Two Weeks with the M8

[David Wogan]

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It has now been two weeks since I bought my new M8 and sold my Canon 5D. The 5D had left the house on

only three occasions in the past year and had unfortunately become a rather expensive paper-weight.

 

For the first time in many years - since I used the Olympus OM cameras, I am now routinely carrying a camera

and using it as intended to take pictures. The M8 fits nicely into my bag and goes everywhere with me.

 

My only concern in making the move to the M8 from the 5D was; could the M8 with its Kodak sensor match

the 5D in overall performance. The answer was a resounding yes. What comes out of the M8 allied to the

wonderful Zeiss lenses easily surpasses what the 5D with its Canon lenses produced for me.

 

The things that strikes me most about using the M8, is that now all of my shots are actually in focus as intended.

With the Canon autofocus I was constantly disappointed with the number of out of focus shots. My own fault

I suppose for being lazy and over-reliant on automation.

 

I have now managed to post a lot of my pictures online, the London gallery contains many of the pictures

taken recently with the M8 and Zeiss 21mm biogon.

 

http://dwogan.zenfolio.com

 

Many thanks for looking.

David

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[Guest guy_mancuso]

David first a warm welcome obviously your first post and a very nice endorsement of the M8, as they say welcome to the club . Your findings are pretty much right on target with many folks here and glad to see you are enjoying it and hope to see you on the forum more. This truly is the M8 bible forum, if info is not here than it does not exist.

[Guest stnami]

I am now routinely carrying a camera and using it as intended to take pictures.

..........................welcome etc............ but what did you use a camera for before, as a jogger's weight??

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Well I think many hobbyist get turned off by size and weight when they just want to go somewhere and than think about carrying all that bulk. Even for a pro when they do a vacation the last thing you want is a roller bag full of stuff, I know myself I usally leave everything home , not now though the M8 and 2 or 3 lenses is actually a joy to carry and i can take it along and it is not such a bother. The 5D is a nice camera but add two lenses and frankly it is a pain to carry around

[macusque]

Welcome David !

 

I know what you mean... low weight/size + excellent sensor/optics were the main reason I got the M8.

 

It's over a month that my M8 and 3 of my lenses are at Solms for rangefinder calibration and 6bit coding.

Well, while I'm building a Nikon kit which I like a lot, I miss the Leica a lot more

 

Can't wait to hold her again... I even bought her a new "cloth", the camera protector, which is now desolately empty...

[jonoslack]

HI David and welcome

My Nikon gear (D2x D200, lots of kilos of lenses) all went to the wall in January. It's a real release, and I know just what you mean about the focusing - we've just come back from a week in Greece, and out of some 1500 shots I'm not sure that there are any which are wrong.

 

Great photos, great to see you here.

[fjmcsu]

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Welcome to this great forum too. I went through the same situation in October upon traveling to Spain with my D2x,lenses + Win laptop computer etc. TOO MUCH WEIGHT> So that solidified my decision to go the rangefinder path & like you it bought back my days with less automation & my trusty OM-1(which I still have).My next long/big trip will be to Belgium/Brussels /Amsterdam environs in August although I've used it on short trips to California with great success.Next I await my Macbook Pro17'' (my G5 is lonely) due any day!

[David Wogan]

Many thanks to you all for the very warm welcome. Somehow I feel I should have made this change years ago - maybe that's what I saving my middle age for!

[Olsen]

David,

 

Gratulations with your new camera.

 

I use a 1Ds II alongside the M8 and find them very close in reproducing scenes. Depending on what optics I use. And depending on the ISO setting. At ISO 160 the M8 - with the new Tri Elmarit, produces files very similar to the 1Ds II at ISO100 with the new 16 - 35 mm 2,8L II. With slightly better micro contrast on the M8's part. But when the ISO wheel is turned up the 1Ds II races far ahead. Still the M8 with Leica optics, sometimes reproduces low light scenes with the classical 'Leica glow'. Fasinating! And certainly, the new Carl Zeiss glas offers some sharp and contrast rich glass. Like the legendary ZI 25 mm 2,8 - Nor do I find the 1,33 crop factor all that much a problem, - compared to the RD-1's 1,5 which is limiting.

 

Further I find the Canon E-TTL flash system to be a very easy tool to make professional looking (- important to an amateur) flash-pictures. I hope that Leica will make a E-TTL multi flash system (rumors are talking of a flash system is on it's way) that will rid Leica users of flat and ugly flash pictures once and for all. I know that many here prefer existing light photography. Then they are neglecting the fine contrast that the Leica (and others) optics are good for and the fasinating game of using flash units up front facing the camera and creating highly dynamic scenes. We need a camera mounted flash - or control unit, that can control several flashes around in the room.

 

- And we need more money....

[hahn73]

Well I think many hobbyist get turned off by size and weight when they just want to go somewhere and than think about carrying all that bulk. Even for a pro when they do a vacation the last thing you want is a roller bag full of stuff, I know myself I usally leave everything home , not now though the M8 and 2 or 3 lenses is actually a joy to carry and i can take it along and it is not such a bother. The 5D is a nice camera but add two lenses and frankly it is a pain to carry around

 

And this is the number one reason for why I took the plunge. I realized how many photo opportunities I was missing out on because it was just too much of a pain to bring along a large DSLR. Plus, having everyone notice you lugging this thing around and commenting on it. None of my friends notice the camera anymore. They DO notice the photos.

[hahn73]

It has now been two weeks since I bought my new M8 and sold my Canon 5D. The 5D had left the house on

only three occasions in the past year and had unfortunately become a rather expensive paper-weight.

 

For the first time in many years - since I used the Olympus OM cameras, I am now routinely carrying a camera

and using it as intended to take pictures. The M8 fits nicely into my bag and goes everywhere with me.

 

My only concern in making the move to the M8 from the 5D was; could the M8 with its Kodak sensor match

the 5D in overall performance. The answer was a resounding yes. What comes out of the M8 allied to the

wonderful Zeiss lenses easily surpasses what the 5D with its Canon lenses produced for me.

 

The things that strikes me most about using the M8, is that now all of my shots are actually in focus as intended.

With the Canon autofocus I was constantly disappointed with the number of out of focus shots. My own fault

I suppose for being lazy and over-reliant on automation.

 

I have now managed to post a lot of my pictures online, the London gallery contains many of the pictures

taken recently with the M8 and Zeiss 21mm biogon.

 

Zenfolio | David Wogan

 

Many thanks for looking.

David

 

I got the same lens as my first one (I'm still waiting for my other two). It's a FANTASTIC lens, and very overlooked one. I think it's just about perfect for a carry around lens. In fact, if I was to choose only one lens to do street photography, this would be it. I know most would probably choose a longer focal length, but I find that I'm able to get close enough to most people/things. Plus, with the wide angle, I can get a lot of environmental context into the photos, which IMHO adds a lot to a photo.