LEICA ANNOUNCEMENT: New Leica Products - LEICA M8 / M System

[albertwang]

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functional than that of the Canon's (except for that last Set press).

 

 

Nice oxymoron... functional, Cannon...

[davephoto]

just logged on and i'm more than slightly overwhelmed with all these announcements..... *drool* leica's gone and done me proud.

[rick_dykstra]

Why is there no 100 speed sensitivity? My brain is calibrated to 100. I'll need to install the new Leica firmware for my head if I get this camera.

 

Looks like a winner.

 

Bring on the R10.

[mhoutman]

I want to see a picture of the M8 bottom plate.

 

btw. nice to see that the M8 has the classic MP lever.

 

TIA

 

Michiel

[david_murray]

How do I read Sean Reid's review?

 

Thanks,

 

David.

Murray Photography

[PeterJWhite]

Sorry if I missed this, but, if you don't have the new coded lenses, and don't get your old lenses coded, will there be a way to make the software corrections to the images after the fact? Does the included software have, for example, a way to apply the proper correction to an image made with a 21mm Elmarit, or some other lens?

[Bob Ross]

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I had an M8 to try for about 10 days end of last month.

 

All lenses I have worked fine, except for Hologon and 21/3.4. That includes 12, 15, 21 CV, 21 ASPH, Tri-E, 35/1.4 ASPH, 35/2, 50/3.5 old (1931) 50/2.8 new, 50/1.4 ASPH, 50/1, 75/1.4, 90AA, 90 TE, 135 TE and some oddball stuff like various Photars on an Aristophot with Viso III and the following:

 

http://www.archiphoto.com/Various/Incognito.jpg

 

There was no vignetting noticeable beyond what you would see on film (no rigorous test, though) with any lens. All focussed easily, including the longer lenses. I particularly enjoyed the 75/1.4 and used it quite a bit wide open. I showed again what an amazing lens it is!

 

Achievable image quality was extremely high and noticably better with the wider lenses than I have gotten with my Canon 5D and Canon lenses.

 

Very nice and straightforward to use. A true M.

 

Henning

Thanks Henning. Yours are the first comments that I have read about vignetting or what happens with non-Leica lenses.

Bob

[IcemanYQQ]

How do I read Sean Reid's review?

 

Thanks,

 

David.

Murray Photography

 

 

You have to go to http://www.reidreviews.com It's a paid subscription, but his review is so much more in depth than dpreview's and it's worth every penny for the M8 review alone, let alone all the other gems he has available in the subscription area.

 

Hat's off to Sean for an excellent review.

[paradox]

Mr. Stefan Daniel,

 

Please send my complimentary copy of M8 to my home address, and not to my office address.

 

Thank you.

[johnkuo]

I believe the coding is just for vignet correction for in-camera jpgs, and lens info in EXIF. If you shoot raw, there's no effect in image quality.

[wparsonsgisnet]

Many thanks to Sean for still another brilliant review.-- how boring

 

If you don't subscribe to Sean's site, you should. Don't let him hear this but it's worth more than the subscription price.

 

I just bot a 24mm f2.8 asph -- strictly based on the images I saw in his review of the lens. It didn't hurt that Puts thinks the thing walks on water: icing on the cake.

 

I have read all the stuff that's out there and wonder why the DR lens is on the no-hit list. This is a disappointment to me, as is the lack of ISO display on the camera top. As I mentioned in a previous post, this has come to bug me more and more with the D2. I hope the simple setting goes part way to alleviating this shortcoming. But, who are we kidding -- gimme the camera!

 

I'm first in line at my dealer's and I just ordered the accesory grip that Sean describes in his review. I would say I can't wait to see the pictures, but I really know how gorgeous they are going to be. We've seen a preview on the DMR, after all.

 

Question(s): Am I inferring correctly, Sean, that the cameras will be shipped with the second version of the software? You say you can't post any pix taken with the first version. I hope that means we-the-faithful will get the newer version (it seems to make sense, but it's safer to be stupid). And, I wonder what the software changes will be. Do you think there will be any change to the RAW capture settings?

 

Sean, thanks again both for maintining your silence so Leica would give you a camera to test and thus we could all get the first-class review on your site, and for providing this resource for us all. I'm glad they're only bringing out one M product. I've been saving forever and will just make it.

 

Regards to all,

[earleygallery]

Seems that a lot of people on this forum were getting outright nasty regarding the photos I published 2 weeks ago and claiming they were so fake.

