[Leica] Leica M8 hands on

[TTAbrahams at aol.com (TTAbrahams@aol.com)]

Yes, 
Leica  kindly lent me an M8 to try out. I suspect that they thought  "If he 
likes  it, we are on the right track"!  
Well,  I am happy to say that they are on the right track. The M8 does 
behave 
like an  M-camera should. It puts minimal "digital" between you and your 
picture, but if  you are so inclined you can add all the bells and whistles 
to 
what you are  doing. When I got it (no manual for it) I managed to turn it 
in to 
a M2/M6  with little fuss. Put it on mono-chrome, put the ISO to 320 and 
stick 
a  lens on it. I don?t shoot color and to me the black/white image quality 
was what  counted. The first couple of 100 shots were done with everything 
in 
"Standard"  setting and the prints that my local lab pulled were a bit flat 
(to 
be expected  as you can manipulate the image in the computer after wards). 
The 
next batch was  shot with higher contrast settings and came out fine. The 
higher ISO settings  have a bit of digital "noise" (1250/2500) but so would 
film 
if you either used a  T-Speed or Delta 3200 so no big deal. 
It  does feel like a slightly obese M6. The additional thickness coupled 
with 
the  rather slippery covering had my right hand cramping up after a while. I 
did get  used to it, except when I switched between a M2 and M8. My hand 
wanted to  "crush" the M8 to M2 thickness! The lack of a film-advance arm is 
somewhat  disconcerting as it does feel like an M and you are forever trying 
to pull 
out a  lever to hook your thumb behind - although this is something you get 
used to. I  love the base-plate with its folding "Leica" key lock. Battery  
and 
SD card are accessed by removing it and I still have that fleeting thought  ?
Damn, did I rewind the film" before pulling the base plate off! The design 
is  
that close to an M! 
The  noise is modest; a soft click and a slight "whirr" sound is not 
disturbing at  all. My biggest problem with the M8 is that I am a left eye 
focuser and 
my nose  is squished against the screen. During flu-season that could be an 
ugly sight!  Some kind of cover would be useful - particularly as I use it 
as I 
would a  regular M, shoot away happily and after 40-50 shots I looked for a 
shady spot  (outdoor patio of cafe works well) and chimped through what I 
shot 
and deleted  the misses or boring stuff. Like any digital screen, however 
pleasantly sized it  is - I cant see it bright light and as I have to take 
off my 
glasses to see it  in subdued light - i might just as well be comfortable, 
sipping coffee and  admire my handiwork. 
I  went through my lenses and anything that could be made to fit was put on 
it.  from 12/5,6 to 135/4 in M-mount and even some Nikkor RF lenses with the 
 
Orion-copy adapter as well as my Viso III. I need to make a mask (i.e. draw 
the 
 reduced frame size with marker on the Viso screen). It also works well with 
 
Bellows II (and a 61/2" Kodak Anastigmat from an old folding Kodak).  
Lenses  like the 75/2 and the 50/1,4 Asph. works very well, but I found that 
I was suing  my 40/1,4 Nokton and the 28/25 focal length for most of the  
"keepers". 
The  technical  stuff I leave to those of us who like that kind of stuff but 
the  long and  short of it is that A/I have ordered one and B/ Leica 
succeeded 
 where nobody else did. They made me a believer in Digital. The M8 will be a 
 
complement to my M2's and M6's. It will not relegate film obsolete in my 
"book"  but it will be additional tool in the arsenal. 
Now,  all we need is a printer that is dedicated to black and white. Four 
shades -  glossy black, matte black, mid-grey and light grey and while I am 
dreaming - a  spot-varnish feature. Oh, the inks should also be reasonably 
priced! 
For storing  the digital images I would like to see a digital to film 
transfer 
that was easy  to use and cheap at that. Film is still the cheapest and 
safest long term  storage available! Well, if Leica can build a Digital M 
successfully why  cant  other manufacturers do what some of the customers 
want to have! 
 The demand for a dedicated b/w printer would be huge - think of all those  
neg- files sitting around. I have in excess of 350 000 negatives on file-  
most 
are not worth the backing they are on, but some I would like to do quick  
prints from. The good prints I would still do in a wet darkroom as I enjoy 
that  
process - staring at a screen does not come close to the pleasure of 
watching 
a  white sheet of paper  
turn  into an image. 
Best  for now, 
Tom  A 
----- 
Tom  Abrahamsson 
Vancouver, BC 
Canada 
rapidwinder.com