Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/08/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Aug 30, 2007, at 6:50 PM, Adam wrote: > I keep thinking that you want a particular answer and are disgruntled > when you don't get it, Lawrence. I never intended to release a flood of emotions when I asked about the relative reliability of the M8. What I really wanted was someone to say that the M8, and indeed any Leica, is a camera, not the Holy Grail. I would have liked to see it compared objectively to other cameras, but I guess expecting Luggers to be unbiased is a real leap of faith. After all, it is the LUG. I don't even want to see it compared to Canon or Nikon. I have no interest in buying either. Nor am I unacquainted with the convenience of digital cameras. I have owned them since they first came out about 15 years ago, starting with a B&W Logitec, the Apple 100, and the Leica Digiflex Zoom. I regularly use an Olympus 4/3 DSLR, apparently the second choice of many Leica fans. The digitals let me take more pictures without a cost penalty but I seriously doubt that they are better pictures. What I would like to see is a comparison of the M8 with a film Leica, say the M6, using the same lenses on each, the film to be scanned at 4000 lpi on a top quality scanner. Surely one of the excellent photographers on the LUG has both cameras and the interest in making such a test. My problem is that I have film Leicas and lenses that I use for personal photography. I am satisfied with the results but I like the convenience of digital. The entry price of the M8 can buy a lot of film and processing. Still, I'm tempted. The largest pictures I regularly make these days are 8x10s with an occasional 11x14 or 16x20 for a photo show. No 40x60s ever. The value of Leica RF cameras as instinctive image making machines extends to the M8 as several Luggers have stated. I don't expect MF results from a 35 mm frame despite the assertions of M8 fans that Hassleblad quality can be squeezed out of the sensor. Too bad there isn't a Consumers Research for high end cameras. My problem would be resolved if someone would just give me an M8. I wonder what Leica does with all those returned cameras. Can't sell them as new. It's against the law. Larry Z