The RAW files are 16 bits, that is the only camera French photographer Serge Le Manour has used since it came out. He has two and still uses them to this day for work. He recently came back from Columbia for a piece for the French Magazine Geo, He shoots everything using a tripod. The image quality is astounding out this camera. Glad to see a recent review of this camera on KZfaq.

I use the Mamiya RZ67 with Leaf Credo backs. Can swap quickly between film and digital easily and better image quality too

As a Leica R9 user, I can agree, build quality is outstanding, and the image quality is top shelf to match; I have not had the fortune of using the Digital Module R, but perhaps one day.

You know you've got a great community when someone lends you that...

whoever shared this gem, thank you!

Hey, I'd be very interested to see that Kickstarter with the digital back. That sounds like it would be fun!

This is easily one of the coolest cameras I've ever seen. Both in concept and the styling.

Digital back for a 35mm film camera, this is a dream. I wish I could use my FED-2 digitally.

An interesting camera system for sure. A very valiant attempt by Leica to give people the best of both worlds.

The only romance I had and have with film is instant because it’s the world between film and digital where you get your results right away. It’s a shame the instant film world cameras and film didn’t progress as much as film did.

That’s really cool that a viewer let you borrow a camera.

beautiful camera ... thanks to you and the owner for sharing this gem with us

This looks like something I would buy, love, and shoot with maybe one time. Very Cool.

Leica really knows how to make beautiful cameras. Quite amazing quality of the photos too

this is the video ive been waiting to see on the camera/back since it came out all thos years ago. Thank you for everything that you do

I bought a used R8 in 2004 and shot film until I was able to get a Digital Modul R in 2011. Using it as my main kit until 2017. I loved the R8. It’s subjective of course but personally I’ve never found better manual controls or ergonomics in a camera and the R lenses were (and still are) incredible. I did consider the DMR itself a bit of a mixed bag though. Even though digital was well established and I wanted to move on I couldn’t find a camera experience that felt like the R8. I was so thrilled to be able to keep on using it and shoot digital. By 2011 it was already incredibly difficult to find batteries. I bought every used battery I ever saw online. But still only ever managed to acquire three. And they would frequently fail to charge correctly. Lack of power options was eventually the main reason why I moved on. I also had a major issue which I’ve never seen anyone else mention. Although the build quality, engineering and tolerances on the R8 are the best I’ve ever seen. This didn’t seem to have translated to the DMR. I found regardless of what I did the sensor was never on exactly the same plane as the film would have been. Meaning even when the focus on the split prism in the viewfinder was perfect. The image produced was always slightly back focussed. Meaning I had to stop down to around F8 on a 50mm to ensure my subject was sharp. Testing with a tape measure and a tripod, I found that a 50mm lens focused to 1 metre produced an image that was focused about 2-3cm further back. I asked about this on Leica forums etc. But never heard from anyone with the same issue. I don’t know if this was a common problem or just specific to my kit. I’d be interested if anyone else had a similar experience. Even though focusing was an issue and I was constantly afraid it would suddenly brick I loved it very much. I still remember it very fondly and even miss it a bit. If it wasn’t for the battery issue I’d probably still be using it today. I sold it in 2017 for the same amount I paid for it. And since then I have moved on to a Leica S2 and also a Leica Q. This brings me on to my advice as a previous owner. I would say if you want to shoot 35mm film with an SLR an R8 or R9 with Leica R glass is an incredible option. The DMR… unless you are an electrical engineer or have some way of getting over the power issue you may have problems. Even original batteries will now be so old they likely won’t have any life in them and there is an internal battery built in to the body which can also develop problems due to age. Also as I recall the largest memory card (SD) the DMR would support was 2gb. Those are now difficult to source too. Considering the difficulty with that and the relatively high cost of an R8/9 and DMR purchasing one is a considerable risk. However if you want a SLR with the ability to shoot film and digital you don’t have much choice. If on the other hand you just want to shoot digital I think there are better, similar options. The R9 and DMR were the last of the Leica Rs. There were rumours of an all digital R10 but this never materialised and the line was discontinued in 2009. However most of the R ‘DNA’ was transferred into the Leica S line. Making the medium format S2 the effective successor to the R9/DMR. When it launched in 2009 it was I think around £16,000 body only. An absolutely astonishing amount of money even if you could afford it. Plus another £5000 or so for a prime lens. In 2017 I paid £2800 for an excellent condition body and 70mm lens from a reputable dealer. You can still even get new batteries for it. It’s got much the same body shape, build quality, the images are astonishing and in my experience very similar to the ‘Leica look’ I remember and shown here in the DMR examples in the video. I am still using it for all my studio work and I expect I will continue to do so until there are no batteries for that either. So I would recommend looking into that.

