Sean Reid's review of a pre-production upgraded M8

[scott kirkpatrick]

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.... in house could/would/should Leica replace some electronics they are are not speaking about at this point? .

 

Of course, given the complete disassembly that a shutter replacement will require, anything else can change. I can think of only two ways to find out if this is occurring.

 

1) Mark Norton sends his #2 body in the the upgrade and follows up with a disassembly in which he compares the electronics, chip by chip with the pictures of his still healthy but documented #3 body. At this time he carefully measures the shutter opening to see how much imaging chip will fit in there. That's optimal.

 

2) If and when Leica releases new firmware to run on all Leica M8's we can open that file in Notepad (or any other dumb line editor) and read the first 100 or so lines of XML code, which checks for the installed components. If there is new hardware offering any new function that the software can influence, you'll see it there.

 

scott

[blakley]

I love the images I get from Canon 85 f1.2 on the 5D or 1Ds2 but I hate the weight. I love images I get from the 75 lux on the M8 - and I can carry it all day without noticing it.

 

The 1DsmkIII images were very impressive; it's a great camera and the 85/1.2 is clearly an outstanding lens.

 

The thing's a monster, though - I was grateful for the relatively small size of the M8 after three hours of shooting. And the DSLR control interfaces still seem way too complicated to me; shooting the M8 is soooo similar to shooting an M3 that it makes me all warm & comfy. Plus when something goes wrong I can figure out what the problem is...

 

I love my 75/2 Cron ASPH (don't have the Lux), but it unfortunately seems to be my ONLY lens with a focus adjustment issue. It front-focuses by about half a centimeter (maybe a little more) on the M8. This bugs me, so I might send it in to get it coded & calibrated. Its performance on film convinced me that it's one of Leica's best, though - and when I pay attention and correct focus a little it produces astonishingly good results on the M8 too.

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[reddawn]

I'd add further to the discussions of the upgrades but I don't know that I have much more to say about them. Leica stuff has always been expensive. For about the price of a Summarit, one can have these various upgrades and renew the cameras warranty. Some will find that valuable and some won't.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Hi sean, just want to say thank you for your wonderful article - if you say it's quieter, than it is! Now, we just have to make up our own minds about doing it....

 

just a rant about the price, since u brought it up...

 

It's true that Leica stuff has always been expensive. But now it is even more so. For exactly the same products....

 

It's unfortunate that the entry price for a digital rangefinder experience is so high. I know Leica has always been expensive, but it's a sad fact that that the price has increased to such insane levels as it is now. I paid far less for my 28 summicron asph and 35 cron asph in 2002 compared to the prices that they are selling now, and even if I send both lenses off for coding, the overall cost would still be far lower than the current selling price.

 

I am 33 this year and considered myself blessed to be within the means to own and use Leica gear, even more lucky to actually be able to use them (alongside Japanese camers ) to make a living, but I do know a number of up and coming younger shooters (it sucks to be one of the oldest in one's click of friends) who are fine photographers in their own right, but who would never consider Leica as a tool.

 

However, for a young photographer early in his / her career, there's no way Leica can be a considered choice as a tool, even if one loves the immediacy of a Leica M and the intimate viewing system it employs. For any aspiring photojournalist or documentary photographer, the barrier to entry is simply too high - ironic, considering the fact that the Leica M is exactly the kind of tool that would befit these photographic genres.

 

The days of buying a beat up second hand Leica M, with a few older Leica lenses to use alongside an EOS Canon / Nikon SLR system are over, for the younger generation at least. Images of HCB, Elliot Erwitt and other Magnum illuminaries toting their Leica Ms travelling the world taking great pictures - these are no longer what they aspire to, given economic realities and Leica pricing.

 

Photojournalism and documentary photography have, of course, NOT suffered in anyway from the loss of popularity of the Leica M as a tool. If Leica is to preserve any heritage, it is to recapture the imagination of these photographers as the tool of choice, not preserving the "exclusivity" through price and closed coded systems.

 

imho, of course

[sean_reid]

Hi David,

 

Thanks. As you probably know, I agree with the idea of the Leica M system being more accessible. I think some people secretly, or not so secretly <G> enjoy the *exclusivity*, that comes with owning expensive Leica equipment. But there are also plenty of us who love the cameras and lenses for what they can do. The Summarits are a good move, in this respect, and one of the reasons I test all kinds of RF lenses is so that people can make their own call on what the cost to performance ratio is for the various models. And, as you probably recall as well, I tried hard to convince Leica to open up the system with a lens selection menu.

 

A couple folks earlier in this thread pointed out that the Leica system is too expensive for many working pros and that's certainly true, too, depending on what one is shooting and for whom.

 

Of course, a good used R-D1 at $1500 is an interesting option too.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean