[Leica] The "problem" with the M9

[Frank Filippone]

I see a major fault in this discussion..... It is 2017.  Capture is done digitally with an M9.  There are options.

In 1963, when I first got a real camera ( Zeiss Contax 2A) I had to decide in advance what to shoot.... B+W or Color and what emulsion to use.  With a few exceptions, (Panalure or some cross platform developing or copy negs) that decision was final.  There was no choice allowed after capture.  Color was color and B+W was B+W.

It is not 1963. It is 2017.  There is (are?) PS, LR, and a whole lot more digital photography programs to modify your captured image.  B+W from color?  Yes.
 Emulsion characteristic of grain or colorimetry?  Yes.  Filters like yellow, red, or whatever?  Yes.  Tungsten Lighting?  Yes.  And, absurdly, with the proper tools, (artificial) color from B+W image capture. 

So why the NEED to decide in advance?  The choice is yours to decide at capture or afterwards.

Yes, there are differences between the captured images between the M9 and the Monochrom....  You can always carry and use one or the other on any day.  Or carry both....

But to be honest, carrying 2 cameras and switching lenses back and forth, is a job for younger photographers than I. 

I carry a color camera 90% of the time.  The images I get are sometimes (5-10%) changed in post to B+W.  I see no problem in deciding later....

It IS a different aesthetic.  Not better nor worse.  Different.

As is said... there are no rules.

Frank Filippone
Red735i at verizon.net