Apart from the price – €22,000, or $29,000 – all you need to know about the photographic ambitions for Leica’s new M9 Titanium special edition is in this line: The Leica logo has been restyled and is elaborately hand-engraved in pure resin, inlaid with white enamel, sealed with clear varnish and then polished and positioned centrally–directly above the lens.
That is true, a whole paragraph about the hand-made logo – just the thing to get a collector’s acquisitive juices a-flowin’. There are actually some interesting innovations in the Walter de’Silva-designed camera, but these will go unnoticed by actual photographers as this M9 is not designed for them.
The M9 Titanium though is an absolute departure from putting exclusive leathers and other materials onto the normal camera’s outer casings. Although it has an M9 at it’s heart, it has a completely a new casing, even down to the base plate.
There is also some new technology in the viewfinder, more of which later. As it’s name suggests, the material is Titanium; tough and light – pretty much ideal for a camera. Every piece of exterior metal is made from solid Titanium and the body is covered in beautiful high grade leather.
Walter de’Silva addressed not only the design of the camera, but also focused on its handling and technical specifications. New features include the LED illumination of the bright-line frames in the viewfinder, removing the necessity for a standard illuminating window, and making the front aspect of the camera more balanced.
Also entirely new in the history of camera technology is the M9 Titanium’s carrying concept. Instead of the traditional strap lugs of standard cameras, the chief designer and Leica engineers developed an innovative carrying concept that is reduced to just one single mounting point on the camera body.
The metal finger loop, covered with fine Nappa leather, ensures a secure, steady and ergonomic grip when shooting or carrying the camera with one hand. Also new is the specially designed, stylish shoulder holster that holds and safely protects the camera and lens in transport, and keeps it ready to shoot at a moment’s notice.
The camera’s trim, which uses leather typically reserved for the interiors of Audi’s premium automobiles, fits perfectly with the body’s titanium surface and provides outstanding grip. The grip characteristics are further enhanced by a specially designed and embossed diamond structure. In addition, the exposed surfaces are treated with a hard coating applied by a specialized company in Switzerland.
Looking at the outside, one thing which is absent is the manual frame-line selector lever. There are some die-hards on certain forums which mourn it’s loss, but I for one have never found a need for it. I already know the field of view a 50mm is going to give me compared to say a 28mm; the need for changing this manually before choosing lenses is, I think redundant.
The M9 Titanium looks so much better and cleaner for not having it. The Summilux-M 35mm f1.4 ASPH is a superb lens; the results just sing. To have it made from Titanium just makes it feel even better in the hand. It’s an absolute joy operating this camera, looking through that superb viewfinder and focusing this gem of a lens; it just feels absolutely spot on.
The LEICA M9 Titanium is available in the UK since the end of November 2010 from authorised Leica dealers including the Leica Store Mayfair: www.leica-storemayfair.co.uk, tel: 020 7629 1351. A full list of authorised UK Leica dealers is available at www.leica-camera.co.uk. The UK suggested retail price of the LEICA M9 Titanium set is £19,800 including VAT.
