M8 Verdict

[peterb]

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I've been away from this forum for a bit and looking at the DELUGE of threads of praises, complaints, issues and problems could anyone who's been tracking it all provide a quick synopsis of the general sentiment toward this camera good or bad?

 

Or, is a great camera riddled with problems.

 

Thanks.

 

Peter

[rwfreund]

I bought one,

I like it.

I would buy another, but I will buy more lenses first

-bob

 

p.s. My other camera is a D200, which I use for some things for which it is more adept

I prefer the M8 for those situations where I want something fairly small that helps me focus on the making of the picture. I find that the D200 sometimes encourages me to just be a machine gunner, and not a photographer.

different horses for different courses

[wparsonsgisnet]

The verdict is Life.

 

I figure I'll get another 60 years out of it, all the while using the magic Leica lenses.

[erl]

Peter,

 

A sweeping generalisation would put it this way. The nay sayers are, in the main, non owners or non users who relish feeding rumours. The praisers generally are satisfied owners/users who have chosen wisely. The last part is important. The M8 is only a tool, as is any camera, and in the hands of a craftsman can do wonderous things. The M8 tool is a superb instrument that is very highly strung, like a high performance car. It's not for everyone, but if you can drive it, it's fantastic. Problems! Yes. To be expected of such a high born thoroughbred. They are being addressed but meanwhile very useable and an absolute dream to boot.

 

OK. A lyrical answer to the question, but my technical version would have been too clinical. This is a camera to be enjoyed!

[rwfreund]

Bill,

I think that rather the verdict is that it is guilty of being a Leica and that the company is responding well to its travails.

The sentance is life, in my case perhaps without parole.

-bob

[Guest sirvine]

The simple answer is that after a few months of owning an M8, other cameras seem bland and impractical to me.

[peterb]

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Bob, Bill P, Erl....

 

Thank you for the enlightened responses that have quickly brought me up to speed. It confirms what I suspected that, with the right optics (I'm leaning toward the Noct and the 28mm), an M8 could be a machine relished for many years to come.

 

Peter

[BillBrittain]

I'm not familiar with anyone on this forum who has owned one and decided to sell it. It is a very satisfying camera to use.

 

My own story: Having owned earlier Leicas and also an Epson R-D1, I bought an M8. I was immediately impressed by the machine and it was not long after I bought the first one that I sold my R-D1 (and also my D2x) and purchased a second M8.

 

I'll admit that the second body purchase was partly driven by the users who reported various fatal errors in their M8s. I shoot weddings and it's critical to have a second body. Pre-M8, I carried two Nikons. Now I carry 2 M8s and the D200 makes an occasional appearance when it's strengths are called for.

 

I've had no real trouble with either M8. I have experienced the "black bands on preview" problem but the images are fine when played back. The magenta cast has caused some difficulties since I'm often shooting people in black clothing, but the IR filters help and it's easy to tweak the magenta in Lightroom anyway.

 

As the others indicated, the M8 is a specialized tool, an unparalleled one. It's too early to tell if it will hold value like a film Leica, but at the moment it is a beautiful way to use timeless Leica glass. My customers have responded well to it's images and my personal style has moved in directions that make me very happy.

[LichMD]

Bob, Bill P, Erl....

 

Thank you for the enlightened responses that have quickly brought me up to speed. It confirms what I suspected that, with the right optics (I'm leaning toward the Noct and the 28mm), an M8 could be a machine relished for many years to come.

 

Peter

 

Peter,

this is the kit I decided to go with and I haven't looked back.

A few hiccups, but none that cost me a photo or that have soured me towards this camera.

Photography is quite simply fun again. The M8 is hard to put down.

Good luck and enjoy

[charlesphoto99]

It's a digital camera that handles like a Leica. It was like Christmas morning all over again as a child when it arrived - and then the disapointments began. I sure was hoping I wouldn't be one of those with problems but it wasn't going to be. That said, I am looking forward to the day that everything is resolved and I can firmly trust every function of the camera. I still think the M7 is a nicer built camera, but I have the feeling it's gonna get dusty (but will come along as a backup at least until I get a second M8).

 

So hopefully you'll get lucky - and/or have the patience to have it fixed if need be. It's worth it if you like the M way.

 

Oh, and the files are stunning. I made a 17"x22" print yesterday that knocked my socks off (just upsizing in CS2). Almost too sharp - might need to add some filter. The dynamic range and color is very good, esp if one exposes like one might for slide film.

[larry]

Peter,

 

If you're in tune with the M rangefinder concept and you have the required funds, buy one. The M8 is a photographic tool that's meant to be used and I find its warts to be far less annoying than any of the other digital cameras I own, which seem to function as computers first and cameras second.

