Robin Harrison
aka Harrison Cronbi
In a Michael Reichman what worked/what didn't work style:
I have owned an M8 for 18 months and have used it fairly lightly. But I have just returned from travelling for 3-months through 22 countries (driving from London to Mongolia, Japan, US, Canada) with the following gear:
Leica M8
7 batteries, 6 SD cards, Luigi case, Y-strap
VC 15mm f/4.5
Zeiss 25mm f/2.8
Leica 35mm pre-asph f/1.4
VC 75mm f/2.5
Olympus 1030sw as a rugged back up
Vosonic hard disk photo store
Arctic Butterfly
This was a pretty big test for the M8.
What worked:
- The size and weight of of the package - everything in a very small and discreet Crumpler bag.
- Focal length choice. 85% of all shots were taken with the the 25mm and 35mm. In some parts of the world I really needed the width of the 15mm. The 75mm was the best choice for tele work.
- The Y-strap I used with the camera. It offers security of placement, a low-profile appearance, and speed of camera availability.
- Camera durability. Not only is the M8 as functionaly perfect as when I left, but it doesn't look like it's seen the world.
- Top speed 1/8000s. I love the wide-open look of the 35mm pre-asph. The M8's top speed allowed me to use it in bright daylight situations.
- Quick shooting ability. Providing you can remember the ISO the camera is set to, it beats a DSLR hands down in the ability to subtly set focus, f-stop, and - to a lesser extent - shutter speed by feel alone.
- Arctic Butterfly 724 anti-dust brush. Does what it says on the tin, very well indeed.
- Fooling people! Some quotes: "Woah - old skool!", "Great to see somebody is still using film!", "Gees. Did you inherit that from your father?"
What didn't work:
- Lens reliability. The 35mm became near-focussing. The 25mm barrel has loosened to a worrying extent (I'll post about that in the Zeiss forum)
- Lack of dust-proofing. Althought the Arctic Butterfly did it's job well, there was no predicting when dust would affect the sensor.
- Framing accuracy. Especially with the 75mm at infinity, it was largely guess work.
- Shutter sound. There were a few occasions when I didn't take a candid hip shot due to noise concerns. BUT - this is really only a issue having had the ability to handle an M8.2 in Tokyo. The shutter, especially in the 'don't recock until released' mode is comprable to my M6.
- Battery life. Reading of DSLRS with 500-600 shot battery lives you have to wonder why I couldn't get close to 200 with the M8.
- My confidence in lower ISOs. I would often plumb for the slower shutter speeds and wider apertures before venturing beyond ISO 640.
I'm a man who enjoys using a variety of cameras, and with 3000 M8 shots to organise and process, and having used it exclusively for 3 months, I can see myself not using the M8 heavily for a while. Without a job at the minute, I may even find myself selling it. BUT - no other camera could have done the job the M8 did on this trip. It's as simple as that. And if I was to do it all again, I wouldn't change the kit I took. The M8 may well be the best serious photographers' travel camera money can buy (disclaimer - for my definition of best, and my definiition of travel 🙂 ).
I have owned an M8 for 18 months and have used it fairly lightly. But I have just returned from travelling for 3-months through 22 countries (driving from London to Mongolia, Japan, US, Canada) with the following gear:
Leica M8
7 batteries, 6 SD cards, Luigi case, Y-strap
VC 15mm f/4.5
Zeiss 25mm f/2.8
Leica 35mm pre-asph f/1.4
VC 75mm f/2.5
Olympus 1030sw as a rugged back up
Vosonic hard disk photo store
Arctic Butterfly
This was a pretty big test for the M8.
What worked:
- The size and weight of of the package - everything in a very small and discreet Crumpler bag.
- Focal length choice. 85% of all shots were taken with the the 25mm and 35mm. In some parts of the world I really needed the width of the 15mm. The 75mm was the best choice for tele work.
- The Y-strap I used with the camera. It offers security of placement, a low-profile appearance, and speed of camera availability.
- Camera durability. Not only is the M8 as functionaly perfect as when I left, but it doesn't look like it's seen the world.
- Top speed 1/8000s. I love the wide-open look of the 35mm pre-asph. The M8's top speed allowed me to use it in bright daylight situations.
- Quick shooting ability. Providing you can remember the ISO the camera is set to, it beats a DSLR hands down in the ability to subtly set focus, f-stop, and - to a lesser extent - shutter speed by feel alone.
- Arctic Butterfly 724 anti-dust brush. Does what it says on the tin, very well indeed.
- Fooling people! Some quotes: "Woah - old skool!", "Great to see somebody is still using film!", "Gees. Did you inherit that from your father?"
What didn't work:
- Lens reliability. The 35mm became near-focussing. The 25mm barrel has loosened to a worrying extent (I'll post about that in the Zeiss forum)
- Lack of dust-proofing. Althought the Arctic Butterfly did it's job well, there was no predicting when dust would affect the sensor.
- Framing accuracy. Especially with the 75mm at infinity, it was largely guess work.
- Shutter sound. There were a few occasions when I didn't take a candid hip shot due to noise concerns. BUT - this is really only a issue having had the ability to handle an M8.2 in Tokyo. The shutter, especially in the 'don't recock until released' mode is comprable to my M6.
- Battery life. Reading of DSLRS with 500-600 shot battery lives you have to wonder why I couldn't get close to 200 with the M8.
- My confidence in lower ISOs. I would often plumb for the slower shutter speeds and wider apertures before venturing beyond ISO 640.
I'm a man who enjoys using a variety of cameras, and with 3000 M8 shots to organise and process, and having used it exclusively for 3 months, I can see myself not using the M8 heavily for a while. Without a job at the minute, I may even find myself selling it. BUT - no other camera could have done the job the M8 did on this trip. It's as simple as that. And if I was to do it all again, I wouldn't change the kit I took. The M8 may well be the best serious photographers' travel camera money can buy (disclaimer - for my definition of best, and my definiition of travel 🙂 ).
