Leica M9

Announced at Photokina 2008 and shipping in 2009, the Leica M9 was a genuinely historic camera: the first full-frame (24×36mm) digital rangefinder ever made. It used an 18-megapixel Kodak KAF-18500 CCD sensor — not CMOS, CCD — and that choice defined its character. CCD sensors render color and tonal gradations differently from CMOS, producing what photographers call the "CCD look": rich, slightly saturated color, a particular film-like rendering in highlights, and a quality that many Leica shooters still prefer over the newer CMOS M bodies.

For anyone coming from modern mirrorless cameras: the M9 was primitive by today's standards — no video, slow LiveView, a sensor that developed corrosion issues in later units — but its images had a quality that made people overlook every limitation. At $6,995, it was expensive, but it delivered something no other camera could: a true full-frame rangefinder experience. Leica offered a free sensor replacement program for affected units. Working M9s with replaced sensors remain sought-after today, especially among photographers who prefer CCD rendering. It proved that the M system had a digital future, and it set the template for every digital M that followed.