woodyspedden Posted June 1, 2007 Share #21 Posted June 1, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) The biggest element for me is the size and weight of the M8. There is virtually no time now when I don't have the M8 with me with either the 24asph or the 28 cron on it. When I was shooting with the DMR, which I really loved and still do, I would see many potential images but did not have the camera with me due to size and weight. It is no good having the best of equipment if it is sitting on a shelf at home while you are out missing shots. Just MHO Woody Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 1, 2007 Posted June 1, 2007 Hi woodyspedden, Take a look here Behavioural changes brought about by the M8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
mat_mcdermott Posted June 1, 2007 Share #22 Posted June 1, 2007 The biggest difference for me has been that I no longer am switching films mid-roll as the light changes throughout the day. It's such a huge convenience. Even just walking around the city on a sunny afternoon I might use 160, 320 or 640 all within a few blocks based on what I'm trying to create and the changing light levels. Another difference has been the immediate feedback of the LCD screen. I don't chimp all that often, but find it very useful to use at the beginning of a sequence to check exposure in difficult conditions and sometimes at the end of a sequence to make sure I've really got what I was going for. Other than that my shooting style hasn't changed because of the M8. It has allowed me to utilize the advantages of digital capture and the simplicity of a film M--which is something I've wanted for many years. I never was at ease with DSLRs even though I had to use them for professional work because clients requested it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted June 1, 2007 Share #23 Posted June 1, 2007 I chimp all the time, and the result is that I often will take the same photo many times, something I didn't do with film. (For example, if you want to get a flag in a whipping wind, so that it's standing out straight, and is recognizable, you can now chimp until it's just the way you want it.) Chimping also works for me effectively like an automatic zone system, because you can move exposure levels around and be sure of what you've done; especially useful when shooting snow scenes. The biggest thing directly involving the M8, though, is the small size. I never really carried my D2x anywhere when I wasn't sure I was going to shoot. I became so addicted to the small size that when the M8 was in Solms getting fixed, I bought a Pentax K10 which is close to the M8 in size (when the M8 has the optional grip) and three pancake lenses (which are smaller than the Leica equivalents) and found that I also like to carry that camera -- so it's not Leica specific. The top line Nikon and Canons are just too damn big; I know why, but that doesn' t make carrying them any more attractive. JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerimager Posted June 1, 2007 Share #24 Posted June 1, 2007 Except for the thumb winding, though, I'd say the MP was a joy to use. Steve I added an M7 to use along with the M8. Having never worked with film cameras, and never having to manual wind, I found I would occasionally forget and not be ready with the M7. So I got the Motor Winder, and it's great, and surprisingly quiet. I highly recommend it. best....Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerimager Posted June 1, 2007 Share #25 Posted June 1, 2007 As an ex Canon owner used to Zooms I would put it this way. Please forgive the metaphor. With a dslr/Zoom I found my approach would tend towards making an image of a 'Cat sitting on a Mat', with the M8 it would be to make an image of a 'Room with a Mat with a Cat sitting on it'. That is the dslr/zoom would focus my attention on the 'cat' almost to the exclusion of anything else - with the M8 (and any other RF) I am able to direct my attention (once I have focussed the image) onto the whole scene and to compose the whole image. Even a dslr with a fixed lens has the same affect - since one cant see anything outside the viewfinder. Both extremes are of course valid - and all forms of camera have their +/-. My primary reasons for changing were the more prosaic issue of weight and bulk - and to become inconspicuous and not an object of curiosity. This goes to the main change for me, whether with the M8 or M8. I was having difficulty developing an eye for the entire frame, foreground/background relations, etc. exclusively using DSLR's. The telescoping of attention by the viewfinder made working on this essential skill more difficult. The RF viewfinder lets you (or me) much more easily take in the bigger "picture" in composition. So now, I don't have that excuse, and it's on me to try and get to the level I wish to attain in composition! best...Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LichMD Posted June 1, 2007 Share #26 Posted June 1, 2007 My .02 cents. I've owned/used a camera since I was 6, always for the pure pleasure of the photo taking process. I graduated from P&S cameras to an AE-1, then a T-50, then an EOS 5, made the digital leap to a 20D and then a 5D. The M8 is the first camera that I've carried daily since purchase for 4 months now without fail. I love using this camera, I find myself shooting more difficult to capture images, being more aggressive in candid street photography, more observant of my surroundings. It's just a blast. This past weeekend my sister in law was married (a gorgeous formal Hindu ceremony) I took over a 1000 pics. The professional photogs that were shooting the wedding (had shot mine and have become good friends) got a real kick out of my fervor in photographing the ceremony and reception. In the past I'd have taken a few posed pics, a few candids and then proceeded to enjoy myself eating, drinking and dancing. My wife had to make me put the camera down to get me to dance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Mondello Posted June 5, 2007 Share #27 Posted June 5, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I started a similar thread at DPR Leica Forum and tashley pointed me back over here to this thread. To make it simpler, I'll just cut and paste my original post from that thread here . . . http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1038&thread=23469439 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Musings on Slowing Down & Re-Learning The Craft The recent arrival on the digital scene of the Epson R-D1 and (more importantly) the Leica M8 brings with it a modest countervailing force to the "bigger/smaller, faster, faster, faster" impetus of digital photography. Digital photography re-invigorated me creatively without a doubt, but soon I found myself shooting hundreds of frames where once I shot