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Buy an M8 in 2019?


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20 minutes ago, farnz said:

To a degree I agree with you, Jeff, but while contrast can be adjusted, acutance can't because it's 'baked in'.  For example, increasing contrast will emphasise the light/dark transitions by making them starker but it can't improve the genuine resolution delivered by high acutance.

Pete.

There are many more possible software controls, global and local, than contrast.  I’ve made many prints, under many conditions, with the M8.2, M240, M Monochrom and M10 (besides many film Ms), and there are myriad variables that contribute to the final result. The camera is but one of those  variables, and not the most important in my experience. Viewers can’t distinguish, especially at my modest print sizes.  I can make superb... or crappy... prints with any M.

Jeff

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Bought a pristine M8.2 after selling my M9 and M240 to focus on my DSLR kits. Missed the Leica experience and bought a new digital Cl which I enjoyed via the M adapter and the 24mp focus peaking--still that 10+ mp sensor and its CCD renderings kept calling me back. Liked the APS-c format of the CL, but the APS-h is really wonderful. The M8.2 I bought had less than 1700 clicks was a late model Chrome model and had zero blemishes....included a new Luigi half-case/strap, extra M8 battery and a Leica soft release button....total was $2,100 U.S.--Figure the accessories were valued at about $500 so I got it for about $1,600 net. The case folds down and the guerrilla glass has no coffee stains. The images are amazing and the newer lenses don't even cause much IR/purple shift on certain photos. I still use an Ir/UV cut filter as a precaution as well as protection.  The sheer simplicity of the menu and the "S" button come sin handy--in fact, my M8.2 even makes my 7artisans lenses look good, and less soft. Of course my Summarit and Summilux lenses are wonderful.

To me, Leica should never had abandoned the APS-h system--best of both worlds with great rendering. I apologize if I'm gushing over my 8.2 but I'm just so happy with it versus my Pentax K-1 high tech 36mp behemoth (which has a place for large reproductions and landscape work). 

Anyway--a loved, lightly used M8/8.2 is a winner in 2019 --and beyond !!!

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On 6/15/2019 at 4:31 PM, Merv-O said:

Bought a pristine M8.2 after selling my M9 and M240 to focus on my DSLR kits. Missed the Leica experience and bought a new digital Cl which I enjoyed via the M adapter and the 24mp focus peaking--still that 10+ mp sensor and its CCD renderings kept calling me back. Liked the APS-c format of the CL, but the APS-h is really wonderful. The M8.2 I bought had less than 1700 clicks was a late model Chrome model and had zero blemishes....included a new Luigi half-case/strap, extra M8 battery and a Leica soft release button....total was $2,100 U.S.--Figure the accessories were valued at about $500 so I got it for about $1,600 net. The case folds down and the guerrilla glass has no coffee stains. The images are amazing and the newer lenses don't even cause much IR/purple shift on certain photos. I still use an Ir/UV cut filter as a precaution as well as protection.  The sheer simplicity of the menu and the "S" button come sin handy--in fact, my M8.2 even makes my 7artisans lenses look good, and less soft. Of course my Summarit and Summilux lenses are wonderful.

To me, Leica should never had abandoned the APS-h system--best of both worlds with great rendering. I apologize if I'm gushing over my 8.2 but I'm just so happy with it versus my Pentax K-1 high tech 36mp behemoth (which has a place for large reproductions and landscape work). 

Anyway--a loved, lightly used M8/8.2 is a winner in 2019 --and beyond !!!

Yey for a new M8 owner in 2019! 
I keep saying there's a huge market left untapped for newly made M8 cameras, literally, same components, 2k mark price.
I know it will never happen, too niche.

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Hi I bought my M8 about 18 months ago.  It is my first Leica and I even though I have a few other more contemporary camers it has almost become my goto camera.  Recently I discovered a web site from back in 2013 where the site owner created software to allow users to exploit 14 bit RAW files from the M8.  The software he has on his site allows the RAW files to be processed and corrects for dead pixels and black levels.  Very good in my humble opinion.  I use Voigtlander lenses as I can't afford Leica.  I will post a link to the M8RAW2DNG web site or you can look it up.  

Regards

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On 6/23/2019 at 3:20 PM, MaxSZ said:

Hi I bought my M8 about 18 months ago.  It is my first Leica and I even though I have a few other more contemporary camers it has almost become my goto camera.  Recently I discovered a web site from back in 2013 where the site owner created software to allow users to exploit 14 bit RAW files from the M8.  The software he has on his site allows the RAW files to be processed and corrects for dead pixels and black levels.  Very good in my humble opinion.  I use Voigtlander lenses as I can't afford Leica.  I will post a link to the M8RAW2DNG web site or you can look it up.  

Regards

Hi, MaxSZ, welcome to the forum!

Arvid (forum name "bla") wrote the code for M8RAW2DNG and started this thread in 2013.

Pete.

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On 6/19/2019 at 12:30 AM, andrea-i said:

Yey for a new M8 owner in 2019! 
I keep saying there's a huge market left untapped for newly made M8 cameras, literally, same components, 2k mark price.
I know it will never happen, too niche.

