M8.2 or next?

[leica-steph]

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Hello,

 

As I said few days ago, I'll buy a M8.2. I'm not a professional by a photography lover.

At the begining, I hesited between a reflex (D700 for example) and a Leica M8.

Reading a lot of magazin and forum, meeting reselers, I choice was a M8. Why?

- I want a very beautifull object!

- I want a reliable camera (I've got a R7 since 8 years, I use it everytime, It likes new!,)

- My goal is the reportage, travel, family....

- I love leica lenses.. and I love leica philosophy

 

My questions are:

 

- Must I wait the new version of M (M8.3) or M9???

- Is the electronic part reliable?

 

Thanks a lot,

 

Steph,

[jtorrents]

I would not wait.

M8 or M8.2 are here right now. I mean, you can buy it and begin to take photos. Or you can wait for future M9, and loosing chances to take photos.

If you, as all here, love Leica...you will love the M8.

As an electronic device, the M8 can fail. You can read several post here...But there a lot of happy M8 users. Mine is perfect and is a joy to use...

regards,

 

Joaquin

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[jaapv]

Hello,

 

As I said few days ago, I'll buy a M8.2. I'm not a professional by a photography lover.

At the begining, I hesited between a reflex (D700 for example) and a Leica M8.

Reading a lot of magazin and forum, meeting reselers, I choice was a M8. Why?

- I want a very beautifull object!

- I want a reliable camera (I've got a R7 since 8 years, I use it everytime, It likes new!,)

- My goal is the reportage, travel, family....

- I love leica lenses.. and I love leica philosophy

 

My questions are:

 

- Must I wait the new version of M (M8.3) or M9???

- Is the electronic part reliable?

 

Thanks a lot,

 

Steph,

 

The teething troubles seem to be long past - very few failures are reported here nowadays. The M9? Who knows? Next year? 2012? Never? I'm not even sure I will like it better than my current M8.

Enjoy now!

[andit]

Hi Steph,

 

Welcome to the forum, and hopefully one of these days, the wonderful world of the M8. In much the same way as you, I'm not a photographer who is reliant on income derived from photography for a living (I work in mining...).

 

When the M8 was released, I was also in two minds if I should buy one or not. In fact, I had placed an order for a Digilux 3 (that is the 4/3rds SLR) with Olympus lenses. After reading a couple of posts in this forum, and posting a lot of questions, I took the plunge and changed my order to an M8.

 

I have not looked back since. For the past 2 years I have absolutely enjoyed using my M8 and it has given me some excellent results. If you wait for an M8.3 or M9, you will never buy one, since there is always something wrong or something that could be better.

 

If I were you, I would rather save some money and buy the original M8 - having a slower shutter speed, scratch proof LCD screen and "S" Stupid mode is not worth the extra expense. Rather use the savings towards Leica lenses.

 

It is far better to use this wonderful camera today with it's limitations, than to never use one because a better one is around the corner. You will not regret using the M8.

 

Andreas

[barjohn]

Your statement seems to have a conflicting set of priorities. You want a thing of beauty to hold and then you add reliable to the list. It's like asking a Lambroghini owner whether you should buy one. Most Italian cars are things of beauty but I am not sure I would use the term reliable in the same sentence (no offense meant to Lambro owners).

 

In any case a camera that far more than one or two owners have had to send back for work or replacement (I went through three before I got a good one) and one which, if you follow this forum you will find someone almost every day having a major problem with, is not what I would call reliable. The lenses, on the other hand are works of art and they charge for them like they are works of art. Ask yourself this question: If I just paid $3K, $4K, $5K or $6K for my camera and I have to send it off to be repaired where it may be gone for a month or more will I be pissed? If the answer is no, I'll just buy another one as a back up then this is your baby (you also have a lot of money). If the answer is yes then either wait for something more reliable or buy something more reliable. You can get a Japanese camera, very reliable but not always so beautiful for a lot less money and with a camera like the G1 or one of the others plus lens adapters still use Leica glass.

 

Enjoy your decision either way. :D

[jaapv]

John, come on,

"...this forum ....almost every day having a major problem"

That may have had some justification two years ago,but nowadays this is just blatant nonsense.

[barjohn]

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Jappv,

 

Really, how about these posts all within the last few days?

 

What is my M8 problem? HW or Firmware

M8 battery issues, please help!

banding?

Hlep! message; "SD card locked!" error message? ( 1 2 3)

M8, 8 Gig SDHC card and 999 exposures?

Firmware 2.002

Green line from light source

Images just vanishing on my new M8.2 and Lexar 8gb 133x card

Back from Solms and M8 in trouble

 

And these are just from 12/30/2008 to present.

[jaapv]

So lumping together problems with software, postprocessing, exposure, counterfeit or defect SD cards, dirty SD slots, not knowing a firmware change resets counters, etc have to do with the reliability of a camera?

The only real problem in your list is the green band and that has been known for years, and is of no impact on the reliability of the camera anyway.

[barjohn]

You show me posts on any other camera forum that has these problems and I will agree that it is all just bad SD cards. I have everything from the high end very fast SD cards to el super cheapo ones that I have used on my other cameras without a single problem or failure.

[Photon42]

Salut Steph,

 

I'd say the M8 in either configuration is no problem to use. The only remaining issue today is the IR sensitivity, and this is dealt with the appropriate filters. I'm using the M8 for over a year now. My Nikon D200 collects dust and is mostly used to photograph the Leica

 

However, the M8 is not really just like a Nikon Dwhatever. Being a rangefinder and kind of an archaic tool nowadays, it excels in it's niche, but it's not so good for sports, any kind of longer tele works and macro. This you probably know already.

