R.Costello Posted February 7, 2007 Share #1 Â Posted February 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Update- "Buy M8 now or wait for M9" In the end I decided to 'go for it' and changed the Kit to a Black M8, 50mm Lux ASPH and 35 mm Lux ASPH with assorted accessories. Why the change - It was available right now from various sources, and my wife said I could :-). I must say I really like this camera a lot! You folks are a fountain of information for an aging photographer. I use the search function in the forum a lot - and really appreciate the time you pros (an amateurs too) give so freely. I am out now learning the secrets of the M8 and just having a great deal of fun. The D2X and the D70 are resting on the table but not forgotten at all. They all go in the bags when we load up. I will post some images soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted February 7, 2007 Share #2 Â Posted February 7, 2007 Congratulations! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem7 Posted February 7, 2007 Share #3 Â Posted February 7, 2007 Not only did you just buy an awesome camera, but the best two lenses leica makes in my opinion! The 50 and 35 Lux are AMAZING!!!! You are lucky. I guess I am too as I just got my M8 today and 50 Lux yesterday. Can't afford the 35 lux yet but maybe soon... Â Post some pics! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeforman Posted February 7, 2007 Share #4 Â Posted February 7, 2007 I have been debating purchasing an M8 as my first Leica. As an amateur photographer reading of all the purported problems, is it wise to wait for a possible M9, or is this camera really as good as some people say? Any advice is appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdewitt Posted February 7, 2007 Share #5 Â Posted February 7, 2007 I have been debating purchasing an M8 as my first Leica. As an amateur photographer reading of all the purported problems, is it wise to wait for a possible M9, or is this camera really as good as some people say? Any advice is appreciated. Â Run, don't walk, to your nearest Leica dealer and get an M8 now. I sure am glad I did. Problems? Sorry, I don't have any problems. Â There will always be a better product someday, something that can be said for everythig, not just Leica. One can wait forever because I guarantee the next generation will be an improvement. If you just keep waiting for it then you'll never actually do anything. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted February 7, 2007 Share #6 Â Posted February 7, 2007 Call Sean at Camera West . Black M8's in stock, please tell him I sent you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted February 7, 2007 Share #7 Â Posted February 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi Guys, Â I had this discussion in my mind many times. I thought I would buy a Digilux 3 with extra oly glass. Then one fine day, just past new years (must have been the hang over), I just took the plunge and ordered an M8 with a 28mm Elmarit and a 90mm f4 Macro. Thanks to this forum and the images that have been posted, that were taken on the M8 (the image quality is absolutely amazing), I got into serious trouble with my family. Mind you, they have settled down a bit now. Â Sadly, living in a part of the world that is not considered a "huge market" I have to wait until end of March for these to arrive. This waiting is driving me crazy, but then, the best things in life are worth waiting for... (even if the world looks somewhat magenta - lol). Â Andreas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted February 7, 2007 Share #8 Â Posted February 7, 2007 I was one of those who really protested the release of the M8 before it was street ready but I was won over by the images, not the arguments, especially the B&W images posted on this forum. I was fortunate enough to find an M8 the very day I set out to purchase one. The M8 has been the most extravagant purchase of my life, but as far as I am concerned, I am very very pleased I took the plunge. This camera has brought me extreme satisfaction, and I'm still waiting for the IR filters, once I get those I know I'll be even happier. Â What I love about this camera is how the old and new technology has been harmonized in such a way that you still get that old feeling of shooting with a stealth film camera, while enjoying the best technology the digital world can offer for a camera of this small size. The images are absolutely everything a Leica image should be, stunning! Â Cheers, Wilfredo+ Benitez-Rivera Photography Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecaton Posted February 7, 2007 Share #9 Â Posted February 7, 2007 I have been debating purchasing an M8 as my first Leica. As an amateur photographer reading of all the purported problems, is it wise to wait for a possible M9, or is this camera really as good as some people say? Any advice is appreciated. Â Buy it ant try it. If you don't like it, sell it at no loss at e-bay. Got my black M8 about 10 days ago with the new 28 Elmarit and find it simply phenomenal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest magyarman Posted February 7, 2007 Share #10 Â Posted February 7, 2007 Mabe is not so unlucky you mast to wait. From this time mabe will be finish 1.10 firmware. If doesn't come 1.10 becaus prablem from Jenoptik mad with Leica, will be many prablem without to any finish. Also in one monath better to find all this IR filter what needs, also mabe will be some in addition prablems find out and fix up. Even you vary hungric always better do not eat before is dinner finish cook Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrogers Posted February 7, 2007 Share #11 Â Posted February 7, 2007 If you want a digital rangefinder, and finances permit it, get the M8. Life is short, and it's the most fun camera I've had in years. Â Clyde Rogers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_tanaka Posted February 7, 2007 Share #12  Posted February 7, 2007 Richard's "Buy M8 now or wait for M9" title merits consideration by anyone who has enjoyed rangefinder-style photography and has long looked forward to a "digital M".  