dozens, and with the ability to shoot 5fps for 22 frames in RAW with my D200, I was beginning to feel more like a cinematographer (which is something I also do) than a photographer. Attending PhotoExpoPlus last fall in New York, I got the chance to hold an M8 and felt a rush of nostalgic familiarity (my Dad let me use his M3 a lot as a teenager). I hadn't realized how much I missed that "feeling," so when an Epson R-D1 became available at re-furb prices I picked one up (I already owned a 44 year old Leica lens sitting in a closet) and started re-acquainting myself with rangefinder photography. And the first thing that meant was "slow down" -- a lot! No zoom. No autofocus. No auto ISO. No auto aperture. You even actually have to "wind" the R-D1 to cock the shutter! Yikes! What had I done? It was like traveling back in time! Oh, OK, that's a bit of a stretch -- I mean I wasn't actually shooting film or anything radical like that ;-) But suddenly I was going shooting at a much different, yet wonderfully familiar, pace. I could still shoot in rapid sequences -- but only as fast as I could "wind" the camera! It was and is a "re-learning" experience, and even more-so, it brought back a level of *fun* to taking pictures! Sure I miss some shots that a zoom with autofocus and program mode could have captured, but with zone focusing, I don't even have to wait for autofocus, so I get some shots which I would otherwise have missed. This one in particular comes to mind . . . Now, I am no Luddite, if anything I am generally a "bleeding edge" early adopter of new technology, so I find myself somewhat bemused by my re-appreciation of this older, slower, more manual style of making pictures. For a while I thought it was an age thing, and that folks of my vintage (born mid-20th century) would be the ones most attracted to the idea of a digital rangefinder camera. But I was wrong on that count. I found instead many kindred spirits here and on the Range Finder Forum as well as the Leica Camera User Forum of all ages who were also finding this simpler -- yet more complex -- way of shooting attractive. So why put it into words and why post it? Just to share a bit, I suppose, perhaps to inspire someone "on the fence" to give RF shooting a try (film or digital, I don't care a whit which you choose). There is something deeply satisfying about the finely made (and small) RF lenses and the finely made, smaller, lighter RF cameras which has been magical for photographers for more than 75 years -- and despite all the odds against it, still has more than a breath of life left in it! Thanks for reading! -- Cheers, Joe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 5, 2007 Share #28 Posted June 5, 2007 You know what kills me is i have been shooting as a Pro since I was 19 and now 50 years old and still shooting as a Pro but i always watched Leica out of the corner of my eye on what they were doing and never bought a RF camera, don't know why at all. Now having finally bought a RF camera back in November , i realize i missed almost 30 years of this wonderfull setup. What a idiot I was. I should be taken to the forest and tied to a tree and be whipped into shape. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 5, 2007 Share #29 Posted June 5, 2007 You know what kills me is i have been shooting as a Pro since I was 19 and now 50 years old and still shooting as a Pro but i always watched Leica out of the corner of my eye on what they were doing and never bought a RF camera, don't know why at all. Now having finally bought a RF camera back in November , i realize i missed almost 30 years of this wonderfull setup. What a idiot I was. I should be taken to the forest and tied to a tree and be whipped into shape. LOL Guy, this is not the place for Kinky stuff, there are other forums for that... ;-) Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted June 5, 2007 Share #30 Posted June 5, 2007 Guy, if we do as you say, can we keep the cameras and lenses? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 5, 2007 Share #31 Posted June 5, 2007 No and No. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 5, 2007 Share #32 Posted June 5, 2007 Guy, this is not the place for Kinky stuff, there are other forums for that... ;-) Tim Tim i may need a link. ROTFLMAO Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 5, 2007 Share #33 Posted June 5, 2007 guy_mancuso Erfahrener Benutzer Join Date: August 16th, 2005 Location: Phoenix Guy Mancuso Posts: 5,032 Holy Smokes over 5,000 posts. hope i said something of value, where's my gold watch. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjphoto Posted June 5, 2007 Share #34 Posted June 5, 2007 For the first time i feel a strange "kinship' with other camera owners. Thanks you all. Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted June 5, 2007 Share #35 Posted June 5, 2007 ... Holy Smokes over 5,000 posts. hope i said something of value, where's my gold watch. LOL The watch is tied to the tree, but thanks for all the posts that helped me. All the monsters on this forum are my heroes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted June 5, 2007 Share #36 Posted June 5, 2007 Well... things that changed: I finally started getting some use from my 24 - which I'd not used much since I bought it. I shot a lot more hip shots, partly due to the ability to see how I'd done by chimping, partly because the 24 is pretty forgiving. I took a lot of shots of my nephew with the 50 1.4 asph, wide open - and could actually tell that I'd got the focus right. I would never have taken so many shots on film, nor would I have been so willing to shoot wide open, give the speed he moves around at. I realised that my lazy days of generally going with the in-camera meter (M7/Hexar with neg film) were over, and I'm back to metering my hand and under-exposing unless the light is so dead I don't want to shoot anyway. I get into more discussions about my camera than I used to. Oh - one more. I realised I prefer film, now that I've used a digital that is more than a point-and-shoot I can definitively say I prefer film. If they made a film M with that 1/8000 shutter, I'd buy it tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 5, 2007 Share #37 Posted June 5, 2007 Tim i may need a link. ROTFLMAO You mean, like a link in a chain... or handcuff... t Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsjxyz Posted June 6, 2007 Share #38 Posted June 6, 2007 First I used the Nikon F3, love all the accesories Then Using M6, love the rangefinder Then using Lumix LC-1 (Digilux 2), well chimping all the time The Behavioural changes brought about by the M8 that I tried at the moment is "Stop Chimping" and enjoy the moment with a digital camera. "Take White Balance with my expodisc as additional pre setup requirement" Jerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.