marknorton Posted September 26, 2006 Share #1 Posted September 26, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well, I'm here, the Leica M stand is mobbed, 6 people working full time answering people's questions. Here's a few pictures, apologies if the quality is not up to M8 standrds! Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/6024-greetings-from-photokina/?do=findComment&comment=58519'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 26, 2006 Posted September 26, 2006 Hi marknorton, Take a look here Greetings from Photokina. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wattsy Posted September 26, 2006 Share #2 Posted September 26, 2006 Thanks for those. The new finder gizmo looks worse everytime I see a different picture of it. Did they let you have a play with the M8? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share #3 Posted September 26, 2006 The M8 is everything I expected it to be, and more, a true Leica. Some random thoughts. - Looks great in black or silver, silver is duller compared to their other cameras. - Viewfinder is excellent, 24mm frame at the edge of my (with glasses) vision. - Lovely action to the preview lever, more "springy" than an M6 - Camera is quite grippy without the add-on grip but it does make the camera easy to hold. - That flaming label is on the bottom of the camera AND the grip! - Detent on the shutter speed dial is just right, much better than the R-D1. - Blue "eye" is used for flash metering and viewfinder display light level. - Viewfinder display shows dashes while writing to the card. - Everyone is still saying "end of November". - Leica are clearly very pleased with their new baby. - Lens code for the Elmarit 28mm is 35, for the new TE, 47. - Front element of new T-E is quite bulbous, metal lens hood, lens hood cap as for other wide angles. - Nice click action to the 16-18-21 ring - Focussing stops at 0.7m as first click, you can then go beyond to 0.5m with an additional grey distance scale. - T-E is not too large, good for the angle of view on offer. - Camera mechanicals are done in Portugal, electronics and sensor is installed in Solms followed by full alignment and Q/A. - Spoke to my contact in service (from all the lens codings) who told me his people are particpating in building the M8 to gain experience with the camera. - Rabbit warren of meeting "alchoves" with earnest discussions from what looked like dealers and distributors. - Clearly an all hands on deck operation with anyone with customer facing/language skills here. - The new finder displays the spirit level in the bottom of the viewfinder image. The dot on the top is simply to illuminate it. - The finder may well win the prize for the ugliest product here. - Prototype finders only, set to 21mm. More later... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share #4 Posted September 26, 2006 Yes, able to play with it, but a hint of nervousness when I whipped off the bottom... and the lens.. LOL. Camera feels very comfortable to hold and use and it exudes quality... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted September 26, 2006 Share #5 Posted September 26, 2006 That auxilary viewfinder is absolutely fantastic. Looks like it came out of a Christmas cracker! LOL! Do you think it's big enough? Kind of makes the supposed "stealth-ability" of an M a bit moot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billh Posted September 26, 2006 Share #6 Posted September 26, 2006 I'll bet that finder soon finds its way into a photography museum. Mark, would you please compare the shutter sound of a film M with the M8? I am going to shoot some photos of a recording session today if the shutter noise is not intrusive (a HUGE if). Is Leica showing film cameras, or is their exhibit focused primarily on digital? Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted September 26, 2006 Share #7 Posted September 26, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Bill There's a sound file on dpreview (I think), which compares an M7 with an M8 shutter. There's a link from a post on here somewhere, from about 10 days ago. It sounded pretty quiet to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted September 26, 2006 Share #8 Posted September 26, 2006 Ahh, a very clever solution to the problem of using finders and flash at the same time, Leica have built in a flash unit to the new finder haven't they - that's also why its a tad on the bulky side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smep Posted September 26, 2006 Share #9 Posted September 26, 2006 Thanks for the impressions, Mark. The M8 is definitly the Highlight of this years photokina. What a beautiful camera! The viewfinder looks terrible so I think I will call the combination "the beauty and the beast". