gwelland Posted May 7, 2007 Share #1 Posted May 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) This weekend I discovered some very important attributes of the M8. 1) If you drop it from four feet up but break it's fall with your own foot it saves the camera from serious external damage. 2) The same cannot be said of the foot that saved the M8! I now have an official Leitz bruise on the top of my foot. 3) You can knock the rangefinder out of adjustment whilst performing this acrobatic hacky sack display ... 4) You feel like such an idiot and want to go kill something after doing 1 through 3 above ... So, my M8 is now having problems focussing at infinity - the rangefinder convergence is pretty close with my 75/2 but noticably off horizontally/vertically when using my 28/2. Images are fine but obviously I can't trust the rangefinder focusing so I've been zone focusing which has been ok for the moment but I have to get it sorted out. My question is, should I send it back to Leica to get it fixed or can anyone recommend a good independent who maybe would do a better job? I know of DAG (Don Goldberg) and I've heard about Sherry Krauter, but I haven't had any personal experience with either. Can anyone recommend or provide feedback on these folks or others I should consider before sending the camera back to Leica for an unspecified period of time? I've no desire or aptitude to adjust it myself. The backup M8 has just risen to the top of my to-do list this month! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 Hi gwelland, Take a look here M8 Rangefinder Adjustment. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 7, 2007 Share #2 Posted May 7, 2007 Buy a backup and send into to Leica NJ for adjustment. Sounds like you knocked out the rangefinder in both directions and not sure you want to play around with that. Good catch and it happens to us all , luckily it was not a Canon Series 1 with a zoom on it , that would be a broken foot. LOL M8 grip. Just a tought Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted May 7, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted May 7, 2007 This is pretty much as I'd figured. What's annoying is that I'm off to China in a couple of weeks so it looks like it's time to bite the backup bullet anyways. Ironically, I have the grip - I was doing the lens change shuffle and one of three was going to fall as I ran out of hands. Oh well, $%!$ happens. I hear you about the Canon. I shoot Nikon and can seriously not recommend having a D2X on the end of a 200-400 VR lens swing around on a Wimberly mount to crack you on the forehead. That gives you a new found respect for the solidity of these things - and, as it turns out, how hard you head is too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 7, 2007 Share #4 Posted May 7, 2007 Since you are going away soon , i would send it to Leica NJ attn Robert Fisk and ask for a adjustment and put down when you are leaving for your trip. They maybe able to push this through fast enough to get back in time . Than you can have 2 to go to China. First i would call Robert and see if it can be done. I still recommend a backup M8 anyway. Plus it really is nice having two bodies Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGeoJO Posted May 7, 2007 Share #5 Posted May 7, 2007 I am sorry to hear that....This is the second case I heard of about people accidentally letting their M8 go while changing lenses . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted May 7, 2007 Share #6 Posted May 7, 2007 Honestly i can't hold the camera without the grip , coming from all those years of holding a big box it is really tough with the M8 alone. the grip helps me in many ways. Although i am not a big fan of the actual design, which i would like to see different. Still the grip helps a lot and changing lenses my left thumb goes right on top of the grip. My right thumb hits the release as my right hand undoes the lens Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Roberts Posted May 7, 2007 Share #7 Posted May 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I agree with Guy on the grip, though for some reason my index finger rests on the RF window when (trying) to focus Of course, the one thing *I always* do now is have the camera strap over my neck. Always. No handgrips for me (this came from dropping 2 Canon bodies--both of which were ok--the 50 1.4 lenses broke their fall spectacularly well (and given the price ratio lens to body, it was a good deal both times!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted May 7, 2007 Author Share #8 Posted May 7, 2007 Here's an interesting dilemma - do you drop one of your new Summicron's with full passport warranty or the 4 month old M8? With hindsight, probably the lens as I believe it's covered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etienne_werner Posted May 7, 2007 Share #9 Posted May 7, 2007 This weekend I discovered some very important attributes of the M8. 1) If you drop it from four feet up but break it's fall with your own foot it saves the camera from serious external damage. 2) The same cannot be said of the foot that saved the M8! I now have an official Leitz bruise on the top of my foot. 3) You can knock the rangefinder out of adjustment whilst performing this acrobatic hacky sack display ... 