Gear doesn’t matter/Gear matters
Do you need a fancy camera to take high quality images? There are a lot of strongly held opinions out there. I’ll tell you what I think.
To cut to the chase, the answer is no. The quality of today’s smartphone and low-end mirrorless cameras rivals the quality of high-end cameras from 20 years ago. And those old cameras were pretty darn good.
Also, the software available today allows lower resolution images to be enhanced and upscaled if needed. It’s remarkable how great a photo you can get from the small sensor on a smartphone. There are plenty of amazing images that were produced on phones hanging in galleries these days.
For years, my favorite camera was the Leica M9, which had a measly 18 megapixels. That’s small potatoes by today’s standards. But it strikes me that when reviewing images I often can’t tell whether I used the M9 or the more current 60-megapixel M11. Not to mention that some of my favorite images were taken with the puny 6-megapixel Nikon D100.
One area where there are significant benefits to using the latest and greatest (and most expensive) gear is sensor efficiency. Current cameras do have greatly improved noise and dynamic range performance. But software can help to mitigate some of those noise issues, too.
That said, I still prefer high-end gear. I’ll go for the biggest sensor and the best glass that I can afford. I also like simplicity and focus, which is why I gravitate towards Leica.
I’m one of those photographers who originally got into it because I became fascinated with the camera itself. I still love the look and feel of a well made and well designed camera or lens. I was surprised in talking to other photographers that not everyone feels this way. For many it’s just a tool. But for me the camera is an intrinsic part of the creative process.
I don’t intend to do formal gear reviews here, but I will probably post on specific cameras and lenses in the future to give my impressions.
In Praise of the Leica M9
When the Leica M9 came out in 2009, it was quite a technical achievement: A full-frame sensor on a compact rangefinder camera that accepted almost all of the classic M-mount lenses. The sensor was a CCD and it rendered crisp, warm images, reminiscent of Kodachrome — the sensor was made by Kodak, after all. The 18 MP resolution was more than sufficient at the time.
The M9 was my primary camera for several years. Leica released follow-up models with better, more modern sensors, live-view and other technical improvements. I stuck with the M9, choosing to invest in lenses rather than spending my money on incremental camera improvements. But over time those incremental improvements began to add up and by about 2015, the M9 began to feel very dated. It seemed slow and it was missing important new features, like the ability to use an EVF.
These days I mostly shoot with the M11, the SL mirrorless system and occasionally the Q line, including the monochrome version of the Q2. These cameras are very capable – fast, high resolution with incredible low light capability and bright and clear EVFs, and I love shooting with them. All the while, my poor old friend, the M9, was gathering dust.
I wondered how that old M9 would it stack up against the current state of the art. So I brushed off the dust and put the M9 into my bag with the Q2-Monochrome. I’ve been shooting with both cameras on my recent walks and taking comparison shots.
This is not intended to be scientific or precise pixel peeping. Just a little fun. All of the comparison images below were post-processed in Lightroom for tone and contrast and to allow for side by side comparisons. I used an old pre-aspherical 35mm Summilux on the M9 and the Q2-M has a fixed, state-of-the-art 28mm Summilux ASPH. Some slight cropping was necessary because of the different focal lengths. I tried to use the same aperture and the lowest reasonable ISO on both cameras. The goal was just to get them to look generally as similar as possible and then tease out the differences.
Q2 Monochrome
M9
Q2 Monochrome
M9
I’m actually seeing a little more clarity and micro-contrast in the shots from the M9, which is a testament to the quality of the sensor, especially considering that the lens I used is pretty old.
Obviously, when you zoom in, there’s more detail and crispness in the RAW files from the Q2-M due to the larger sensor and better lens. But, even after 11 years, which is an eternity in the world of digital camera technology, the M9 can give the new guys a good run for their money.
Thoughts on the Leica M10-P
I had been using a Leica M9 rangefinder for almost ten years. Before that I shot with the latest high-tech Nikon DSLRs with zoom lenses. The M9 was a revelation. It forced me to get back to the basics of photography. Prime lenses. Carefully framing each shot. Manual focusing. Considering exposure and depth-of-field for each press of the shutter. It was limiting but also liberating.
It’s easy to let the computer inside a modern camera do a lot of those things for you and I think I was falling into that trap. Too much automation can make photography rote. I still use my Nikon DSLR and mirrorless cameras and zoom lenses for speed and versatility, especially when traveling – but alongside the rangefinder.
Digital technology has a lifespan and after ten years the CCD sensor in the M9 was getting a little dated. It still produced beautiful warm RAW images but there was no live view and no ability to do focus peaking for very narrow depth of field shots – something becoming more important for my aging eyes.
I sat out several generations of upgrades to Leica’s rangefinders — successors to the M9, like the M240, the M and a few other variants. I thought the advances were negligible and didn’t warrant the price. My M9 was working just fine. Then, in 2017, Leica released the M10. It had a new 24mp CMOS sensor, a larger optical viewfinder and, most importantly, the ability to use a high resolution electronic viewfinder. Now I was tempted.
So after waiting (and saving) for a year or so I decided to pull the trigger. I checked the B&H used inventory and found an ‘open box special’ for an M10-P, a more expensive version of the M10 with no red dot and a quieter shutter. Because it had been a demo unit it was priced lower than a regular new M10. So I ordered it.
Leica M10-P, 50mm Summilux with Visoflex EVF
Although impeccably engineered, the original M9 was a slightly awkward looking camera. It was the first Leica rangefinder designed for a full frame digital sensor. To fit the electronics and a full frame sensor that could accommodate traditional M lenses, the camera ended up being a little thick and it had some jutting edges. But the photos were amazing so all that was forgiven. But it was time for a change.
Aesthetically and ergonomically the M10-P seems close to perfect to me. It’s beautiful to look at. The controls make sense. It feels solid in the hand. It’s the thinnest digital M yet. And the quiet shutter is incredible. The damping gives it a nice feel and you barely hear the Pa-lunk sound.