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

[Jeff S]

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I have to admit I've never quite understood this fascination with "sticking with one lens." .

 

No fascination; rather, this can be helpful for one who is new to rangefinders and the M in particular, which has a frame line preview lever that can help to avoid the wrong next lens purchase.

 

Jeff

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[tbarker13]

Jeff,

I don't mean to single you out on this. It's just very common thread of advice here and on the RF forum. But it's just not something I agree with.

I guess I'm going back to my first M3 about 20 years ago. All I could afford at the time was a 35 summaron to go with it. I found it to be a frustrating experience - having only one FL option. There were just too many shots I wanted to capture, but couldn't. At least not in the manner I wanted to capture them.

 

I'm actually somewhat of a minimalist - rarely traveling with more than two lenses. Again, I love portraits. And you just aren't going to do a lot of good portrait work with a 35mm lens.

 

I guess this is one of the nice things about these forums. It's a chance to collect a variety of opinions.

[Jeff S]

J Again, I love portraits. And you just aren't going to do a lot of good portrait work with a 35mm lens.

 

Then you probably should have started with only a 75, then decided on others.

 

People should have as many lenses as they need IMO. But, need and want are different, and for those starting out, the preview lever helps. And, since Leica doesn't specialize in zooms, and since their primes are expensive, and since rangefinders are quirky and are not for everyone (need to try one before buying lots of lenses), I often suggest newbies start slowly. Plus, by being forced to use one's feet more often, one might determine that lenses in relatively close FOVs are not necessary, and meanwhile help one to better understanding perspective.

 

Jeff

[ramosa]

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.

 

ponder how you shoot. i started with a 28 and then got a 50. some may prefer 35, in between the two. also, ask yourself how many lenses you want to have in a year or two. that will help you "space" your lenses properly.

 

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.

 

i'd recommend that you get an M8 from a good shop, one that provides a warranty. that will give you some piece of mind. (that said, i have had an M8 for almost three years and have had zero problems.)

[Knomad]

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!

 

I use a 35mm Summicron on my M8 almost all the time, and do a lot of night work with it. Because the Leica M body is so well balanced and relatively light, and without the mirror vibration of an SLR, I'm able to shoot routinely at 1/8th or 1/15th second and f/2.0 at ISO 640. I have no complaints about the sharpness of the Version 4 (pre-aspherical) lens even wide open.

 

Mine is not coded, and I usually don't bother with the IR filter since I do mostly B&W work.

 

While f/1.4 would be good to have... and I do occasionally use a 50mm Summilux, but prefer the 35mm frameline with the M8... the 35mm Summicron has performed so well for me that it simply hasn't been a priority to spend the extra money for a faster 35mm lens.

 

There are some examples posted at knomad-one including some recent color work and all shot with the above camera/lens combo.

[Jeff S]

i'd recommend that you get an M8 from a good shop, one that provides a warranty. that will give you some piece of mind.

 

Post #16.

 

Jeff

[peterm1_Leica]

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I am a long time Leica M user who for the past several years has been shooting seriously with a Nikon DSLR mainly as I felt I did not want to spend such large sums on a Leica digital till I was sure it was for me. Besides, when I started there was no such thing as a digital M.

 

But time has passed and it is now possible to pick up a Leica M8 for a reasonable price. And I have the required 35mm/50mm/90mm Leica glass from the mid 1980s plus a good deal of Canon and older screw mount Leica glass that can be used with the body. Then I realized that if I sold several of my other cameras (including Leica film cameras that I now seldom use) I could pay for a second hand M8 without putting my hand into my pocket. I have had the M8 on store lay-buy for a couple of months while my stuff sells and I am just about paid off - so in the next few weeks I will be shooting Leica M again. You can imagine I am excited.

 

My advice to a new Leica owner is to accept that over time you probably want to buy more lenses. They are just that good - literally the heart and soul of the Leica system. Do this if you can afford it. It is not necessary (although it is fun) to buy the latest ultra speed versions of the lenses as in the vast majority of cases the lenses of 30 years ago are excellent and will even today shoot as well as or better than anything offered by Nikon or Canon.and the like. And many Leica fans like me enjoy experimenting with even older glass from the 1950s or earlier as they give unique effects to images.

 

In most cases you will pick those lenses up quite a bit cheaper than the latest ones - although it is not always the cse that their prices fall. I have noted that the version 4 of the 35mm Summicron (which is renowned as the Bokeh King) has gone up substantially in price to at least $1500 US. It used to be around the $1000 mark not all that long ago but has been driven up by its reputation and the advent of digital Ms. This means mine is now worth much more than I paid for it some years back.

 

I think I shoot well with Nikon (see my collection of online photos at Flickr) but I am really keen to seriously start shooting in black and white again which is where my M8 will come into play.

 

Flickr: yoyomaoz's Photostream

[geoffreyg]

Welcome to the M8 community. Mine is an early M8 (not updated), but went back to NJ for a new board early on in life. No problems since then - so a good early one is just fine.

 

As to lenses - I shot with an M2 and a 35 'cron for about 20 years, and was quite happy. Typically use the 28 f 2.8 Elmarit now - yes, the 'cron would be faster (and nicer), but also bigger. I opted for smaller size, less $.

 

The push for the bigger faster lenses is compelling - but my gut tells me that faster than f2 is pushing it, perhaps a bit too far. The DOF with f 1.4 wide open is razor thin - and I can't focus that precisely. f 2 or even f 2.8 gives a cushion and that helps a lot.

 

Geoff