Wow wow wow!! Thank you to the user who sent this into share! So awesome!!! 🤩

Definitely my favorite piece of kit conceptually. Being able to switch from film to digital and still keep that connection to my camera.. ;) And definitely an incredible reflex camera with incredible lenses in its mount range. I would love for Leica to try again with modern tech and an M body... and maybe hot-swappable like the Rollei 3003... ;)

at 7:03, Not quite, you do still have the hasselblad V cameras {with the HVii50C back}H1/2 versions, they took film and had a digital back, so are both, in the one body, being a 'modular system camera'. in the Large format world you also have this, with sinar back, for their 4x5" monorails, and linhof, with the M679 both have sliding backs which adapt digital MF backs from phase One, etc. also Cambo, with the ULTIMA 23 D which is a digital platform, based on the popular film monorail design.

Yes! A video about the digitised film cameras would be awesome. A great special episode.

Amazing. I've been waiting 15yrs for digital backs/adapters for my old SLRs! Love old cameras, hate shooting film. Roll on the weird Kickstarter projects!

been following the I'm Back saga for a while, and this time it seems like the electronics are finally at a level where this is possible without a super clunky carbuncle hanging off the body. I really hope they make it this time.

The rear side of the digital back reminds me of my first digital SLR camera, which was a Fujifilm s3 pro. It was pretty clunky in terms of menu settings etc, I had a digital point and shoot before but the fact that it was an SLR with Nikon control layout that gives good quality images was a an absolute game changer. And it took all my analog Nikon lenses… I really loved that camera to death, until Nikon refined the concept with their d700 full frame and it became obsolete pretty quickly. Ahhhh such fond memories. 😁

thx for your great video (as always) - also saw Thorsten Overgaards intro to this - its soooo interesting and I love the look and solid look of it.

Brilliant video! Thanks to the person who loaned you that camera! Excellent review and never knew it even existed! Always thought there might be away to have the ability to do this. Now if there was away of shooting film and digital at the same time or have a 2 cameras in one camera body? My mind begins to think wait... we can add vintage lenses to digital cameras now, so why can't we add film cameras to digital "film" If I said that right :) Great content Snaps!

That’s a really unique camera, how very cool I personally shoot both film and digital, Nikon D700 & and F90X though so I just make sure my lenses have aperture rings (not an issue with my low budget) and I get to share all my equipment between both my bodies

I paid $220 for my Leica R8 body. Have 2 zoom lenses and that's all I really need. Good luck trying to find the digital back. I also have 2 motor drives (not just the winder), but can't find a battery for it. I'm going to look for a replacement battery and install it in the casing myself. Love the camera. Just great photos coming out of it. Just wish I could find the digital back. I'll be content with 10 mp. Thanks for the video.

Somehow, I really Leica the way it looks. Nice that they kept some of that style for later non-M models.

It’s still shocking this tech hasn’t been developed any more considering how close this is already to just working

James I would say this is the most craziest camera you have presented yet some how I know you will top this.

What I found with my Leica R8 was that the exposure calibration for slide film was absolutely superb.

holy crap the sound that shutter makes is pure ecstasy.

I'm so glad you mentioned the I'm Back module. Yes please review when you can. I was tempted to pledge but ultimately couldn't justify the risk and cost for a 4/3 sensor. It'd be a joy to try it out on some of my camera-shaped vintage lens rear caps, but I'm waiting to see what happens with this first round of tech and am hoping for positive feedback and maybe a larger sensor option. My very first Leica is about to arrive, btw. The lovely Digilux-3 (sans lens, sadly), which I'm sure will love being reunited with its Lumix DMC-L1 sibling.

I bought this DMR for my R8 at that time. It gave me a kind of a mess of pixels but I could use my R lenses without adapter and have a digital camera on top of a film one. I sold it after only few months though without any regrets.

I think I'll just carry two cameras should I feel the need to shoot digital (rarely do), but it is a beautiful camera that I wouldn't mind adding to the collection for the right price.