I am on record here, and elsewhere, as being rather critical of this camera and of the strategies that Leica employed to bring this camera to market at this time. Nevertheless, last night I placed an order for an M8.  You might find my reasoning interesting if you've been on the line with this decision yourself.  I have used an M7, my first Leica, for a while. Although I do not use it as a workhorse I enjoy its sheer simplicity and the quality of its construction. The impetus for using any rangefinder camera these days must be closely analogous to why older military and professional pilots enjoy flying vintage planes as a hobby.  But for all of its quaint, lovable charms my M7 has one irreconcilable attribute; it shoots film. Chemical photography is wonderful and my hats off to those who continue to devote their energies to this medium. For me, however, film has a meager and diminishing future. I shoot only a few (and ever fewer) number of rolls each year. I cannot develop my own film and have no desire to learn to do so. Consequently my M7 and, more to the point, its three fine lenses sit idle most of the time.  Enter the imperfect M8. I have closely read early user reports as well as the pre-release "reviews". Eliminating the over-baked breathless "it's an awesome camera" testimonies as well as the (relatively few) under-medicated "it really sucks" indictments I've come away with the impression that the M8's assets outweigh its liabilities. I have also had the opportunity to look at some of its RAW image files which, although far from skillfully recorded, confirm that he camera is quite a capable gadget.  Indeed yes, the M8 is rather like a slightly underdone steak. And yup, it's shamelessly and heroically over-priced in the fine and long-standing Leica tradition. But unless it self-destructs shortly after arrival (as,apparently, more than a few have) it seems like it will certainly give my excellent-but-mostly-unemployed M lenses something to do more often.  So in my final analysis that's what prompted me to buy an M8. I do not need an M8. Nobody today does. But I have made a significant financial investment in Leica's M system, an investment which is seeing declining use due to its association with film. My personal referendum, therefore, was clear. Is it better to (a) continue to let my M kit lie mostly dormant, or ( sell-off all of my M kit, or © make an additional investment in a digital M camera body that would, even with its quirks, enable and encourage me to use and enjoy my M lenses far more often.  I voted unanimously for choice ©. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted February 7, 2007 Share #13 Â Posted February 7, 2007 But for all of its quaint, lovable charms my M7 has one irreconcilable attribute; it shoots film. Chemical photography is wonderful and my hats off to those who continue to devote their energies to this medium. For me, however, film has a meager and diminishing future. I shoot only a few (and ever fewer) number of rolls each year. I cannot develop my own film and have no desire to learn to do so. Consequently my M7 and, more to the point, its three fine lenses sit idle most of the time. Â I've also got an M7 and don't use it much anymore, mostly because I liked digital the moment it came out. However: b&w film processing is as easy as washing dishes, and can be done with about the same amount of equipment, and in about the same amount of time. If you have an M7, you should learn it...and then, scan the film, and do the rest in Lightroom or Photoshop. If you want to shoot color, drop it in the mail to Dwaynes. One day it'll come back, and then...scan it. Â My big problem with chemical photography was always the print-making. In the film "War Photographer," there's a scene where the photographer and his lab guy (a professional printer) re-do a print over and over and over trying to get it right. if I lived to be 200 years old, I could never print as well as that guy did on his first try, because frankly, after the first one or two tries, I get pretty bored. Better for me to work on it for a while on a computer, save it, and come back later -- even much later -- and start exactly where I stopped. With digital, you can play with a print for hours, or for one minute at a time; you can't do that with chemistry. Â I've thought about selling the M7, but decided against it, because I suspect that sooner or later, I'd regret it. Film does have a flavor to it, and I kinda like it, and there are ways around the inconveniences. In the meantime, I carry the M8 almost everywhere. Â JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
george + Posted February 7, 2007 Share #14 Â Posted February 7, 2007 Well, it depends what you want - and what you are willing to settle for. All in all it is a fantastic camera. And most of us can't get enough of it. Â Faults? We all have them. Â But if you want to be negative then you can procastrinate forever. I hope you will not. Enjoy. Â As to pessimists and habitual naysayers, I hope you enjoy YOUR misery. And you are welcome to it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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