Buying a Leica M8 in 2010, advice and opinions.

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sper

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First of all no I cannot afford an M9. Second of all I already own film rangefinders and medium/large format cameras. Thirdly, I also own a D700 so high ISO is covered.

But still...I long for a digital camera that fits my M lenses. I borrowed an M8 for a week and I've enjoyed shooting with it thus far. The files are sharp, especially from a borrowed 35mm C Biogon. However I have to say the Nikon D700s files are far richer in tonality and require a lot less fussing, but I'm not here to compare. The M8 is a mini digital back, and must be treated as such.

I want one, but I have concerns.

1. Freeze up. Are there serial number groups that don't suffer form this?

2. Banding. Same question.

3. Dealer. Does Leica sell used items like Hasselblad does?

My observations about the camera are mostly that I just love using it. Great files from great lenses. It makes me sad that my Voigtlander Ultron isn't as sharp as I thought it was, but hey can't win them all. The C Biogon I borrowed from work is wacky beautiful, same with my 21mm Color-Skopar. I'll probably get a 35mm Biogon f2 as my normal, and stick with the 28 and 21 as my wides, and maybe pick up a 15mm down the line. I feel like it's a fantastic portrait, wedding, and editorial camera.

What do I need to know before I buy an M8? Any thoughts or opinions?

4615995827_90716f7937_o.jpg

Leica M8 - Voigtlander 28mm Ultron 2.0
 
sper said:
However I have to say the Nikon D700s files are far richer in tonality and require a lot less fussing,

What do I need to know before I buy an M8? Any thoughts or opinions?
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Process the M8 files in Capture One then check against the Nikon which, only my opinion, are a little too "rich" for my taste out of the box but colour is very subjective. It is very difficult to "match" one sensor to another across brands. I think free trials are still available of C1 but you should try and get the licence No. issued with the camera to get free access.
The upgrades are available still and if you buy even one Leica will overhaul the camera, bring it up to spec and give a 12mth warranty.
Serial numbers are relatively random so fixes are hard to pin down.
Some dealers have ex dem or refurbished stock, AFAIK Leica only deal through their network, they do have there own "boutiques" such as London so you could enquire about refurbs. there but I think they are only interested in new.
I'm happy with mine but it's no M2 🙄
 
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The warranty is the really important part, I'm about to put Leica Service on speed dial. It is a great camera though, when it works.

martin
 
m8 can be had for cheap now. you can find them in the sales forums here. i would definitely go to the forum route and members here seem to be more knowledgeable and forthright...
 
Just my opinion, but for this camera, I'd avoid a demo or refurb. People tend to do stuff with these that they wouldn't do with stuff they actually owned. Kind of like a rental car scenario...
 
jsrockit said:
I'd go for the M8.2 if I were you.
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I second that. I didn't like the M8 issues - mind you the M8 was Leica's first digital M. Therefore get the M8.2, which has the shutter and frameline upgrade, and the shutter is the thing for sure that counts.


further advice, take a 35mm summicron and you never look back 🙂
 
Stick with the D700 and the film rangefinder until the M9 becomes affordable because once you try one and see how well the lens work on it you will have to start saving all over again. It is worth the wait. It's not as though you don't have a good camera to shoot with.
 
As far as the frameline issue: on my M8 the 75mm framelines are perfect for an 85mm lens,

Canon 85/2, wide-open on the M8,

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and the 90mm framelines are perfect for the Nikkor 10.5cm F2.5.

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and another, just because I like this combo,

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With the 1.25x finder, wide-open with both.
 
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jaapv said:
Forget about the " issues" in the forums. The vast majority are fine. Get one with a decent warranty from a trusted dealer and enjoy.
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Correct.
Although I half agree with you about the post processing fuss. It's a slightly different beast than the normal DSLR's, but once I fussed with post enough I've made defaults for ACR and as soon as the card goes into the reader on the computer it's automatically processed, so it's no longer any fuss.
 
The M8.2 is not worth double what you pay for an M8, so it's out of my price range. If I could find one for $3000 I'd go for it but I see prices at 4, 42, no way. The shutter is quieter than most of my cameras so that doesn't bother me, and I don't find the frame lines too bad.

Does anybody know how much Leica charges to bring the camera up to newer spec? And when they do this do they wrap it in the newer pretty coating?
 
sper said:
Does anybody know how much Leica charges to bring the camera up to newer spec? And when they do this do they wrap it in the newer pretty coating?
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As of March 2010:
M8 Upgrade Option MSP Add a X to the upgrade(s)you choose
Shutter + Sapphire Glass + Rangefinder Mask $2,150.00
Shutter & Sapphire Glass $1,850.00
Shutter & Rangefinder Mask $1,600.00
Shutter Only $1,300.00
Sapphire Glass & Rangefinder Mask $1,550.00
Sapphire Glass $1,300.00
Rangefinder Mask $1,100.00
Signature Engraving on top plate
(Must attach signature on a white sheet of paper. Signature must be in black ink.)

$ 510.00
Personal Engraving on top plate $ 325.00
Vulcanite Leatherette body $ 360.00
 
And, keep in mind that even after all these upgrades, the M8 still isn't the same as the M8.2...black chrome versus black paint, no discreet shutter mode (or loss of 8000 setting), no EV compensation upgrade, and no black dot (on black camera). But, at least one avoids the Snapshot mode.🙂

Jeff
 
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