I've been looking for one of these for years, but have just never been able to justify the price. I'm currently running a Leicaflex SL and an A7 III with an FE -> R adapter, and honestly, I think its a better setup (the 2 bodies together weigh less than the R9 with the digital back!)

Interesting. I would love to digitise my Yashica FR and Contax RTS. They also have battery issues. Keeping old gear useable is difficult.

Well - this was a treat! A late christmas present! Really enjoyed this vid - will have to search your channel to see if you've done a vid on the nikon d200? great ccd camera and cheap!

Check out the Minolta SB-70 and SB-90. Both are "Still video" backs for the maxxum 7000/9000 cameras circa 1986. These use a 2/3" CCD sensor and have a floppy disk drive built in.

I have a Leica R8, and it is a superb camera to use, and the Leica glass is amazing as well. the Camera shop I bought it and my lenses from has a digital back for it, but its more than I want to pay, despite its rarity. besides, I prefer to shoot only film anyway.

Leica should have stuck with this idea. Its not only that a photographer could use film, but that different sensors could have been used. Imagine, changing from high density high resolution sensor for daytime photography, to a low noise one for night shooting or even monochrome. It is like the old medium and large format cameras of the film era with different backs and film holders.

Awesome camera! (well placed sponsor ad too, I doubt anybody skipped it!)

Pretty neat camera. Film has a lot of imperfections but I think that's what made it great. It makes the images more human, more surreal. Digital is great because it's easy, it's quick, it has incredible detail but it lacks a human aspect. It's too perfect. I want something in-between Something that captures a surreal moment like a film camera with the snappiness of a digital camera. My search continues.

That shutter sound tho! If Nikon allows user shutter sounds for their Z9 & Z8 cameras, this would definitely be a fantastic one to copy.

I've always had the idea of a digital-analog combo camera in the form of an SLR, but above the mirror at where the focusing screen should be there is a full-frame sensor and EVF instead. In this way you can instataneously switch back and forth between analog and digital while maintaining the wyswyg viewfinding experience of modern mirrorless cameras. But I couldn't imagine any company willing to make something like this even in my wildest dreams......

Thank you for sharing!

Oh I remember this camera. Yes it was the early days of digital and the tradition professional photography industry was in turmoil. Here in London the pros I knew couldn’t decide whether to switch to digital from film. I looked at an 11mp Phase One (?) medium format digital back but realised that the resolution was tiny compared to my 5x4 transparencies with no movements…all for ££££s…So I stuck with film until I got my hands on a secondhand Canon 1ds mk2. I seemed to remember this camera being marketed at the pros who couldn’t decided which way to go!

Loved the pictures

I totally agree that the R system lenses are amazing

It was never going to sell in big numbers thanks the stratospheric price, but the reason production was so limited was the Kodak CCD was developed with Imacon, who were bought out by Hasselblad in 2004. For whatever reason Hasselblad weren’t interested in continuing supply and development of the sensor for Leica, and Leica obviously did the math for starting over with a new sensor and realised it probably wasn’t worth it. It’s a shame the concept was never adopted by a more, ahem, accessible camera brand. I would have loved to have popped the back off my Nikon FM in the early 2000s and slapped on a digital one.

When you said the price I almost spewed coffee.

Fascinating.

I just watched Michael Suguitan's DIY Leica MP digital back called the appropriately named 'MPi' and his video makes me want to attempt in making one for my original Olympus Pen. But now knowing that 'I'm Back Film' is essentially that concept but commercialized and not to mention its M4/3 sensor makes for the perfect pairing of the Pen's half frame size. I think my Pen will have an interesting future... albeit experimental as 'I'm Back Film' was obviously never designed in mind of my weird choice of film camera.

The shape is wild.

I was lucky enough to see one of these when buying my Canon FTB-Ql, and it was masssive.

R8/9 with the digital modul R it’s my dream!!!

The design of camera is so cool... Man, thanks for rewiev! I'm only own Canon 1Ds (first version) and weight is almost similar. What about a picture of early Canon, I like it, than much for this price, 1Ds picture also looks more like a film some between films - like a Kodak Gold or Konica Color. Yeah, it's my IMHO only))) Great Snaps!!!

I've dreamed of a camera like this...oh my god.....

I wish I could afford one this seems like fun to use

This was such an interesting era. I have a Kodak DCS520 (digital back on a EOS 1N), which somehow made it to Australia. Sadly, after all my efforts, the Kodak side of things is dead and just fries memory cards as soon as they’re inserted. I’d love to find a working example.

