Just came back from Phuket, Thailand, where I enjoyed a relaxing short break with my wife.

Before the trip, while packing our things, at the very last moment I decided to bring my Leica M-E with the 50mm Summilux.

Why last moment?

Because for this trip we had no plans to go out and visit things. Our only agenda was to relax in the beach resort, getting the most of its excellent amenities like the gym, the pool, the beautiful beach front, a nearby lake, the good food (and good wine…).

Hence initially I was not in the mood to bring any camera with me. The iPhone is good enough, I thought.

Just wanted to relax, to feel no burden.

But as I stated in a previous post… What’s the point of having all these magnificent cameras if I don’t bring them out?

M system

Shooting with any M system camera is a unique experience. And my Leica M-E – which is essentially an M9 – is an amazing piece of machinery. It was announced in 2009, it was the first full-frame digital rangefinder and, if my memory stands correct, the first digital camera without an anti-aliasing filter for extra sharpness.

The M9 was cutting edge technology in those days, but at the same time it lacked features that were common in mass market cameras.

And since it carried a crazy price tag, to many this was unconceivable.

In fact, to this day there is still a general hatred towards Leica because of their prices. The most common ground for the hatred being a like-for-like specs and performance comparison with other cameras to demonstrate how Leica is overpriced.

Many haters had actually never shot with a Leica. I’m not saying this is a must if you are to produce an opinion of a camera. But when it comes to a Leica rangefinder, I think you should try it before you cast your opinion as there is nothing else similar and specs alone will tell you nothing about it.

Leica M9 / M-E

This was, and still is, an impressive camera. Even though it was announced, what… 16 years ago?

I like this camera so much that once I wrote a long post under the tittle “Homage to my Leica M-E” where I shared in detail my thoughts on this camera. You can go there if you are interested, if I start writing about it again I won’t stop.

But I need to make a quick reference about the colour output of this camera.

Many people will tell you the Leica M9 / M-E produce colours you won’t find in any other camera.

The reason for this, they claim, lies in the unique CCD sensor inside the camera that was tailor made by Kodak.

CCD or not, I’m not sure – I lack the knowledge to fully support this claim. But as an owner of this camera since 2013, I can confirm the colours have a special look to me.

I would describe as deep and dense, but not overly saturated. They are beautiful and very pleasant to my eyes.

50mm Summilux

Ah, the 50mm Summilux… It cost me an arm and a leg.

Yet I rarely use it because I’m a 35mm guy. It’s my preferred focal due to the flexibility and thus the 35mm Summicron is my favourite lens for the Leica M-E.

Quite frankly, I have no idea when was the last time I took the 50mm Summilux out.

Shame on me. Because I forgot how magical this lens is.

The 50mm Summilux is a lens with character. It has a typical signature, a certain softness to it.

I once shot with a 50mm Summicron and I could see the difference. Spec-wise, I would have thought it was just about the extra f stop, from 2.0 to 1.4.

But I was wrong.

The 50mm Summicron is very clinical, in a way similar to its 35mm counterpart. But it lacks the character of the Summilux.

The Summicron is like the technically perfect lens, whereas the Summilux goes beyond that, liberates itself and is more poetic.

It is actually not perfect from the technical standpoint, especially when you shoot at f/1.4 and notice the light fall-off.

But that’s not imperfection, that’s character.

And then there is the softness I mentioned above, which is noticeable not only in the bokeh, but also in how the light transitions from bright to dark.

Oh yes. How could I talk about this 50mm Summilux without mentioning the creamy bokeh. It is amazing and gives you this dreamy look.

To fully achieve the softness of the bokeh, you need to shoot at maximum f/1.4 aperture.

But that comes at a risk: in daytime, you can easily overexpose – especially if you are in Thailand under strong sunlight!

On the other hand, f/1.4 gives you razor thin depth-of-field. Unless this is your intent, you risk a subject partially out of focus.

I can tell you with the Summilux, if I want some subject separation I shoot mostly at f/2.8 or f/2.0. Only in some occasions I dare to shoot in f/1.4. It is deliberate and not because let’s shoot everything at maximum aperture.

This lens is sharp and you get what some people call the micro-contrast. I guess it’s visible in my wife’s hair?

Quite amazing considering it’s coming from a low resolution (by today’s standards…) 18MP sensor.

Vintage B&W

This feature is rarely mentioned in camera reviews. Vintage B&W is a built-in colour preset in the M9 / M-E that can turn otherwise boring images into something moody and dramatic – and more attractive.

I like the way it looks.

I was shooting RAW + JPEG, so some Vintage B&W photos I’m showing here, you can actually check their original RAW colour versions above and compare.

Many people (myself included) praise Fuji digital film simulations, but if you ask me this one from Leica doesn’t fall behind.

It’s handy in cloudy days when colours look dull and flat.

What else?

With this camera you have to shoot carefully because the CCD sensor lacks the dynamic range of current high end cameras.

You need to expose your shot correctly, otherwise you are screwed – don’t expect to save it in post-processing.

Which is actually a good thing?

During this trip I shot in manual mode only, going slow, carefully adjusting aperture and shutter speed.

The only information in the viewfinder is the shutter speed in bright red, old-school style.

Unlike modern cameras, there is nothing else to distract you.

Manual focusing by super-imposing the split image, changing the aperture by turning the mechanical ring in the lens and verifying the shutter speed changing accordingly – it was good fun and the ultimate shutter therapy.

And on top of everything: it was the ultimate M system experience.

What else could I ask for?

*All photos above from Leica M-E and 50mm Summicron, straight out of camera with no post-processing.