Thinking of buying an M8

[jonnyboy]

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I have a Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 which Im very happy with. I was on a budget too so I found it on eBay for 300£ in mint condition. I love the 35mm field of view (even though the sensor is crop) and the 1.4 aperture really helps on night shots or dark places (since you cannot bump too much the iso).

Hope that helps!

[wlaidlaw]

My personal recommendation would be to not buy the Voigtlander. Their quality control leaves a lot to be desired and out of the four CV lenses I have bought, only one was any good (the 15mm f.4.5). The others ranged from poor to unusable.

 

At a lower price point than Leica, the Zeiss ZM lenses are excellent. Even though they are made mostly by Cosina, the methodology and inspection regime (by Zeiss inspectors) is totally different to their CV lenses. The 21/2.8 Biogon (EFOV 28mm on the M8) is a wonderful lens and IMHO and that of Erwin Puts, the Leica guru, every bit as good and maybe better than the 21mm Elmarit. The 35 Zeiss ZM Biogon can be a little variable with some a little soft at f2 and some not. They are all excellent from f2.8 upwards.

 

However, in the end, you may come round to the conclusion that for most focal lengths, little suits M cameras better than Leica lenses. The more modern lenses suit digital cameras better than the old ones, as digital does demand a lot of resolving power.

 

Wilson

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[KallumR]

Everyones buying an M8 and heres me still barely scraping my money together

[Dougg]

Everyones buying an M8 and heres me still barely scraping my money together

Keep at it, you will find a way! A nice M8 costs much less now than before, making it easier.

 

Doug

[csstevens]

My personal recommendation would be to not buy the Voigtlander. Their quality control leaves a lot to be desired and out of the four CV lenses I have bought, only one was any good (the 15mm f.4.5). The others ranged from poor to unusable.

 

At a lower price point than Leica, the Zeiss ZM lenses are excellent. Even though they are made mostly by Cosina, the methodology and inspection regime (by Zeiss inspectors) is totally different to their CV lenses. The 21/2.8 Biogon (EFOV 28mm on the M8) is a wonderful lens and IMHO and that of Erwin Puts, the Leica guru, every bit as good and maybe better than the 21mm Elmarit. The 35 Zeiss ZM Biogon can be a little variable with some a little soft at f2 and some not. They are all excellent from f2.8 upwards.

 

However, in the end, you may come round to the conclusion that for most focal lengths, little suits M cameras better than Leica lenses. The more modern lenses suit digital cameras better than the old ones, as digital does demand a lot of resolving power.

 

Wilson

 

I ended up trying it out at Samy's and it was very sharp (at least compared to the Canon L glass I'm used to) and was happy with it, but at some point I'll probably want to get that Zeiss 21 2.8 as I would like something faster at the length in the future. I also just picked up the Voigtlander 50 1.5 Nokton for a pretty great deal and its performing excellently. Very happy that I went with an M8, though yes, some day I'll hopefully get my hands on some Leica glass as well.

[plewislambert]

Hi guys,

 

"I was just wondering is my M42 lenses will works good on the M8 (I have some nice vintage Helios i would love to keep using on the Leica) with the right converter...has anyone tryied yet?

 

I will definitely have a look at the Elmarit 28mm but I have to hold a couple of months as the M8 Body will dry out my savings

 

Hi!

If you can get a cheap M42 to Leica M adapter on eBay you could try those lenses for yourself.

If the corners of the full 24x36mm image are soft it might not matter so much on a 24x18mm image provided the central parts are sharp..

If you want a good sharp lens try Voigtlander in M mount; there's a wide range available. I use them on an M9 to good effect.

Philip

[peterjcb]

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...new M8 user here. I purchased an M8 as an introduction to the world of rangefinders and Leica.

My plan is to make sure that a Leica rangefinder is the next step in my photography progression after using a NIkon F2 film and digital DSLR's for years.

I purchased a 28 Elmarit 2.8 and a Summicron 50 - both used - which translates to about a 37 and 65 FOV. My plan is that both these lenses will work quite well for me when I finally pull the trigger on a FF Leica down the road.

 

The advantage of owning a 1.3 crop camera in addition to a FF means that you get the additional FOV so instead of just owning 2 lenses, it's like owning 4 lenses .

 

The main reason for a Leica camera body IMO is to use Leica lenses but that's just me. The M8 is very reasonable in price right now if you can find one is nice condition and will deliver years of use if treated properly. These cameras are built like a tank unlike a lot of the cheap plastic junk on the market today.

[otto.f]

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/352461-someone-stop-me-buying-m8.html

[Jeff S]

...The advantage of owning a 1.3 crop camera in addition to a FF means that you get the additional FOV so instead of just owning 2 lenses, it's like owning 4 lenses .

