Getting to know my M8.2

[Kimpers]

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My M8.2 was a px (through a dealer) for my M7 body (both mint). I kept my original Standard Summicron (the only lens on my M8.2). I would be interested to know what modifications or upgrades might have been applied to my M8.2 - is this obvious?

 

Also, I am looking for a wide angle lens - can I buy a Summicron?

 

I would be greatful for any advice or personal experience...

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[PasMichiel]

My M8.2 was a px (through a dealer) for my M7 body (both mint). I kept my original Standard Summicron (the only lens on my M8.2). I would be interested to know what modifications or upgrades might have been applied to my M8.2 - is this obvious?

 

Also, I am looking for a wide angle lens - can I buy a Summicron?

 

I would be greatful for any advice or personal experience...

 

 

comparing to the M7? or with the basic M8? Summicrons do fit. But there are some wide angle's indeed. The 18 and 21mm are nice (with the crop of 1.33 still too wide).

[Luke_Miller]

When I bought my M8.2 a year ago I got it with the 50 Summicron. I quickly added the 28 Summicron and it has been my most used lens. I just picked up a 24 Elmarit and results so far are exciting. All lenses are 6 bit versions. For some reason I just don't find 50mm appealing. While the image quality from my 50 'cron is outstanding, I just rarely use that focal length.

[Kimpers]

The Standard 50mm Summicron (albeit an M7 lens unmodified) appears to fit the M8.2 Viewing Frame correctly (allowing some lateral adjustment for close-ups). The absence of a digital 'signature' doesn't mean much to me (i.e. I have never used a Digital Lens on my Leica M8.2. body...).

 

If I bought a Summicron wide angle non-digital lense (i.e. a used 28 or 35 mm lens in a resonable condition), would it be difficult to frame?

 

I am assuming that a new Summicron wide-angle (out-of-my-price-bracket-though) would frame accurately on an M8.2?

[Kimpers]

...also, when I bought my M8.2, the dealer talked a lot about putting 'filters' into the camera (to support the non-digital lens?). Would I be able to identify if filters have been attached by visual inspection?

[lct]

...also, when I bought my M8.2, the dealer talked a lot about putting 'filters' into the camera (to support the non-digital lens?). Would I be able to identify if filters have been attached by visual inspection?

IR-cut filters are mandatory with M8 and M8.2 unless you like (very) much magenta. Easy to identify them, they look generally pink and sometimes green. Not kidding at all.

[Rick in CO]

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I use the 50 summicron, 24 ZM Biogon and 90 Apo Lanthar on my M8 (all non-coded and without IR filters) and am thrilled with the results. In my opinion, the best analysis of lenses for the Leica is Erwin Puts' website imx.nl/photo.

[Kimpers]

Yes... I had a peek through the open camera aperture (set to 2s) with the lens unscrewed. Is the IR-cut filter a rectangular fine micro-thin frame adhered to the sensor - in Green. ...looks quite neat really... (or is this just the sensor?) Clearly, if this is the filter it is a permanent fixture.

[Kimpers]

Thanks also for the information on Lenses. I really enjoy my 50mm Summicron, but agree that a 35mm lens might be more useful for everday snaps (not to mention beautiful landscapes).

[india42]

Hello Kimpers,

I think you may be a little confused, the UV/IR cut filters go on the front of the lens (Summicron,etc.). The M8/M8.2 has a known sensitivity to IR which causes issues with the color accuracy. I started using the M8 about 6 months ago, and at that time I didn't have any filters for my lenses. I thought my images were fine, however after getting a filter for my Summicron I was surprised to see the difference in color.

I guess some people think you don't need the UV/IR filters, however I would suggest that you get one and try it. If the camera was not registered with Leica, or if it was purchased new from a dealer, Leica will provide you with 2 free filters.

 

Enjoy the camera, I love mine!!

 

Paul

[Kimpers]

Thanks Paul, now that makes a lot more sense...

 

Luckily, I had already fitted a B+W UV filter (bought to protect the Summicron lens from dirt etc.). ...and yes, my pictures are very good too.

 

From a user's perspective, I would be interested to hear about lister's experiences of metering (light) and exposure (setting). I use Aperture (Mac Software - TIFF) to contextualise all my photos (post-processing), but bracketing only appears to be available on the M9. In difficult light conditions (including very strong light) I still have a lot to learn. I have a Gossen light-meter, but I suspect the problem is more to do with my inexperience of using rangefinder cameras.

