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Leica Newbie Looking at M8


grilla

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Major hand surgery has made the use of my Nikon D700 difficult due to the weight and size of lenses. I am landscape photographer who once loved using a fuji 6 x 9 rangefinder. I am looking for something light and compact, and saw that a used Leica M8 was affordable and appears to fit my needs. I have never owned a Leica, and would like to hear from their owners. I would like to shoot handheld in the field and leave my tripod at home.

 

Thanks!

 

Gary in Portland, Oregon

http://www.thecolorblindphotographer.net

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I've had great luck with the M8. It's my travel camera full time; light, easy to pack and produces beautiful results. Take a look at my website, the "Turkey", "France", "Merida, Mexico" are completely M8 while the other are a mix of cameras.

Best regards,

Dave

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Major hand surgery has made the use of my Nikon D700 difficult due to the weight and size of lenses. I am landscape photographer who once loved using a fuji 6 x 9 rangefinder. I am looking for something light and compact, and saw that a used Leica M8 was affordable and appears to fit my needs. I have never owned a Leica, and would like to hear from their owners. I would like to shoot handheld in the field and leave my tripod at home.

 

Thanks!

 

Gary in Portland, Oregon

www.thecolorblindphotographer.net

 

you can't go wrong with a Leica M8, but factor in the cost of the lens.

There is no cheap mid-range like with Nikon.

Can you live with 28mm (36mm equiv. on M8) ?

Or do you want 24mm or 21mm ?

 

I don't know about the US, but in the UK the market for recent 2nd hand lenses is very thin. The good news is that virtually any Leica lens is excellent. Newer ones to tend to be better, but even Leica's oldest lenses are excellent.

 

If you want to buy new the 24mm Elmar (31mm FF equiv.) and 28mm Elmarit (36mm FF equiv.) are eye bleeding sharp (24mm Elmar from f3.8 and 28mm Elmarit from f4) and very good value (in Leica terms)

 

The Leica 18mm Super Elmar (24mm FF equiv.) is also good value, although a step up in cost from the above two. However you will also need an extended viewfinder (12026) which is pricey [the M8 has no brightlines below 24mm and the M9 has no brightlines below 28mm]

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I too use my M8 for landscapes and am very happy with the results - in your case I'd try to handle one to see if it feels OK with your hand.

 

I'd describe them as feeling quite heavy for their size and as they do not have a grip they can feel a little insecure/slippery - I got a basic Luigi half case for mine which seems to have improved the ergonomics a great deal.

 

I quite often take both my M8 and Fuji GW670 out for landscapes.

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Welcome to the forum :) Yours is a difficult question, as we do not know the extent of your problems. The M8 is a manual camera, meaning that one does need two hands to work it. It might be that a light autofocus camera would suit your needs better. On the other hand you are a landscape photographer, and the resolution of the M8 might be on the low side. The M9 is basically better suited to this kind of work and gives results that are at least comparable to medium-format film. The M8 might be a bit stressed in comparison and leaves little leeway for cropping.

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I recently sold a D700 and some lenses and have got an M8. I found the size and weight of the D700 a major hinderance. The M8 fits in my jacket pocket, and while it does have a fair degree of weight for its size, I don't find it a burden.

It is much easier to hand hold, and I find can use much lower shutter speeds without camera shake. For hand held shooting it fits the bill. It's high iso performance is no where as good as the D700, but in practice the ability to use slower shutter speed balances this out.

What focal lengths do you like? If you like ultra-wide the 1.33 crop factor might be an issue, but otherwise there is plenty of choice.

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Hi, you won't be wrong with an M8. I've been using it with satisfaction since 2009. Just bear in mind that its format might be a bit small, especially if you used a 6 x 9. We're talking of an 18 x 27, much less real estate...

If you're into landscape you'll want to carefully pick up your lenses. I guess you'll ask for even rendition of details from edge to edge and flatness of field. You'll want therefore the newer range of lenses, i.e. the ASPHs (Elmarit 24/2.8, Elmarit 28/2.8 or the excellent Summicron 28/2 if you need the extra stop, Summarit 35/2.5, Summilux 50/1.4 if you can find one, Summicron 75/2, Summicron APO 90 or an used Elmarit M 90/2.8, Apo-Telyt 135/3.4). As a cheaper alternative you may want to consider Zeiss lenses such as the Biogon 25/2.8, Biogon 35/2.8 and the Planar 50/2. I have this latter and I believe it's a tad better than the Summicron 50. It's surgically sharp and extremely resistant to flare.

 

Hope this helps,

Bruno

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