Philosophical Issue RE M8

[billh]

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Had one of the first 1DsMKIIs in the US. My partner had the next one in line. We never had a problem from day one. A zillion wedding shots later it shoots like it just came out of the box.

 

Of course, I didn't obsess about the camera, and read some Canon forum 24/7 ... so if there was a problem we never knew about it : -O

.

 

Same here. I've dropped it, used it repeatedly in heavy rain and snow - it always works, and it decidedly is not handled with kid gloves. That said, it sure was sweet using that tiny, quiet little M8.

[SteveYork]

Which of the monkeys should I be? The one with his hands over his ears or his mouth or his eyes? What I find appaling and slightly ludicrous is how some are willing to stick their head in the sands. Bahhhhhhh. Just a bunch of lamb. What does that tell about your character? My Lord, get some gonads.

[andym911]

Steve,

 

Gonads!

 

Haven't heard that for a while, put a smile on my face ......

[Guest stnami]

it is a philosophical issue

... no it is a filter issue... funny man though

[atournas]

David,

 

I can't see how I should disagree with your comments on my post in this thread. I never meant to offend dedicated users of Leica.

 

Yet, Leica's legacy has been built on first-rate engineering regarding both the M bodies and the M lenses. Electronic automation was never in its priorities; perhaps that's why, when M7 came out, some of us prefered to stick to our M6's (and now the MP's). So the company developed a well tried-out engineering tradition that brought its products to near perfection.

 

Now Leica has to rely on other companies' expertise and try its best to match her quality standards with what third paries offer. It is exactly at that point that I believe Leica needs all our support--perhaps we should offer Leica some extra time to adopt itself to the new requirements. On the same time, perhaps we should trust its engineers' decisions, too.

 

Some people among us might prefer non-magenta lower-resolution images, others might accept magenta + IR filter as some inevitable price to be paid for medium-format-like quality in the images delivered with their M8. At the end of the day, apparently we all care for our Leicas--M8 included.

 

Best

Paul

[ken_tanaka]

Scott: Your sentiments are (obviously) shared by others. I do hope that Leica is able to refine their digital M, either in this product generation or the next, as I very much look forward to having one at the earliest practical date.

 

Similar to an earlier poster, however, my core allegiance is to images not to cameras or their manufacturers. In order to effectively capture images photographers must first master their tools, the camera being the main tool. Leica's M cameras have, for over 50 years, been designed as instruments of precision craftsmanship and simplicity. The photographic philosophy represented by these cameras has been to create accurate cameras that present the smallest obstacles between a photographer and a subject, physically and functionally. In concept, and in fact, someone can master an M with relatively little practice and make it an extension of his/her eyes and reflexes from that point forward.

 

The disappointment currently experienced and expressed by many long-time M shooters is that the M8's design and implementation breaks this half-century tradition. A camera with a consistent but predictable quirk might still be mastered and used to great advantage. But a camera that, as Thomas Knoll recently aptly remarked, "doesn't see the world the same way you do" can never be mastered or trusted. It's rather like having an expensive, long-awaited car that runs beautifully most of the time but occasionally, and with no warning, stalls or veers sharply off the road. Such an instrument might be acceptable for some recreational owners who will, at least for a time, don their "but it's a Leica" caps and spend countless hours (and dollars) trying various remedies. Eventually, though, nearly all of these early models will either be resold or, more likely, be sent to a drawer as collectors items.

 

Cameras are designed and built for photography. An unreliable, unpredictable camera is not a practical instrument for photography and certainly not worth the relatively large expense of an M8. Leica had years to work on the M8. They certainly overcame substantial technical obstacles to get to this point and are to be commended for those accomplishments. But the digital M is not yet a done-done product. Bearing a Leica badge does not make it either better or "done", either.

 

I love my film M and very much want Leica to get their digital M right. But those who take a buy-and-hope philosophy with the M8 are not doing either their own photography or Leica's prospects a favor. Leica needs to be pressed just a little harder by the marketplace in which they now must participate for survival. Close will not be good enough to keep the lights on at Solms.