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Poll for Article - M8 Vertical Band

sean_reid

By sean_reid
in Digital Forum

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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Thank you all for these very specific, clear and on-topic responses. This will be a huge help as I try to come to some general conclusions about the issue for my article and for further communication with Leica.

 

Please keep the responses coming. The more people I hear from, the better the data should be. If you have friends who own M8s, please ask them to chime in.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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gdewitt

gdewitt

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Hi Sean,

 

I'm going to step in and modify my earlier response wherein I said I had not experienced the vertical band.

 

1. Yes, I have seen the vertical band. There are two kinds of bands I've seen in samples posted here, a narrow band just right of center and a very wide, faint band. I can only see the former.

 

2. I have never seen the band in a real photograph, only in tests and only if I torture the heck out of the file.

 

3. I can see it faintly at ISO 640 if I raise the EV 4 stops. At higher ISOs I see it quite strongly with a four-stop EV boost. It is not visible until I boost EV quite a bit, though I haven't tried to test the threshold of visibility.

 

This is the first time I've ever done test shots with my M8 and hopefully the last. Back to what it is best at: taking great pictures.

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edlbell

edlbell

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Sean--

I have never seen any vertical bands. In fact the only issues I have with my M8, v1.06, is the IR situation, the file issues while connected with the USB cable, and the frames issue. Maybe I am just not smart enough to find other issues.

 

I am truly amazed at the effort everyone has gone to push this camera to the limit.

 

I look forward to reading your updated review.

 

Ed

 

Ps. Here is a new Leica M8 Marketing slogan. "Leica M8 - It is not a camera, it is an obsession!"

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Peter Branch

Peter Branch

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Please keep the feedback coming. I'd like to hear from any M8 owners who can spare a moment to post, lurkers welcome.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Sean, please don't let either the initial version of events, that it was a "New" defect or the latest version that it only occurs if the camera is subjected to a torture test take hold – neither is true. I stumbled across the vertical stripe(s?) taking perfectly ordinary pictures with a lens way back in the first few days of November. I know I am becoming an absolute bore about this but to me the facts matter particularly when trying to understand and diagnose a problem.

 

Is it possible that the camera setting, as to which type(s) of files are written to the SD card has any infuence, e.g. just DNG or DNG + JPEG etc ?

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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Sean, please don't let either the initial version of events, that it was a "New" defect or the latest version that it only occurs if the camera is subjected to a torture test take hold – neither is true. I stumbled across the vertical stripe(s?) taking perfectly ordinary pictures with a lens way back in the first few days of November. I know I am becoming an absolute bore about this but to me the facts matter particularly when trying to understand and diagnose a problem.

 

Is it possible that the camera setting, as to which type(s) of files are written to the SD card has any infuence, e.g. just DNG or DNG + JPEG etc ?

 

Hi Peter,

 

What I want to do is to simply gather as much information as I can from owners and then present that information in the article as fairly as I can.

 

With that in mind, please chime in if you own an M8.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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Peter Branch

Peter Branch

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Hi Peter,.......With that in mind, please chime in if you own an M8.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Sean,

 

I certainly do own an M8. Mine was the first one in a UK paying customer's hands. I used it for a total of 5 days, the problems were so bad it went back in its box and I awaited instructions from Leica UK. At the end of November, prior to the "recall", they asked for it to be returned to be sent back to Solms. I have not seen it since.

 

From the few hundred pictures I took I have been able to provide many examples as evidence supporting posts on the forum. I agree with what you are doing and am happy to support your survey. What irritates me are the posts that pay no attention to the information and evidence already in the thread - perhaps it should not - but it does.

 

I wish you all the very best for the Christmas Holiday.

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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Sean,

 

I certainly do own an M8. Mine was the first one in a UK paying customer's hands. I used it for a total of 5 days, the problems were so bad it went back in its box and I awaited instructions from Leica UK. At the end of November, prior to the "recall", they asked for it to be returned to be sent back to Solms. I have not seen it since.

 

From the few hundred pictures I took I have been able to provide many examples as evidence supporting posts on the forum. I agree with what you are doing and am happy to support your survey. What irritates me are the posts that pay no attention to the information and evidence already in the thread - perhaps it should not - but it does.

 

I wish you all the very best for the Christmas Holiday.

 

Hi Peter,

 

I know you have one. That "please chime in" was directed at others who may be reading this thread.

 

Best and Merry Christmas,

 

Sean

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msr

msr

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Hi Sean,

 

2nd gen. M8

 

Firmware 1.09

 

No banding in normal shooting.

 

One very faint band appeared at ISO 2500 (1/30sec) & pushed +2.5 EV in C1.

 

The same very faint band appeared in ACR.

