[Leica] Leica M8 hands on

[rclompus at mac.com (Richard Clompus)]

Tom, very honest review.  The camera is simple, elegant with some  
limitations.  Probably better than most of us expected.  I'm sold.   
Now all I need is a mint condition used 28mm Aspheric Summicron.  No  
wonder Leica priced that lens so high.  It'll probably become the  
street shooter's lens of choice with the M8.

Richard Clompus
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL


On Sep 14, 2006, at 7:36 PM, TTAbrahams@aol.com wrote:

>
>
> 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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information