Leica M9 and other news

I’ve always said that finding the right camera dealer is very important no matter the format you shoot. Finding the right dealer is much like finding a partner you can trust. I was extremely fortunate to find Dave Gallagher, owner of Capture Integration in Atlanta GA several years ago when I made the major move from shooting landscape in 35mm to medium format. Dave was with me during the early learning period where it seemed I was on the phone with him or one of his employees on a daily basis. Dave runs the type of shop that others can only strive to achieve; no wonder there’s huge customer loyalty.


Capture Integration has been there helping me make the transition from 35mm to shooting first with a Phase One P30+ and Mamiya 645 and on to the Cambo WRS1000 and P45+. Along the way Capture Integration has also helped Sandy get one of the first Canon 1DsIII on the market.

What does this have to do the Leica M9? Dave has recently become a dealer for Leica. I had a recent conversation with Dave about the need of a lightweight camera that had as good image quality as my P45+ knowing at the same time that there’s no current 35mm on the market that can match it; it can however come close. The Canon 1DsIII has outstanding image quality’ however it’s too big for what I had in mind. What I began looking for was a relief from packing 30 plus pounds of gear for miles but would also give me the quality I need for large prints. The answer was the new full frame 35mm Leica M9. Anyone who is at least vaguely familiar with the Leica brand knows that the cameras and lenses are hand built one at a time thus the quality is superb.

Cutting to the heart of this is that I will soon (Friday) receive a brand new Leica M9 along with a trio of lenses; 35mm f/2, 50mm f/2, and a 90mm f/2.5. The arrival coincides with my upcoming trip to Carmel where I’ll join my good friend Ken Doo to attend the second annual Capture Integration (Pigs in a Blanket) gathering. Dave is bringing all sorts of goodies for people to try and we’ll start off by doing a night shoot in Alcatraz then move south to Monterrey, Carmel and Big Sur for a couple days. I’ll be leaving early so that I can try out the M9 at the Grand Canyon.

I’ll be shooting in Yosemite the following week with my Cambo WRS/P45+, M9 and IR cameras. I hope to share my thoughts on the M9 as well as images just as soon as I can.

Watch for more updates and images in the coming days from places such as the South Rim, Grand Canyon, in and around the San Francisco area including Alcatraz, Monterrey, Carmel, Big Sur and of course the beauty of Yosemite in the winter.

On a slightly different note, we’ve been informed by the Tucson Heart Hospital that they are using our DVD on their in-house video system which is piped into all the public areas.



Don