M8 by James Russell

[canlogic]

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He makes reference to buying a Voigtlander 50mm f1.2 and a 35mm f1.4. Where can I buy these lenses?

 

You can try here. Leica Boutique - Best choice for leica products in Canada

 

Call and speak to Jean I beleive they would have what you are looking for and they are a great dealership.

[Rolo]

I'm pleased he mentioned framing 'cos I thought it was just me.

 

M8 demo unit, 35mm Summicron, carefully framed (?) and in focus.

 

Rolo

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[stunsworth]

Hi Rolo, it looks as if Leica have set the frames to be accurate at the closest focussing distance. Since they can only be accurate at one distance, this means you get more in the frame the further away the subjext is.

[Rolo]

 

So, I shouldn't have cropped the sign then???

 

I framed the complete lettering within the bright lines and, following your understandable logic, should have got part of McDonalds in, not less of the Early Learning sign. ??

 

Rolo

[gravastar]

He makes reference to buying a Voigtlander 50mm f1.2 and a 35mm f1.4. Where can I buy these lenses?

Steve, I think he has accidently swapped the apertures of the 35 and 50mm Noktons. They should be 35mm 1.2 and 50mm 1.5 to be exact.

 

You can get them from Robert White in the UK Voigtlander Rangefinder lenses and Aperture Photographic Aperture Photographic Tel. 020 7242 8681 I find both lenses excellent value and performance on the M8 .

 

 

Bob.

[Jamie Roberts]

It's a nice little article. He needs to buy a magnifier though.

 

I know I've been kneecapped here by Russell's prose, but IMO focussing on the M8 is far better in dodgy light than any of my AF cameras. I don't know what the apt comparison with Pamela Anderson might be. Use your imagination.

 

IMO, for manual focussing among cameras, there is no comparison, especially with the magnifier; I simply can't focus the 50 1.2L or 85 1.2L the same way I can the Nocti wide open (and BTW, my Nocti "in focus" @ f1.0 / 1,2 ratio at receptions is close to 2/3s.

 

That's pretty darn good for focussing on stuff I usually can't see very well ) The 35 or 24 in-focus ratio at f3.2 is damn near perfect, unlike my AF cameras, which still can't focus-lock in low light.

 

The DMR is the only other portable digicam camera that comes close to me. My M6 TTL and M3 are easier to focus without the magnifier, but they have a longer rangefinder base, IIRC.

 

Of course, I shoot no sports photography and very little tethered commercial work like Russell.

 

But for events, the M8 is nearly custom made (though, yes, it has serious quirks I still would like fixed, AWB not being one of them ). But focussing really isn't the problem, though, to me.

[ohnri]

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Jamie Roberts said: IMO focussing on the M8 is far better in dodgy light than any of my AF cameras.

 

 

 

In fact, the new Nikon D3 is very fast and accurate in low light.

 

Best,

 

Bill

[stunsworth]

So, I shouldn't have cropped the sign then???

 

I framed the complete lettering within the bright lines and, following your understandable logic, should have got part of McDonalds in, not less of the Early Learning sign. ??

 

Hi Rolo, you should have been using the inner framelines - they're the ones for 35mm. I suspect you framed using the outer framelines with are for the 24mm lens, hence you got less in the frame than you expected.

[Rolo]

Hi Rolo, you should have been using the inner framelines - they're the ones for 35mm. I suspect you framed using the outer framelines with are for the 24mm lens, hence you got less in the frame than you expected.

 

You mean those tiny ones????

 

Problem solved.

 

There's a lot of space around the 24mm then?

 

Thanks Stunsworth. (10,000 frames and counting)

 

Rolo

[stunsworth]

You mean those tiny ones????

 

Yup they're the ones <grin>

[dalippe]

It's a nice little article. He needs to buy a magnifier though.

 

I know I've been kneecapped here by Russell's prose, but IMO focussing on the M8 is far better in dodgy light than any of my AF cameras. I don't know what the apt comparison with Pamela Anderson might be. Use your imagination.

 

IMO, for manual focussing among cameras, there is no comparison, especially with the magnifier; I simply can't focus the 50 1.2L or 85 1.2L the same way I can the Nocti wide open (and BTW, my Nocti "in focus" @ f1.0 / 1,2 ratio at receptions is close to 2/3s.

 

That's pretty darn good for focussing on stuff I usually can't see very well ) The 35 or 24 in-focus ratio at f3.2 is damn near perfect, unlike my AF cameras, which still can't focus-lock in low light.

 

The DMR is the only other portable digicam camera that comes close to me. My M6 TTL and M3 are easier to focus without the magnifier, but they have a longer rangefinder base, IIRC.

 

Of course, I shoot no sports photography and very little tethered commercial work like Russell.

