Leica R9 and Digital-Modul-R

In 2002, Leica released the R9 as the new flagship of its R-series line of SLR cameras. It represented an incremental upgrade of the Leica R8, retaining the latter's design and key specifications, while addressing some of the criticism that the R8 had been facing. In particular, the weight of the R9 was reduced by 100g (or 11%) from the R8 by replacing zinc alloy in the top plate by magnesium, and by using aluminum instead of steel for the bottom plate's frame. In addition, an LCD frame counter was added on the top plate, the mode selector dial gained a lock, and the rear LCD display could now be illuminated.

The R9 also brought several improvements to flash support. High Speed Sync flash is supported with appropriate flash units and SCA adapters, making it possible to use fill flash at shutter speeds greater than the X-sync speed. Moreover, the use of fill-flash at slower shutter speeds and wider apertures was improved by enabling lower-power illumination modes with selected flash guns.

The Leica R9 was sold in Black (order number 10093) and Anthracite finishes (10090). It can be used with all R-bayonet lenses, but Leica does not recommend the mounting of 1-cam and 2-cam lenses due to possible damage of electronic contacts on the camera. Similar to the R8, the R9 can take advantage of the lens-specific information transmitted to the camera by R-lenses that are equipped with a ROM chip. All the accessories that were developed in conjunction with the R8, such as the Motor Winder and the Motor Drive, may also be used with the R9. Up until the discontinuation of the R-system in 2009, about 8,000 R9 bodies were produced and sold. No major defects or reliability issues with the camera are known.

From film to digital

In June 2003, Leica announced the development of a clip-on digital back that would turn the R9 (or its predecessor, the R8) from a film into a digital camera. After a two-year waiting period, the Digital-Modul-R (Leica order number 14439) finally became available in June 2005. The DMR consists of two parts: the digital back, which replaces the camera's backdoor, and the power unit. The DMR aligns well with the R9 body and adds useful controls for portrait-style shooting, but also brings additional bulk to an already large camera body. The size of the R9 with DMR grows to 158 x 140 x 89mm (W x H x D) and the weight increases to 1,395g. At launch, it sold for a steep $5,995.

The DMR was designed and manufactured by Leica in cooperation with Denmark-based Imacon. It uses a 10 megapixel sensor developed by Kodak that is 26.4mm wide and 17.6mm high, which gives rise to a format factor of 1.37 – meaning that a 50mm lens on the R9-DMR offers the same field of view as a 68mm lens on a full-frame film or digital camera. Leica provided special viewscreens with the DMR that indicate the outline of the cropped image in the camera's viewfinder.

The sensor in the Leica Digital-Modul-R has no anti-aliasing filter, so that it can capture very sharp and detailed images, but is susceptible to moiré-artefacts. In order to alleviate the adverse impacts of moiré, the DMR has a software filter function built in. The DMR records true 16-bit color depth for enhanced dynamic range and faithful color reproduction, offers hardware-based noise reduction, and can shoot up to 2 images per second. ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to 1,600. The DMR-sensor is readily accessible and, hence, relatively easy to clean.

The DMR does not support TTL-metering when using flash (since there is no reflection off the "film"). Hence, a flash unit should be operated in computer controlled automatic or manual mode. Images taken with the DMR are stored in DNG, TIFF or JPEG format on SD cards. There is a 1.8" LCD panel with 130,000 pixels on the back for image replay and menu control. Images can be transferred to a computer via a Firewire connection.

About 2,200 units of the DMR were produced and sold before the digital back was discontinued in 2007. Leica then was working on a fully digital successor to the R9 that would also support autofocus operation. However, this Leica R10 never made it beyond the development phase, and Leica decided in 2009 to terminate its R-series line of SLRs altogether.

The Leica R8 and R9 remain the only hybrid film and digital 35mm cameras available. The DMR made it possible for Leica shooters to continue using their trusted camera bodies and excellent R-system lenses, while taking advantage of the benefits of digital image capture. However, due to the delays in developing and marketing the Leica Digital-Modul-R, the device was no longer at the technological frontier when it finally started shipping. Alternatives, such as the Canon 1Ds II, provided higher resolution, better low light image quality, and faster continuous shooting ability, while a camera like the Canon 20D offered similar imaging performance as the DMR at a fraction of the price. Some users also reported dissatisfaction with the use of SD cards instead of the more popular Compact Flash cards, the absence of TTL-flash support, and the wide-angle unfriendly crop factor.

Headline specifications of all Leica R-system cameras

		Camera	Shutter (1/sec)	TTL- metering	Exposure modes	Hot- shoe	Flash control	Size (mm)	Weight (g)	Prod run	Prod period	Price range ($)	ebay offers
1		Leicaflex	2000	-	M	No	non-TTL	148.0 / 97.0 / 57.0	770	~32,500	1964 - 68	200-400	check
2		Leicaflex SL	2000	sel	M	No	non-TTL	148.0 / 97.0 / 57.0	770	~75,000	1968 - 74	125-250	check
3		Leicaflex SL2	2000	sel	M	Yes	non-TTL	148.0 / 97.0 / 57.0	770	~25,000	1974 - 76	400-600	check
4		Leica R3	1000	sel & int	A/S/M	Yes	non-TTL	148.0 / 96.5 / 64.6	780	~70,000	1976 - 80	125-250	check
5		Leica R4	1000	sel & int	P/A/S/M	Yes	non-TTL	138.5 / 88.1 / 60.0	630	>100,000	1980 - 87	150-250	check
6		Leica R4s	1000	sel & int	A/M	Yes	non-TTL	138.5 / 88.1 / 60.0	620	~25,000	1983 - 87	150-250	check
7		Leica R5	2000	sel & int	P/A/S/M	Yes	TTL	138.5 / 88.1 / 62.2	625	~34,000	1986 - 91	250-500	check
8		Leica R6	1000	sel & int	M	Yes	TTL	138.5 / 88.1 / 62.2	625	~24,000	1988 - 92	400-550	check
9		Leica R-E	2000	sel & int	A/M	Yes	TTL	138.5 / 88.1 / 62.2	625	~6,100	1990 - 94	450-600	check
10		Leica R6.2	2000	sel & int	M	Yes	TTL	138.5 / 88.1 / 62.2	625	~21,000	1992 - 02	500-750	check
11		Leica R7	2000	sel & int	P/A/S/M	Yes	full-auto	138.5 / 98.8 / 62.2	670	~30,000	1992 - 97	350-450	check
12		Leica R8	8000	sel, int, multi	P/A/S/M	Yes	full-auto	158.0 / 101 / 62.0	890	~36,500	1996 - 02	500-600	check
13		Leica R9	8000	sel, int, multi	P/A/S/M	Yes	HSS	158.0 / 101 / 62.0	790	~9,000	2002 - 09	1,000-1,500	check

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