The next iconic model is the Leica M9. Even though the APS-H M8 had the corner color shift problems (depending on lenses), the Leica M9 surprisingly came with a full frame sensor without making changes in the flange back focus distance. Immediately after releasing the M8, Leica Company started to release new lenses and upgraded existing lenses, one after another like a machinegun. Their performance is on the level of a different dimension rather than just an improvement. It was like Leica Company is deriding old lens fans who cared bokeh and other characters (of course, there's no such fact). When old wide angle lenses with poor telecentricity is mounted, corners look like a broken TV tube. Although the problem could be solved partially by the software, the images still look miserable. However, once the newly released lenses are mounted, it generates spectacular output. One of my acquaintance still uses the M8 to avoide the poor corner depiction. He's right, but I have a different perspective: they seemed to offer the best equipment they can produce without caring about the past. Anyway, the Leica M9 depicted the lenses' whole image circle and it represented the whole new Leica Company. One by one, film M shooters around me switched to digital with the M9 or M9-P. People switched to the M9 just wanted to shoot on the full frame sensor, while people switched to the M9-P were fine with the M8, but they were knocked out by the traditional design including the top cover engraving. I thought Leica Company has become such a versatile entertainer.
I must talk about the Leica S2 as well. Some Leica users expected the R digital system because of so many rumors, but what Leica Company released was a whole new DSLR system with the sensor larger than the full frame 35mm. We tested it and we are stunned by the image quality. The 37.5 Megapixel sensor is smaller than the 645 and larger than 35mm. Of course, it doesn't have a LPF. The combination of the number of pixels and the sensor size contributes to rich tonality. Besides, it utilizes new lenses exclusively designed for the system - no wonder it takes excellent pictures that is impossible to realize with 135 cameras. Release of the Leica S2 can be explained by three points: 1) they made their first AF SLR, 2) they joined digital medium format industry, 3) they defined a new sensor size. This is interesting. I think it must have been easier for them to design and produce the digital R system because there are R lenses users all over the world. But, they didn't. And, even though they took the leap into medium format, they didn't even use the conventional format like 645 and created a whole new format. How can they be so daring? Professional photographers invest a lot of money to get their systems and a lot of time to learn them. They are interrupting the market, so they could be more modest. Anyway, since this release of the S2 was one of the most striking news for me as a Leica user, I asked many questions at the interview.
