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Brian Bower M8/8.2 book arrived today


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Just received my Brian Bower Leica M Digital Photography book from Amazon, and what a nice update from his previous books. The new photography is lovely, the book gives a great overview of the M8/8.2 and M lenses, and doesn't get too bogged down with highly technical data (Our forum has provided a nice avenue for those type discussions).

 

While I've only just browsed through it, I would highly recommend it to anyone considering moving to the digital side of M cameras, and certainly for all of us M8 owners who thought that a lot of this would be in our owner's manual. Unfortunately, no info on the SF 58 flash (I'm sure it was to press prior to the release).

 

I also agree with Brian's favorite lens, the 28 Cron.

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I completely agree. Amazon delivered it a few days ago, and I've been enjoying it greatly. Brian's Leica M Photography book was terrific. (I also love Gunter Osterloh's "Leica M.") But his "Leica M Digital Photography" is a winner.

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I must not have gotten the same book that you guys got. :confused: IMHO, it's practically worthless. I've been waiting on this book for months. :( I thought I was going to get something that would give me an in-depth look at operating my M8. Wrong. It's not there. He could have written 95% of the book without ever touching an M8/M8.2. I can read about Leica lenses in a number of other books (including Brian's lens book) and the M8 Operating Manual . . . as poor as it is . . . covers the same stuff that this book does. I guess I wanted the technical information that you guys did not want.

 

However, he does give some helpful tips . . . . "Keep it Clean" or "Without a battery, your camera is useless." Well duh.

 

Okay, the chart that compares focal lengths is nice but I could figure that out with simple math.

 

I hate it when I feel like I've been taken. This book was a big waste of money.

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I hate it when I feel like I've been taken. This book was a big waste of money.

 

What is it about the M8 which is complex that it requires a book? I know I should never criticise something until I see it but even the most enquiring mind can pretty much exhaust the M8 menu system in about 2 minutes.

 

LouisB

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I agree with spenser. This book is a complete waste of money I was sooo disappointed. The information given was hardly more that stating the specs of various lenses and the M8 camera which can all be found for free on the Leica website. I have bought may books from amazon and this is the first time I received a book that within 15 minutes I felt like I had been had. I am wondering if I can return it.

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What is it about the M8 which is complex that it requires a book? I know I should never criticise something until I see it but even the most enquiring mind can pretty much exhaust the M8 menu system in about 2 minutes.

 

LouisB

 

Well Louis, in principle you are correct. Speaking for myself I was hoping the book would go into some depth on how to take better advantage of it's capabilities. For example, high ISO noise which is a very challenging problem for this camera. It was mentioned in one vague sentence and ISO over all was covered in one paragraph. How to operate the camera comes with the manufactures manual. When you buy a supplemental book you are looking for more depth, tips, tricks, techniques etc. Virtually nothing of this level was covered, and if a personal opinion was given it was rarely over a sentence long.

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What are people looking for in this M8 book that you can't find here on this forum for just signing up?

I too bought the first addition of Gunter Osterloh's "Leica M" back when I bought my first Leica M and in my opinion that book was very useful for a neophyte Leica owner as myself back then and on occasion enjoy a refresher. They should have simply added a brief section on the M8 in a future edition of the Leica M along with the addition of the new lenses. Despite wading through the wish for this and that threads, this forum is the best source for useful M8 information.

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When you buy a supplemental book you are looking for more depth, tips, tricks, techniques etc. Virtually nothing of this level was covered, and if a personal opinion was given it was rarely over a sentence long.

Thanks. That's what I was trying to say.

 

biglouis and stunsworth, you are correct. The M8 is not a terribly complex camera but you would think that an expert like Bower could give me a trick or two that would help me take better pictures. Instead he shows you the picture of a lens on one page and then a photo taken by that lens on another page. In other words, two BIG pages to vaguely describe a lens. (And I am willing to bet that some of the photos were not shot with an M8/M8.2.) I can read the same information about lenses here.

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OK guys, maybe you should reread my original post: I complimented the "overview" it provided, thought it might be helpful for the person shifting to the digital M, and was not highly technical.

 

I don't know what everyone was expecting, but since I already owned Brian's original book on M photography, I was just expecting exactly what he delivered: a nice update on digital M. Maybe I missed the memo stating it was going to be so much more.

 

As I stated in my OP- our Forum IS STILL the best place for the all the technical nuances that make our M8/8.2s so much fun to own. A book covering even the highlights of our Forum would be volumes!

 

I'm still a neophyte myself, devouring our Forum on a daily basis, but I can still enjoy Brian's book and not feel the least bit "shafted" by what I paid Amazon.

 

Anyway, I don't know how anyone could ever question our $ spent on frivolous purchases if we think about what we've paid to be a Leica owner!!