 

But for events, the M8 is nearly custom made (though, yes, it has serious quirks I still would like fixed, AWB not being one of them ). But focussing really isn't the problem, though, to me.

 

Jamie,

 

Are you able to consistenly take in-focus candids of people going about their business (i.e., moving) with long (75mm, 50mm), wide open (f/1.4) lenses with the M8?

 

This is your profession, so it makes sense that your skills would be much better than mine, but at the moment that seems quite out of reach for me. Unless I can expect my subjects to be in one place for a long time, for low DOF shots I have to either accept a high percentage of misses (what I usually do) or go back to my 5D (what I do when it is a must-have shot). My problem isn't so much that I take lots of OOF shots, it is that I completely fail to take lots of shots because the moment is over before I finish focusing. Given enough time to focus, I agree that I am as or more accurate than my AF. I'm just a lot slower.

 

David

[hankg]

Jamie,

 

Are you able to consistenly take in-focus candids of people going about their business (i.e., moving) with long (75mm, 50mm), wide open (f/1.4) lenses with the M8?

 

This is your profession, so it makes sense that your skills would be much better than mine, but at the moment that seems quite out of reach for me. Unless I can expect my subjects to be in one place for a long time, for low DOF shots I have to either accept a high percentage of misses (what I usually do) or go back to my 5D (what I do when it is a must-have shot). My problem isn't so much that I take lots of OOF shots, it is that I completely fail to take lots of shots because the moment is over before I finish focusing. Given enough time to focus, I agree that I am as or more accurate than my AF. I'm just a lot slower.

 

David

 

50mm and wider on the M8 I find no problem unless the subject is jumping all over the place. I prefer the M8 to AF for getting what I want in focus in difficult lighting within the range of what a rangefinder is meant for which is to say lenses that approximate a normal field of view.

 

Of course everything has to be calibrated properly between finder and lens and the finder must be clean. Also when shooting hand held whether AF or manual focus you are not going to get lab test sharpness and focus but I expect the vast majority of shots to look sharp enough even when enlarged to a 16x20 print.

[mbaker]

That is EXACTLY how I feel. I've never used a range finder and bought the M8 a few weeks ago.

[Guest stnami]

Maybe for some.......just maybe.......after reading James's impressions will lead them to photography not camera holding............

[Guest WPalank]

I think his comments were right on the mark at least with my experience.

 

Imants, I couldn't agree more!

[Guest guy_mancuso]

I know James , really good guy and shooter. Nice comments

[sliversurger]

thanks for the article. it's refreshing to read a review which is less about technical aspects of a camera.

 

it seems as though people who talk about their nikons or canons praise about the technical aspects of the camera; how fast it focuses, how great it is in high ISO, etc..., but they seldom mention a passion, a love affair with the camera. with leicas, people are IN love with the camera, even with it's lesser performance compared to the high end nikons and canons.

[farnz]

Maybe for some.......just maybe.......after reading James's impressions will lead them to photography not camera holding............

Good call, Im!

 

Pete.

[Jamie Roberts]

Jamie,

 

Are you able to consistenly take in-focus candids of people going about their business (i.e., moving) with long (75mm, 50mm), wide open (f/1.4) lenses with the M8?

 

{snipped}

 

David, yes; I actually shoot a lot at receptions at f1 and f1.2 with the Nocti. But both the Nocti and the 75 are harder to focus quickly (going from close in to far away) because the focus throw is so long and you have to twist the lens around and around

 

The 50 lux, on the other hand, is less than a half turn from near focus to infinity. With practice *and the magnifier* I can actually focus that far faster than most AF lenses and be sure about precision.

 

Shallow DOF takes a lot of practice to do well, and something like the Nocti isn't "super sharp" anyway (but it's sharp enough, even at f1).

 

You also need to learn to "pre--see" where the action is and make sure the lens is in the general vicinity. And SHOOT--stop focussing. The focus on a Nocti at f1 at 15 feet, well, it's not as critical or hard as people make it out to be at all. It's only a 50mm...

 

The 75 or 90 on the other hand are a bit more finicky, but really, get the focus close and at f 1.6 to 2 you're going to be fine.

 

(And what Hank said about people jumping around and everything in alignment, too )

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[Shootist]

So, I shouldn't have cropped the sign then???

 

I framed the complete lettering within the bright lines and, following your understandable logic, should have got part of McDonalds in, not less of the Early Learning sign. ??

 

Rolo

Are you sure you didn't mistake the 24mm frame lines for the 35. Just asking.

But what I've noticed is that the frame lines are not centered at some focus distances.

It like the parallax correction is not moving with the focusing cam and then jumps. Although the jump is not really noticable to the naked eye.