Leica M8

[Urban street species]

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It is 2023, soon to be 2024, and I have decided I want to buy my very first Leica, a Leica M8, which is nearly 18 years old now. they are on MPB for about £1200, and I was just about to snap one up, but the risk factor has started to bother me, there are so many issues with an old M8!?!  So would it be a better option for me to purchase a reconditioned Leica M8 from Leica? you would pay more? but would virtually have a new camera on the inside? you get a warranty also, I've no idea how much it will cost but I have my name on a waiting list, for when one comes up.  As anyone here bought a reconditioned Leica camera, from Leica UK, and was everything satisfactory? Thank you

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[jaapv]

There are no specific issues except the need to use IR cut filters. These cameras are remarkably reliable. Of course buying a digital camera a decade and a half old is always a certain risk. Don’t believe that Internet complaints are a reliable source to find issues in general. 

[pcgarner]

29 minutes ago, jaapv said:

There are no specific issues except the need to use IR cut filters. These cameras are remarkably reliable. Of course buying a digital camera a decade and a half old is always a certain risk. Don’t believe that Internet complaints are a reliable source to find issues in general. 

Good advice.

[dpitt]

Buying the M8 from a dealer with warranty only makes sense to me if:

1. You have money back warranty, no questions asked for a reasonable period (like 14 days)
2. You have replacement warranty if it develops any issue that is not of your doing (hard to prove/disprove) and that can not be fixed.
   The dealer will have no replacement parts and no means to fix it in most cases anyway.
3. It provides you with a certain piece of mind during 6 months or a year

Any good functioning M8 (today) may fail tomorrow, or serve you without issues for 10 more years. And the latter is much more likely.

[farnz]

Also, remember that for every post or thread here about an M8 with a problem there will be several thousand that have not suffered that problem so the owner has said nothing and continued to enjoy their fully operational M8.

As Jaap points out, online posts are not an accurate barometer for the reliability of the M8.

Pete.

[jaapv]

Especially as the Internet has had from 2006 till now to compile complaints.

[MikeD70]

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All good points.  I just ordered one (M8) from Leica Miami.  Like new, under 2000 activations, with extra battery.  I have had great luck with three Q's and a D Lux 7, no reason to think this will be any different quality wise.  Now, used lens shopping may be a bit tougher.  Good luck with your new, to you, camera choice.

Edited December 29, 2023 by MikeD70

[Borna]

Best digital M according to me. Slow enough to get the “analog” feeling. Great IQ. Love mine to death. Even sold my M-P 240 due to loving what i got out from the m8 much more.

[rtai]

A few years ago I bought an M8 from a well known and reputable online camera dealer. The camera was listed as bargain condition. That dealer infamously will not display actual photos of product and customers rely on the often conservative ratings. The M8 arrived working fine but looked like a huge dog had been using it as a chew toy. Moreover the shutter actuation was over 400,000! I was impressed but I returned it anyway and got another one. 
 

I am using an M8u now and will not part with it. I use it with a 24mm Elmarit coded with UV/IR filter along side my Q2M for travel when I need color. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by rtai

[markc2]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:30 AM, Borna said:

Best digital M according to me. Slow enough to get the “analog” feeling. Great IQ. Love mine to death. Even sold my M-P 240 due to loving what i got out from the m8 much more.

I recently got to try the M240 how would you compare the shutter sound compared to the m240. I am so close to trying the M8 if only for the B&W and possible infrared fun!

 

Thanks

 

Mark

[Borna]

5 hours ago, markc2 said:

I recently got to try the M240 how would you compare the shutter sound compared to the m240. I am so close to trying the M8 if only for the B&W and possible infrared fun!

 

Thanks

 

Mark

Hi Mark,

It is not comparable. M/M-P is very subtitle and silent in comparison. The M8 is very loud and is not sneaky - however the sound has a great charm. You will find more videos on it on youtube to get an idea, but in real life its much louder. 

Great camera, you will not regret it according to me. Much simpler than the M and the outcome is better according to me. 

