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M8 : First month report


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Had my M8 for about a month now, and felt like sharing my overall impression.

 

Overall, I do like it, for sure; the images it produces are very, very nice and it is very nice to use. I like the RF focusing style a great deal, and there is definitely a different feeling you get from using one of these compared to a DSLR. There's something artistic about it.

 

I would however call it something of a prima donna camera in some ways; it likes you to do things its way and if you don't, it can get in a huff and act out.

 

On top of that, the battery is unpredictable at best: I was shooting at the weekend and the battery display was showing two bars out of three, I'd taken maybe 70 or 80 DNG shots with a fair amount of chimping. I took a shot, and then BOOM. Went blank and wouldn't come back on no matter what I did. Pressing the shutter button brought on the red light (underneath the eight-way directional ring thing, whatever that's technically called), but wouldn't let me play back images or shoot. Once I took the battery out and charged it for half an hour it was fine again.

 

I'm going to France in August for a holiday, and while I will certainly take the M8, there's no way that I'd feel confident enough to take it as the sole camera. To that end, I sold off some Canon stuff that I no longer use and picked up a Nikon DSLR with a great reputation (went and shot 100 plus shots, at night, with high ISO, all the bells and whistles turned on, chimped EVERYTHING...and the battery hardly even moved!) and I will be using that as well. The two together should be a nice mix.

 

Overall, I'd call the M8 artistically brilliant but technically dubious.

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Normally, if you can restrain the chimping a bit, a battery should give you up to 400-500 shots. So I would gues that your battery is past its prime. When you get a new battery, note that it has to go through a number of cycles to reach full capacity.

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Normally, if you can restrain the chimping a bit, a battery should give you up to 400-500 shots. So I would gues that your battery is past its prime. When you get a new battery, note that it has to go through a number of cycles to reach full capacity.

 

That's very possibly true, yes. I'm going to get a (genuine, Leica) spare for it. Still doesn't explain how a fully charged Nikon will probably get 1,500 shots at least at far more demanding settings, but we are talking about apples and oranges. If the new battery solves this issue, then I'll be more than happy.

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Thanks for your thoughts and seeing as I've had mine for a little over a month now, I should probably provide some too.

 

I just love using it and would be confident to take it as my only camera on holiday. I'm still a long way from being proficient with it, but I've surprised myself in that time too. It certainly has its quirks, but it also has bags and bags of charm.

 

There are some days when my focusing is a bit hit and miss. I struggle sometimes to see the focus point at certain distances, but other days, I'm fine. I've also had some moments where I've needed to focus quickly and done okay with that and I've already found that I am thinking a lot more in terms of distances to subjects and speeding the whole process up.

 

I've guessed a lot too, in terms of just putting the lever to what I think the distance is and just firing and being very pleasantly surprised with the results in terms of how sharp the picture was. I've had some softer focus ones too, but I still liked them, for whatever reason. I have had a little go at hyper focusing but I still need to learn and understand this technique properly.

 

But overall it has made me feel more confident about how I assess lighting and settings and more often than not, I am nearer to the right ballpark than I tend to give myself credit for, but often I don't know why - I suppose it's just experience.

 

I will definitely consider using this as a second camera at weddings and am very interested to see what kind of results I can achieve for certain situations. I'll hopefully also buy some Leica glass over the coming months too, but I do like the VC 28 Ultron 2.0.

 

It's been a rewarding experience to date and pretty much most days, I have the camera with me. I'd definitely suggest doing what jaapv said and buy another battery. I'm considering doing the same. I've managed a good 300-400 shots on mine, but I don't really chimp much with this.

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I think the issue with the battery and the M8 is that many have been around since 2006 and the latest ones since 2009.

 

Thats a battery life of between 5 and 2 years (average 3.5 years).

I challenge everyone with a mobile phone of more then 2 years that doesn't need a new battery.

 

Get a new battery and also a spare.

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That's very possibly true, yes. I'm going to get a (genuine, Leica) spare for it. Still doesn't explain how a fully charged Nikon will probably get 1,500 shots at least at far more demanding settings, but we are talking about apples and oranges. If the new battery solves this issue, then I'll be more than happy.

 

There is a good explanation. The battery technology is the same for both cameras, but (I dont know the Nikon specs) I'm sure the Nikon abttery has a larger capacity - and size- and the Nikon has more integrated electronics - read chips instead of discrete parts, transistors, etc. as opposed to the M8. That layout influences the power consumption negatively. A CCD uses more power than a CMos too.

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If you like it after a month; you'll love it after a year. If you need a back up; another M8 would be ideal if you're pro or have the funds required; a DL4 would be just fine for emergencies and for when you need something truly pocketable; and an iPhone is surprisingly capable for the odd snap.

 

Buy a new battery; enjoy the camera without worry.

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I too have had my M8 for a short time, the first time the battery died I thought the whole camera had given up the ghost, pretty alarming!

 

Same focusing story, my head plays games with me too, hit it in one and don't think about it too much one day but then you loose confidence the next - I have no idea what causes that.

 

The pictures it takes blow me away. I too haven't quite got the confidence yet to make it my only holiday camera.

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i never ever chimp. i like the surprise when i download the snaps at home. plus, i'm embarassed to be see chimping. i've never seen jim nachtwey chimp.

:D

 

but for real. just don't chimp. it takes some of the fun away!

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I've found that carrying an M6 is a great backup to my M8. I travel quite a bit and it is easier to carry the two Leica bodies and one set of lenses than to bring two different systems. I usually only carry two of 36 exp rolls of film as 35mm is available almost everywhere.

In reference to battery life I've gone several days shooting (300 to 400 + shots) on one battery. I chimp a bit but also remember to turn the camera off between shots while just walking around.

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i never ever chimp. i like the surprise when i download the snaps at home. plus, i'm embarassed to be see chimping. i've never seen jim nachtwey chimp.

:D

 

but for real. just don't chimp. it takes some of the fun away!

Why are you embarrassed? Does waiting make you more professional?

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The m8 can serve you well on an extended trip. It has done so for me myriad times. Get two new batteries. I have always had two, but I need to replace one of them. It acts up like the one you have. Leica recommends that you, every so often, run the batteries down to 0 so they are completely uncharged. This is supposed to prolong their life.

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The m8 can serve you well on an extended trip. It has done so for me myriad times. Get two new batteries. I have always had two, but I need to replace one of them. It acts up like the one you have. Leica recommends that you, every so often, run the batteries down to 0 so they are completely uncharged. This is supposed to prolong their life.
Actually, Leica does not . Doing that, whilst valid for NiCads, shortens the life of LiIon batteries.
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That's very possibly true, yes. I'm going to get a (genuine, Leica) spare for it. Still doesn't explain how a fully charged Nikon will probably get 1,500 shots at least at far more demanding settings, but we are talking about apples and oranges. If the new battery solves this issue, then I'll be more than happy.

 

Away from all of this - I hope you're okay out there after what's happened these past two days.

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Anyway, I have my original M8 batteries from November and December 2006, and I have mostly charged them when three-quarters empty. They still hold their charge nearly as well as my newest battery, which is one year old now.

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... just don't chimp. it takes some of the fun away!

... and denies you one of the real benefits of digital photography, which is to be able to view the histogram of the shot you've just taken, and when the highlights are blown or the shadows blocked up adjust the exposure and shoot again. And again and again and again if you like.:rolleyes:

 

Pete.

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Pretty much any piece of electronics that has a battery will lose its ability to keep a charge over time. An Apple laptop battery is good for X amount of charges over it's lifespan. Sounds like the previous owner used it a lot.

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