 

OT - Banding seems to be a non-issue for me.

 

Malcolm

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terrycioni

terrycioni

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Sean,

 

Friday night we had 'Winter Festival Dinner' at the in-laws. I was in a very dark corner of the living-room with the new M8 and decided to give it a go. I shot a dozen or so frames and fully expected to see at least one vertical banded image :) The M8n was at 2500 ISO and about 3/4 of stop under exposed. In the first three or four I used AWB and the result were as expected than I switched to Tungsten and things improved dramatically from a color point of view - but no streaks or banding. All DNG of course. I was using my favorite lens - a Konica Hexanon M Dual 21/35 F3.4/F4 without a UV/IR filter - I do have the B+W 486 62mm for it.

 

2500 ISO was good and better than I expected in the lightening conditions I was in at the time. I have not really shot a great deal with 2500 ISO to this point.

 

Isn't multiculturism wonderful. I get to celebrate Lunar New Years with them in Feb./07. Have a look at the link.

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/331498315_20fa38815a_o.jpg

 

I didn't manage to shoot a single frame today - to much going on just before Christmas and needless to say the job jar was full to the brim. I will keep plugging away the M8n and see what happens.

 

 

Cheers. Terry.

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Ben Tanner

Ben Tanner

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Sean - I have been waiting for years for this new digital M to appear and received mine on 12/20 late in the day. After using it the next day, I found that my longer lens' were way out of focus. I called Jamie and emailed some pics for him to take a look at. The camera was back focusing really bad, and Jamie and I agreed that the lens mount to focal plane distance on this camera must be way out of wack. Just to check my lens, I shot a roll of E6 thru my M6 and the slides were tack sharp. The camera is going back ASAP! I am thinking about just letting alot of the dusk settle before I get another. But, what a good feeling camera, the right controls in the right places, and not your regular over kill. After 30 years in this bus. it would sure be nice to end it up with the same style camera I began with! I'm in high hopes that Leica will be able to iron this all out. Ben Tanner

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sean_reid

sean_reid

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Sean - I have been waiting for years for this new digital M to appear and received mine on 12/20 late in the day. After using it the next day, I found that my longer lens' were way out of focus. I called Jamie and emailed some pics for him to take a look at. The camera was back focusing really bad, and Jamie and I agreed that the lens mount to focal plane distance on this camera must be way out of wack. Just to check my lens, I shot a roll of E6 thru my M6 and the slides were tack sharp. The camera is going back ASAP! I am thinking about just letting alot of the dusk settle before I get another. But, what a good feeling camera, the right controls in the right places, and not your regular over kill. After 30 years in this bus. it would sure be nice to end it up with the same style camera I began with! I'm in high hopes that Leica will be able to iron this all out. Ben Tanner

 

I'll bet the distance is fine and the rangefinder adjustment is out. I'd get that adjusted.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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jedisdl

jedisdl

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Using a new M8 just received Friday -

 

Banding is easily produced, but under conditions which should have only extremely infrequent impact on real images - at least given the degree of banding for my M8..

 

I held a red envelope which is somewhat transparent, and underexposed by 1 stop pointed at a light source - daylight and halogen both creat the banding situation. Shutter speeds were 1/250 or faster.

 

The using CS raw converter, I needed +3 exposure adjustment before seeing the band right of center. This occurred using ISO's of 640, 1250, and 2500. I didn't try at lower ISO's because the banding I'm finding is not a practical issue for me. At this point, the image would have been too overexposed to use anyway. Increasing the shadow slider a small amount darkened the image and the banding was no longer visible.

 

More importantly to any decision on the M8's abilities and "problems" - I compared the Nikon D200 with 20 f2.8 prime lens to the M8 using the 28 f2 (with a 486 IR filter) indoors at 1250 ISO - the detail exhibited with the M8 image blew away the D200 - enough so that even my wife is no longer frowning at the M8's cost.

 

My only issue with the M8 vs. the D200 is that I need much more adjusting in the RAW converter so far (using PS CS) - not a bad price to pay for the greater detail and better low light capability. I haven't got around yet to using C1 - maybe that will change things.

 

I've also been trying to reproduce other problems that have reported with no success so far. This includes the problem with first shot after a long sleep producing streaking.

 

So far, the M8 (overall) is easily beating my expectations.

 

Steve

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Guest roey

Guest roey

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Sean,

 

I got a new M8 on Saturday (firmware 1.0.9). So far I have seen the vertical band once in a real-world picture:

 

Barely visible without exposure adjustment in Lightroom, ISO 1250, 1/350, 50mm lens with IR cut filter, very dark picture.

 

Thanks for looking into this.

 

- Roey

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