John Maio Posted November 5, 2006 Share #1 Posted November 5, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been reading the banding/blooming/ghosting/noise/AWB/color accuracy posts with interest. Some have expressed very legitimate concerns about the M8's performance, but I'm having a difficult time discerning if these problems are prevalent in all M8's delivered so far; are "fixable" by firmware updates (as opposed to a complete sensor replacement) - or even if most early users consider them to be "deal killers". I'm supposed to pick mine up at my dealer tommorow. I know the final decision will be mine and will take into account how I plan to use the camera (I have a 5D for the REALLY low light stuff), but I'm interested in what others are deciding as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 5, 2006 Posted November 5, 2006 Hi John Maio, Take a look here Is anyone cancelling their M8 because of issues?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
canlogic Posted November 5, 2006 Share #2 Posted November 5, 2006 Not a chance, hope to have mine tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pascal_meheut Posted November 5, 2006 Share #3 Posted November 5, 2006 Even if I raised some of the issues, I'm keeping mine and considering buying a 2nd one. The problems are annoying, especially the banding one but the M8 is giving me excellent images 99% of the time so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grober Posted November 5, 2006 Share #4 Posted November 5, 2006 To invoke a literary metaphor, I would "sail though bloody seas" if necessary to clasp my first M8. And hope to do so early next week if I am to believe what both Leica rep and Leica dealer are saying. This marks the culmination of a two year planning process since I confirmed that the Leica Md would see the light of day. Except for a Hasselblad with an appropriate digital back (off the table due to its high cost) the M8 is the first digi-cam I can actually get motivated to buy with hard cash and use. All the Japanese products miss the mark, IMHO. I'm not saying they don't take good pictures: it's all about their poor ergonomics, in my book. -g Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted November 5, 2006 Share #5 Posted November 5, 2006 These issues are of no concern to me. Proceeding as planned, been down this road several times with new gear. Nothing different Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ross Posted November 5, 2006 Share #6 Posted November 5, 2006 Nope. Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted November 5, 2006 Share #7 Posted November 5, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) This spring we had the same issues with the D200. Now the crowd is quiet and makes a lot of (great) photographs. Bernd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted November 5, 2006 Share #8 Posted November 5, 2006 No, of course not. The photographers posting problems are doing us all a service by showcasing issues that need to be addressed. But I am anxiously awaiting picking mine up and using it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted November 5, 2006 Share #9 Posted November 5, 2006 John, Several weeks ago I wrote in a thread that it was more important for Leica to get it right than to meet its scheduled release date. Now it appears that they didn't get it right. Although I used a demo camera last month that exhibited none of the banding problems we've been seeing, I have serious misgivings whether production cameras are worth the lofty $5K given the scope of the problem. I may therefore cancel my order. Leica needs to address this issue soon and publicly. This forum is populated by the company's most ardent supporters and we deserve a credible explanation. As for those who have already taken delivery of their cameras, Leica should be scrambling to fix them ASAP. Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Branch Posted November 5, 2006 Share #10 Posted November 5, 2006 On the basis of using it for 4 days I am very pleased 99% of the time. It's great to use and the pictures are at least as good as any other camera I have used and generally better. The banding is disappointing but I've only got it on one picture, which fortunately was a test shot anyway. I will see what the local firework party gives using my Noctilux this evening. The only "Error" I've found is that the camera thinks my 6-bit 35mm Summicron is a Summilux f1.4. All the other lenses are recognised correctly. This may or may not be significant. Regarding the software/colour issues I have to say it can become over complex if you are not careful. I've resorted to PS CS2 with the DNG + RAW 3.6 plug in and have found that if I use the auto level function on the images they are very, very good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrgeoffrion Posted November 5, 2006 Share #11 Posted November 5, 2006 I've been reading the banding/blooming/ghosting/noise/AWB/color accuracy posts with interest. Some have expressed very legitimate concerns about the M8's performance, but I'm having a difficult time discerning if these problems are prevalent in all M8's delivered so far; are "fixable" by firmware updates (as opposed to a complete sensor