[Leica] M8 notes during use.

[grduprey at mchsi.com (grduprey@mchsi.com)]

Ted,

Ya know your making all those M8 complainers/doubters fuming right about 
now.  ;-)

By the way you shooting jpeg or dng?  Yea, I know you probably never even 
thought to check or set it.  You pretty much summed up my experience with 
the M8, except I'll probably never have even 2 of them let alone 3.  Keep on 
shooting.

Gene


-------------- Original message from Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca>: 
-------------- 


> M8 assignment experience: 
> 
> 
> 
> After several months of shooting assignments and fun stuff with an M8 I'll 
> say again..it's 40 years too late! :-) 
> 
> 
> 
> While doing my assignments during the past half century my M cameras were 
> predominantly loaded with B&W simply because they were. Colour was used 
> with 
> R bodies of one model or other. The rare occasion for colour slide film in 
> an M was due to shooting in the black holes of hell of non-existing light 
> when I'd be working the Noctilux @ f1.0 with a 2 or 3 stop push for any 
> kind 
> of image. One might say a tad "grainy" ;-) Nice effect though. Or 
> Kodachrome 
> indoors where others feared to go without a Twinkie light flash. :-) 
> 
> 
> 
> The arrival of the M8 and the horror stories of "Magenta cast" did create 
> some concern, although it never bothered me as the M8 was destined to be 
> used as a B&W camera no different than previous M's. 
> 
> 
> 
> But I began to shoot colour, converting to B&W. Oh sometimes there'd be an 
> "odd looking" colour frame, but I'd be shooting in a mixture of light 
> sources, so my response was a shrug of the shoulders and .. "Oh what the 
> hell I suppose that's the magenta thing!" If I were to keep it in colour 
> for 
> some reason I'd move on with a bit of tweaking in PS as close as looking 
> OK. 
> But no big deal, because it was mixed light and who was going to say 
> anything about good, bad or ugly light. "Hell man it was in a night club 
> and 
> all weird colours, so big deal magenta, get a life!" 
> 
> 
> 
> The odd time shooting out doors requiring colour I've seen a light 
> "warming." But once again. "no big deal if it looks neat!" If it didn't 
> it's called PhotoShop! ;-) History. 
> 
> 
> 
> But I don't have a complaint about this magical machine, yeah I know it's 
> just another digital camera, or is it? 
> 
> 
> 
> Consider the background experience of the hands that have held M cameras 
> for 
> a half century day after day. Some assignments months at a time every day. 
> Not the 9-5 routine, weekends off. But first light to last every day on 
> the 
> shoot. 
> 
> 
> 
> Now move that time to the M8 of today with no thought of "frame 36, damn I 
> have to change film usually at the most inopportune photo moment!" I can 
> go 
> like the wind on and on. Even though I've read about batteries not lasting 
> very long, I've not encountered this. As was the case yesterday shooting 
> from 8.30 am until last light and there was still power showing. 
> 
> 
> 
> No I don't mean a few frames, but 2, 2 gig cards filled. No I do not look 
> at 
> the screen every five minutes, never did on the other M's so why do it 
> now? 
> Keep the screen off, battery lasts longer! KISS! However, common sense 
> dictates a spare battery should always be at the ready. Do I have one yet? 
> Nope, but will have shortly. :-) But it's "never leave home without the 
> charger!" 
> 
> 
> 
> I put a lens on and away I go as I've always done, not worrying exactly 
> where the frame lines are but more about light & content. I'm working 
> right 
> to the edges, well what sort of looks like the edges. But as close as wild 
> guessing as it can be. If one wants to be absolutely exact, one should use 
> an SLR. Even then you'll probably be slightly off. But you know what? Who 
> cares! 
> 
> 
> 
> Are my M lenses key coded? Nope, I just click them on and shoot! Have I 
> had 
> any losses because they're not black felt tip marked or whatever it is 
> done 
> to them? Nope! Neither did I suffer any loss because my R lenses weren't 
> modified either. 
> 
> 
> 
> I've pretty well always worked with 3 M cameras off my neck and a couple 
> of 
> motor driven R's off the shoulders depending on the assignment 
> requirements,. So will I have 3 M8's hanging off my neck? Always a wild 
> possibility depending on what assignments come up, and at the moment it 
> looks cool for '07. :-) 
> 
> 
> 
> Keep busy, live long! And smile! 
> 
> 
> 
> ted 
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> _______________________________________________ 
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