[Leica] Re: M8 problems

[pklein at 2alpha.net (Peter Klein)]

Larry:

Sounds like you really have two issues:

- Do I need digital at all?
- Do I need (or want) an M8?

Digital is convenient. Digital has less dynamic range than negative film, 
but ISO for ISO, it's cleaner than most film. You don't buy film and 
processing, you buy a camera.

I'm with Tina and George and Sonny--my M8 gives me the best image quality 
I've seen from a 35mm-size camera.

No doubt about it, the M8 also has quirks and hidden costs that derive 
from those quirks. We have the IR filter/cyan drift issues and the need 
for coding of 35mm and wider lenses.  There have been reliability issues 
with some cameras, particularly early models. Most of the really bad 
problems seem to have been fixed.

But every so often, somebody's M8 fails, and we hear about it quickly. The 
Internet amplifies the problems, and it seems like every M8 is a piece of 
crap.  I liken it to watching your local television news.  It seems like 
there is a child molester on every block, and a terrorist behind every 
tree. But is that really the case?

We can scream from today till next Tuesday about how Leica shoulda done 
this and oughta done that, how could they not know about the IR issue, and 
how dare a $5000 camera not be perfect?  But the fact is that Leica is a 
small company, and it's trying to compete with very deep pockets from 
Japan, Inc.  And the problems of very fast lenses and close-to-the-sensor 
RF lenses mean Leica has more to deal with than the DSLR makers.

The real question is "what do I get for my five grand, and is it worth it 
to *me*?  And if the thing dies, can I live with the delays while it's 
fixed.

My pet peeve is that they should give us a lens selection menu. And I am 
annoyed about the focus shift issues--they are not as bad as some people 
make them, but they are real.

I knew about all the issues except focus shift, and I still bought the 
camera. I waited 6 months until it looked like the major teething pains 
had been fixed. I'm not rich, I still can't believe how much the damn 
thing cost, and I am still very happy I bought it.

No one can guarantee that you will get a perfect,trouble-free M8. But it 
is telling that most of the people here who have M8s love them, and even 
those who have had failures want them back so they can shoot with them. 
I've been lucky so far, no major problems.  I'm still fine-tuning my 
shooting to find the sweet spot between blown highlights and too much 
shadow noise.  My own feelings are about 5% occasional buyer's remorse and 
95% "I LOVE this camera."

Only you can decide if you want an M8.  The way you're talking, film works 
for you, you don't need the immediacy of digital most of the time.  If 
that's the case, why switch?  OTOH, if you are interested in exploring 
digital while maintaining the same control layout and general shooting 
style as you did with Ms and manual SLRs, then the M8 is worthy of 
consideration.  If the M8 is not your cup of tea but you want a good, 
affordable high-quality digital, consider the Pentax K10D or the Olympus 
E-510, both very worthy shooter's cameras.

But if you love RF shooting and the way Leica lenses draw images, the M8 
is the only digital game in town.  It takes some work and adjustment to 
get the highest quality of which the M8 is capable.  But it can be done, 
and when you get it, it is incredible. You can argue that Brand C gives 
cleaner high ISO images, but not at the level of detail the M8 gives.

I'm shooting more with my M8 than I ever did with film.  I have touched my 
E-1 and my film Ms each exactly once since I got the M8 5 months ago--the 
E-1 for a macro shot and the film M for a classical concert. That ought to 
tell you something.

Reverse peer pressure: Regardless of what you decide, you and your photos 
are always welcome around here!

--Peter