 

Steve

[andybarton]

The Standard 50mm Summicron (albeit an M7 lens unmodified) appears to fit the M8.2 Viewing Frame correctly (allowing some lateral adjustment for close-ups). The absence of a digital 'signature' doesn't mean much to me (i.e. I have never used a Digital Lens on my Leica M8.2. body...).

 

There is no such thing as a digital lens

[Kimpers]

...good point - I meant a Leica lens that pre-dated the availability of camera bodies such as the Leica M8

[andybarton]

Indeed, but you need to understand that all M lenses (with very few exceptions) can be used on ALL M bodies, going back to 1954. Some benefit from coding (ESP those <35mm) but all can be used. So a lens you buy for your M8 will work just as well on a '54 M3. You have bought into a system.

 

So, any normal Summicron dating back to the 50s will work with your M8.

[Nicoleica]

Luckily, I had already fitted a B+W UV filter (bought to protect the Summicron lens from dirt etc.). ...and yes, my pictures are very good too.

 

Hi. The filter that you need is not the same as a normal UV filter. It's called a UV-IR Cut filter. (B&W type is 486) that is needed to stop IR light from affecting the sensor on the M8/8.2. These filters really do make a positive difference to colours (Especially foliage and black synthetic materials.), and also increase sharpness a small amount. If you don't have one, I would strongly recommend that you get one.

[Kimpers]

Thanks, this might explain some of my exposure problems (not including that is, my on-going rangefinder apprenticeship).

 

One last question please - do M lenses frame the same on my M8.2, as they would have done on my Leica M7? I am assuming (perhaps wrongly) that a M lens (i.e my 50mm) would frame the same on my M8 as it would have done on my M7? ...and a summicron 6-bit 38mm lense (if such a lense exists) would frame exactly the same on both the M7 and the M8??

 

Steve

[hx911]

The lenses frame the same way, but with the 1.33 crop factor give you a smaller firld of view than they would on a full frame (film or digital) camera. The framelines (pairs) are brought up by the lens and give you your caprured area.

 

6bit lenses are exactly the same than non coded lenses, but allow the camera (m8 or m9) to read the lens type and record the focal length and max aperture in the exif data.

On some lenses (mostly 35mm and shorter) the camera applies corrections to the picture (especially corners) and can compensate for color casts induced by the IR/UV cut filter (if the camera is set to coding and filter ON)

 

Hope I got that right, and it makes sense to you

 

H.

[efix]

Thanks, this might explain some of my exposure problems (not including that is, my on-going rangefinder apprenticeship).

 

One last question please - do M lenses frame the same on my M8.2, as they would have done on my Leica M7? I am assuming (perhaps wrongly) that a M lens (i.e my 50mm) would frame the same on my M8 as it would have done on my M7? ...and a summicron 6-bit 38mm lense (if such a lense exists) would frame exactly the same on both the M7 and the M8??

 

Steve

 

The M8/M8.2's sensor is slightly smaller in diameter than a 35mm film slide - 1.33 times smaller, to be exact. Thus, the field-of-view you get with a lens of a certain focal length on the M8.2 corresponds roughly to that of a hypothetical focal length 1.33 times longer on a film body. Example: a 28mm lens on an M8 gives a field-of-view corresponding to 37mm on film/full-frame. A 35mm lens on an M8 gives a f-o-v corresponding to 47mm, and a 50mm lens gives a field-ov-view corresponding to 67mm. The framelines of the M8/M8.2 are designed to be accurate with the field-of-view captured by the sensor, thus, the 28mm framelines in the M8 are about the same size as the 35mm framelines in a film M, the 35mm framelines being about the same size as the 50mm framelines in a film M and so on.

 

The 6-bit coding is merely there to communicate the lens type to the camera, so that it can note the lens' focal length in the EXIF-data of the images recorded, and, if necessary, automatically apply optical corrections to the image while processing it, which is necessary especially with wide-angles using a UV/IR-filter on the M8, as these can cause severe vignetting and colour-shifts in the corners. Using a 6-bit coded lens on an M7/any other film M body makes no difference to using a non-coded lens.

 

In summary: a Leica M is a Leica M, and a Leica M lens is a Leica M lens. Only difference between film and digital is that digital can read 6-bit codes, and that M8/M8.2 have the so-called "crop-factor" of 1.33x, by which you need to multiply the lens' focal length to get the resulting field-of-view your M8/M8.2 records.

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Hallo,

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