[Leica] IMG: First day with M8 and a bit of a review

[photo.forrest at earthlink.net (Philip Forrest)]

So today was my first day shooting in earnest with my recently arrived
M8. Image links below, but first a few observations on the camera.
*The opening latch on the bottom plate is on the wrong side and I'm
still grabbing for the one on the left side as on every other film M
camera ever made. This annoys me a bit since I'm a fan of making my own
grips. With the M8 I can't, lest I cover the opening key. Unless, I
make the shaft of the opening key longer and put it through my grip...
*I'm going to probably cover the camera with Griptac 'cause the stock
covering is not going to cut it.
*I'm not a fan of the ThumbsUp but I like the theory and utility of it.
I'm going to stick a small tab of lexan on the back of the top plate
with some 3M double sided tape. 
*I miss my flip-over screen from the RD1 cause my nose is getting the
M8 screen really greasy. I need to get some of those sticky clear
screen protectors.
*The shutter button can be a bit tricky to get used to. I've found
where I can lock my exposure settings, but a few times snapped a photo
when searching for that magic point.
*An M4 shutter release it is not.

Mind you, I'm really splitting hairs. I love the camera. Moving from an
RD1 to an M8 is like moving from a nice Toyota Camry to a BMW (I've
only driven a BMW, but have owned a Toyota. It was a car that worked,
plain & simple.)

I'll eat some crow for complaining about problems with the platform
that have been addressed and fixed over the last three years. I have no
problem with that. I'm a happy camper.

I set it up and almost without thought started shooting like it was my
M4. I tried to wind a few times (shutter was in discreet mode most of
the day) but got used to not doing that. The VF is significantly better
than the RD1 and doesn't require precise centering of my eye. 
Once I got used to getting where I needed to go on the easy menu,
switching a setting was very simple. I think I only needed to dial in
EV compensation a few times and toward the end of the day, switched ISO.

I'm trying to shoot the hell out of this camera as I've got 4 days left
to break it & return for a full refund. The body is a factory refurb
(supposedly demo camera) that is in mint condition, focuses accurately
with the lenses that I love (My Jupiter-8 needs a shim) and has the
latest firmware update. The shutter is quiet if you ask me.
Philadelphia is a loud town and that M8 shutter is silent for all
intents and purposes.

Lest I bore you even more, here is a link to my updated Around Philly
album on the LUG gallery:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PhilForrest/Phila_110308web/

The album has been updated with thirteen photos I took today during and
after a shoot for my documentary class.