 

The FF camera already contains many crop options with a little PP. My M8.2 was terrific, but is relegated to back-up to an M; no need to carry both given the many M advantages for me.

 

Jeff

[KallumR]

Well guys, it's been a while but i'm happy to announce, I bought one! 

[Lewis]

Well done! Are you pleased with it?

[david strachan]

Well guys, it's been a while but i'm happy to announce, I bought one! 

Daedra

Is your "new" M8 being good to you? Silver chrome or black chrome? Got some filters??

cheers  Dave S

[carbon_dragon]

Back when my back was stronger and my wallet was weaker I used two Leica M2s (used ones) which still cost me too much (I thought then). I agonized about the cost of the M8 but ultimately bought a Canon 5D instead. I enjoyed that a lot but eventually "dropped back" to a used M8 (which I still have). It's a great general camera which outperforms it's nominal 10MP especially with good lenses. My normal lens was a Leica 35/2 ASPH summicron. Eventually I did want more megapixels and full frame but couldn't afford an M9 so I bought a Nex-7 which worked well for me for a couple of years. When used M9's came down I bought one of those and that is my current camera. I still have the M8 because when you put an IR filter on it (not an IR cut filter) you get great infrared shots with no need to "modifiy" the camera at an aftermarket company. And if you pop the IR filter off you have your original color camera again!

 

I do have some Voigtlander lenses as well. Two I've had good luck with, one was a disaster and Cameraquest was unresponsive to my complaints. Their quality can be very good but sometimes you lose the lottery. I believe the Zeiss ZMs are made by the same company (Cosina) but with greater quality control. Never used one so I cannot comment.

[fiftyonepointsix]

I have the Voigtlander 35/1.7 Ultron Black version, 50/1.5 Nokton Black version, 50/1.1 Nokton, and 35/1.2 chrome V1.

 

On the 50/1.5 Nokton: I had to tighten the retaining ring that holds the front doublet into place. You must use a needle type spanner for this. Using a flathead spanner: the ring will not tighten into place, but feels like it did. The head of the spanner hits the rim of the barrel, you must tighten past this point. Someone either assembling or repairing my lens did not know that. Not a problem since.

 

The 50/1.1: I had to tighten 1 screw of the lens mount.

 

If you are buying an M8: most likely you are on a budget. With 80 years of lenses to select from, there are real bargains.

 

L1016243 by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

 

$30 Jupiter-8 50mm F2, wide-open on the Leica M8.

Edited September 21, 2015 by fiftyonepointsix

[xme53]

i bought my M8 as a used camera in almost mint conditions with 200 clicks on the shutter clock, have been adding 5k of clicks to that and enjoyed the camera very much. My CV Ultron 28mm is delivering what i look for most of the time and with F2 and 1/4th of a second i can live in most lightning situations.

Of course the M8 is not an ISO monster and i was aware of the limitation before i bought it at a very convenient price-point.

One amazing advantage has not been mentioned very often. The M8 takes stunning long time exposures. The second exposure with closed shutter that takes away the sensor heat introduced noise works like a charm. With a light tripod ( ultrapod 2 in my case ) even at night times you can take photos which are hard to get otherwise.

 

Two weeks ago my shutter broke and would not open anymore.

 

I was shocked and concerned since i am the second owner and do not have any guarantee nor insurance for the camera.

 

I sent it of to Solms and today i got the 'Auftragsbestaetigung'. Leica will do a CLA, exchange the module for lens recognition which did not work how the technician found out ( kindo surprise to me as not used before ), will change the shutter and calibrate everything for free.

 

Yes that is right - for free 0.00$ - second owner no receipt/guarantee for the product. They even sent a repair tracking number.

 

I am very happy with my decision to ditch my DSLR and will never look back. Infact i am in the market for a used monochrome as soon as i found a buyer for my kidney.

 

 

 

[KallumR]

Daedra

Is your "new" M8 being good to you? Silver chrome or black chrome? Got some filters??

cheers  Dave S

Black Chrome, bought a Jupiter 8 to use for a bit with a B+W 40.5mm IR filter, (2x the cost of the lens haha), its a good quality jupiter 8 too, pretty lucky on that. Been borrowing a 50mm NOKTON from a friend for a while and that has been a joy for low light. 

[bideford]

I am very happy with my decision to ditch my DSLR and will never look back. Infact i am in the market for a used monochrome as soon as i found a buyer for my kidney.

 

Excellent, made me laugh!

 

Although I'm sure you will find a way to keep your kidney....

 

James