Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/01/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I would agree with what B.D. is saying here. There is no doubt that Leica nailed the user experience. The M8 handles beautifully. The controls and menuing structure are very well laid out. Resolution of fine detail is impressive - better than a 1Ds with the finest L series lenses. Mine even had a perfectly aligned RF out of the box - can you believe it? I am also seeing the magenta cast in low light scenes. Again, several people have told me that this gets solved with the IR filters. What really galls you about the M8, though, is that Leica sells it to you as if it is a viable product without the filters. It isn't. After the first dozen images, I realized that I could not trust this camera for any shoot I cared about. So the owner experience is: -Unpack your M8 -Oogle over it being a digital M -Admire the great form factor -Shoot your first photos and enjoy the magenta casts over everything -Go online and order your IR filters -Set your M8 on the shelf while waiting for the filters to arrive ;-) If the filters really solve the problems we're seeing, Leica needs to figure out a way for customers get their IR filters at the point of purchase. They must be considered mandatory - an integral part of the camera itself, not an add-on that will improve results. Leica and the dealers have to make this very clear to the customer up front. --Jim On Jan 28, 2007, at 8:49 AM, B. D. Colen wrote: > There was a demo from Leica USA in the Harvard News Office this > past week, > and I got a chance to shoot with it a bit - > > General Impressions: > > *Unquestionably an M - but for the noise level, which is markedly > higher > than that of my Olympus E-1 DSLR, it looks and feels like an M in > every > respect. Okay, an M after a big Thanksgiving dinner, but an M. > Viewfinder is > a bright M viewfinder. A pleasure to hold and frame with. > > *Menus - as deep as I went - are well thought out. There's some > quirkiness > to the menus, and display system, but there is with every digital > camera - > it's just a question of getting used to what you shoot with. > > *The removable bottom plate is inane; there had to at least be a > way to > hinge it. > > * Every time I thought about the total lack of dust and moisture > sealing, I > had trouble breathing. I've always been very kind to, and careful > of, my > photo equipment, but I couldn't begin to count the number of times > they've > been in damp to wet, or dusty environments. With a film M, that's a > big 'so > what;' with a digital camera, it can be 'so long.' > > Image Impressions and related issues: > > *Definitely like-level fine detail resolution - really outstanding. > And now > for the bad news... > > * Anything shot in low light - dark areas - and anything dark in > images - > creates a magenta cast. No, they didn't send along IR cut filters > for us, > but I don't consider being forced to use filters a fix for a real > defect, I > consider it an insult to the intelligence of the would-be buyer. > > *As Jim notes below, no color consistency - white balance > consistency - from > image to image in the same scene. > > *A general lack of contrast to RAW images - definitely flatter than > the > scene itself. > > *Painfully slow write speed. > > *Unbelievably, painfully, slow card erase and format speeds. > > Bottom Line - Cool looking and feeling, reminding me why I'd love > to have a > digital M. But as a tool for making quality images, an unmitigated > disaster > - particularly at price that's between about 1.9 and 6x that of > cameras that > produce better images, and do it with consistency. Yes, it takes > Leica M > lenses - but it does not produce Leica results with them. > > Have a good month - > > B. D. > > P.S. Walt's fine. > >> Jim Laurel writes in part: >> >>> Well, despite my better judgement and the sage advice of some here, >>> B.D. not least, I decided to purchase an M8. >>> >>> My experience so far has not been encouraging. I seem to be >>> experiencing every M8 foible in the book in tests with my >>> Summicron 28 ASPH mounted. >> >> Hi Jim, >> >> It seems that people purchasing the M8 either get a digital camera >> that they >> really love or a camera with problems. >> >> I looked and handled an M8 with the new 28/2.8 lens at the local >> camera store >> and walked away. Loved the new lens, but I view the M8 as the 1st >> version of a >> computer of sorts. I've learned never buy version 1 of anything >> digital. I'll >> look again in 4 to 6 months and stay away from the M8 at least, >> until then. >> >> Greg J. Lorenzo >> Calgary, Alberta >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information