Just got my M8

[boliston]

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my m8 arrived yesterday and its looking good so far! i had a bit of fun at first as the card would not format but it was sdhc with a really old firmware from 2008. just sourced a 2gb basic sd (not sdhc) card and this worked and allowed my to upgrade the firmware. it came with an elmarit asph which seems ideal giving a 38mm equivalent lens. i have a nikon d610 with 28mm 3.5ai but will probably sell the body to help fund the leica!

[wda]

boliston, welcome to the forum and M8 ownership. Please spend a little time reviewing the FAQs because you will learn a lot of useful techniques even if you are familiar with the camera.

 

Don't forget the need for uv/ir shift filters, particularly with the wider angle lenses. The 28mm ASPH. was the first lens I bought for my new M8, to which I added a 75mm Summarit. Both serve me well, even today.

 

Just remember the focal length factor when considering lenses. Add 1/3rd to the stated focal length.

 

I wish you great success.

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[Firefly]

Congratulations Boliston, from another recent M8 purchaser. Remember to register the Camera with Leica, I did and a pair of UV/IR filters of my choice have just turned up, a nice little xmas present from Leica indeed, all the best, Rob

[Lenshacker]

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Sounds like you need to update the firmware! New firmware released a few weeks ago for the M8 available on the Leica link posted above. Instructions also available. I stick with 4GByte and 8GByte cards for mine.

[lct]

Welcome to the forum . Any SDHC card will work provided you update the firmware. You don't need the fastest. 30 or 45 MB/s will be OK.

[boliston]

boliston, welcome to the forum and M8 ownership. Please spend a little time reviewing the FAQs because you will learn a lot of useful techniques even if you are familiar with the camera.

 

Don't forget the need for uv/ir shift filters, particularly with the wider angle lenses. The 28mm ASPH. was the first lens I bought for my new M8, to which I added a 75mm Summarit. Both serve me well, even today.

 

Just remember the focal length factor when considering lenses. Add 1/3rd to the stated focal length.

 

I wish you great success.

 

Thanks - been using it a bit now and not noticed any UV discolouration yet but I guess it only affects certain things like black synthetic clothes. The only "bad" things I have noticed are one deal pixel which shows a faint vertical line when on iso2500 - the only reason i noticed it was that the lcd preview makes dead pixels look bigger even if they are only tiny in lightroom. Not really noticeable to be a worry. The sensor needs a clean as a few dust specks are visible at f/11 and above, but this could be expected on a used camera. I think I will prefer it to the Nikon D610!

[boliston]

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Congratulations Boliston, from another recent M8 purchaser. Remember to register the Camera with Leica, I did and a pair of UV/IR filters of my choice have just turned up, a nice little xmas present from Leica indeed, all the best, Rob

 

Thanks for the tip - have registered the serial numbers on leica.com - nikon only allow the original owner to register products but the m8 and elmarit28asph both seemed to register ok even though they were used. Filters are worth £100 each in the UK new so 2 filters would be a good bonus!

[boliston]

Downloads // Support // Service & Support - Leica Camera AG

 

Sounds like you need to update the firmware! New firmware released a few weeks ago for the M8 available on the Leica link posted above. Instructions also available. I stick with 4GByte and 8GByte cards for mine.

 

Have now done the update (Firmware Leica M8 + M8.2 (Ver. 2.024)) and it had the bonus of auto iso as well. Having a dedicated shutter dial makes going manual easier than on a dslr but still handy to have aperture priority with auto iso at times.

[Jeff S]

Thanks - been using it a bit now and not noticed any UV discolouration yet but I guess it only affects certain things like black synthetic clothes.

 

Not so….all colors can shift without a filter to block IR contamination. Note the background in this photo.

 

Best to keep the filter on except when bright light sources (e.g., at night) might cause undesirable reflections; otherwise results are unpredictable.

 

Jeff

[Firefly]

Thanks for the tip - have registered the serial numbers on leica.com - nikon only allow the original owner to register products but the m8 and elmarit28asph both seemed to register ok even though they were used. Filters are worth £100 each in the UK new so 2 filters would be a good bonus!

 

From memory I think the offer was on the benefits page after registering the serial number, I think you only get it if they have not been previously claimed by a former owner, I got lucky in that respect.

New filters are around £100 a pop but it is only the M8 that needs them and the S/H market seems to be awash with them at considerably lower prices, you would think that they would be passed on with the camera though as they are not much use for anything else,

cheers Rob

[lct]

Thanks - been using it a bit now and not noticed any UV discolouration yet but I guess it only affects certain things like black synthetic clothes.

No no, follow Jeff's advice above. It is not a problem of UV but IR. IR-cut filters (aka UV/IR) are mandatory with the M8 for anything but night shots when they cause ghost images or other reflections.

[david strachan]

The IR/UV filters are very important. As shown foliage takes on an "olive colour".

B&W the filters are not necessary, although some say they still improve the image sharpness.

They are expensive but cheaper filters are around. Rocolax make some decent filters at a very decent price. They also have good IR filters in different sizes.

 

cheers Dave S

[Loren]

The IR/UV filters are very important. As shown foliage takes on an "olive colour".

B&W the filters are not necessary, although some say they still improve the image sharpness.

They are expensive but cheaper filters are around. Rocolax make some decent filters at a very decent price. They also have good IR filters in different sizes.

 

cheers Dave S

 

I have been buying the B+W filters and have been happy with them. They are about $50 each.

 

I just consider it as part of the cost of the lens.

[Lenshacker]

Tiffen made "Hot Mirror" filters for first-generation DSLR's, including 48mm size as required for some of the Canon lenses. Also made in 52mm and 62mm. They tend to go for less money on Ebay as people do not usually search for "Hot Mirror" or know what they are.

[bender73]

I have an UV/IR filter I paid a lot of cash for. Leica brand. It has not been used with my M8 in over a month and I have shot it every single day. I have only noticed bad colors (or purple blacks) about 0.5% of the time. This includes daylight, evening, flash, no flash, xmas parties, etc. It is a "problem," but way over-exaggerated in my opinion.

 

...just my 2 cents

[pop]

I have an UV/IR filter I paid a lot of cash for. Leica brand. It has not been used with my M8 in over a month and I have shot it every single day. I have only noticed bad colors (or purple blacks) about 0.5% of the time. This includes daylight, evening, flash, no flash, xmas parties, etc. It is a "problem," but way over-exaggerated in my opinion.

 

...just my 2 cents

It's only a problem when there's IR light and when parts of your subject reflects IR light. Plants in sunlight come to mind.

Edited December 29, 2014 by pop

[lct]

It's also a problem when we don't see the problem.

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[lct]

Rocolax make some decent filters at a very decent price

+1

[bender73]

It's also a problem when we don't see the problem.

 

Very true.

 

But, you can color correct a lot in LR. I see more of a WB issue in the first photo. There are IR issues as well. Here is a 2 second correction in LR. Not perfect, but it can be, especially in PS.

 

Although, I agree, it is easier to use a filter. I just rarely run into major issues and hate filters.

 

EDIT: your corrected version was less warm and has a strong greenish hue.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[lct]

The camera came out 8 years ago and we begin to know it a little bit since then. I'm not a filter seller though so it's up to you to decide what to do.

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