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Leica M8 is a good Buy?


anonimo2003

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Dear friends, I am a first voyage sailorman with my new M8 and the problem involving the use of UV/IR filters. My doubts resume as it follows:

1 - For shooting B/W only, do I need these filters?

2 - What kind of filter I need to buy? That common UV filters will do the job? Or I really need a UV/IR filter? So, the Leica ones are very expensive. Do you know about good japanese ones, like Hoya? Thanks a lot.

 

Hi Carlos

Welcome to you and your wonderful camera.

Sound advice from Rob and LCT.

 

The only time to not have filters is night shooting street lights...they inevitably cause ghost reflections.

 

Inside at night you'll get crazy purple-magenta colours with people wearing synthetic mixed clothes...particularly near incandescent tungsten. This cannot be fixed in post processing.

 

Just get some filters of various sizes, and forget they are on the camera...good protection, alleviates dust and look groovy! Rocolax as recommended are v cheap...at the same time get a IR R72 filter from them for fabulous IR photography.

 

Don't get hung-up on the "hate the filters" thing... a complete furphy. The filter controlled spectrum and the M8 sensor are made for each other...I think a disguised blessing for Leica :cool:

 

The filters cut the light spectrum so the M8 sensor is perfectly attuned. Some say they are not needed...not true really. Without filters foliage takes on an olive hue and yellows are emphasised. It's impossible to make presets in LR or PS because the effect depends on how strong the (mainly) IR light is coming from the foliage...so it changes in the various light; morning to evening.

 

Just a quick couple of lens suggestions while you're here... Leica Elmar C 90mm f4, old Summicron (1950's), Canon 35mm f2 LTM and Voigtlander 15mm f4.5; peanuts for perfect pictures.

 

Which lenses do you have?

 

cheers Dave S :)

Edited by david strachan
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Just to illustrate the point, I did a "convince myself" test after first getting the M8. This is with a Canon 85/2, wide-open, with a 48mm Tiffen Hot Mirror filter.

 

15538696023_56ba8f706a.jpgleaf_filter by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

This is without the Hot Mirror filter over the lens,

 

15972369789_d3519eeb47.jpgleaf_nofilter1 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

I "scooped up" a lot of Hot Mirror filters from Ebay when they were cheap.

 

This is holding the Hot Mirror filter in front of a camera without any IR filter,

 

16096620606_2524cd1075.jpgSplit_Leaves by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

And I do think the M8 is a good buy these days, but mine will not be for sale!

Edited by Lenshacker
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  • 4 weeks later...

Picture quality is a well established fact, but supportability is also an import variable in the equation. It makes Leica M8 even better buy than you might think.

 

Consider my case: I bought M8 last year becoming at least 3rd owner. It had been through more than 40 000 actuations. I put the camera into a heavy use until the shutter fell apart reaching more than 52 000. I contacted Leica in Wetzlar, they confirmed the repair, it took them several month to carry that out, but eventually they did the replacement, sensor cleaning and rangefinder adjustment free of charge. Third owner, ligtht years past any warranty limit. That is what I call big bang for 1 200 bucks.

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