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Dose Leica M8 worth its price?


bluueyee

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Hey,

Well for me my 'dream' camera is one of Leica cameras.I heard there performances are legendary.I'm mostly interested in film cameras but, well i'm in highschool and it is impossible for me to proccess the pictures in the way i want.

Therefore i want to get a Leica M8 which contains same system as M series.

But would it worth to spend $4000 for body and $1000 for the lenses?

What would you recommend?

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Hey,

Well for me my 'dream' camera is one of Leica cameras.I heard there performances are legendary.I'm mostly interested in film cameras but, well i'm in highschool and it is impossible for me to proccess the pictures in the way i want.

Therefore i want to get a Leica M8 which contains same system as M series.

But would it worth to spend $4000 for body and $1000 for the lenses?

What would you recommend?

 

 

All the above answers might be correct, but I think a better starting point is to ask what you plan to do with the camera? For some things, the Leica M8 (and film cameras) might be great, but for others it's a terrible choice.

 

You said you're in high school - does this mean you're just starting out in photography, or have you been doing it for a while? So you know photography fairly well, or are you just used to small point-and-shoot cameras?

 

Still, the big thing is to find out what kind of photos you mostly want to take. If your goal was high-speed sports or close-up photography, there are much better choices for far less money.

 

That's another issue as well - how much money can you afford to spend? You can buy a small Nikon DSLR for far less money, especially if you buy it used, and for "most" things you might be a lot happier with it than the Leica. On the other hand, if you don't mind a lot of learning, and can put up with a camera that doesn't have all the "bells and whistles", the Leica is a superb camera, and in the right hands can do great work.

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Hey,

Well for me my 'dream' camera is one of Leica cameras.I heard there performances are legendary.I'm mostly interested in film cameras but, well i'm in highschool and it is impossible for me to proccess the pictures in the way i want.

Therefore i want to get a Leica M8 which contains same system as M series.

But would it worth to spend $4000 for body and $1000 for the lenses?

What would you recommend?

 

Value is subjective. However, used M8s can be found for around $2000 (just make sure the seller is trustworthy, eg a long term member of this or another forum, which allows you to review his/her posts potentially discussing some of the warts of his M8;), and for $1000 you can get 2-3 CV lenses, if you are lucky 2 used ZM's or one used Leica. An excellent M8 for $2000-2500 provides phenomenal value, ie IQ, for money as far as I'm concerned!

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Hi,

Yes go for the M8. There should be good few of them coming on auction sites

such as ebay and prices should be coming down as there will be trading up to

M9 and M10 when it is announced. Don't be put off by the 10.3 Mpxs, Mpxs are

not the full story, It is Mpxs + lenses that count. Use DNG for all shots.

If purchasing a second hand M8 check that there are no dead pixils or the

dead vertical line. For a standard lens the series IV 35 Summicron

should be reasonably cheap if you can not afford an ASPH 35 Summicron or a

Summarit 35. For a 50 a 2.8 Elmar, last type if you can get one, is good value.

Some lenses that were designed for film cameras can back focus in the M8. This

is not a major problem, it requires a change in the shim collar on the lens.

I have had this problem, see my reply to the back focus item in the Leica M8

forum. Contact me if you want to know how to check for it.

Word of warning, if you buy an M8 you will most likely be infected by Leicaitis

and there is no cure for it !!

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