[Leica] First outing with new M9—pictures and request for advice

[hlritter at bex.net (Howard Ritter)]

Funny thing, psychology. When it was unobtainable, I was content to wait a 
while before getting an M9 (or to wait for the '10) but when I saw that B&H 
now had them in stock...well, UPS had it in my hands the next morning. It's 
like an addiction. (Maybe the 'like' is superfluous.)

Here are the pictures:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/hlritter/First+M9s/

Quotidian, generic, and clich?ed, but I just wanted to see what the 
performance of the camera looked like. And they led me to a couple of 
observations, which lead to a couple of questons:

        Why is the color balance so different in two different pictures of 
the same subject taken moments apart, the only difference being that I moved 
a couple of feet back for one of them? These are the two titled 'leaves 
warmer' and 'leaves cooler'. The WB is auto in both.

        Why are there so many dirt shadows on this brand-new sensor? See the 
pictures with lots of sky. The camera had a lens on within moments of having 
the body cap removed. This is really annoying in a camera right out of the 
box. Anyone have a similar experience? Suggestions for sensor cleaning?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to taking more, lots more, in the coming days. 
The FF sensor and FOV just seem somehow more natural than the 75% of the M8. 
At least to a 50-year 35mm shooter.

?howard