[farnz]

The M8 has picked up a reputation for having a 'loud' shutter but it's really only loud to the photographer who has the camera to their eye.  I have used M8's since 2006 and it is very rare for the subject or anyone nearby to 'jerk their head round' or otherwise notice the camera in my experience.  I think it has to do with the slightly 'screechy' steel-on-steel tone in the shutter sound that causes the photog to interpret it as a loud shutter.  It's quite subjective of course and varies from M8 to M8 and person to person of course.

In the role of photographer, I have been fortunate to use many cameras and the M8 is a little more noticeable than my M9-P, M240, and M10 but all of those are a little more noticeable than my (film) MP, M2, M3, IIIf and IIIg so it's all 'a bit relative' and, ultimately, if the subject doesn't notice it does it really matter? 

To add to this, I've attended many forum meetings where members and others have used a variety of M cameras, including M8's, and I never notice the shutter sound whether from M8's or other M cameras.

This is just my view but I hope it helps in some way.  (I might add that the M8 is comparatively silent compared to my medium format Pentax 67, which frightens wildlife in other countries and sounds a bit like dropping a steel bucket full of ball-bearings onto the road. 😄)

Pete.

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

  - I'd agree on the Pentax 67 sound.  It's the second reason I sold mine after a year.  The first was its weight

[jplaurel]

I was early on the waiting list for the M8 in 2006 and got one very early on. Mine is still going strong after all these years. I used it only infrequently after the M9 arrived, but lately I've been taking it out a bit more. Still a lovely thing, especially at base ISO. I limit mine to ISO 640 because after that, it can produce too much noise. That wouldn't be a problem, except that the noise is usually in a grid or line patterns above 640. If you look at the M8 (and M9) as "digital film", you'll realize that even the old M8 still offers a lot more flexibility than film every did. In the film days, I shot mostly Velvia 100, which I'd occasionally push to 200. That served me well all over the world for decades. The M8, with a solid usable ISO range of 160-640 is plenty to make almost any photograph.

On 12/16/2023 at 5:46 AM, Urban street species said:

It is 2023, soon to be 2024, and I have decided I want to buy my very first Leica, a Leica M8, which is nearly 18 years old now. they are on MPB for about £1200, and I was just about to snap one up, but the risk factor has started to bother me, there are so many issues with an old M8!?!  So would it be a better option for me to purchase a reconditioned Leica M8 from Leica? you would pay more? but would virtually have a new camera on the inside? you get a warranty also, I've no idea how much it will cost but I have my name on a waiting list, for when one comes up.  As anyone here bought a reconditioned Leica camera, from Leica UK, and was everything satisfactory? Thank you

 

[chris_livsey]

My M8 also dates from early on, 2007 I think rather than 6 but I may be mistaken, I should check sometime, and again it performs as it did. It was updated with all the options to 8.2 and re-visited the mother ship again when the "arrows" in the viewfinder failed, some other parts were changed by Leica unprompted as I believe higher spec or more reliable components came later in production. I to had an M9, a post corrosion updated one, but never saw a "return" on the "investment" so that went, not owning from new was probably a factor, there is a certain bonding with a fully shared life. Having been "trained" on Kodachrome II ( Velvia 100 just a dream then) I feel no restriction and still "throw away" pixels for most of my output use, are we a minority, probably, do I care, certainly not, long live the M8.

[nfa]

In my experience old digital cameras do not have an expiry date. Actually I never had an electronic failure across multiple brands. Remember that cars have used electonics for many decades and you can still drive nice cars from the 70's and 80's, not even mentionning a 2006 car.

But when older digital cameras break indeed they cannot be repaired, it is just a matter of spare parts not being available. I do not think a Leica refurbished M8 would be different, if it has an electronic failure most likely they will not fix it, maybe they will replace it or reimburse you.

I would not think too much about this issue, the M8 is a fantastic camera, you can enjoy it for many years.

[cobbu2]

And its inherent handheld infrared capability, considered by many to be a flaw, is unsurpassed. A sunny day, ISO 640, a R72 IR filter, 1/60 sec. at f/2.8 and you're good to go. I've had successful IR shots at 1/125 and ISO 320 depending on the conditions.

But great IR is only one of the reasons my M8 soldiers on, the rest have already been aptly stated above.