A new Leica Guy - Thinking of a used M8 - Questions?!?

[ryan1938]

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Hey guys,

 

I'm an amateur with a passion for design. Recently, I used a pal's M8 for about an hour and fell in love. I've decided to look for a used M8 to scratch the itch. As such, I had a few questions I hope you guys can help me out with.

 

1. What lens would you suggest I start with? I shoot a lot of black and white and love low light stuff... so, I think a fast fixed focal length would be great for me. However, I am budget minded.

 

2. I've read a lot of older articles about problems with the M8 that were resolved with filters and coding. Is this something I need to concern myself with when considering a lens? I imagine I will probably be looking at the used market for the lens as well.

 

In any case, thanks for the forum... I've got a lot of reading to do!

[Jeff S]

Welcome, Ryan.

 

You'll find boatloads of information on your questions by searching the forum (top right box).

 

The first issue regarding your lens selection is focal length. What lens(es) do you normally use for your subject matter? (The M8, as you probably know, has a crop factor of 1.33, so a 28 lens presents a FOV of approximately 37mm; a 35 equates to about 47 FOV).

 

You should pick one lens and get to know it well, especially if you haven't used rangefinders extensively. The Ms have a preview lever that will let you explore alternative frame lines for future lens choice. Either a 28 or 35 is probably a good start. Either one should be coded on the M8, and a UV/IR filter should be used.

 

There are lots of choices for 28s and 35s...you can't go wrong with almost any. I suggest you subscribe to Sean's site...Welcome to ReidReviews for good overviews. Besides used lenses, the Summarit line is excellent and relatively inexpensive for new lenses. Some feel the 35 Summarit is as good or better than the Summicron...Summarit range If you have a dealer near you, I suggest you explore some options and see what suits.

 

Keep in mind that there are basic M8s, upgraded M8s (to various degrees) and the M8.2. Cost goes up proportionately. A good clean M8 should serve just fine, especially on a budget. I would buy from a reputable dealer, however, unless you trust that the former owner has things sorted. Warranties (if any remaining) vary depending on US versus international (or from dealer), and differ between cameras versus lenses.

 

Happy reading.

 

Jeff

[ryan1938]

I should have mentioned that... Good point... I'm pretty confident that a 35mm lens would be for me. I'm just uncertain of this coding I hear about. Will all newish lenses be coded already?

[Jeff S]

New, yes. Newish?...depends on how new or whether the former owner coded it. It's not hard to do. (I'm assuming you want a Leica lens.)

 

Now, get to reading...the answers are here already,

 

Jeff

[Jark89]

You can also check out this page, its a Leica M8 "FAQ", I think it should provide some good information under one roof. Hope it helps!

 

Leica FAQ — Leica M8 Digital

[adli]

"Newish" Leica lenses are coded. Older Lenses can be coded, either by Leica (expensive) or or by some independent Leica repairmen (not as expensive as Leica).

 

If you are confident that a 35mm (fov equivalent to approximately 50mm full frame) lens would be for you, and you love low light stuff, you could look around for second hand summicron (f/2.0) or summilux (f/1.4).

[wstotler]

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Ditto to all of the good advice above. Save up and buy an f/1.4 if you really want to do low light. You can make the f/2 work, but f/1.4 will work better. Look at CV glass--I use the 35mm f/1.2. A lot. My very best low-light work has come out of that lens: CV35 Nokton f/1.2 - a set on Flickr

 

Cheers!

Will

[drolfe]

The older Canadian 35mm 1.4 is soft wide open, but improves stopping down a bit... unless you like the soft focus look. You may do as well with the 35mm 2.0 Summicron, which is sharp wide open, and may be less expensive.

 

The coding is most critical on the wider lenses, I believe. But if you're doing mainly black and white, you may not really need it. I never coded mine, and only notice cyan vignetting on my 21mm 2.8 and the 15mm Voigtlander.

 

Best wishes, and have fun!

[Geno]

Since you want to do B&W you don't need the IR filter for the lens. - when you shoot low light stuff, IR is such a small percentage of the light you will find in "low light stuff" that the IR filter and IR adjustment software won't be needed. When you want to enter into the daylight illuminiated full spectrum world the issue changes.

 

... "The M8 has an unusually thin infrared filter in front of its sensor. Unfortunately the 0.5mm glass doesn't completely block the IR spectrum, causing some IR to leak through. Consequently black-coloured objects (typically synthetic fabrics or paint) acquired a false-magenta cast"...

Leica FAQ — Leica M8 Digital

 

You won't need to have len coded for IR adjustment software for low light stuff.

 

A 28mm lens covers and may allows longer handheld exposures - nice!

A 50 Nokton 50mm 1.1 will preform in what you consider to be dark condition ... too dark for photography, pull subjects closer to you allows nice out of focus "BOKEN" ... What is Bokeh? Over 50 Lenses rated for their out of focus blur. | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS

[Jeff S]

Since you want to do B&W you don't need the IR filter for the lens.

 

He said a lot of b/w, not exclusively.

 

Jeff

[Nicoleica]

Since you want to do B&W you don't need the IR filter for the lens.

 

Even with B&W having a UV/IR-cut filter is beneficial, as it improves sharpness by a small amount due to IR light focussing at a different point in space.

[stonearabiapix]

And without the IR filter you get nice open shadows, in your BW work. My workflow is filter the color, w/o IR filter for bw.

 

T.

[Jeff S]

I haven't taken the filters off my lenses since I bought them. Too much trouble, for too little in return, given the many other steps one can take to produce a great final print. Plus, this gives me more flexibility with the original color file down the road if needed.

 

Jeff

[wstotler]

I haven't taken the filters off my lenses since I bought them. Too much trouble, for too little in return, given the many other steps one can take to produce a great final print. Plus, this gives me more flexibility with the original color file down the road if needed. Jeff

 

+1

 

Will

[vdb]

Ryan,I sent you a PM.

[ryan1938]

well guys... I bought an M8 from one of our own and a Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 from an online camera source... I should have both soon.

 

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. I can't wait to get this thing and show you guys my complete lack of talent!

 

[vdb]

Congrats ryan:)

[tbarker13]

Congratulations on the purchase.

And if you are looking for something with a bit more reach, the CV 75/2.5 is a great lens. Not too expensive. With the crop factor, it's roughly a 90mm equivalent lens, giving you a pretty classic 50mm-90mm set-up that could last you for a long time.

[Jeff S]

I suggest that you stick with your one lens until you know it well. Take lots of photos and use your preview lever before you decide on the next focal length to suit your style. In the meantime, you'll adapt to the M quicker and better with one lens, and your feet will help.

 

Jeff

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[tbarker13]

I have to admit I've never quite understood this fascination with "sticking with one lens." Unless you are an absolute novice to photography, I don't believe it gains you anything more than missed opportunities.

I'd never suggest a bag full of lenses, but having a telephoto option to go along with your standard lens can be quite useful - particularly if you want to venture at all into any sort of portaiture. Or if you want to do detail shots.

Of course a 35mm lens can be used for portraits. So can a 15mm lens. But that doesn't mean it's particularly well-suited for the task.