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Old M8 owner... worth keeping now that I have a FF M?


ShivaYash

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Considering the M8 will likely not depreciate much going forward, and the M9 probably will......

 

Keep the M8 and sell the M9 today, wait a couple years and buy another M9 at a reduced price; you have saved some money- maybe an amount equaling the depreciation you have suffered with the M8......Recovery.

 

In the past, I have found myself in this camera depreciation quandry as well. I couldn't resist. :)

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Considering the M8 will likely not depreciate much going forward, and the M9 probably will......

 

Keep the M8 and sell the M9 today, wait a couple years and buy another M9 at a reduced price; you have saved some money- maybe an amount equaling the depreciation you have suffered with the M8......Recovery.

 

In the past, I have found myself in this camera depreciation quandry as well. I couldn't resist. :)

Thanks for these wise words but I don't have the M9! Ha. ;-)

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The shutter is crazy loud!

Well, not the shutter, really...it's the obnoxious re-cock motor whirr, which eventually happens even with the discreet mode.  It's not a huge deal, but one that I don't miss at all with the significantly quieter and smoother M240 shutter release.

 

Jeff

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Hello Shiva

The 28mm is a good focal length on the M8...uses the whole viewfinder. You'll get good IR too with a Hoya 720mm IR filter.

 

Your B&W Attic Study is lovely.  Good clear blacks and whites...greys in between. Some people like a long tonal range, and other prefer a short tonal range...see Lambda's amazing work.

 

All best, remember you'll always have an M body, if one goes off to Germany.

 

Dave S ;)

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Well, not the shutter, really...it's the obnoxious re-cock motor whirr, which eventually happens even with the discreet mode.  It's not a huge deal, but one that I don't miss at all with the significantly quieter and smoother M240 shutter release.

 

Jeff

Yep! That crazy loud banging of the recocking motor and shutters, etc is right near your ear; amplified out from a metal chamber...try and ignore it, don't let it wear down your enjoyment of the camera. Someone said the sound was nice, to me once.

Dave S :lol:

Edited by david strachan
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Do you need the money you'll get from selling the M8, whatever amount it will be? If not, think again. With whatever sum you might get chances are you cannot get something else that can serve you just as well as your current M8. Then why bother?

 

Like others suggested, use the M8 exclusively for B&W as a more affordable version of the MM.

 

You may even designate cheaper non-Leica lenses for the M8 that are not perfect edge-to-edge because of the 1.33 crop, and leave your other more expensive Leica lenses for FF.

 

My 2 cents.

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I can't bring myself to sell my M8s.

God knows I've tried!

I have an M9 and now a 240 but

I still continue to use the M8 bodies and

not just for IR, though they do a killer job

in that capacity.

Yes, the shutter is loud compared to other

Leica bodies but not the rest of the herd.

...no pun, really!

In a quiet room my R-D1 would have heads

snap towards me like it was an SLR,

not so the M8.

I'm certain it is tone or frequency range

rather than just volume that attracts attention.

Use the 'discreet' advance option and remember

that it only sounds loud up against your face.

 

Best regards to all on the Forum.

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I am in your same position. I purchased an MM1 recently and love it but I'll never sell my M8. The crop factor is an advantage with some lenses and when I want to shoot color I'll use the M8.
Although it's not FF I find that there is a certain  uniqueness to the files that I get out of mine that can't be duplicated with any other camera including my MM1. It's a keeper.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The M8 is a very good IR camera in two modes. The first uses a red filter and the second uses a really dark filter. The first can give you false color IR and the images can be quite striking. The second removes so much of the sensitivity (and you need a tripod) that you get black and white only but the IR effects look very much like Kodak IR film. Note there is a focusing shift for both modes but especially the second.

 

Try this before you get rid of the camera, IR photography is fun and it's a lot easier than dealing with actual IR film. And without any filter the M8 isn't that likely to show IR contamination unless you're taking pictures of very specific subjects (I never noticed any). These days I use an M9 but I still have the M8 for IR.