 

I almost take the M8 everywhere with me. Something I've never done with the D200.

 

After all, you're used to the Leica stuff for quite some while now, and you claim you (still ) like Leica philosophy. So I'm sure the M8 is for you.

 

I'd take the plunge now. If money is a concern, try getting the M8 from UK, as the exchange rate is in favor of the Swiss Franc presently.

 

Je suis sur tu va prendre la décision juste ... Tu peux me contacter aussi par PM, si tu veux.

 

Cordialement

 

Ivo

[jaapv]

You show me posts on any other camera forum that has these problems and I will agree that it is all just bad SD cards. I have everything from the high end very fast SD cards to el super cheapo ones that I have used on my other cameras without a single problem or failure.

Great. And when somebody makes a similar statement about his M8 you are amongst the first to decry him as an anomaly, a fool and an apologist. All things I would never call you....

 

Btw, a google for "SD card problem" yields 1.790.000 hits.

[leica-steph]

Thank you everybody for your very good councils.

 

I think.... I can't wait no more...

 

thanks and have a good week-end!

[Daniel Leung]

Thank you everybody for your very good councils.

 

I think.... I can't wait no more...

 

thanks and have a good week-end!

 

I bought the M8 in July and trade in for the M8.2 in Oct ( I know I am crazy ) and I love this camera and its lenses. I enjoy it so very much and received a lot of compliments of the pictures quality that I took with it. you won't regret buying it

 

Daniel

[Jamie Roberts]

You show me posts on any other camera forum that has these problems and I will agree that it is all just bad SD cards. {Snipped}.

 

It's called dpreview.com. But don't believe me:

 

5d2:

Survey: Canon 5D2 Problems - FM Forums

 

Canon lens general focus issues (not the AF):

Focus problems info - includes 5D2 and all Canon cameras: Canon EOS-1D / 1Ds / 5D Forum: Digital Photography Review

 

D40 colour:

D40 color problem: Nikon D90 - D40 Forum: Digital Photography Review

 

...and I haven't even mentioned the 5d2 black dot nonsense (now fixed) or the Canon auto-focus follies on their pro platforms.

 

These are all recent issues with Japanese cameras, and theres much, much more. Any simple google search would show you as much, John.

 

So you need to lay off the M8 "issues." The M8 as a system is--aside from the rare green stripe issue--completely reliable and as a pro I've put tens of thousands of shots through mine.

 

Could their service and support be better? Oh yes: but so could Canon's and Nikon's (since I'm a CPS user and now a Nikon shooter, I've had opportunity to test that statement with experience).

[barjohn]

Jamie,

 

I was only talking about the SD card statement. I don't believe I said or meant to imply that no other camera ever has any problem. I will say that most other manufacturers tend to get firmware fixes out a lot faster than Leica, both my experience and perception. It is true the the M8 doesn't have auto focus problems but it does have people focus problems. :D

[Jamie Roberts]

Jamie,

 

I was only talking about the SD card statement. I don't believe I said or meant to imply that no other camera ever has any problem. I will say that most other manufacturers tend to get firmware fixes out a lot faster than Leica, both my experience and perception. It is true the the M8 doesn't have auto focus problems but it does have people focus problems. :D

 

On companies replacing firmware quickly it depends on the problem, in my experience. And fair enough on the SD card statement... but even there I've had more SD card problems (and not just in the M8, but in the DMR and my other cameras and devices) in the last four years than any other kind of memory problem put together. I've only ever had a single CF failure in 10 years now (and that card was recalled and replaced by Lexar!)

 

I personally think the counterfeiters have focused on SD duplication and have--at one point anyway--gotten into supply chains, but that's just wild speculation on my part. It could also be that producing reliable SD cards used to their specification limit is difficult.

 

It's also true that Leica has improved its card-writing capability in the M8 in terms of speed and, I think, in the DMR too. And honestly, I still think the M8 gets into a bad place from time to time with a combination of dodgy card, continuous shooting (= continuous writing) and a low battery--but that's also true of other cameras too.

[jaapv]

problems with software, postprocessing, exposure, counterfeit or defect SD cards, dirty SD slots, not knowing a firmware change resets counters.

You ARE a selective reader, John. I adressed your list of threads, and of the seven subjects I found -on your list-, two had to do with SD cards. And you pivot your argument on them....

[barjohn]

jaapv,

 

Actually, you missed my point. It had nothing to do with the specifics of any particular problem, just that there continued to be problems and that all reliability issues have not been addressed. Have they improved, yes, of course. But I regularly read the Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax and other threads and I just don't see the number of frequent issues. I don't mean to imply that they never have any issues. Anything man makes breaks. If you doubt that let your kids play with it.

[jaapv]

If I missed your point, I apologize, however, you missed mine as well. The electronic and mechanical problems that plagued the M8 in early 2007 seem to have been overcome, and what rests is a mixture of digital-age and photographical things that could be happening anywhere. When did we see the last real "sudden death"? And where are the misfocussing and frameline threads? Don't forget that on this forum a large number of users are either digital newbies just over from film, and/or rangefinder newbies over from highly automated DSLRs. Of course there are a relatively large number of questions as opposed to the more experienced Canikolympentasony forums. But that is no reflexion on the reliability of the system as such. Nowadays an M8 just works and keeps on working.

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[vanhulsenbeek]

........ Nowadays an M8 just works and keeps on working.

 

Well said Jaap! Barjohn, how is your M8 doing?