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Did Ken Rockwell a M8 hater?


ivanlow

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I usually find a harsh words from Ken Rockwell at M8 camera.

If u read up his review on every lens sure find "failed M8" "u M8 people" phase and so on!

Can't really stand his discrimination on M8 as I'm a happy user of M8.

I love M8 so please stop calling M8 a failed camera!

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From his own site... "...I have the energy and sense of humor of a three-year old, so remember, this is a personal website, and never presented as fact. I enjoy making things up for fun, as does The Onion, and I publish them here..."

 

Stop reading and keep shooting.

 

Jeff

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As a writer, I think Ken tends to say the outrageous just to get traffic on his blog. He does trash the Leica persona pretty badly on "each-review" basis.

 

But if you read into it (and this may be difficult if English is not your primary language) aside from his kind of snobbish/almost ridiculous tone, he makes some pretty valid points.

 

I actually really enjoy reading his articles because he's not IN LOVE with his Leica, but instead his interest seems to lie in making good images.

 

If you read enough of his articles you realize that a) he does not deny the fact that Leica glass is optically superior in most cases B) some Zeiss lenses do out perform their Leica counter-parts in certain aspects and c) he values the practically of photography as a hobby - aka bang for buck.

 

I actually love his analogy of the "Leica Man", who is so rich money is not a concern and he just wants the best of the best of the best.

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People take him too serious... and admittedly there are many subjective statements. On DPReview whenever his name was mentioned, it was usually followed by a whole array of denigrating comments and complaints.

 

Having just recently stepped into the M-scene, and trying to look for resources and reviews, Ken's contributions sticks out like a sore thumb. His site is very informative, provides relevant information about the products, and he usually has nice close ups of the products.

 

I guess with Ken it's a little more obvious, but whatever I read on the internet, unless it's a source that I completely trust; I take everything with a grain of salt.

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People take him too serious... and admittedly there are many subjective statements. On DPReview whenever his name was mentioned, it was usually followed by a whole array of denigrating comments and complaints.

 

Having just recently stepped into the M-scene, and trying to look for resources and reviews, Ken's contributions sticks out like a sore thumb. His site is very informative, provides relevant information about the products, and he usually has nice close ups of the products.

 

I guess with Ken it's a little more obvious, but whatever I read on the internet, unless it's a source that I completely trust; I take everything with a grain of salt.

 

I would strongly recommend that you look at Reid Reviews although the site does charge a small but very reasonable fee considering the quality of the information.

This sophisticated, informative, and what I consider to be unbiased site is far superior to KRs.

 

Regards,

Mark

Edited by MarkP
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I would strongly recommend that you look at Reid Reviews although the site does charge a small but very reasonable fee considering the quality of the information.

This sophisticated, informative, and what I consider to be unbiased site is far superior to KRs.

 

Regards,

Mark

I back Mark's suggestion a sincere 10,000%. I am a Reid Reviews subscriber, the fee is genuinely low: not just low relative to the cost of Leica Gear. The reviews and articles to be found there are top notch, from my point of view. Sean Reid himself writes almost everything posted there and conducts nearly every last test done in support of his gear analysis. IMO Sean writes well, includes lots of tidbits in his reviews that communicates what physically using the item is like, he does nice objective tests which generally allow good comparative analysis of one lens vs another or one camera vs another (amongst the gear he is able to test), and Sean does include his opinions in his writings, but does an admirable job of clearly stating he is doing so.

 

Happy Holidays!

Richard in Michigan

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Ken Rockwell's reviews are a point of view, but he is very keen to knock things in a sometimes biased way.

 

Besides I havent seen many pcitures of his I love.......

 

I agree: Ken Rockwell's main stock and trade is Photographic Opinion with a strong sprinkling of Provocation to spark traffic. He takes a much harsher route than, say, Steve Huff does with his site and his reviews. Both are FanBoys, but one is really, really nice about it and Ken, well, just plain isn't.

 

I don't find much objective inaccuracy on Ken's site and can't fault him for lacking in logic in how he reaches his opinions. I plain don't enjoy the tone of how he goes about it and don't care for the generous leavening of his facts with invective and derision.

 

Hence, I don't go to his site much at all.

I DO visit Steve Huff's site daily and make a point of using his links to buy things at amazon and such. I also used an advertiser on his site to buy my M8.