4) You feel like such an idiot and want to go kill something after doing 1 through 3 above ... So, my M8 is now having problems focussing at infinity - the rangefinder convergence is pretty close with my 75/2 but noticably off horizontally/vertically when using my 28/2. Images are fine but obviously I can't trust the rangefinder focusing so I've been zone focusing which has been ok for the moment but I have to get it sorted out. Hello Graham, Well welcome to this less and less exclusive club of M8 droppies:). I've had exactly the same experience. The focusing was totally shot. I was fortunate that I know a good camera repairman that had a special gizmo-magifier that is put in front of the lens to simulate infinte. He had to open the camera up to adjust several things (didn't ask -don't want to know). I got my M8 back in two days and costs were minimal. Unfortunately he is in the Netherlands and won't be much use to you. Best of luck. Regards, Etienne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Hatcher Posted May 7, 2007 Share #10 Posted May 7, 2007 I don't suppose dropping it on the other end, onto the other foot, to knock it back in focus would be a good idea... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcoombs Posted May 7, 2007 Share #11 Posted May 7, 2007 I agree with Guy. The hand grip is very useful. I use it with one of Luigi's wrist straps (shortened by request to fit small hands), so that the camera hangs off the wrist with the fingers wrapped around the grip. I can carry it all day like that. Now to find a way not to drop lenses... Doug Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philinflash Posted May 7, 2007 Share #12 Posted May 7, 2007 Sorry to hear about your drop-kick. Leicagoodies' "Strap" is also a good way of securing the body while your hands are full of lenses. It is a low-cost, low-weight, high-utility product that is unusual in these days. Just sling it over one shoulder and forget about it until you need a way of getting the camera under control. It is useful for more than just swapping lenses; it is easy to shoot from, too. Philip Kozloff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted May 7, 2007 Share #13 Posted May 7, 2007 Seeing as no-one has answered your question: Don Goldberg is great, and you can get a quick turnaround time if you state your case (ie going on a trip by this date, etc). You should email/call him first to see what his relationship is with the M8 regarding repairs is. Shouldn't be a problem for a simple rangefinder adjustment, but it will cost you out of pocket, though his rates are super-reasonable. Sherry Krauter I've never used. Otherwise it's off to Leica, the land where time can (potentially) stand still. If you can afford a second body by all means go for it. Otherwise a used M6TTL (around $1300 for a mint one and there's lots out there) might be a good way to go, esp for shooting some b&w film. It might also save your a@# if both M8's decided to go bottoms up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted May 7, 2007 Author Share #14 Posted May 7, 2007 Charles, Thanks for the feedback on DAG. He was very responsive when I considered getting an R-D1 aligned (got Epson to send me a new instead :-) ). I've convinced myself to send the camera back to Leica for an extended stay holiday and throw the dice on another new one. This seems to be the second backup camera I've had to buy in the last few years - I have 2x D2X's for the very same reason! My Leica pusher, sorry, dealer, has some stock so it's a new camera on Saturday when I get home. :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted May 8, 2007 Share #15 Posted May 8, 2007 Your D2X needed a rangefinder adjustment? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwelland Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share #16 Posted May 8, 2007 Your D2X needed a rangefinder adjustment? Err, no ... that would be a neat trick though. One of my D2X's had to have the lens mount assembly replaced as the metering circuits went berzerk. Pretty expensive - $0 under warranty! It was the trigger to purchase another identical camera as a backup, and now I use them as a pair with different lenses on them. I found out pretty early on that having a different camera as #2 didn't work for me as I could tell immediately the quality differences. (Ironically, I just found out that my 'new'er D2X doesn't quite read aperture correctly with my non-G Zeiss MF lenses so that's off to Nikon for adjustment too!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
misha Posted May 8, 2007 Share #17 Posted May 8, 2007 Seeing as no-one has answered your question: Don Goldberg is great, and you can get a quick turnaround time if you state your case (ie going on a trip by this date, etc). You should email/call him first to see what his relationship is with the M8 regarding repairs is. Shouldn't be a problem for a simple rangefinder adjustment, but it will cost you out of pocket, though his rates are super-reasonable. Sherry Krauter I've never used. Otherwise it's off to Leica, the land where time can (potentially) stand still. If you can afford a second body by all means go for it. Otherwise a used M6TTL (around $1300 for a mint one and there's lots out there) might be a good way to go, esp for shooting some b&w film. It might also save your a@# if both M8's decided to go bottoms up. i went there myself this morning for rangerfinder adjustment (back focusing or so). they had it done in 20m. kudos. living on the east coast does have its subtle advantages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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