Earlier this month I traveled to Toronto for work and what to bring a camera - “just in case”. The Leica M9 still had the new toy smell, so it was packed with a 50mm Summilux-M ASPH in rather feminine looking Artist & Artisan bag (a review here). Looking at the weather forecast and knowing the trip was 12 day meeting marathon, there was little point in packing a full arsenal of camera gear. Of course completely contrary to the forecast, the weather was great.

During the course of the trip there was some time for site seeing - Niagara Falls one day, downtown Toronto another day and a couple business dinners in between. It is delicate balance taking pictures on a business trip. After all, you are there for business, not to trollop around looking for blog worthy snapshots. But on the weekends I felt paroled. Some people brought their wives, so I figured if they can bring their wife, I can take pictures. Not quite the same, but it my mind  - totally the same!

While snapping this and that with the 50mm Summilux-M ASPH, I am thinking the shot should be 200mm, or Christina should be sitting there, or that cityscape should be 18mm. Lugging around the Canon 1Ds Mark III and a bag full of lenses was out of the question given the nature of the trip. Something like a Panasonic GF-1 or Olympus EP-1 would be a good, economical, logical choice. Alas, I am set in my ways and prefer full-frame. Add an optical viewfinder, mechanical aperture rings, big beefy dials, metal constructions... ahhhhh... now that’s a camera. I like the visceral, tactile feel of a solid film SLR or rangefinder.

Probably what I like most about the M9 compared to the M8 is that I can shoot the M9 or 1Ds3 based mostly on preference. If in a Leica M mood, then I can shoot the Leica M9, knowing that I did not make any compromises in terms of file quality or size relative to the 1Ds Mark III. Whereas with the Leica M8 and its 10 megapixels, I felt the decision to shoot the Leica M8 over the Canon 1Ds Mark III was a compromise. If I wanted a small camera, the Leica M8 was great, but the files were limited and typically boiled down to 5-7 megapixels after cropping. If I wanted big files, then the 1Ds Mark III was the better choice. The Canon 1Ds Mark III has better high ISO and a bunch of other features, but speaking in a very general sense, for me, the Leica M9 and Canon 1Ds Mark III are peers.

Being peers introduces a new set of challenges. With the 1Ds Mark III / Leica M8 pairing, the Leica M8 was #2. The Canon 1Ds Mark III was the alpha dog, thus it was paired with a full array of zooms and primes. It was “the” kit and the Leica M8 was the quirky snapshot camera. Now, with the Leica M9 on hand I do not know if the Leica M9 is #1 or #2. Do I build up the M kit and add lenses like the 28mm Summicron-M ASPH and the APO’s? Do I keep all the Zeiss ZE’s for the 1Ds3? There is a budget, there are limits. Hopefully as time goes on it will get easier to decide which system gets which lens. Some may consider this a nice “problem” to have. Fair enough.

In some ways keeping the Leica M9 limited to a single lens is better. There are no choices to be made. Pick up the camera and go shooting - that’s it. While taking the pictures I wish I had brought something else because surely that other lens, or camera or whatever, would have caught the mother of all keepers. Whatever. But once some time has passed and I have a more objective perspective, I am usually very happy with the Leica M8’s (and M9’s) results. The Leica 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH is a great lens for candids. For street shooting and pictures of cityscapes, 50mm is too long for my preferences. But as a single lens choice for the Leica M9, the 50mm F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH is definitely worth considering.