replacement) - or even if most early users consider them to be "deal killers". I'm supposed to pick mine up at my dealer tomorrow. I know the final decision will be mine and will take into account how I plan to use the camera (I have a 5D for the REALLY low light stuff), but I'm interested in what others are deciding as well. Mine has been canceled until I hear that this problem is fixed. This issue should have been identified much earlier. For my work, it's a SEVERE issue. For my reputation, it's even worse. My camera is not for fun, it's for work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted November 5, 2006 Share #12 Posted November 5, 2006 I think people cancelling their orders is a great idea!! The more that cancel the sooner I get mine and I can then make my own mind up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pascal_meheut Posted November 5, 2006 Share #13 Posted November 5, 2006 I think people cancelling their orders is a great idea!! The more that cancel the sooner I get mine and I can then make my own mind up! jrgeoffrion made is own mind: he is the first person I talked about the banding issue and he looked at the DNG files. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nryn Posted November 5, 2006 Share #14 Posted November 5, 2006 I'm not canceling my order; I should get mine next week. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the the banding issues (particularly after reading threads attributing it to a sensor integration / design flaw), but I trust Leica to do whatever it takes to get these things fixed in a reasonable period of time. In the interest of full disclosure, I do not use my cameras professionally, and I recognize that professional concerns would probably make this decision more difficult. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdewitt Posted November 5, 2006 Share #15 Posted November 5, 2006 No, I won't cancel. Nikon had some banding issues with the D200 when it was released a few months ago. My recollection was that it was a QC issue that showed up on some of the cameras. The Web forums (fora?) were all up in arms, just like this one is beginning to be. The bottom line was that it DID affect some people sometimes. Some of them waited to buy 'til the issue had been resolved. And Nikon DID take care of it. I expect the same thing to happen with Leica. So, not only do I expect it to be fixed, but for my kind of work it isn't likely to be an issue. I'm not waiting any longer than necessary (I don't know when mine will arrive). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrgeoffrion Posted November 5, 2006 Share #16 Posted November 5, 2006 I think people cancelling their orders is a great idea!! The more that cancel the sooner I get mine and I can then make my own mind up! BTW, I informed my dealer that I was "canceling my order at this time". I will most likely place my order when this gets sorted out, I just don't want to be the one spending my time sorting it out -- done it before and it's not a rewarding process -- especially if you have clients on the line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelderfield Posted November 5, 2006 Share #17 Posted November 5, 2006 Does it have to be "buy or cancel." How about wait and see. I want an M8 and am on a waiting list here in NYC - but the $5200 price with tax is a lot of cash for a camera with problems. If I'm going to have to wait for the issue to be fixed anyway - why not hold on to my money and earn some interest in the bank until the problems are straightened out. Then I can use it without any worries when I get it. One of the reasons I want this camera is do do work in low light. I can still use the M7 with tri-x in the meantime. Jonathan Elderfield Photography Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfleica Posted November 5, 2006 Share #18 Posted November 5, 2006 the banding issue is a worry. needs to be addressed fast. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted November 5, 2006 Share #19 Posted November 5, 2006 Does it have to be "buy or cancel." How about wait and see. I want an M8 and am on a waiting list here in NYC - but the $5200 price with tax is a lot of cash for a camera with problems. If I'm going to have to wait for the issue to be fixed anyway - why not hold on to my money and earn some interest in the bank until the problems are straightened out. Then I can use it without any worries when I get it. One of the reasons I want this camera is do do work in low light. I can still use the M7 with tri-x in the meantime. Jonathan Elderfield Photography Jonathan, That's exactly what I'm going to do unless mine shows up in the next few weeks. If it does, I'm not taking the risk of buying a half-baked camera and I'll cancel. Five thousand dollars isn't chump-change and I have no intention of becoming a chump. Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted November 5, 2006 Share #20 Posted November 5, 2006 I have my personal M8 here and I certainly would not give it up. I'm shooting a large wedding assignment with one or two M8 bodies and the 5D next weekend. My perspective may be different from some, I realize, because I've been using various M8 bodies since August. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.