I am tempted, but just tempted to buy one or the other. Is there a huge difference in IQ or possibilities?
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At a crude level there's the crop vs. full frame consideration between them. That in itself I think is a significant impact, not necessarily to image quality but to how the lenses behave.
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Well, as popo already mentioned, there's of course the difference in sensor size. In addition, both cameras have issues you should be aware of:
M8:
- very sensitive to IR. Unless you plan to shoot b/w only, a filter that blocks IR needs to be mounted on every lens. Otherwise especially synthetic black fibres become violet in your images.
- both cameras are no high ISO machines, but at least there's a 1 stop advantage in the M9 regarding noise. Or, to put it a bit more directly: the M8 is even worse than the M9 in this regard.
- Leica M lenses are prime lenses (yes, I know there are tri-elmars... they are just 3 primes in one) with a focal length matching one of the viewfinder framelines. So, your choice of focal lengths is limited to 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 90mm. There are shorter lenses, which require external viewfinders, and also longer (135mm lenses) which are no fun on the M8.
On the M8 with its 1.3x crop factor, these focal lengths result in occasionally "unusal" equivalent focal lengths. There is no "real" 50mm lens, for example.
M9:
- the short flange distance combined with the AA-less sensor leads to interesting colour shifts with wide angle lenses. To get the best quality, you either need to use 6-bit coded Leica glass or use older Leica lenses and manually select the corresponding lens code from the camera menu (each time you switch lenses!). Third party lenses often work well, too, if you can find a Leica lens with very similar behaviour in the camera menu (which doesn't necessarily have to be a Leica lens with the same focal length or maximum aperture).
- vignetting is quite a bit higher than what you may be used to from DSLRs (including full frame DSLRs).
both:
The digital M cameras are a bit difficult to hold for a while, because they are quite heavy and don't offer a good grip by default. There are many ways to improve ergonomics, however, like Leica's own grip (which I find quite ugly), leather half cases or the excellent ThumbsUp devices
There are a few other issues which apply to digital M cameras or all M cameras in general. In fact, there are probably a lot more reasons NOT to buy a Leica than to buy one.
Shooting with an M takes some time to get used to it. Especially the viewfinder, which at the same time is very precise (regarding focus) and imprecise (regarding the frame lines) needs some practice.
If you've never shot with an M, maybe try to rent one somewhere. However, shooting with one for a few hours or even a few days won't tell you if you will finally fall in love with it.
Maybe the best way to try to find out is to get a used M8, use it for a while and either upgrade to a M9 later or simply get rid of it with little or no loss.
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