The upcoming Leica Monochrome digital rangefinder (with a black and white only sensor) will have a M9-like body. We are not going to see a new M10 camera on May 10 – a completely new M10 will probably be announced in September during Photokina. I am still trying to get a confirmation on whether the new Leica Monochrome will have a LCD screen or not, but the new camera is expected to have very clean/noise free high-ISO capabilities (probably compared to the current M9).
Today I will be comparing apples and oranges. The Leica M9 and Fuji X-Pro 1 are two completely different beasts. The only similarity is the way both cameras look. Well, actually there is more then that – both have optical viewfinders, similar megapixel counts (18MP vs. 16.3MP) and no anti-aliasing (AA) filter and that’s about it. I am not going in details to discuss the features and functions, instead I will just compare few images taken with the Leica M9 and Fuji X-Pro 1 cameras. This is not an easy task because Lightroom 4 currently does not support RAF files form the X-Pro 1 and the Silkypix RAW file converter (included with the X-Pro1) doesn’t support M9 DNG files. My only option at that point is to use JPG files taken directly from the X-Pro1. I may redo this test later with direct conversions from the RAW files. Obviously this is not a scientific comparison and it’s prone to user’s error. Click on images for larger view.
Several readers have informed me that there is currently a shortage of M9 CCD sensors. Cameras sent in for sensor repairs were in some case replaced with brand new M9s as a result of this shortage. The 18MP sensor inside the M9 was initially produced by Kodak, but their sensor division was sold to Platinum Equity in November 2011.
If you are located in South Florida, KEH will have a two day buying event at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre (house of the Leica boutique in West Palm Beach):
I got my Fuji X-Pro 1 camera form Amazon two days ago and since I still have not received any of the Fuji lenses I ordered, my only choice was to try the new camera with Leica M lenses. I used Kipon L/M-FX adapter that can be purchased from eBay (check also Kipon’s website here).
The Fuji X-Pro1 mirrorless camera doesn’t have focus confirmation or focus peaking. The only helpfull feature if you are using manual lenses will be the zoom in the EVF. Make sure you switch to manual focusing (M) in order to enable the zoom feature (by pressing the dial on the back). I found it easier to focus when the lens is wide open (f/1.4 for example) or just use f/8 with zone focusing.
Because the X-Pro 1 will not recognize the Leica lens/adapter combo, you will have to enable “shoot without lens” option in the menu (can be found in the 3rd menu page).
You can change to the actual focal length in the camera’s menu – it will be saved in the EXIF data and it can be used as a reference later on (some of my samples do not have the correct focal length because I forgot to set it):
There is new podcast called Rangefinder Moment that covers also Leica related topics. You can download the first three podcasts for free on iTunes.
Those are the top 10 most visited LeicaRumors posts for March 2012:
