In addition to chrome, the upcoming Leica M9-P will be available in black as well. You can see another close up of the chrome M9-P version on this twitpic from Seal (you can see part of the "M9-P' engraving on the hot shoe). Here are the details.
- No Leica logo or M9 marking
- Classic Leica writing on top plate
- Chrome 0r black finish
- Vulcanite cover
- Sapphire LCD glass
- $700-$1000 more expensive than the M9
Everything else should be identical to the current Leica M9 model.
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30 Comments
a la carte. duh.
Check out the hotshoe…
no David, it’s not a-la-carte, this is the M9-P – it will be a serial production model, not a limited edition
I think the really interesting thing to know is: is there any internal change (processing power, battery life, sensor), overall size or this are just cosmetics?
I don’t think there will be any other changes inside the camera.
can someone tell me the point of the M9-P?
i mean, really?
at least the M9-T was a bigger overhaul worth wild considering you are wild, but still, a “P” version with a screw in place of a logo?
Really?
Leica knows that they can make slight changes to the appearance and get deep pocketed folks with personality disorders to pull the company out of the depths.
It’s just that one day there’ll be an abundance of limited stuff…
haha “deep pocketed folks with personality disorders”. Spot on!
Is Leica totally ok with Mr. Seal pretty much announcing their camera a month ahead of time? This would be like giving Lady Gaga prototype iPhones to test…on stage…
This is the whole idea – marketing 101: our cameras are so cool that even Seal uses them.
Yeah but like, AFTER their officially announced right? I just figure Seal has either be instructed to selectively leak the camera so that the wealthy camera nerds of the world just start salivating early….or he’s extremely stupid. Both are plausible.
the fact that the picture is not yet removed from Twitpic should give you an answer to your question
I love reading about Leica coming soon… it is like hearing news about all those important/amazing people living somewhere in the same world, however, never destined to be met… fairy tales sort of stuff
Out of old habits, I too like to hear of new Leica’s. For a few moments, I get interested then the ‘Leica-drink’ wears off, I wake and smell the coffee and get a bit bummed because this is what Leica considers worthy of our attention.
The earlier M’s and SL/SL2 models always came with a vulcanite-like covering that would last and last – now you pay extra for it and they give a special ‘graphic’s package’ and saphire glass. But the functions stay the same? All for between $700 and $1000 – what a deal. It is becoming harder and harder to take Leica seriously.
Oh, no announcements about the still incomplete S system/lenses? Boy, would I be getting p—-d-off if I were waiting for any of that….and waiting…..and waiting……
The ‘twitpic’ says, ‘going retro’.
How ‘nice’ to see Leica reverting back to old designs – could it be that they actually heard the backlash from the Leica/VW/AUDI Uber M9 Titanium?
Or are they so out of which way to go, that they are buying time by ‘going retro’???? I always hope they pull one out their butts and actually make sense with something…..
Uhhh…. that twitpic is not from Leica.
Never said the “going retro” was from Leica. But Leica obviously doesn’t mind (or maybe suggested) the comment or images (which look like ad images) because, as was stated it’s still posted.
Or maybe by “retro” he’s referring to the older, pre-ASPH lens he’s using.
I think the decision for Leica to go ‘retro’ was probably done at around the time the Fuji X100 was announced. They saw how the market responded to that ‘retro’ camera and figured, well now’s a good time to milk the M9 internal design one last time before the M10 next year (my guess). Also I think the whole Seal thing was staged and planned. Seal’s Leica profile was elevated recently with Steve Huff’s photo contest (remember he gave away his M9 as a prize). This was a leveraging event, and the whole airport thing, well it’s just too cute. This sneak peek approach tends to fit with recent marketing approaches that use social & modern media (I recall the Canon 5D II marketing approach).
I insist that M9-P should have more than just a different cosmetic finish and a sapphire glass (which should be standard on Leicas, given their price!) More radical reworks are required on such a camera !
Leica knows exactly what they are doing. They have survived the past twenty years or so by marketing themselves as a lifestyle brand, not a camera-maker (that is not the same as saying that they “are” a lifestyle brand). $26k special editions convince the nouveau riche and wannabes aspirants that $2k for a point-and-shoot with a fixed lens is a bargain, or paying a 40% markup on a rebranded Panasonic compact is a steal. Anything to bask in the aura of the logo.
That said, I absolutely love Leica optics. Low-yield, incredibly high quality lenses that are worth every penny IMHO. One of the ironies of the digital era is that manufacturers and consumers have become obsessed with camera bodies, and more specifically camera sensors: who has the most megapixels, the best latitude, the highest ISO. This is ironic because bodies have become the most disposable aspect of digital photography. Your camera is outdated within eighteen months to three years after purchase, and depreciates faster than a car. Lenses are forever.
I agree. However, as nice as the glass is, there is the new for Leica vaulting it’s R user base and not making good on it’s ‘solution’ for the R-philes. Leaving us with invested $$$ in now ‘obsolete’ equipment that has to be adapted to use on a C or N body for FF digital. Or keep using with film which is fine as long as film is available – but it doesn’t change the reality.
That has tended to take some of the wind out of the mythical glass – even for me.
Isn’t the point that “P” means that this new camera functions similarly to the MP in the sense that it is (or should be) fully operational without a battery?
I’ll put in my 5 cents here, I wonder if there was much of a point to have a saphhire glass if the camera is supposed to work without a battery.
As other readers, I’m not sure if I can get the purpose of this “new” camera. Is this just a restyling in order to keep interest high as “regular” M9 are not sold out any more in order to buy time for the new M10 ?
Years back, Leica introduced the R4s’p’ it was considered that ‘p’ stood for professional.
I’m going to assume that is what it supposed to mean…M9 ‘professional’. The camera is basically a marketing exercise – as they have to buy time while they are working on their next step – and wjile they try a catch-up to the promised lenses of the promised yet incomplete S line-up….and an ‘interest’ magnet for the brand.
It’s doubtful they will never admit it – but I think they have made a couple of blunders with the product line that may have hand-cuffed them a bit more than they envisioned.
There’s no battery… the film advance lever charges a capacitor which is enough for 1 exposure and a short preview on the high energy-efficient screen. You can build up a charge by advancing the lever several times when you want to go in to the menus, etc.
*sigh*
Cool idea! Lol.
I like the idea! Is it actually feasible?
Tried to click on the twitpic link this morning to show a friend and it doesn’t work anymore.
Luckily I saved a copy of the image on my computer!
The picture is still there: http://twitpic.com/53td59. This means that Leica Camera doesn’t mind having this picture online.