - I’ve had an opportunity to ‘play’ with it’s predecessor (the M8) and it was simply beautiful. Leica does = Luxury, Craftsmanship and Refinement, but you pay for it. Keep in mind that this is a Rangefinder not a DSLR - when lining up the shot you’re not looking through the lens itself but a separate focusing screen.
