Why are you still using your M8?

[ramosa]

Why am I still using an M8?

I'm happy with it. (What could be better? Better high ISO, quieter shutter, better LCD, no crop factor.) While the M9 posed an improvement in several of those areas, I found myself (over the past two years) waiting for an even better alternative, especially because the M8 tends to render more to my liking in B&W (as compared to the M9). Is the M that "better alternative"? We'll need to wait and see.

 

[Clark.EE]

Longing for my M8

Longing for my M8

Still waiting to get my M8 back from Leica (I dropped it).
Leica lent me an M9, still have it, cant wait to send it back.
The M8 (silver chrome) was unmarked after nearly a year.
The M9 (black) i have had for 6 weeks & is showing quite a bit of brassing & some scratches already.
The other problens i had with it are listed elsewhere on this site, freezing up, intermittent battery faults, exposure problems (me).
M8 just seemed to work better.
Hopefully get the M8 back for Xmas.

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

I think leica should have kept it in the program, update the software, lens profiles etc... Sell it several thousand dollars cheaper etc... A real Entry level leica M !

 

[Ruhayat]

Hi Godfrey,
I share your affection for the E-1 and that is one of the reasons that the M8 still makes me happy. The kodak sensors in those two are closely related and it can be seen in prints. I would suspect it is there in the M9 too, but I never took a look see. While it was easy for me to upgrade through the E-1/E-3/E-5 because of some clear improvements, I didn't have the same impulses when the M9 came out. The M8's crop supports my short tele preferrence. hen I do wide, I reach for the 11-22ZD. I'll ride the M8 wagon untill the wheels fall off.
Bob

Same for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the E1, especially with the 28mm Elmarit-R. It makes organic-looking images*, if you can imagine such a thing. I always thought it was the Kodak sensor, too, and with my two R lenses I used to imagine it was my Leica DMR on the cheap.

*I love the Digilux 2 for this same reason. If Leica were to simply shrink that camera into an M film body and called it the Digilux 5, I would buy one.

 

[lemalk]

As many have said before, the M8 continues to deliver stellar images at low ISOs. I bought mine roughly four years ago and it has been around the US with me. Its only downside is that the scroll wheel stopped working a year ago.
Not a huge deal, since it was just used to confirm focus - but still.

After debating a full-frame DSLR, or even selling to move to an M9, I, like many others here, are waiting for confirmation that the new M is a tangible leap in high ISO files, or for M9 or M-E prices to dip a bit lower.

I love my M8. But since its digital - it will eventually die, like those replicants in Blade Runner. 😉

 

[Kent]

I think leica should have kept it in the program, update the software, lens profiles etc... Sell it several thousand dollars cheaper etc... A real Entry level leica M !

Indeed! Just that Leica does not want a real entry level M. 😉

 

[Godfrey]

I doubt that an M8 costs any less to build than an M9, other than the cost of the sensor ... which is now discontinued and long out of production. Same for the LCD display. So they'd have to re-engineer for those two bits at least, and all the systems underneath them.

That wouldn't make for a much lower price than the M-E, new.

G

 

[DRabbit]

I love my M8. That's why I keep it. I'd love to afford an M9 or M-E but I'll wait until they are much cheaper used (maybe eventually).

Meantime, I'm coming to really love what Fuji is doing and I'm having an affair with the XE1 lately.

 

[Kent]

... and I'm having an affair with the XE1 lately.

Quite understandable, Amy! The XE1 is a beaut.

 

[raphaelaaron]

You didn't do that bad for $2k; others have closed in that range (even from dealers). But your camera does look as nice as they come!

And I see your sale was a straight auction and you started at a pretty low opening bid, so you let the market decide the price, so it doesn't make sense to say the price was too low! Others will sell in that range, and yet others will sell for more. You may had gotten more by not starting it on Thanksgiving and finishing on the holiday weekend.

thanks for the feedback on the auction. i actually really appreciate it as it was one of the first ones as a seller. trying to get the hang of things, and emptying out my place due to moving next year.

 

[gdi]

thanks for the feedback on the auction. i actually really appreciate it as it was one of the first ones as a seller. trying to get the hang of things, and emptying out my place due to moving next year.

Sure, just be careful selling expensive items there, it can be an adventure!

Too bad I didn't see your M8.2 - I would have been in the bidding! It looks great compared to the ones people are trying to get a lot more for.