I do truly wish that a modern digital sensor would be developed that could be installed in any film camera. I think the technology is out there, just need someone to make it work. I would love to use my Nikon FM again and not have the cost to film and film developing.

Just come across your channel. Great video and very informative! Refreshing to find content not in that copycat photography style videos 😂

Great video, Any old digital camera suggestions that share this amazing image quality without being so expensive? (Not technical quality, but image colour/feel)

Pentax You can have both... with lens compatibility... dioptre correction compatibility and maybe even new film cameras on the way... I can live without mirrorless.

It looks fantastic! for some reason I like so much more the SLR Leicas design rather than the rangefinder ones. I'd wish that technology had developed till being relatively affordable. I'd wish to use digitally my Canon EOS 7 for example.

Happy new year!

On that Leica though, that weight would get old fast, but hey compared to my Canon 1DX where it is 3lbs before lens, sounds about right. I am fanboy of Leica. Just could never afford one though. Support, and spares and batteries are a heavy for me. A fun piece of kit though for its uniqueness. A collector for sure though.

I wish they continued with this tech. Imagine a M6 with a dedicated digital back.

I will say that I am not interested in film but do love instant cameras. I am curious if you’ll ever pick up the Instax Evo which saves digital photos but allows you to print them too.

Love your reviews and was thinking about making a video or two of my own. Do you have any advice/guides for making video camera reviews? I was looking at DPR for some sort of breakdown in following a format, but clearly, your methodology is much more organic than a direct features approach. Thanks for any advice.

Man this is such a beast 😆

I really hope you take a look at that digital sensor for film cameras when it becomes available. I have my dad's and grandfather's old cameras back home Ithat could work with it

I'd REALLY like to see a review on the I'm Back product whether its they digital back or digital film. I've been curious about it but I haven't seen anyone do a honest review them at all. The few videos out there are promotional stuff, non-english without subtitles, and/or people that dog on it without trying it or shown that they tried it. Aside from that if there was something else more findable/affordable to the Lieca for another digital back, I'd love to see what you can dig up. PS. - I'm familiar with the Epson RD1, but unless I get better with shooting rangefinders, that is out of the picture at the moment.

is it an APS-H sized sensor same as the m8? Also, do you need to use the advance lever the wind the shutter up before releasing it like the rd-1?

That's the first time where I see a digicam where it would be actually easy to clean the sensor!

What I'd really like to see is a film back for a mechanical SLR, that still uses the cameras shutter and that needs to be reset manually. As far as I know there used to be a digital rangefinder or point and shoot camera with a mechanical shutter that needed to be reset, but I don't remember what it was called.

The “I’m Back” project is a good idea I just think it feels too hacky to be viable, and the focal reducer solution they provide looks horrid. A dream would just be the ability to slot a 35mm sensor into your camera in the shape of a film canister, that is sort of what they’re going for but you need to run a wire out of your camera and a second shutter button. If they can contain all of it within a 35mm style canister one day where you simply pre set the iso before inserting, and allow the camera shutter to trigger the exposures, that would be great but otherwise it seems like a novelty that most will abandon using. I’m glad they didn’t fake the images using the focal reducers on the kickstarter, they aren’t misleading anyone, but they might as well not include the focal reducers if they’re going to make the image look that bad.

