jsjxyz Posted May 7, 2007 Share #21 Posted May 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) This is scarry, we are talking about $5000 top-of-the-line camera and we doubt whether it is going to work or not. I will bring my Lumix LX2 (Leica D-Lux 3), for the reason it can be set manually and can take video clips. JSJ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 Hi jsjxyz, Take a look here Backup camera for M8 on extended trip?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
tashley Posted May 7, 2007 Share #22 Posted May 7, 2007 I bought a second M8 as a backup for a trip after all the dead camera scares. My first M8 then continued to perform perfectly. No regrets for the second body though, it is handy, sometimes gets used as a second shooting body with a different lens (not nice when they clash around the neck!) and still provides that backup function. But would I buy another, on reflection? No. If I were going to Latin American barrios or rainforests, I'd take an MP and some film. If I were going anywhere with a Leica store I'd take nothing and if the camera went tits up and the Leica store couldn't help, I'd buy high-end P&S, maybe a G7. The M8, like any technological item (my new Pioneer 50" plasma for example) will only break down totally when you really need it! Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdemas Posted May 7, 2007 Share #23 Posted May 7, 2007 I went to Paris in late March for 2.5 weeks with my M8 as my primary camera for the first time on a trip. Worked like a charm. I brought my Noct, 35mm Summicron and 25mm Zeiss. I also brought my D-Lux 3 for days when I wanted to go really light and it was terrific. I have also used the GRD during previous visits last year and it's fantastic. I wouldn't worry too much about a backup, plenty of camera stores in Paris if in a pinch. I picked up a filter at the new leica shop, very night gentleman there runs it. Have a great time! Kent ps- I had an M5 in the bag with me as well but I didn't shoot even a frame of film, which felt a little odd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 7, 2007 Share #24 Posted May 7, 2007 This is scarry, we are talking about $5000 top-of-the-line camera and we doubt whether it is going to work or not. I will bring my Lumix LX2 (Leica D-Lux 3), for the reason it can be set manually and can take video clips. JSJ I doubt that you will find any professional going out on a shoot, nor any serious amateur on a mission he considers important, leaving the house without having acces to a backup. When I leave civilisation, as I do from time to time, I will take two M8's, a Digilux2 and a Clux1. Before: two Canon DSLR's and a Digilux2. Before that: Three Leica R camera's... There have been occasions that I came out of the bush after three or four weeks with one camera barely working. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 7, 2007 Share #25 Posted May 7, 2007 Agree ANY CAMERA SYSTEM will go down at some point, count on it. Fact of life Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Sprow Posted May 7, 2007 Share #26 Posted May 7, 2007 I carry an M7 body with me on trips (along with the M8), many of which are to areas where the electrical system can be flaky, and where blowing dust and sand are real problems. In any case, the M7 is a wonderful camera on its own -- I just return home and have the images scanned at a lab, and I'm in business. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMF Posted May 7, 2007 Share #27 Posted May 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ironically I did the same thing “in china”, but dropped my M6 on the hard pavement while changing lenses in Shanghai. Luckily I broke the fall with my foot as well. I have now instilled some new discipline in my 'on the street' lens changing ways by always using my neck strap, and putting it over my head anytime I have my camera out. China in the summer is extremely humid in the summer and you'll find that cameras get really slippery. For a warm weather neck strap I recommend the A&A silk strap. I'm back in China again this summer and bringing my M8 for the first time….maybe I better buy a second one as well or just use one lens. Have a good trip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tummydoc Posted May 7, 2007 Share #28 Posted May 7, 2007 Stan, nice shots on your website! Do you have a film M body? If so then, it doesn't take up much space and would let you use the same set of lenses. You can just crop the full-frame negs down to M8 size If not it's probably stupid to go out and buy one, or if you have a complete aversion to shooting film even in a dire emergency, then I suppose the question becomes how much do you want to carry with? I couldn't imagine taking my M8 kit and my D200 kit to Paris. Would you be happy with the IQ of a P&S if it came to that? The RD1 sounds like a good backup in principle, but it has almost as tarnished a record for reliability as the M8, and new ones are still quite dear considering it's a 6-mp discontinued camera that Epson has all but abandoned in terms of service. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted May 7, 2007 Share #29 Posted May 7, 2007 An R-D1 can be found for about $1500, which is not bad. I used two R-D1 bodies professionally (and heavily) for two years and the only serious problem that I recall was a stuck lock button for the shutter speed dial lock (it was locked at A). If fixed itself after a couple weeks or so. If one has an R-D1 that focuses properly, it can be a fairly reliable backup. I did a detailed survey of owner experiences with the R-D1 last year. To my knowledge, it is the only methodical survey of R-D1 reliability that has ever been published. I can say that I use an Epson for backup still and recommended the same to Guy some time ago. It's no M8 but it can be quite useful nonetheless. I've never had an R-D1 fail completely, which I can't say for my M8s. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 7, 2007 Share #30 Posted May 7, 2007 Backup is a tricky subject , first you will always want exactly what you have . Now if that is out of reach than something that takes your lenses which rarely if ever go down and this case the RD-1 is a good choice the M8 goes than you have something that can work . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcoombs Posted May 7, 2007 Share #31 Posted May 7, 2007 I just returned from Paris this weekend. Took my M8 and CV15, CV25, elmarit 28, 35 cron, and 50 cron lenses. That was plenty to play with. Had an M3 along for back-up but that was mainly because I had unfinished film in it. Lots to see and shoot there, of course, and you're hitting it at the right time of year, too! Enjoy the your trip. Regards, Doug Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chmoss Posted May 8, 2007 Share #32 Posted May 8, 2007 Faced with the same issue, I took an M6 along (with a Canon G6, just in case). The M8 worked just fine -- until I left the charger and spare battery plugged into the wall in a hotel. Took almost a week to get it back. Backup is always necessary. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstotler Posted May 8, 2007 Share #33 Posted May 8, 2007 I will be in Paris for several weeks and I want to travel light. An M8 with 15mm, 21mm, 28mm and 35mm lenses (and maybe a 50mm lens) seems to fill the bill. <snip> My dilemma is whether or not I should bring a backup camera. <snip>How many of you would trust an M8 as you only camera for this trip? Stan I purchased a mint M6 TTL to take to London as my backup camera. (It was very reasonably priced, BTW, all things considered.) Didn't have to use it--but have enjoyed mounting my lenses on it and shooting a bit of film now and again. It went with me to NYC as the backup--again, unused. I like the M6 TTL because (as others have mentioned) it shares some similarities with the M8 (dials and viewfinder exposure LEDs). Makes me wonder why I didn't have a backup camera before. . . . Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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