I just bought a new M10-P, and was considering selling my old M8.  After reading through this thread, I have decided to keep it.  I plan to revisit black and white on the M8.  I recall taking some gorgeous BW photos with it when it was new.  then about 7 years ago, I decided I wanted more flexibility than offered by the M8, and bought an Olympus OM-D with a couple of zooms.  Also bought with the Olympus a Novoflex R to Olympus adapter.   I'm thrilled to be returning to my Leica roots.  Last year I bought a Q2 (and love it, especially the Macro function) and a few weeks ago, bought an M10-P.  With the M10-P, I have also bought an R adapter M, and the EVF 020 (not your grandfather's Visoflex).  So, now I have all the flexibility I need with the M10-P, the Q2 and the M8.  My lucky daughter:  she is about to inherit my entire Olympus kit.

 

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Am 28.6.2019 um 16:07 schrieb farnz:

Hi, MaxSZ, welcome to the forum!

Arvid (forum name "bla") wrote the code for M8RAW2DNG and started this thread in 2013.

Pete.

 

Am 11.2.2020 um 05:56 schrieb tjh1023:

Does any one know what happened to the m8raw2dng site, it says its been shut down. I just purchased a pristine m8 and would love this ability.

Tim

 

Am 11.2.2020 um 13:33 schrieb a.noctilux:

Hello Tim,

Mnutzer, as I recall, is user of the m8raw2dng

Drop him a mail :

one of his post, here

 

Thanks for remembering one of my shots.
In Sept. 2019 after about 10 years I have changed from the M8.2 to an M10-P and never regretted it one single day.
All things M8.2 did are done much better by M10-P, as higher usable ISO, faster image storage and higher battery capacity.
Not to forget those pleasant conveniences such as constant image control by display or electronic viewfinder, the spirit level or the net grille.
Arvid seems to have ended his m8raw2dng project and there should be no assistence anymore.
Here's his m8raw2dng-droplet.app.zipfor download again, but without a very helpful step by step explanation given from another member of the LUF I never would have got it to run.
Now I'm very thankful to got rid of that annoying button dance every time I startet the M8.2 for taking photos with that factory raw program and save time as those raws don't need to be converted first to dngs before one can develop them by a picture image program.
It sounds hard but it's better to spare for a much more modern digital Leica-M like an M10 than investing your hard earned money into outdated stuff like M8.
Peter Karbe, chief lens designer of Leica, told from the M8 as his most hated digital Leica-M, an important and necessary step for Leica but now only history.

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Spot on Mnutzer.

Let's live with our time, let's replace those oldies but goodies which gave ( "can" give ... as I always own M8) us fun in the past with their modern avatars.

Let's use those M8 from time to time as they are.

I use M8 recently for IR pictures, the best M for this kind of specialized pictures.

 

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vor 23 Stunden schrieb a.noctilux:

...

IR photography is too rare for me to keep an M8 in reserve for only this single purpose.
With Leica lenses in particular, IR photography becomes an incalculable guessing game due to the lack of a definitive scale point for the slightly shifted focus.
IR photography hasn't become easier with M10 and EVP, since almost nothing is visible on the display if an IR filter 13126 / HOOET is screwed on the lens.
If I want to cultivate nostalgic feelings for old Leicas, I insert a film into my M6 from the nineties or my IIIa syn from the thirties/fifties, but would never take a digital Leica-M with its progressively obsolete electronic parts , regardless of its age or rarity.

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On 5/22/2019 at 10:42 PM, farnz said:

...

I bought back into the M8 about 5 years ago after trading my first for a M9P - an excellent camera too.  I bought back in because I missed shooting infra-red handheld and because of the superb in-camera monochrome.  I think of it as my 'poor man's Monochrom'.😊

Pete.

3 months ago I sold my M8 to a friend (pro photographer) , who uses it just and almost exclusively for the above reason... he ìs a much better photog than me... and I decided that my M8 (virtually unused by me from M240 arrival) deserved to be used instead of staying in a drawer : my friend (that uses to work with Fuji and a Nikon DSLR) is supersatisfied,  and me too am happy that my M8 is again at work... 😎 

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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On 3/11/2020 at 11:19 PM, mnutzer said:

 

 

Thanks for remembering one of my shots.
In Sept. 2019 after about 10 years I have changed from the M8.2 to an M10-P and never regretted it one single day.
All things M8.2 did are done much better by M10-P, as higher usable ISO, faster image storage and higher battery capacity.
Not to forget those pleasant conveniences such as constant image control by display or electronic viewfinder, the spirit level or the net grille.
Arvid seems to have ended his m8raw2dng project and there should be no assistence anymore.
Here's his m8raw2dng-droplet.app.zipfor download again, but without a very helpful step by step explanation given from another member of the LUF I never would have got it to run.
Now I'm very thankful to got rid of that annoying button dance every time I startet the M8.2 for taking photos with that factory raw program and save time as those raws don't need to be converted first to dngs before one can develop them by a picture image program.
It sounds hard but it's better to spare for a much more modern digital Leica-M like an M10 than investing your hard earned money into outdated stuff like M8.
Peter Karbe, chief lens designer of Leica, told from the M8 as his most hated digital Leica-M, an important and necessary step for Leica but now only history.