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cboudier Posted September 26, 2006 Share #10 Posted September 26, 2006 Thanks a lot Mark, Very interesting live information ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted September 26, 2006 Share #11 Posted September 26, 2006 Thanks Mark ask about the R10 also Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted September 26, 2006 Share #12 Posted September 26, 2006 Just don't mention Firmware 1.3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share #13 Posted September 26, 2006 Compared the M8 and the M7 next to each other, different of course but the M8 is satisfyingly low pitch (compared to the R-D1) and to my ears sounds fine. Keep in mind though that it's quite noisy so tough to really know. Asked about image quality, and the guy said "I think people are going to be surprised at how good it is". He would say that of course, but encouraging nonetheless. Compared to the M stand, there's much less interest on the R stand though good interest in the D. A couple of people here with L1's and I think it looks better in black. Screen displays very reminiscent of the Digilux 3. D-Lux 3 is very cute, especially in black. Now had a good play with the menu system and I actually like it, slightly long-winded maybe but very usable. I was worried that the magnify+/- graphic on the thumb wheel will wear off but looking at it again, it looks like it's some sort of moulded insert in grey plastic. Seems really strange to be using an M and have the images pop up on the screen - by the time you take your eye off the finder, the image is there. No shutter lag than I can detect under these admittedly uncontrolled conditions. So, the report card is entirely positive with the exception of the finder which looks worse in the "metal" than it does in the publicity shots we have seen. Still, as we've been saying, you can always use the existing finder which is a bit of a beauty by comparison. This place is vast. There are 11 halls and I've "done" 3 after 5 hours. Does look like the R-D1 is not long for this world. A total of 20 of their (Epson) P5000 storage units, printers and scanners galore, and a solitary R-D1 sitting forlornly on a desk. Pity. Huge Hasselblad stand with live models to take shots of (not shorts off as as I first typed it!). Their digital backs look very impressive but so they should at the price. The monster Zeiss telephoto lens is here too, suspended from the ceiling like some sort of blimp, though it may be a dummy because the cables don't look like they are supporting the 250kg this monster weighs. Back in M-land, the 15mm Distagon is much bigger and unwieldy compared to the Tri-Elmar. One issue I did have with the M8 is that when you mount a 90mm f2 lens, the thickness of the barrel plus the fully-in position of the frame pre-view lever makes it difficult to get hold of the lever to pull it outwards. The lever is chrome or black to match the body, seem to recall that chrome body pictures I've seen had it in black but I may be wrong. One of the people confirmed to me that with the normal Tri-Elmar, they do sense the position of the frame selection lever to identify which of the three focal lengths is being used - 28/35/50. On the new Tri-Elmar, the frames are not adjusted so that the camera cannot tell the focal length. That suggests this design is such that minimal vignetting correction is required or else it does not change with focal length. There is said to be a dedicated Metz flashgun coming out for the M8 at some point. More later... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share #14 Posted September 26, 2006 The Zeiss Blimp and M lenses... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/6024-greetings-from-photokina/?do=findComment&comment=58582'>More sharing options...
jlm Posted September 26, 2006 Share #15 Posted September 26, 2006 mark: did you try a 21mm lens to check the finder view? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_l Posted September 26, 2006 Share #16 Posted September 26, 2006 Mark, specifically, at 21, how much of the finder did the frame occupy? does it seem that the longer focal lengths will be just too small to see in that finder? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted September 26, 2006 Share #17 Posted September 26, 2006 Great reporting, Mark! And nice images to boot! Keep it coming! P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 26, 2006 Share #18 Posted September 26, 2006 Hi Mark, This is fun to read, thanks for the reports. I'm very happy to hear that the Leica booths are swamped. As you know, many of your comments reflect my own feelings about the camera. I think that as more and more people get a chance to try the M8, some of the misinformation that has been put out about this new Leica (particularly in one review) will be dispelled. In fact, much of it will be not only dispelled but discredited. I'm smiling. Soon, we'll be able to dispense with the B.S. about file quality that has some worried. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted September 26, 2006 Share #19 Posted September 26, 2006 I am hopefully going to get a chance finally to see one on Oct 6 when it comes to Phoenix , really looking forward to it , than i need to make a decsion. Better leave my credit cards home. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertwang Posted September 26, 2006 Share #20 Posted September 26, 2006 How is the weather out there in Koln? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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