Phew..... M8 rules!

[Jodorowsky]

With all the talk of micro 4/3 cameras (well, the G1), I was getting a bit worried- a 12mp digital camera that takes Leica lenses.....hmmmm. I'm not a techno head, but I was starting to think that my £2200 summer splurge was going to look a bit silly (I could have kept my M6, bought a used Noctilux (well....), got into MF and bought a Panasonic G1 etc etc).

No disrespect to the photographers featured, but the flickr page-Panasonic G1 with Leica M Lens-has put my mind at rest.

It all looks a bit plasticky to me, and although I can recognise the signature of some of the lenses featured, the look of the images are nowhere near as gut stopping or kick ass as even the lamest I've seen from an M8.....

http://www.flickr.com/groups/lumixg1m/

 

[Goldorak]

The M8's sensor is indeed a marvel in its own. The files are soo nice, crisp and the colors are the best I've seen from any digital camera yet.

 

[Tuolumne]

Huh? Some of those were damn good!

/T

 

[Jodorowsky]

I think that the images lack a punch. It's as though there's something getting in the way and the image wants to burst out of whatever that is. Like Goldarak says, it's the sensor, which I guess, at the end of the day, was designed with Leica glass in mind.

I'm sure Yoshinori Kikuchi prefers the M8, and won't mind me using one of his for a quick comparison-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoshinori_kikuchi/3143330455/sizes/l/

vs

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zzj/3062990660/

 

[Jodorowsky]

Having said that, the images from the Panasonic seem superior to pics from the RD-1 using similar lenses..... I'm glad I never wobbled and went for the Epson instead of the Leica.

It's funny, though; I'm looking at some of the same pictures from the RD1 which so impressed me a year ago, and which now seem extremely lacking. I sometimes worry that M8 files will look bad to me one day, but I get the feeling that they're somehow 'optimised', and will retain their loveliness for a long time to come.

 

[funkaoshi]

People see what they want to see, and can justify pretty much anything they want to justify. If you like your M8, that's great. Complaining about the G1 doesn't make the M8 a better camera.

 

[Tuolumne]

Genis envy?

/T

 

[cmogi10]

Damn Someone Has a ton of gear.


And Bokeh Shots....

 

[Uwe_Nds]

People see what they want to see, and can justify pretty much anything they want to justify. If you like your M8, that's great. Complaining about the G1 doesn't make the M8 a better camera.

I do not know if this is to me, but I do see the smear of the AA-filter in the girl's hair and jeans jacket. Something the M8 does not do.
I am not complaining about the G1, but I do believe the M8 is the better camera. 😉

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[Tuolumne]

I do not know if this is to me, but I do see the smear of the AA-filter in the girl's hair and jeans jacket. Something the M8 does not do.
I am not complaining about the G1, but I do believe the M8 is the better camera. 😉

Cheers,
Uwe

I sure hope so. It costs ten times as much. ;-)

/T

 

[Uwe_Nds]

I sure hope so. It costs ten times as much. ;-)

/T

So, the G1 is only around 210 GBP?
Where? 😱

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[Jodorowsky]

I sure hope so. It costs ten times as much. ;-)

That's the thing, though- it only costs about 4 times as much if you get a decent second hand deal (it's still a lot of money, though.) My point is that if you already have some Leica/ CV lenses, and you want to go digital, there still isn't any alternative to the Leica M8 if you want to get the very best out from your lenses. I think people do sometimes see what they want to see, and sometimes they can put prejudice aside and be objective; some people would love to buy a £500 camera that comes anywhere close to the M8, but it isn't going to happen (sadly, I must add- if the G1 had proved to be any good, I'd have bought one for my wife- blame the marketers for that particular prejudice 🙂)

 

[Jodorowsky]

Equally, the gear we use can spur us on and inspire us...

 

[Jodorowsky]

So, did you get a burst of inspiration knowing that the Panasonic didn't leave your M8 in the dust?

