KM-25 Posted July 30, 2007 Share #1 Posted July 30, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) So...after all kinds of vowing to not get an M8 because of the crop factor, I am seriously considering getting one. But I have a concern. I only have two Leica lenses for the foreseeable future, the 28 Summicron and 50 Lux Asph, don't really need any others. I keep hearing that the 50 frame lines are way off as far as actual coverage. If true, just how much is way off at infinity, 30 feet, close focus, etc? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 Hi KM-25, Take a look here 50mm on M8, VF questions... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
gtmerideth Posted July 30, 2007 Share #2 Posted July 30, 2007 This is not the answer you wanted but it makes little difference to the digital experience. As you take shots and look at them you learn what the vagaries are. Same as film. The frame lines can only be accurate at one distance. g. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted July 30, 2007 Share #3 Posted July 30, 2007 They are not that bad. I just took some careful test shots, and at 1m, they are right on, and at 5m and 50m they give about 5% extra all around. The 75 framelines are much worse. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted July 30, 2007 Share #4 Posted July 30, 2007 So...after all kinds of vowing to not get an M8 because of the crop factor, I am seriously considering getting one. But I have a concern. I only have two Leica lenses for the foreseeable future, the 28 Summicron and 50 Lux Asph, don't really need any others. I keep hearing that the 50 frame lines are way off as far as actual coverage. If true, just how much is way off at infinity, 30 feet, close focus, etc? With those lenses, stop worrying and buy one! The frame lines are a little dodgy at some distances, but you learn so fast with the digital output - just go for it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted July 30, 2007 Share #5 Posted July 30, 2007 You have a pair of wonderful lenses for M8...the problem of M8 framelines is something IMHO partly real, partly exaggerated... let's say that, basically, the rule is that YOU CANNOT BE WRONG with them, even in "extreme" (say, 50mm at 0,7) situations; after reading posts & personal tests I seem that at Leica they decided to be at all conservative... all of us know that effective framing is variable through focus distance, but M8 frames obviously do not... a little of experience, the "no wrong" rule, and most of all, the ease of dealing with digital files, at the end make this a no-problem. Go sure with M8 regarding frames, and maybe can also happen you'll have no problems with real focus distance... your lenses are quite new ones... in the forum you can find lot of threads about the focusing/backfocusing issue with M8... are you accustomed to often shot wide open ? If so, do some serious focus test when you'll have your M8... and be prepared to afford some kind of fine adjustment... but maybe not at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptruman Posted July 30, 2007 Share #6 Posted July 30, 2007 Agree with the above. For a while I had only the 28mm cron and 50mm cron - the frame lines are not perfect but not really an issue. I then bought the 75mm cron and they are out, significantly at close distances - but soon got used to it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KM-25 Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share #7 Posted July 30, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks for the replies. I will think about it a bit, I have a full Canon system for paid digital work. Part of the reason I use Leica right now is the project I am shooting with it on Kodachrome. I love how no matter what I do, I can not see the image until I get the film back. I shoot film very well and still get my best images from it. I have noticed that I stay in better rhythm and contact with people instead of dealing with digital images all the time. On top of that, using these lenses on my M6 and MP3 is pure joy. So maybe that has been a part of my resistance to the M8, I like using film M's too much to have digital invade my thinking process with them. But....When I am on the road, I don't like having to carry around a basic Canon kit in order to feed feature or breaking news images to my agents. So the M8 looks good in this regard, the system gets smaller again. The main reason I got these lenses is for Kodachrome, they just so happen to be brilliant with the M8 as well, so why not? Most of the Geographic guys I know who shot film in Leica M's are now using the M8. One thinks the camera is now ready for serious prime time as he would put it now that some of the Q/C issues have been ironed out. It is in my B&H basket...all I need to do is pull the trigger. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinb Posted July 31, 2007 Share #8 Posted July 31, 2007 It is in my B&H basket...all I need to do is pull the trigger. Pull the trigger! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KM-25 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share #9 Posted July 31, 2007 Pull the trigger! BANG! It will be here Thursday... Time to sell some Canon and Nikon stuff... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted July 31, 2007 Share #10 Posted July 31, 2007 Congratulations! Black or chrome? Must be chrome. After all, it isn't called Kodablack! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted July 31, 2007 Share #11 Posted July 31, 2007 The M8 is the nearest thing to Kodachrome there is in the digital world. It was designed that way. Though sometimes I feel that it is like Kodachrome with a Hasselblad. The old man from the Age of Kodachrome I Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Flatline Posted July 31, 2007 Share #12 Posted July 31, 2007 I think you'll be pleased you bought the M8, esp. if you've already worked digitally AND know Leica from film. One comment on frame lines. I was testing the differences between two 35mm lenses I have, and noticed that one is slightly wider than the other - say by about 1 or 2mm. So if there's a difference between two types of lenses, how accurate can the framelines really be - they're just a guide. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted July 31, 2007 Share #13 Posted July 31, 2007 Also the TE at 50mm is wider than a prime 50mm. Plus not each 50 mm prime is the same focal length (I think its markedon the lens). So I guess the frame lines give a good average and are probably on the convervative side, which IMO is ol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberti Posted July 31, 2007 Share #14 Posted July 31, 2007 The M8 is the nearest thing to Kodachrome there is in the digital world. It was designed that way. Though sometimes I feel that it is like Kodachrome with a Hasselblad. The old man from the Age of Kodachrome I Interesting, but then we must also use an incident light meter! This is part of the slide-quality. Kodachrome is best exposed using such a setting, I learned. A handheld (digital) ambient light meter is a must in the backback to get the best 'slides' from the M8 (and would allow ease of use of a SA-21-mm too). Overexposing is punished badly in the M8 but underexposure sort is handled nicely. Will this give us the much wanted shadow blackness maybe? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Marks Posted July 31, 2007 Share #15 Posted July 31, 2007 With a 50 on the M8, I find that I have to have the "top" frameline chop off the top of subject's head to get the proper framing at about 8 feet. Takes a moment to get used to; now I adjust without thinking about it. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pemayeux Posted July 31, 2007 Share #16 Posted July 31, 2007 I found the 50 framelines to be very conservative for what the lens would actually capture (50'lux and Noctilux). The 28 frameline is as accurate as the 35 on my MP and M6. I'm also a Kodachrome shooter, I had to learn how to expose for the M8, like others have said it handles underexposure much better. I really wish they would offer a 50 iso setting. People that have seen my Canon shots and then looked at the Leica shots, unaware of what camera was used, make the same comment - "the (Leica) shot is so clear" or "the (Leica) color is so pleasing". I have since sold the Canon equipment. The color is very close to Kodachrome, just don't expect the M8 to capture the same fine textures and tones that you could with Kodachrome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted July 31, 2007 Share #17 Posted July 31, 2007 I really wish they would offer a 50 iso setting. From what Leica have said it would appear that this would compromise image quality. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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