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It is here. I have a black M8, the first one from my dealer, and pretty certainly in Stockholm, and probably in Sweden. And now it sits in front of me like a miniature of the Monolith in '2001, a Space Odyssey'.

 

What I want to say is that this camera has more presence and, dammit, attitude than anything else I have handled, possibly with the exception of a cal. .45 Colt. I am quite simply impressed. The thing looks and handles much better than I expected, used as I am to M cameras. This beats even an M3. Maybe it's the black chrome; the silver cameras do look clumsier to me.

 

I am also impressed with the thinking. This camera doesn't suffer from galloping buttonitis. It is about as digitally spare and elegant as an M2 is, analogically. All you normally will need is in the 'set' menu. Just go out and shoot with it.

 

What I would suggest for a possible 'M8-P': A more 'grippy' body covering. Better protection for the monitor. A nose degreaser ;-) A connector to make it possible to hand-hold a small flash off the camera, for better modeling. If weather protection proves to be an issue -- which I don't know yet -- then that too. For the moment, the neoprene case seems to be a good stopgap; I'm going to get one of these. Also, I concur that a slimmer charger would be welcome. Preferrably with a controlled discharge feature -- the battery must go though two or three discharge-recharge cycles before it comes up to full capacity, says the manual.

 

And, you know what? I am considering putting a black Domke strap on it. The present strap does feel pretty cheap. My remaining gripes are with the lens lineup, but I have already aired these. However, what Leica has, looks good. I don't want any lace with the black satin.

 

The old man from the Age of Bathroom Photography

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Guest guy_mancuso

Congrats Lars and wish you many years of happeniness together but i must say as pretty as it looks the images are better , now get out there and have some fun.:D

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Martin Brink, also of Sweden, has the honour of getting a black M8 before you, although there may be others before him. He picked it up from a store in Berlin. Yours may well be the first M8 bought in Sweden though. Congratulations, and enjoy it. I am happy to see that you finally got your hands on one.

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Martin Brink, also of Sweden, has the honour of getting a black M8 before you, although there may be others before him. He picked it up from a store in Berlin. Yours may well be the first M8 bought in Sweden though. Congratulations, and enjoy it. I am happy to see that you finally got your hands on one.

Carsten--

Doesn't count if he didn't report it here first. Second-hand story... :)

 

And merely extra-territorial to boot, not extra-terrestrial like Lars's.

 

--HC

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Congrats Lars and wish you many years of happeniness together but i must say as pretty as it looks the images are better , now get out there and have some fun.:D

 

Thanks Guy, not least for the early input you gave us. ---BTW, are you by any chance a relation of Julia M.? We've been seeing quite a lot of her on the downhill circuit over here in Europe.

 

The old man from the Age of Glass Plates

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Guest guy_mancuso

No I am not but she brings pride to the Italian name and we certainly enjoy her abilities as a skier and person. Hope she is tearing it up over there

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... I think he did! Anyway, whatever.

 

So Lars, any results yet?

 

Just some preliminary experimentation. I got it last Friday, and I'm partially laid up after an operation. But I can see that I'll need those filters -- my black Tamrac bag came out light and bright purple, both in daylight and with flash! But I will probably have them when dear old Slushburg becomes habitable again.

 

The trouble is that with my lens collection, I will need the works from 60 to 39 mm, including three 46 mms for my ASPH optics (do never idly pass up a chance to brag).

 

The old man from the Age of Spherical Photography

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Congratulations, Lars! No worries about the Domke strap - I've got their narrow (1/2") strap on my M6, M7, and, now, M8. Never did much care for the one that Leica provides.

 

I like single-action Colt .45's, too (though I end up carrying a Glock in that caliber more than anything, these days... ;-)

 

Jeff

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