 

Larry

[Guest sirvine]

Is it crazy for me to suggest that using a film Leica is an informal prerequisite for loving your M8? I wonder how a person weaned only on DSLRs and P&S cameras would adjust. For me, the memories of the IIIg I used in college were what made me mental for a digital rangefinder.

[timswan]

As far as I'm concerned, there's no other option if I want to use my Leica glass. Like any camera, it's not perfect, but so far I'm extremely satisfied with the camera. Sometimes problems are magnified by the internet.

[Guest tummydoc]

Or, is a great camera riddled with problems.

 

That's how I would characterise it, as an owner of my 3rd M8 having had two that died and had to be exchanged. If it wasn't a good camera I would've asked for a refund when #1 died, and if it wasn't a great camera I would've surely asked for that refund after #2 died. Then again I don't make my living with a camera so I could theoretically be content exchanging dead ones for new ones ad infinitum

 

As I see it there are three problems with the M8 and they fall into 3 categories: ones that have a solution, ones whose cause has been identified therefore solutions are assuredly forthcoming, and ones whose causes have not been identified. Only the last category is worrisome, the others are neglectable.

[hiphop]

It was a crazy idea to buy an M8.

It is too expensive.

It could be problematic (fortunately not mine)

If you buy one you shoud use Leica lenses; they are very expensive

Not easy for macro and not really designed for that

You can not use real long focal lenses

No AF

You don't see exactly what you shoot

for WA you need addtional tool

Not really waterproof

does not work without battery

No possibility for zoom

etc etc

 

BUT I LOVE IT AND IF SOMEBODY TRY TO TOUCH IT I WILL BITE HIM !

Totally irrational camera... I NEED A SECOND ONE AND SHALL BUY ALL THE LENSES I CAN AFFORD.

I'm addicted and need a doctor...

 

Pierre-Olivier

[wparsonsgisnet]

Bob, Bill P, Erl....

 

Thank you for the enlightened responses that have quickly brought me up to speed. It confirms what I suspected that, with the right optics (I'm leaning toward the Noct and the 28mm), an M8 could be a machine relished for many years to come.

 

Peter

 

Peter, If you're thinking night optics, is it the 28 f2.0?

[rwfreund]

Is it crazy for me to suggest that using a film Leica is an informal prerequisite for loving your M8? I wonder how a person weaned only on DSLRs and P&S cameras would adjust. For me, the memories of the IIIg I used in college were what made me mental for a digital rangefinder.

 

It might be,

I started with a screw mount pentax dslr, then to a Nikon F, etc

The M8 is my first rangefinder, other than some vague memories of playing with my Grandfather's Leica in the 1950's.

I am astounded about how easy the transition is and how much more enjoyable it makes the taking of photographs.

Even so, there are situations wher the DSLR is still my tool of choice, for example I use it for macro. I know that there are kits available for the M8, but frankly I prefer to see what I will get on the ground glass the same as when I use swings and tilts.

-bob

[george +]

There is not much I can add to the above.

Except to add my name to the happy users.

[peterb]

Bill, Most definitely: a 28 Summicron.

 

ERL: Love your invention. Really cool.

 

Pierre: very amusing. I totally understand.

 

GastroDoc (tummydoc) your faith seems to be rewarded.

 

Sirvine and Larry: I had an M6 for years (35 Lux and 90 Elmarit). So transition is no problem. (In fact, currently I'm using a Digilux 2 and an LX-1 with a 28mm Voigtlander finder I attached using Voigtlander's accessory holder --Fits perfectly between the flash and mode wheel.)

 

Timeswan: I used to have Contax optics then switched to Leitz. I've been seduced ever since.

 

LichMD: Glad you're liking the kit! Very encouraging. In particular I'm looking forward to the Noct acting like a mild tele or an enhanced normal.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[carstenw]

It might be,

I started with a screw mount pentax dslr, then to a Nikon F, etc

The M8 is my first rangefinder, other than some vague memories of playing with my Grandfather's Leica in the 1950's.

I am astounded about how easy the transition is and how much more enjoyable it makes the taking of photographs.

Even so, there are situations wher the DSLR is still my tool of choice, for example I use it for macro. I know that there are kits available for the M8, but frankly I prefer to see what I will get on the ground glass the same as when I use swings and tilts.

-bob

Robert, the "kit", ie. the Visoflex, puts a ground screen in front of the lens, so it is very similar to an SLR in that sense. The mirror is a little funky but other than that it functions well.