18.00 Megapixels	Leica M bayonet	2.5 inch LCD

Based around a Kodak KAF-18500 CCD image sensor with approximately the same dimensions as a frame of 35mm film, the Leica M9 takes over the crown as the smallest full-frame digital camera announced as of early September 2009. To accomodate the larger sensor area while avoiding issues with vignetting using wide-angle lenses, Kodak has used an offset microlens design. Impressively, the change from the APS-H sized image sensor of the previous Leica M8 and M8.2 models to the larger 35mm sensor of the M9 has been accomplished with barely any difference to the size of the camera's magnesium alloy and brass body, which is finished with imitation leather paneling. Thanks to its larger surface area, the Kodak KAF-18500 sensor offers the same 6.8µm pixel pitch, but with an increased effective resolution of eighteen megapixels, up from ten megapixels in the previous cameras. Noise performance is said to have been improved since the previous generation cameras, and the Leica M9 includes a thicker and more effective IR cut filter that negates the need for extra IR filtering on the lens.

The Leica M9 accepts most Leica M lenses built to date, and thanks to the full-frame sensor, all of these lenses will offer the same field of view as they would with a traditional 35mm film camera body. Leica has opted not to include a low-pass filter in the design of the M9, allowing for maximum resolution from attached lenses, but necessitating processing of images to automatically detect and remove moire patterns. The M9 is equipped to read Leica's 6-bit lens coding, allowing the camera body to identify the lens currently in use, and correct for any residual corner falloff not resolved by the sensor's offset microlenses.

Like the M8.2 before it, the Leica M9 uses a quiet metal blade shutter design capable of offering shutter speeds ranging from 1/4000 to 32 seconds, plus an unlimited bulb mode. ISO sensitivity ranges from 80 to 2,500 equivalents, exposure modes include Aperture-priority or Manual, and exposure metering is center-weighted . As you'd expect of a rangefinder camera, there's no autofocus capability. As well as its rangefinder, the Leica M9 includes a 2.5" LCD display with 230,000 dots of resolution. The tiny top-panel info LCD found in the M8 and M8.2 design has been dropped from the M9, however.

The Leica M9 stores its images on Secure Digital cards, including the higher-capacity SDHC types. Images are stored in either .DNG Raw or JPEG file formats, and the M9 now offers both uncompressed and compressed DNG format options. Power comes courtesy of a 3.7V, 1900 mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery. The Leica M9 includes only USB 2.0 High-Speed data connectivity, with no video output included on the camera body.

Pricing for the Leica M9 is on the order of US$7,000, and US market availability is mid September 2009.