As the owner of an M (typ 240), SL, CL digital, M 8.2 and a D-Lux, I tried the M10 and in comparison to the SL and the M (typ 240), I didn't see a big enough differential except for the Visoflex 020 v. the EVF 2. The SL, though bigger, outperforms the M10 on several bases. To start, the AF lenses make it a virtual DSLR for fast shoots, the M-Lens Adapter allows me to use my precious glass on an advanced body and the focus peaking is not overly contrasted (it's adjustable). I'm heavily invested in Leica and I have created a flexible kit with the adapters and camera choices. I recently bought a mint 35-70 R-mount and adapter for less than $500 (U.S.) for the M (tip 240) and am enjoying telephoto on an M camera for the first time. Conversely, I purchased the fixed lens D-Lux because I was being denied entry into certain concerts and venues with my replaceable lens camera bodies. I love the M 8.2 because the 10.3 mp CCD sensor is special. Its simple menu, classic look and feel, renders certain subjects excellently. Plus, with the RF calibrated properly, my pictures are sharp enough for what I need it for (up to 8 x 10). 

Having wrestled with new technology v. old, the only tech that counts is the photographer and what he seeks to render. Like golf, a bad golfer with the best equipment is still a poor golfer, while a good golfer with the worst equipment can still shine. The 10m/M10-P is a wonderful camera, but its incremental improvements did not improve my experience with what I already have. Remember, please distinguish between the M8 and the M8.2--there are remarkable differences that make the 8.2 relevant today, even without 6-bit lenses....Cheers and keep shooting wonderful pictures.

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2 hours ago, Merv-O said:

Remember, please distinguish between the M8 and the M8.2--there are remarkable differences that make the 8.2 relevant today

The M8 is also relevant today and underpinned by my still using it today.  The M8.2 is an excellent camera although it can't offer 1/8000th shutter speed, which has come in very handy on occasion.  Apart from 2 metre parallax frame lines the only other differences as far as I recall are cosmetic.

Pete.

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21 minutes ago, farnz said:

The M8 is also relevant today and underpinned by my still using it today.  The M8.2 is an excellent camera although it can't offer 1/8000th shutter speed, which has come in very handy on occasion.  Apart from 2 metre parallax frame lines the only other differences as far as I recall are cosmetic.

Pete.

Actually, there are several differences that many thought made the M8.2 the real M9 and were improvements. For example:

1. As you stated the viewfinder was altered to 2 meters (from the earlier film M's) and this could be retrofitted on original M8's.

2. The Shutter was made more durable and quiet by a shorter throw design. This in turn, reduced the maximum speed to 1/4000. But it also created a menu-selectable option to delay the motorized shutter causing the muffled click found on future M digital cameras

3. The exposure compensation settings  can be made by holding the shutter release button half-way and making the corrections with the rear dial--saves time and is efficient.

4. The (in)famous S setting or 'snapshot' mode with 6-bit lenses. I find it very useful in fast  paced locations, particularly in using 35mm lenses and wider or for taking repeat pictures and not wanting to or having time to re-set; the camera does a great job most of the time in these conditions to let me be free to shoot without over thinking/changing the settings.

5. the sapphire or guerrilla glass on the rear LCD made it more durable and for some reason, M8.2's are less prone to the coffee stain anomaly which plagues some M8's.

These were not insignificant changes, though the bottom line is, it's the CCD 10.3 APS-h sensor that is the winner on both models....it is also why after selling my original 8, I bought a low shuttered (less than 1000 clicks) in museum condition almost 2 years ago and enjoy it immensely.

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1 hour ago, Merv-O said:

2. The Shutter was made more durable and quiet by a shorter throw design. This in turn, reduced the maximum speed to 1/4000. But it also created a menu-selectable option to delay the motorized shutter causing the muffled click found on future M digital cameras

My M8 also has delayed shutter re-cock as it was introduced through a firmware change.

Yes I'd forgotten about the Snap-shot mode so fair point. I have to admit it's not something I would have used.

I'm not convinced about the Sapphire glass being less prone to 'coffee stain'; I used the upgrade program to have the Sapphire screen fitted to my first M8 (since sold) and it developed coffee stain.  It's not clear whether adding the Sapphire screen during the upgrade made the it more vulnerable than factory M8.2's but it's plausible. 

I completely agree about the excellent KAF10500 sensor and would add that the M8's ability to shoot infra-red hand held is why I missed mine and acquired another 2 years later. 

Pete.

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Of course it will still be worth buying a Leica M8 in 2020.

You just have to consider the crop factor of the sensor, mount a good lens and off you go. It takes just as good pictures in B&W and color as all subsequent M's. Including M10 Mono...

I have, among others, 3 of them.

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