Reader Comment: Posterization of Highlights with Leica M9

Paul I writes:

I was going nuts trying to see why the highlights on the M9 photo are posterized. Set on ISO 80. Importantly, the highlights on the histogram are nowhere near clipping in ACR. Even if I turn the brightness to minimum and highlight recovery to max the highlights are posterized. (Obviously shot in RAW and not JPG). Printing the area of highlights shows a nice even light grey, nowhere near white.

Attached is a JPG, but RAW shows same thing. So I googled Leica M9 highlight posterization” and immediately came to your page on this. Thank you! This saved me hours of psychiatric care going nuts over trying to figure it out. So much for ISO 80 to allow longer shutter speed.

DIGLLOYD: Funny, I was wondering about that myself recently, having the same issue! I don't remember everything I've written, and I sometimes have to google my own site. Well, actually I remembered the problem from past experience but had forgotten that I had written on it.

Yes, ISO 80 can be an issue with the Leica M9 / M9P. It is best to use it for low contrast scenes only, avoid it in particular with reflections off water.

Posterization with Leica M9 at ISO 80
(from reader Paul I)