Good design, can be used without reading the manual, sensor easy to clean.
Colors perfect in RAW format. No "digital" feeling at all while working with it.

Heavy, JPG and TIFF give unpredictable results. Have to take your time (no autofocus) Battery runs out fast. High price.

R8 + DMR, 15mm Super Elmar - photography of interiors. Camera is very heavy with this lens, I use a tripod and shoot in RAW format. The flatscreen of my computer does not really show much difference between Nikon and Leica pictures. But when you make a print, the colors from the DMR come perfect, very natural, where my Nikon images showed always too much yellow and cyan.

Customer Service

They do their best, but it can always be better.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70 & D200, Fuji FinePix Pro S2 & S1, Sigma SD9

Ease of operation and design. The avialbility of releasing the shutter from several different hand posiitons. The sensor is a dream to keep clean. All of the DMR menu selections are easy to find and adjust. The hand grip that comes with the DMR is ideal for nearly all of the lens configurations. Leica support (sales representative) is worth the price and he was willing to assist with any questions. Back easy to change once you understand the process. Extremely well made. Leica lenses. The battery lasts much longer than I expected and comes with both a wall and a car charger. Free basic software that actually does a good job for anyone without Photoshop CS2.

Instuction manual very basic and missing a few detailed explanations. The cost of the DMR made me hesitate before making the decision to buy, but you really do get what you pay for and I do not consider this much of a weakness.

Very well designed and a real pleasure to use. The image quality is, in my opinion, outstanding. The R system with DMR back actual requires one to take a step back and think before pushing one of the three available shutter releases. I believe this is a good thing when it comes to landscape photography. The construction quality of the camera and lens are second to none. I find the DMR back easilier to use than my D200 as its design and layout is more intuitive.

I would recommend the R8/R9 and the DMR system to anyone that loves the thrill of taking the image as well as producing a extremely high quality final product.

Customer Service

The Leica representative and the sales personnel at my local dealer are outstanding and were willing to assist me in any way possible. The Leica representative even responded to my request on his day off! Basically "old world" service from a company that is definately making a come back.

Similar Products Used:

Nothing really compares. Have been using Nikon systems (D200, etc.).

..hmm...for the DMR it is difficult to give much points in the strength issue. You are lucky if it works without surprises.
If you like suprises it is a strength.

DMR is outdated- no guestion about it. Buffer size varies. Batteries do not last long. Shooting fast is always a surprise and varies how much you have space on your memory card - DMR computations are to be tested and mostly produce results with experimentation, which is cannot be accepted in this price class.

DMR is outdated product by Leica. Only the best Leica lenses rescue this product of being total disaster.
Totally unexpected behavior in every step of the way is
the nature of this digiback. Leica R9 is a fine body and should be used with film. A new digiback should be availabe for those who have helped Leica to test this product and giving feedback of this unexpectable "high quality product".

Customer Service

Remains to be seen. In Finland the official representant is only learning the business. All deliveriers are late. No service available.

Similar Products Used:

Canon, Nikon, 645 by Imacon

Very strong design, good sensor and made to last. Now that they have both digital and film backings, you can take a picture in digital, and than take the same shot with film. A great idea by Leica, Way To Go!

The only problem is that Leica is not going to use an automatic system. You have to set exposure, shutter speed and more. You have to know what you're doing.

Good all around camera

Customer Service

Mikes is the place to go, forget Wolf

Similar Products Used:

(except for digital and film backing) all Leica Fim cameras share the all manual feature