Advice Appreciated - What Would You Do?

[Hoaxville]

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I went through the same kind of decision making process a few months back. I settled on a ex demo M8 and a 28mm Summicron. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.

 

I'll get an M9 or 10 in the future. But right now I'm so happy with my combo.

 

Best camera I have ever owned.

 

Much better to by an M8 and good Leica glass than to buy an M9 with cheaper lens kit IMHO.

 

All the best.

 

--

 

www. GlendynIvin.com

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[miklosphoto]

Thanks all for lots of good info and advice.

 

I'm not sure it's obvious.

 

If I go this route I would want the 8.2 because of the quieter shutter and some of the other improvements...including the viewfinder. Of course...only if I can get a very good price.

Mark

 

My opinion is: get the M8.2 used or an upgraded M8 used. You can get it between $3000 and $3500. I know many people disagree, but I consider the upgrades a very significant improvement. The original M8 shutter sound is a disaster IMHO. The frame line accuracy is very important for me at the 28 to 35mm focal length. The LCD screen, oh well, if you buy something at that price, and you want to use your camera more few years, why not to have a scratch-proof screen?

Another reason why I bought an M8.2 (after selling my M8), I just fell in love with the black dot and the vulcanite cover.

Nevertheless, if all you care is the image quality and want to save upto $1000 , get the original M8. And instead of buying an Elmarit, get a Summicron.

BTW, I sold my Summicron 28mm to get the Elmarit 28mm and buy some other stuff.

[miklosphoto]

Indeed, I do wonder about this new digital era obsession with high ISO's. I use Neopan 1600 sometimes for the effect but it is very rarely. The whole point of Leica M's are that they can be hand held at lower speeds than an SLR and the lenses are good wide open.

 

Very well said!

[markpsf]

Thanks.

 

I arrived at a similar conclusion. I can get an excellent 8.2 for that price and a 28mm Elmarit. Eventually will pick up a 35mm as well.

 

As for the M9, maybe later, maybe not. But if so when I can afford it.

 

Thanks again to each of you for the good input.

 

 

Mark

 

My opinion is: get the M8.2 used or an upgraded M8 used. You can get it between $3000 and $3500. I know many people disagree, but I consider the upgrades a very significant improvement. The original M8 shutter sound is a disaster IMHO. The frame line accuracy is very important for me at the 28 to 35mm focal length. The LCD screen, oh well, if you buy something at that price, and you want to use your camera more few years, why not to have a scratch-proof screen?

Another reason why I bought an M8.2 (after selling my M8), I just fell in love with the black dot and the vulcanite cover.

Nevertheless, if all you care is the image quality and want to save upto $1000 , get the original M8. And instead of buying an Elmarit, get a Summicron.

BTW, I sold my Summicron 28mm to get the Elmarit 28mm and buy some other stuff.

[GarethC]

M8 - and if you look on RFF they are there for $2-2300. To echo other people's sentiments about noise. While it has been argued that if you convert to B&W the noise has more of a grain type look, it's still dirty in my opinion. I have a 5D Mk2 also so I can take photos in crazy dark conditions but tha t depends on me meeting one challenge and that is having it with me. I don't. The 5D is for landscapes for me and I don't shoot landscapes at night.

 

I think I shot a roll of iso 400 and pushed it to 1600 when I was 15 or something at a concert. Next time I shot anything above 400 was with a digital camera.

 

Given your experience with rangefinders growing up, the M8 is a no brainer if the M9 is out of yoru price range.

[butchhul]

M8 and 25mm Zeiss

[jsrockit]

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Ebay seems to average about $2300. I bought a very nice M8 from a dealer (400 actuations) for $2300 as well.

 

Right, ie not $2000.

[carbon_dragon]

I just went through this decision process as well. I considered the M8, the M8.2, and the X1. I couldn't afford the M9, or at least it would have been so financially painful that I decided not to afford it. The X1 lacked interchangeable lenses and a viewfinder (or an EVF) that I could live with. I was concerned about problems with the used camera so I decided to buy from Tamarkin. Hopefully that will give me some kind of warranty if something goes wrong.

 

I paid about $2700 to get an M8 in really nice condition with the box and everything. I could have paid a bit more and gotten an 8.2 but I didn't think any of the addons would matter to me. We'll see if I'm right about that, I may not be. I updated the firmware to 2.004 and that went ok.

 

I've had about four outings with the camera so far and I'm very satisfied. I don't find the shutter sound distracting (though the new firmware has a discreet mode). I was given a UV/IR filter but I haven't been using it as I don't find any objectionable color shifting so far. I find the 10.2MP images sufficient quality so I'm not too jealous of the M9 shooters. I would like the M9, but I'm getting used to using my 35 as my normal lens. I have a Voigtlander 25 for my wideangle, but I'll probably improve on that at some point. In short (too late I know) I'm pretty satisfied with my decision to go with the M8.