 

If you go to Photo.net and look me up (David W. Griffin) you can find some samples of M8 IR. Not sure how to post them here.

 

Try this URL http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=10751378

Edited by carbon_dragon
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I've not considered it as an IR camera. What would that give me? I use to do IR photography on b&w film during my university days and it was more novelty. I just think having two bodies is over kill but can stand up to the fact of suffering from digital rot.

.

It will offer you the opportunity to shoot hand-held IR shots with a B+W 093 infra-red filter such as these:

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

Both M8 with 21/2.8 Kobalux lens and B+W 093 (820 nm) IR filter

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  • 1 month later...

I'd keep it indefinitely, or for as long as it lasts, but then I'm not very good at getting rid of M Leicas - e.g. I still have an M1 that served as a zone-focusing wide-angle second camera for film, but it hasn't been out in anger for about three years. I suppose I should trade it but what the hell. I think that once Leicas drift into middle age the money only matters where the trade-in value is desperately needed for the next purchase. With digital there's the added anxiety of terminal failure, of course, but then it can go on display in your personal Leica museum or become a distinguished paperweight.

 

I normally keep my M9 and M8 in the same bag (smallest possible, Jessops anonymous, as I don't believe in big bags for small cameras), so when going out with a digi-M outfit, rather than take an M9 plus spare lens I put the second lens on the M8, and include E39 and E49 UV/IR, plus spare battery and cards, with room for a smallish third lens in front pocket if I fancy it. The M9 gets more use but the M8 is more than just a backup, and has a range of other talents as the other posters have said.

 

I've got used to the whirr-clunk (or clunk-whirr, I should say), which is kind of reassuring in a bizarre way, and the latency. The interchangeability of the batteries across M8s/M9s can be handy too.

 

To be honest, if I'm tempted by a newer digi-M I'd be more likely to trade in the M9 than the M8. The M8 looks a bit lived-in now and would not help much with the hole in the bank balance, and much more than the M9 is a camera with unusual qualities that would not be duplicated by the shiny new one.

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I had the same issue when I bought an M9 back when.

I decided to keep my M8.2 back then (and still have it) and it saw use now and then.

 

I am more of a two bodies guy when shooting though and therefore using the M8.2 + M9 side by side with three or four lenses was perfect.

At some point I figured out that selecting focal lengths to not overlap when using the lenses on both bodies works fantastic.

 

In your example you could put the 28 on the M9 and the 50 on the M8 and by simply swapping lenses have the equivalent of a ~35mm and a 50 instead of 28mm and a ~65.

Both cameras use the same batteries and SD cards and work pretty much similar.

I wouldn't sweat the color issue with the M8 much except when having to shoot accurate color, using targets for a paid shoot.

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  • 4 weeks later...

 

I hope you never forget the moment you captured here. and i am sure you never will.

 

my grandpa used to say:"leicas come and go. its just the pictures and the memories that remain"

 

so sell it, if you dont need it anymore. but wich camera will then give you b&w-pictures when you want them?

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Shiva,.... Mate I love that self timed photo with you and your child.... It makes me realize I need to do the same (instead of always being behind the camera).... Do your self a favour, and keep that M8.... Hand it down to your child in the future, along with that self timed image  :)

Edited by bobbywise
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Shiva,.... Mate I love that self timed photo with you and your child.... It makes me realize I need to do the same (instead of always being behind the camera).... Do your self a favour, and keep that M8.... Hand it down to your child in the future, along with that self time image :)

Thanks chaps. Although I have left the M8 at home, I'm visiting Melbourne for four months, I opted to keep it for this very reason. Next week I am considering a M6 classic. In the meantime the M-E is just a dream and I'm shooting a lot with it.

 

Self timer is actually rather good. Although a tripod would be better I can manage with a book shelf or table.

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