ksphotog Posted December 20, 2008 Share #1 Posted December 20, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi all, Working freelancer here mainly I do PJ stuff but occassionaly some corp type of work also. Currently I have a nice assortment of Olympus gear and some of their high end f2 zooms for my E3 DSLR's. I have never owned a rangefinder but I find myself going to my local camera store and holding the M8 constantly. Was thinking an M8 that cool little CV Nokton 35mm 1.2 and a the Leica 90 would make a great combo that would cover most of my bases for shooting. I realize that my shooting style would change greatly..coming from zooms and nice things like a wireless flash TTL system but still..... Any photojournalists out there using the M8 on a daily basis that could speak to their experiences with the camera? Thanks in advance for the responses. Happy Shooting. Chuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 20, 2008 Posted December 20, 2008 Hi ksphotog, Take a look here Photojournalist shooting the M8 out there. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Steve Ash Posted December 20, 2008 Share #2 Posted December 20, 2008 There was an article in LFI 01/2008 about Rainer Windhorst. I do not know whether he participate in this forum. Regards Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimF Posted December 20, 2008 Share #3 Posted December 20, 2008 I believe Ian Berry uses an M8 now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhabedi Posted December 20, 2008 Share #4 Posted December 20, 2008 Any photojournalists out there using the M8 on a daily basis that could speak to their experiences with the camera? You were probably already aware of these articles, but I'll list them here just in case: Bruno Stevens Thomas Hoepker Michael Kamber Note that lots of the stuff that's (correctly) criticized there has since been addressed, either with firmware updates or with the release of the M8.2. I also included Michael Kamber's article although I find some of the stuff he's writing really questionable. For example, he claims that it takes the M8 three seconds to start up. That's certainly simply wrong, and if he has the same lax attitude towards truth in the rest of his article, well... René Burri of Magnum fame also uses an M8, but I don't think there's anything online about his experiences. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phc Posted December 20, 2008 Share #5 Posted December 20, 2008 John Vink of Magnum also uses an M8 on a daily basis. He often talks about it on Lightstalkers. Cheers, Paul. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksphotog Posted December 20, 2008 Author Share #6 Posted December 20, 2008 Thanks to all for your suggestions and help with my M8 questions. Much appreciated. Have a great holiday season. Chuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noah_addis Posted December 20, 2008 Share #7 Posted December 20, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm a photojournalist at a large newspaper, and I use an M8. I got my first M8 in May and since then I've used it for daily assignments as well as several long-term projects I'm working on. The camera has performed flawlessly and I love shooting with it. Another shooter at my paper who used to shoot with Leica film gear just ordered an M8 too after trying mine out. I have a full set of Canon gear from my paper, but on many assignments I use only the M8. I'm leaving the paper at the end of the month to freelance, so since I have to turn in my Canon gear I ordered a second M8. I'll add to that either a third M8 or some Nikon gear, which would also allow me access to longer glass. But as I primarily do documentary work I don't generally use many long lenses. If you're the kind of photographer who likes zooms and wireless flash, etc., you will have a learning curve or you might feel limited. Most of the people I know who shoot rangefinders prefer available light and fast primes. You should ask the dealer if the test drive program is still going on. That way you could try the camera out for a weekend to see if you like it. The lenses you mentioned, 35mm and 90mm, seem a bit long as a two-lens setup for PJ work with the 1.3 crop factor. You might consider a 28/50 combo or even 24/50. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted December 21, 2008 Share #8 Posted December 21, 2008 I'm a photojournalist at a large newspaper, and I use an M8. I got my first M8 in May and since then I've used it for daily assignments as well as several long-term projects I'm working on. The camera has performed flawlessly and I love shooting with it. Hi Noah, I should have looked at your work a long time ago but I wanted to tell you that I just did now and I like it very much. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksphotog Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share #9 Posted December 21, 2008 Thanks so much for the information on the M8. I freelance for a large news service and a larger market paper...some smallish ones and magazine work. I can live without the zoom...I used to shoot Pentax with nothing but primes and find that I really like prime shooting..it seems to make me think a bit more before I click the shutter. Might miss the wireless TTL flash but not opposed to trying to live without it. I will check out my local Kansas City dealer and see if they still have the test drive going on. They have the "test drive" camera for sale so they might let me drive for the weekend. Thanks again for your input. Kind Regards, Chuck Chuck France | Photographer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noah_addis Posted December 21, 2008 Share #10 Posted December 21, 2008 Chuck--If you like prime shooting you could very well become addicted to the M8. It's a great experience to shoot with and does make you put more thought into each photograph. But at the same time it's still fast and very responsive. I work for a major paper that like most papers is having tough financial times. So I'm taking a buyout and my last day there is Dec 31st. Sean--Thanks. There are exactly zero M8 pictures on my website now, but look for an entirely new website with new work early in the new year. On my current site, my Cuba work and some singles were with film M cameras. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksphotog Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share #11 Posted December 21, 2008 Noah, Yes the newspaper industry is just in shambles right now. I have many colleagues that have lost their jobs or on the "bubble" right now. Right now, I'm doing more corp. work..ad and marketing stuff...no complaining since work is work but I just hope news breaks out sometime soon. Good luck with the early buyout and future projects. Happy Shooting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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