did / would you trade your m8 for a dslr ?

[proenca]

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Hi there,

 

First of all this isn't a dslr vs m8, which one is better - horses for courses

 

I came to leica few years ago, 5 or so.

 

I had pro dslr(s) and I noticed that I increased the number of times that I left the camera at home because was too bulky or cumbersome

 

Leica announced the m8 and I had a leica mp and seemed wonderfull

 

I prayed for leica to make a mp digital and the m8 seemed the closest thing

 

But... Since day one ( got one at a ridiculous low price brand new in Singapore ) had problems.

 

High ISO noise, green banding, need for Ir filters, banding, now discreet mode jams the shutter.

 

Also two things I love to do ( well three ) it's landscapes, macro and people.

 

It does landscapes well, nice at portraits although things are dubious when focus is critical and well, sucks for macro

 

So I'm considering a dslr again but few things are worrying me;

 

- possible weight problem/bulkness

- viewfinder blockage when shutter is fired

 

I'm looking at nikon d3 or d700 And in the canon camp the canon 1ds mk3 which can be bought at a good price or the 5d mk2

 

All of th offer world class utofocus, noise capabilities vs m8

 

The one I'm more intersted on ( 1ds ) because of price and specs is worrying me - my last dslr was a canon 1ds mk1 but funny enough all of my friends said the best pictures they have from me is from that camera - albeit I have prettier ones from the leica, most of them prefer the 1ds files

 

I miss fondly the 1ds and it's "all pourpose" camera

 

Any of you went the dslr route and came back? Regrets?

 

In an ideally world I would have a dslr AND a canon but can't ....

 

And I'm lusting for the 85 1.2 L.....

[AlanJW]

It shouldn't be an "either-or" proposition. Keep the Leica. Buy the DSLR for the times when you need its capabilities. Macro is one (though a Visoflex works pretty well on a M8); long telephoto is another; fast moving subjects needing autofocus is another. If you want only one camera, and refuse to acknowledge that different tools work better on different projects, then you'll have to decide what features are most important to you and which features you will have to live with even though not best suited. I would guess that very few serious photographers have only one camera.

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[carstenw]

now discreet mode jams the shutter.

 

That is an interesting comment. Could you describe a bit what happens? My shutter is jammed, with "Drive Blocked", "Shutter Fault" showing on the screen. I had not connected it in my mind with the discrete mode and will have to try that.

[jaapv]

Hi there,

 

First of all this isn't a dslr vs m8, which one is better - horses for courses

 

I came to leica few years ago, 5 or so.

 

I had pro dslr(s) and I noticed that I increased the number of times that I left the camera at home because was too bulky or cumbersome

 

Leica announced the m8 and I had a leica mp and seemed wonderfull

 

I prayed for leica to make a mp digital and the m8 seemed the closest thing

 

But... Since day one ( got one at a ridiculous low price brand new in Singapore ) had problems.

 

High ISO noise, green banding, need for Ir filters, banding, now discreet mode jams the shutter.

 

Also two things I love to do ( well three ) it's landscapes, macro and people.

 

It does landscapes well, nice at portraits although things are dubious when focus is critical and well, sucks for macro

 

So I'm considering a dslr again but few things are worrying me;

 

- possible weight problem/bulkness

- viewfinder blockage when shutter is fired

 

I'm looking at nikon d3 or d700 And in the canon camp the canon 1ds mk3 which can be bought at a good price or the 5d mk2

 

All of th offer world class utofocus, noise capabilities vs m8

 

The one I'm more intersted on ( 1ds ) because of price and specs is worrying me - my last dslr was a canon 1ds mk1 but funny enough all of my friends said the best pictures they have from me is from that camera - albeit I have prettier ones from the leica, most of them prefer the 1ds files

 

I miss fondly the 1ds and it's "all pourpose" camera

 

Any of you went the dslr route and came back? Regrets?

 

In an ideally world I would have a dslr AND a canon but can't ....

 

And I'm lusting for the 85 1.2 L.....

I agree - if you want an one camera for all situations type of kit, the M8 is not first choice. Having said that, one thing the M8 does not suck at is macro - the Visoflex is too slow for sports, a bit of a hassle for wildlife, but pretty good at macro.

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[cbretteville]

That is an interesting comment. Could you describe a bit what happens? My shutter is jammed, with "Drive Blocked", "Shutter Fault" showing on the screen. I had not connected it in my mind with the discrete mode and will have to try that.

 

Carsten, there have been reports posted here that enabling discrete shutter option and shooting in continuous mode can cause the shutter to block and the camera to show the messages you mention.

 

- Carl

[carstenw]

Interesting. I didn't shoot in continuous mode though, just single, but it was in discrete mode. Is there some way to unblock the shutter?

 

By the way, when one observes this shutter-blocking side-effect of the discrete mode, one can easily understand why Leica is conservative about firmware updates.

[tom0511]

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I own both and constantly prefer the IQ of the M8. I cant explain but its specially skin which sometimes looks artificial without much microdetail from my Nikon shots. And I own very good lenses for the Nikon (even including a 100 Leica Macro).

 

The question would be: how often do you need tele, how often do you shoot macro.

If you get the 1DS you wont win much (if any?) regarding high ISO.