I wouldn't go that far, but I felt a flutter of appreciation for wht I've got. Anyway, Cirque, did the Hexar RF not hold you back a little bit?

 

[Tuolumne]

So, the G1 is only around 210 GBP?
Where? 😱

Cheers,
Uwe

Price of M8 + cheapest 50mm Leica lens at B&H = $6595

Price of G1 kit at B&H = $700

(Prices rounded up by a few dollars)

Pretty close to 10x, except for bmattock to whom I will concede it is just 9.3x more expensive.

/T
P.S. Compare it to the M8.2 and my calculator breaks when trying to compare how much more expensive the M system is. ;-)

 

[Uwe_Nds]

Price of M8 + cheapest 50mm Leica lens at B&H = $6595

Price of G1 kit at B&H = $700

(Prices rounded up by a few dollars)

Pretty close to 10x, except for bmattock to whom I will concede it is just 9.3x more expensive.

/T

Hey, so we are playing that game again? 😉

First of all, the thread is about the G1 being a surrogate M8, so I assume that M-lenses are already available and therefore would not include an M-lens in the comparison.
But, if you wish.

From Harrison Cameras:
Leica M8 @ 2,899 GBP ./. 650 GBP rebate from Leica UK = 2,249 GBP.
Summarit 35/2.5 @ 831.90 GBP ./. 15% rebate = 707.11 GBP
Total: 2956.11 GBP

From Jessops:
Panasonic G1 Kit: 489.35 GBP

So, that's six times more expensive - including the Summarit lens.
Without the lens, it's "just" 4.6 times more expensive.

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[funkaoshi]

...some people would love to buy a £500 camera that comes anywhere close to the M8...

If image quality was the only measurement of what makes a picture worthwhile, then maybe the M8 would have the edge here. I suspect however that the 5D II or D3 would edge out the M8 by that same token. Really though, image quality is probably one of the last way anyone judges the quality of a photograph. People don't look at a photograph and think to themselves, 'nice shot, shame about that softness along the edges,' or 'this photo would be great if there wasn't so much noise when I look at it with my loupe.'

Anyway, I'm not sure why you feel compelled to justify your camera purchase here of all places. This is a forum for people that like expensive cameras.

 

[WoolenMammoth]

the pictures on the flickr group look "good enough" to me. They certainly dont look thousands of dollars less good enough than an M8 which on its best day looks "good enough" to me. Its a shame the camera has what appears to be the same fiddly interface other digital cameras have.

 

[Uwe_Nds]

the pictures on the flickr group look "good enough" to me. They certainly dont look thousands of dollars less good enough than an M8 which on its best day looks "good enough" to me.

... and they don't look better than the pictures of an entry level DSLR for half the price of the G1. So why bother with the G1?

And why bother with a Canon 5DMKII or 50D with Canon L-lenses? - get a 1000D with an image stabilised kit-lens instead. It's pictures don't look thousands of dollars less good. 😉

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[gdi]

Hey, so we are playing that game again? 😉

First of all, the thread is about the G1 being a surrogate M8, so I assume that M-lenses are already available and therefore would not include an M-lens in the comparison.
But, if you wish.

From Harrison Cameras:
Leica M8 @ 2,899 GBP ./. 650 GBP rebate from Leica UK = 2,249 GBP.
Summarit 35/2.5 @ 831.90 GBP ./. 15% rebate = 707.11 GBP
Total: 2956.11 GBP

From Jessops:
Panasonic G1 Kit: 489.35 GBP

So, that's six times more expensive - including the Summarit lens.
Without the lens, it's "just" 4.6 times more expensive.

Cheers,
Uwe

If you shop smart...

B&H:
M8 - $4000 after rebate
Summarit 35/2.5 - 1300 after rebate
total: $5300

ProDigital:
G1 Kit with lens - around $530 average (highest is $599)

😀