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Anyway, I don't know how anyone could ever question our $ spent on frivolous purchases if we think about what we've paid to be a Leica owner!!

 

Ouch...true that.. But I expect to get shafted with Leica products, I just did not see this one coming ;)

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OK guys, maybe you should reread my original post: I complimented the "overview" it provided, thought it might be helpful for the person shifting to the digital M, and was not highly technical.

You are correct. It is a very good "overview". Unfortunately, that is not what I was expecting. I was expecting something like David Busch's books on Canon DSLRs. I wanted some hints or tricks. I did not need to be told that I should keep my batteries charged. :confused:

 

jimleicam3, I don't know of a good all around Leica book. Brian's book is okay if you want an overview but it isn't going to tell you anything that you can't find on this forum.

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Well I ordered both Bower's and Osterloh's latest books, primarily in the hope of expanding my total lack of M knowledge prior to the M8. Agreed the M8 itself is as others noted probably too simple to justify a book, but I do enjoy reading about it on a rainy day. Will add an opinion as soon as I have one.

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Well I ordered both Bower's and Osterloh's latest books, primarily in the hope of expanding my total lack of M knowledge prior to the M8. Agreed the M8 itself is as others noted probably too simple to justify a book, but I do enjoy reading about it on a rainy day. Will add an opinion as soon as I have one.

 

I'm with you on this one . . .

 

:-)

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Guest malland

If the Bower M8 book is anything like his previous M book it must be virtually useless and, if the photography is of the same type, it must be trite and picture postcard-ish.

 

The best books on "manual" photography are, still, Anselm Adams quartet of books, particularly The Negative and 'The Print. Osterloh's book on M-photography was generally useful, although not something essential.

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

Bangkok Hysteria©: Book Project

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Has it occurred to anyone here that we may not be the target audience for Brian Bower's book?

 

Having previously read his books on both the R and the M systems, and met the man on a couple of occasions, I strongly suspect that he has produced something with a specific audience in mind - those who are either new to the M8 or who are considering purchasing one. Maybe even those who are curious about it, or who aspire to it, but could get no closer to purchasing one than the cover price of the book.

 

This sub-forum contains a huge amount of single-brand, single model experience. BB is not, I would suspect, setting out to either codify that knowledge nor appeal to the people who have it at their fingertips.

 

As one who regards Adams' work as the absolute ultimate in visual (and verbal) mogadon, I find Brian's imagery workmanlike and illustrative of the subject matter - no more, no less. He doesn't profess to be an "artist", after all.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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Guest malland
Has it occurred to anyone here that we may not be the target audience for Brian Bower's book?...

 

As one who regards Adams' work as the absolute ultimate in visual (and verbal) mogadon, I find Brian's imagery workmanlike and illustrative of the subject matter - no more, no less. He doesn't profess to be an "artist", after all.

Except for a handful of pictures I am not a great admirer of Adams as an artist, but as a teacher I think he is, in the two books I mentioned, extraordinary.

 

I recognise that the denizens of this forum may not be the target for Bower's books but, as several other people have pointed out above, they do not really provide much even for the a beginner with the M8 or with photography. As for the pictures, at least in his previous M-book, there are a lot of more interesting in Osterloh's book.

 

The first two posts in this thread provide a great endorsement for Bower's book while several other posts, including mine, provide another view. "So yer takes yer money and makes yer choice"...

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

Bangkok Hysteria©: Book Project

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I give the book a "5.5" out of 10. After all, it is the First Edition, and will probably improve in subsequent editions. Also, I don't know who was proof reading the publication prior to print, but I found several 'typos' (spelling errors) as well as mistakes. For example, on page 15, Brian shows a picture of a Chrome M8 with a "28mm Summicron", when in actuality, it is a 28mm Summaron.

 

Again, not too bad for a First Edition, plus I give a few extra points for Brian the first person to actually write a book about the M8. After all, the M8 has been out for several years.

 

Brad

 

Has it occurred to anyone here that we may not be the target audience for Brian Bower's book?

 

Having previously read his books on both the R and the M systems, and met the man on a couple of occasions, I strongly suspect that he has produced something with a specific audience in mind - those who are either new to the M8 or who are considering purchasing one. Maybe even those who are curious about it, or who aspire to it, but could get no closer to purchasing one than the cover price of the book.

 

This sub-forum contains a huge amount of single-brand, single model experience. BB is not, I would suspect, setting out to either codify that knowledge nor appeal to the people who have it at their fingertips.

 

As one who regards Adams' work as the absolute ultimate in visual (and verbal) mogadon, I find Brian's imagery workmanlike and illustrative of the subject matter - no more, no less. He doesn't profess to be an "artist", after all.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

Edited by bherman01545
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