Now the M8 is not a macro camera but you can do some macro with the 90 and the macro adapter.

[delander †]

I have a 1ds3 as well as an M8. If you have had a 1ds in the past you will know how big and heavy these cameras are. The 1ds3 is extremely well built (a different level to the 5d etc and dare I say it better than the M8), I trust it completely to perform as required, 21 Mp is great to have, it gives you a lot of flexibility if you need to crop. It is not a loud shutter camera, its shutter sound is very crisp and taught sounding and believe it or not is does have a delayed shutter advance as an option. The battery lasts for ever.

 

However because of the size it is not easy to shoot discreetly with it.

 

Finally it needs prime lenses for its best performance, although I think the latest Canon F4 70-200 IS produces great images.

 

All that being said I use my M8 more often but simply could not give up the 1ds3, it gives you 100% accurate framing.

 

It is a hard call. If I could only have one and chose the M8 then I would have to give up some areas of photography that I like. If I had just the 1ds3 then there is very little that it cant be used to do. Although I love my Leica stuff I would probably give it up before the 1ds3.

 

Jeff

[lewis44]

Been there, done that. Had an M8, got a D700. I found that I preferred the size and IQ of the M8 and bought another M8 and sold the D700. Carrying the D700 and Nikon lenses was, at least for me, tooo large a kit.

To each his/her own, but I'm quite happy with my choice.

I carry the Leica with me always. Couldn't same for the Nikon. It's hard to take a picture if the camera is at home.

[dcuthbert]

If i did have to go back, it would be a Nikon D700 or 5d mkII, both are brilliant dslr's

[delander †]

If you get the 1DS you wont win much (if any?) regarding high ISO.

Now the M8 is not a macro camera but you can do some macro with the 90 and the macro adapter.

 

I'm afraid the 1ds3 has significantly better high iso performance than the M8. Also I process the 1ds3 RAW files in Capture One which seems to extract better colour and more detail from the file.

 

Jeff

[offshore]

"would you trade your m8 for a dslr ?"

 

Nope.

[pgk]

I have both. They are different. 1D series are still very bulky and cumbersome which the M8 is not, %D series are better but not so well built. M8 is generally speaking - I too have a Viso set up - not as suitable for macro.

 

However if you go to the latest dSLRs, 20+ MPixels does require very good lenses - I use L primes on my 5D2 and even so.... Rather than change why not consider a used 5D which you can even use Leica lenses on if you like?

[jaapv]

I'm a bit befuddled by the either/or. A rangefinder and an SLR are comlimentary cameras. In an ideal world one has both systems. In a less-than-ideal world one either opts for the more universal one, being the SLR or for the one that fits the shootnig style best which may well be a rangefinder. But that is a wholly personal decision.

[darvin2138]

No, I am selling my DSLR for Leica lens...

[akiralx]

I have the M8 and a D700 which I mainly shoot with primes like the CV 40mm f/2 and new CV 20mm f/3.5, the Zeiss 100 f/2 Makro-Planar and the Nikon 135DC.

 

The high ISO ability is indispensible sometimes and even though I usually take the M8 with a fast lens or two, with the pancake 40mm lens the SLR is not too big for some social events, even with the great little iTTL SB-400 flash, which bounced nails exposure every time.

 

I shoot the M8 more for fun by far but the D700 is a brilliant camera, no doubt. You could go for a small D60 or similar - or wait until the superb high ISO trickles down from the D3/D700 to the smaller bodies.

[delander †]

 

Although I love my Leica stuff I would probably give it up before the 1ds3.

 

Jeff

 

I wonder if that is really true? Or would I just give up sport type photography and concentrate on what the M8 does best?

 

Jeff

[KM-25]

Well, I did trade mine, but not for an SLR, I already had the D3 / D700 at the time. What I traded mine for was a 4th M film body and to complete the rest of my Hasselblad build up.

 

I do miss the M8, but I also know I can wait until the M9 comes along, I am plenty busy shooting film these days so that makes the equation easy.

 

And for what it is worth, one of the things that made it easy to part with the M8 was how well Zeiss ZF primes do on the Nikon rigs, easily out doing the M8 on many fronts in terms of image quality.

 

But, there are days I really miss the simplicity of the 28 Cron on the M8 as a take-it-everywhere rig.

 

These are tools, one is not always supposed to be better than the other, just a different kind of tool...

[grduprey]

I have the M8 and use it most of the time. But there are times when a DSLR is needed. I tried the Canon/R lens thing, but was not happy at all with this combo. I had a R8, so I looked and found a used DMR when on vacation last year in Germany, at a really good price. This is the perfect setup for me. The DMR is very M8 like in operation and has a very simple menu like the M8. Many think the files are better than the M8, me I think they are very similar with maybe an edge to the DMR. It is like the Canon 1Ds in size and weight, but I like the DMR files better. The other plus is that used R lenses are a real bargan and the performance is superb. For me this was a no brainer.

 

Gene

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[grduprey]

Carsten, there have been reports posted here that enabling discrete shutter option and shooting in continuous mode can cause the shutter to block and the camera to show the messages you mention.

 

- Carl

 

Why would you use a delayed shutter wind mode in continuous shutter mode? This is not a compatible functionality. Use a bit of common sense here. I would expect it to jam up doing this - Duh!

 

Gene