 

Are these fake as well ?

 

Nasty? I hope you're not talking about me! I simply said that IMO the photo's looked fake, my doubts being raised by the low rent 'door' for the USB connection and the generic graphics used (i.e. the symbol for self timer). I stand by those comments.

 

But overall, the M8 is a marvellous acheivement and I'd buy one tomorrow if I could.

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Rick

 

I just had a long talk with my dealer 160 is just a number just like 100 is. The optimum starting point for the M8 is 160 just like 100 is for the DMR or 1dsMKII. You just happen to gain some speed in the process and all he can say about image is you won't be disappointed . they can't talk of this until after photokinia. Firmware is still being tweeked , checked and optimized for final production status. Which is very normal . Firmware is always dead last before they ship.

 

Oaky also folks may have missed something in all of this today. We now have TTL with the SF 24 and also the Metz 54 with the 3502 module , and on that model it will zoom the flash to the lens mounted. there is a catch you need a coded lens. Which was also talked about November 1 and they will be ready for that service to be peformed on existing lenses with a turn of 2 days. BTW you get a new rear mount and a CLA in the process. Also most dealers since July 1 have the new coded lenses in stock. In regards to ISO expect better than maybe you think, that is all that is said there and images are also up to leica standards. Take that anyway you want. i know what to think of it.

 

Also the grip and plate are one piece when you order the grip. Also not weathe rsealed but a very very nice fit so don't expect sand and dust in there. Also 4gb cards and the Raw files are smaller than the DMR. Capture One software free with the M8 profile already there , no need to wait on that. Digital capture for the M8 but not for the DMR they are relatively the same DNG file but have a slightly different wrapper. i wish the DMR was supported on this software, maybe they can. That is all I can think of at the moment.

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Reason there are no images from the camera until after Photokinia is the firmware is simply in not shipping mode . they are still making tweeks to it and all images taken by reviewers are still under a NDA. leica wants to make sure everything is absolutely just right, frankly i think this is the best approach 100 percent, we will just wait it out.

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Jorge the image did and still do look like illustrations from what was posted. It is very confusing to folks to see these images posted and say they are for real. there has been a huge blanket on this project and release on this camera , so what do you expect . no one will bow to your images and say you are right when they are the supposedly only prove. sorry ain't gonna happen and you know it. So get over it. We have the right to question them and how they were presented Period. And lastly they are images under a NDA that are not supposed to surface.

[peterv]

Looks like a great camera!

 

I do not own any Leica glass, but I will pre-order the M8 tomorrow.

 

(uptill now I used Contax G2's)

 

Congratulations to Leica!

 

Knd Rgrds,

 

Peter

[marknorton]

To see the key settings you have to select the specifics in the menu. For ISO, that means at least two presses of the Set button; a Set, scroll & Set for the others. Not as quick as the better DSLR's. On the other hand, the saved parameters are more inclusive, and thus more useful to me than on DSLR's.

 

So that means to review each of the key settings, you have to select each in turn? That's awful. I had expected that you would be able to press SET and see each of the key settings with their currently selected values without having to select each menu item (setting) in turn.

 

Not good.

 

Cannot believe the real-world photographers who participated in this let it go through. Do we know who did the firmware? Is it Leica internal or sub-contracted out? Whichever it is, they need some help...

[Guest guy_mancuso]

It was vended out. Simply put everything was made in Germany except the sensor.

[mitchell]

Just curious, but how does a M8 DNG file with the same size sensor and megapixel take up 1/2 the space of a DMR file, presumably without losing any resolution?

 

I'll be happy with the space saving.

 

Best,

 

Mitchell

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[PeterJWhite]

I believe the coding is just for vignet correction for in-camera jpgs, and lens info in EXIF. If you shoot raw, there's no effect in image quality.

 

Right. But does anyone know if the software will provide a direct way to make corrections for specific lenses, the same corrections that would be made in the camera with a coded lens?

 

In other words, if I get my 21mm f:2.8 Elmarit coded, the camera will correct for vignetting based on some formula if I shoot a jpeg. Well, in fact, I won't be shooting many jpegs with the M8. Will the RAW conversion software have a setting for the 21mm f:2.8 Elmarit, and the other lenses that the in-camera JPG engine compensates for, to give the same correction for raw conversion? Presumably, the EXIF data for a raw file made with a coded lens will fascilitate vignetting correction during raw conversion? Or perhaps I'm asking for too much. ;-)