Honestly, as much as I appreciate the concept of the Leica R9 digital back, I can't help but thinking that having two cameras might be more practical and simple to use. Of course, if we want to stay competitive in that field, we can't just use two cameras that are of a different system. That would defeat the purpose of this whole thing, and you would end up with several lens systems which is exactly the thing you want to avoid. That's why it's important to have the same lens mount on both your film and digital camera. There is 3 lens mounts that come to mind : Leica M, Pentax K and Nikon F. I'm kind of dissing out Leica from the get go, as the cost of M cameras and lenses is... prohibitive. For the amount of money you'd spend on a film camera, digital camera and a few lenses you could buy a car, and you could definitely afford two different film and digital systems. Pentax is a "good" option, but there is always the problem of the digital side of things. They only have one full frame model, the K1 (and K1ii, but it's essentially the same camera at the same price). If the K1 is not your cup of tea, maybe too much camera for your needs, too expensive or simply too big you're out of luck, or you need to settle with a crop factor with their APS-C models. Which means buying more lenses, generally. And there is high chances you end up with APS-C glass that isn't compatible with your film body. Only real option to me is Nikon. Lenses and cameras are much more numerous and there is tons of options. Only problem I can see is the complexity of the whole system. You could get a recent enough film camera like an F100 and be able to use AF-S lenses, but another film camera would probably not be compatible with a lens this recent. And especially not if you want a full mechanical SLR like a Nikon FE or FM or something. The best way to avoid compatibility problems is to use lenses that were released between film and digital : the AF-D lenses, those that require a focus motor inside the camera. Those lenses are ice because they will always have an aperture ring, they will always cover full frame sensors and if you have a focus motor you won't loose any functionality. They generaly are also nicer to use with manual focus. They're fully compatible with any Nikon SLR or DSLR, which makes them the perfect choice for a hybrid film / digital setup. And unlike Pentax, you have a lot of full frame digital Nikons to choose from, with even retro options like the Nikon Df, or very modern, face / eye tracking equipped bodies like the D780. Nikon staying in the F mount from 1959 to 2020 caused them some problems, but it's also super nice for consumers like us that just want to be able to have access to a system that can do both film and digital. I have personally bee using my Nikon D700 alongside my Nikon FE with some AF-D lenses and it's a real joy to be able to switch between mediums (and I bet it's less weight than the Leica R9 in your bag, and easier to switch from digital to film !)

Digital or film is all the same for me , I would enjoy the shooting experience of shooting both medium.

I believe this shares a sensor with the M8? If so, the colours really are just so beautiful!

I wish there where a camera with a (maby good modern) digital sensor but only 3 - 4 dials for exposure, fully manual lenses and a non touch but fully rotatable and pivotable screen. Basicly a digital but otherwise fully machanical camera. What is the closest thing you know?

I have used this camera for a while, and the DMR is great, but the camera doesn't feel great in the hands in film mode, it is just so thick. I would prefer an R6 for that. I used to own the 180/2 lens, which was just unbelievably good, but I ended up selling it.

Shoot chromes and scan. Still a cool concept.

Nice! But, I'll stick with this years camera Christmas gift - a Leica Digilux 3 with the Leica D Vario-Elmarit 14-50mm f2.8-3.5 lens. I usually prefer prime lenses, but this zoom lens is so good, I can live with not owning the Leica 25mm f1.4 prime lens - for now anyway.

I love this omfg. I’d love to have something like this in the future with the Fujifilm X series, but I’d never pay with Leica fans pay lol.

Thank you random viewer who sent in the boutique camera equipment for all of us to learn about

Yes please review the “Im back” system! I didnt pledge because it seemed a little bit scammy to me but id be curious to see how it actually performs

How do you explain the great resolution from the 10 MP sensor ?

7:19 Yes, please review digital film on analog 35mm SLR camera. I'm very curious

If it drops I’ll buy one

Hi. I'm new to your channel - what instrument is that in the background near the window? A 7 stringed ukulele?!

Don't forget the Fujinon 16-80 f4 kited with the Fujifilm X-H2 and X-H2s.

The idea to put a digital sensor on a film camera is great.

Are we sure thats not the same sensor in the M8? Those specs are very similar. I suspect they took that same sensor and modified it for the rangefinder.

Have people forgotten about 35mm digital backs that were available in the early 2000's? I had one for my Olympus OM2 (2.5MP if I remember), one for my Canon AE1 (2MP if I remember) and one for my Canon EOS 5

Minolta and Imacon did a nice job with this Leica

My comment doesn't relate to this camera I just wanted to ask: what are your sharpest FOUR THIRDS lenses? Since you talked about the Olympus E-VOLT e-330, which lenses would you recommend?? I am using the kit 14-45mm and it is not great, to say the least. And by the way, I purchased the Olympus C-8080 which for me became unusable due to it VERY slow shoot times of 30-45sec between single shots (15-18sec to process the RAW shot and another 15 to view it). I believe you once commented on the 25mm for the e-330? Thanks. I would appreciate any feedback.

I thought the R9 was one of the best visually designed SLR. The Panasonic G6 look similar, I wonder if it is by the same designer?

I didn't know such camera existed until now and it had to be a Leica

The digital back was nice but is now just a brick after error 2 showed up . I tried to have the internal memory battery replaced at no avail, unfortunately the electronics just become brittle and die .