Leica NJ does it again...Leica's got their sh*t together!

[newyorkone]

Well, I got home from work and guess what was there to greet me? MY LEICA M8! Oh, how I have missed thee. My arms are sore from using the clunker 1Ds this past month and a half - great images, but what a beast. But I digress...

They had overnighted it via UPS and the box was well packed with my smaller inner M8 box cradled in a sea of biodegradable edible peanuts. The camera itself was wrapped in clear plastic, kind of like a thicker food and seal vacuum seal wrap.

The camera was handled well and looks to be in the same condition that i dropped it off in at the end of March. They even included a complimentary screen protector. How thoughtful. The turn around time was pretty damn good considering that they replaced the shutter, replaced the CCD and tweaked the RF and misc. up to spec. I had called last week and was told by a very nice receptionist that my M8 "was on the work bench." She told me to follow up this week and when I did she told me to expect the camera later in the week. She was true to her word as it turns out.

But you are probably saying, that's nice and all but DOES IT WORK. Hell yeah! CCD is butter smooth with zero dead pixels, dead lines, etc. The shutter actually sounds ever so slightly quieter and more importantly, has less vibration. No, it isn't the "upgrade" shutter but it sure seems like something has been tweaked since these things first came out. Then I tested my lenses, and was hoping that the RF would be spot on. Summicrons, check. Noctilux...check!

I couldn't be happier and I am thrilled to have the M8 back in my hands. For a while there I was starting to get worried about Leica, with all the service and repair horror stories. I had considered selling it because I didn't think I could rely on Leica NJ. I am happy to report that there is NO WAY that I am selling my M8 and am glad to have been proven wrong about Leica NJ service as well. Congrats and keep doing what you guys are doing now. It's working.

[jplomley]

The vibration issue has me a bit concerned on my M8. I used to be able to shoot my M6TTL down to 1/8th - 1/15th; with the M8, 1/60th on a good day (i.e. no coffee jitters). I often wondered if this was me, or shutter vibration. Guess I could mount it on a tripod and test it out, but then the tripod does a great job at damping vibration, so not sure how informative that test would be...

[noah_addis]

So did you eat the peanuts?

Seriously, I've had nothing but good experiences with leica service and the staff in NJ. Glad to hear your M8 is back in action.

As for vibration, I have to say I haven't noticed a large difference in my ability to handhold my M8 compared to my MP or M6, though I've only had the camera a few days. But I seem to get similar results at 1/8th-1/15th as I would with film.

Don't forget that, given a fixed print size, your M8 is effectively increasing the focal length of your lenses, and that could affect your handholding results. Also there is so much resolution in the digital system that any slight motion blur will show up and possibly be more noticable than it would be with a film image printed at a moderate size.

[jimmy pro]

It sounds from preliminary reports that NJ's service is improving with Fisk out and Ehrhard in command. I hope he won't be stretched so thin handling service and marketing, that he burns out. Not wanting to sound stereotyping, and I'm a New Jerseyite, but I think it's good that Leica has a German guy running the ship. The only thing worst than the quality of the service dept priorly was there attitude.

[jaapv]

Originally Posted by jplomley

The vibration issue has me a bit concerned on my M8. I used to be able to shoot my M6TTL down to 1/8th - 1/15th; with the M8, 1/60th on a good day (i.e. no coffee jitters). I often wondered if this was me, or shutter vibration. Guess I could mount it on a tripod and test it out, but then the tripod does a great job at damping vibration, so not sure how informative that test would be...

I have the impression that the vibration one feels (and it is there, as opposed to a film M) comes after the exposure and has to do with the shutter closing. In that case it would not affect stability.

[newyorkone]

Originally Posted by jaapv

I have the impression that the vibration one feels (and it is there, as opposed to a film M) comes after the exposure and has to do with the shutter closing. In that case it would not affect stability.

I agree that the vibration probably doesn't effect picture taking and there is also the issue of analyzing an image at 100% or more on a monitor which reveals imperfections (noise, movement, etc.) more readily.

However, my repaired M8 definitely feels like it has less vibration and the shutter is slightly softer, quieter. Generally less of the "clunk" feeling that it originally had. It's possible that Copal, or whomever is making the M8 shutters, has tweaked and improved things since the original M8 roll-out - my M8 was one of the earlier ones.

Or it could all just be in my head and it is more a result of my enthusiasm in getting my M8 back.