M8 Paint Durability?

[Clickie McPete]

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Just curious, are the two colors offered about the same as far as durability of the paint? I notice some of the used bodies have a lot of brass showing. Is this generally regarded as a negative or are the "beauty marks" celebrated as a badge of use?

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[Pintpot]

Hi

I'm sure M8's are not paint but chrome finished (even the black ones) or am I wrong?

 

Tony:confused:

[Tonysaurus]

I think the M8 is black chrome whilst the M8.2 is black paint.

 

In my opinion brassing is gorgeous. The way the black chrome wears is not as attractive. But that's just personal opinion.

 

Is there any difference between the silver chrome M8 and M8.2 cosmetically besides the vulcanite finish?

[jsrockit]

Who cares really? It'll work just as well with those marks. I think it comes down to what YOU are comfortable with using... and paying for. I bought the ugliest silver M8 I could find with a great price to match.

[atufte]

Just use it, it's a picture taking tool, not a museum piece...every ding and scratch just adds character to the camera, i never understood why people buy a camera or a car for that matter just to polish and look at it...that's what's stamp collections are for isn't it....

[wstotler]

The chrome M8s keep a fresher look and their finishes withstand normal use better than the black paint versions. It's the material. The chrome is more resistant to wear. I'm still waiting for my original M8 (early 2007) to "brass" on its edges and it hasn't. And it has seen daily use, The second M8 I purchased used that is as old as my original still looks great, also. I went with the chrome partly as a looks thing, but also a durabilty thing, too. Cheers! Will

[Clickie McPete]

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Wstotler, that's what I was curious about, thanks.

[wstotler]

Hey, NP. The chrome lenses hold up, also. I've received several used chrome lenses from the early '60s and they looked . . . . slightly used, at worst. It's clear they had been, because of small scratches, etc., but just to look at them, well you wouldn't think half a century old! I was stunned at how well the finish held up (and the mechanicals, of course). Welcome to the M8 forum, BTW. Best of luck in your M8 shopping.

[Clickie McPete]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice! I'm studying the options and thinking of taking the rangefinder plunge. Right now I'm thinking a silver M8 paired with a chrome Summicron 35mm f2 ASPH might be a good place to start. I must say though, this is a bewildering puzzle trying to decipher all the different lenses.

[wstotler]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice! I'm studying the options and thinking of taking the rangefinder plunge. Right now I'm thinking a silver M8 paired with a chrome Summicron 35mm f2 ASPH might be a good place to start. I must say though, this is a bewildering puzzle trying to decipher all the different lenses.

 

There are all types of advice on the forum that can certainly be bewildering. When I bought the M8, I bought a new chrome 35mm Summicron ASPH first and then a new chrome 50mm Summicron a month later. I picked up a chrome 15mm CV to go really wide in month five or six. I use an 18mm Super Elmar for my wides (anything wider than 35mm) now. (The Leica 18 didn't exist until last year.) Then a 1964 chrome 90mm (cheaply), for specialized portrait work. Tricky, but satisfying. I've acquired other glass since. The 50 always goes in my bag and it's been perfect for head/shoulders portraits and as a mild "telephoto" lens. The 50 will be kept and used, for sure. Get a 35? Get a 28? Get a 24? Get a 21? Get an 18? Get a 15? Opinions vary here. A lot of the photogs familiar with the 35 on full frame picked up 28s. I like and use the 35. Sometimes it's not wide enough, other times it's too wide. I can say that you probably do want and will use f/2. Shooting at f/2.8 or f/2.5 is OK, but the option of having f/2 is better. If you can afford the Summaluxes at f/1.4, go ahead. But I can say that you should seriously look at Leica glass, 6-bit coded, if you can. With the exception of my 35mm CV f/1.2 Nokton, my other CV glass mostly sits now. I would have been better off just waiting. But I had to learn more about the 15 and 21 lengths to know I needed the SE 18. FYI: I'm always pissed off at the price of new Leica glass. Six months after shelling out the bucks, I'm satisfied I bought the Leica product. So it goes. Oh, parting shot? Buy one or two lenses and live with them until you absolutely, positively find your photography is being "limited" before buying more glass. The lenses are rarely the limiting factor and having more than two can lead to lens confusion at the time of shooting. If I had to pick and keep just one lens, it would be the Summicron 35 ASPH. (It would win over the CV Nokton 35 for its significantly smaller size and shot quality.) Cheers and good luck! Will

[jaapv]

Another vote fo the Summicron as a first lens, but I cannot advise you to go buying other lenses at a great rate. It is far better to get thoroughly used to a one-lens situation before deciding where to go with the next lens. It not only saves a lot of money, it improves your photography too imo.

[Clickie McPete]

After reading for many more hours and debating back and forth I think I'm going to try for a used M8 or M8.2 silver with the 35mm Summicron f2 ASPH. Sounds like this is a reasonable combination to start. I tend to be a terrible gear junky with camera stuff but for now I will resist the temptation to go whole hog until I decide that this style of shooting is really for me. If it is I have several Canon L lenses I could dump.