[Leica] M8 B&W questions

[Jean-Michel Mertz]

Dear Luggers,
I bought an M8 back in 2010. I've used it ever since for colour photography, shooting in raw and then developing my pictures in Lightroom. I think this camera produces great pictures despite its basic flaws - its infrared sensitivity and the 1.33 crop factor. In fact the lens you choose helps a lot ! (I use a summicron 35 on a daily basis).

Now there's a good number of photographers who have come to realize that this camera also produces fairly good B&W pictures. Some even compare them to pictures taken with the M Monochrom. My point here is not the conversion we all do from raw files to B&W, thanks to LR, PS, etc. I'd like to know what your opinion is on shooting direct JPEG files in B&W and then developing the pictures for example in Silver E. I've seen some really smashing JPEG + SE pictures. Of course, you can't have large prints. Of course, you won't have the possibility to resort to your raw files in colour should you need to work on details.

I've recently done a few pictures with my M8 + a 1949 Elmar 50, 3.5. It's (almost) like shooting film. I mean, I get the same thrill. The pictures have a nostalgic quality I miss when shooting colour and then converting the files to B&W. And having a look at the LCD display is, after all, a good way to assess the picture - a bit faster than darkroom work !

Is the M8 the "poor man's monochrom" ?

Thanks for your answers and any advice that might help me get the most (the best !) out of my M8 !

JM