 

Nuff Said I think

R. in Mi.

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Ken Rockwell ceased to be a reference for me when he changes his mind like the wind in the desert. An example was near "volatile" opinions is about the camera X100.

 

Ni case. Enjoy your M8 :)

Edited by maccaco
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Just go check his site now. I cannot believe that anybody could claim to have any ability as a photographer after posting such a picture of two innocent kids. That he made that picture is bad enough, but that he felt it worthy of posting, to me, discredits anything he might ever say that relates in any way to photography.

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Ken Rockwell ceased to be a reference for me when he changes his mind like the wind in the desert. An example was near "volatile" opinions is about the camera X100.

 

Ni case. Enjoy your M8 :)

 

Not to mention all the hate he dished up towards the Fuji X10 before it was even launched, now he has one he loves it! :rolleyes:

 

Ken does write some really informative reviews though and his Nikon & Leica M mount lens reviews are mostly all worth a good read when considering a new purchase but to my knowledge he has never even tried out an M8 so he is not exactly in the best position to criticise it is he?

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Just go check his site now. I cannot believe that anybody could claim to have any ability as a photographer after posting such a picture of two innocent kids. That he made that picture is bad enough, but that he felt it worthy of posting, to me, discredits anything he might ever say that relates in any way to photography.

Clearly he has plugged the little girl into the mains.:rolleyes:

 

 

(Dagnabbit you caused me visit that awful site to see the picture!:()

Pete.

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Ken does write some really informative reviews though and his Nikon & Leica M mount lens reviews are mostly all worth a good read when considering.

 

Really? A copy-paste of the manufacturers' specification sheet, a few unfounded opinions on " sharpness", an unsuccesful attempt to imitate Sean Reid's comparison shots and an appeal to buy at B&H and drop a few dollars into his begging bowl?

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Just go check his site now. I cannot believe that anybody could claim to have any ability as a photographer after posting such a picture of two innocent kids. That he made that picture is bad enough, but that he felt it worthy of posting, to me, discredits anything he might ever say that relates in any way to photography.

 

He just wants to reach out to his target crowd... :)

 

K.

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By the way, if M8 and M8.2 would be still art of state, why doesn't Leica produce them any more?

Several months before the introduction of the M9 you could read at LFI, that there would be never a full-frame-chip (24x36mm) for Leica M.

M6 is still in production - even if it is called now MP.

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Just go check his site now. I cannot believe that anybody could claim to have any ability as a photographer after posting such a picture of two innocent kids. That he made that picture is bad enough, but that he felt it worthy of posting, to me, discredits anything he might ever say that relates in any way to photography.

 

Most people (98%) are not picky about photography. You know, "details." See attached image for clarification. :D

 

 

He just wants to reach out to his target crowd... :)

K.

 

Exactly.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited by wstotler
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By the way, if M8 and M8.2 would be still art of state, why doesn't Leica produce them any more?

Several months before the introduction of the M9 you could read at LFI, that there would be never a full-frame-chip (24x36mm) for Leica M.

M6 is still in production - even if it is called now MP.

 

The M8 was dropped from the production line for the exact same reasons M9 production hasn't been able to keep up with demand for a sustained length of time.

Leica is a small company.

Leica has limited operating capital.

Leica has to cope within a certain market potentia for digital rangefinders and sustaining multiple cameras and camera production lines for the dRF market is a complex and risky application of capital attempting to sevice what is ultimately a niche market.

 

M8 died for a lack of capital, died for a poor initial reception, and died to keep from undercutting sales of the M9.

 

Leica already had a near death experience making both M and C model rangefinders: kind of makes a company a bit hesitant about climbing out on the upper/lower tier product limb again.

 

Just my opinion, might not be valid in california, your mileage may vary, Lucky Strike means Fine Tobacco. :-D

 

Richard in Michigan

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Richard, you are absolutely right.

I take all these arguments and get the conclusion, that the M9 is better than M8 and M8.2: Better for the photographers because of the full frame and of course better for Leica, as they sell more of them than M8 and M8.2 together.

Perhaps this is Ken’s opinion too.

There are no reasons any more to produce M8 and M8.2.

Take a good serviced M8.2 only if you cannot afford the better M9.

Happy holidays!

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