M8 Field Report by Magnum's Thomas Hoepker

I almost laughed out loud when I saw the grey jacketed bloke photographed on the 5D and the M8 - I hadn't realised the cast was so obvious!

This isn't a bad-mouthing or such - just an observation.
 
What was most interesting about that article was his struggle between going from the SLR back to the rangefinder...

although I felt his comment at the end was a little ambiguous ... couldn't figure out if he was sending it back or saying that it will produce money making images?

It was obvious to me it was a professional who did not care of size, sound, or nostalgia ... but speed, ease of use, and image consistency

I felt it was funny him stating the megapixel factor was a possible issue
 
jaapv said:
It is the distance the sound has to travel around the camera from the shutter to your ear- with the 5D it is 4 times further, reducing the sound level 16 times......
Click to expand...
So did the distance decrease from MP to M8? 🙂 Human ear registers volume on logarithmic scale, it really doesn't make that much difference on close distances.

However M8 shutter didn't sound so loud to me, with volume about on par MP/M7.
 
varjag said:
However M8 shutter didn't sound so loud to me, with volume about on par MP/M7.
Click to expand...

I second that. Granted I haven't yet received mine yet (and considering the teething problems so far that's not entirely a bad thing...) and haven't put the camera through its paces in quiet environments, but when I handled one the shutter sound seemed to be acceptably quiet. Hoepker's comments on this were the strangest thing in his report to me. And I'm a bit surprised he thinks the M8 with a prime lens is more obtrusive than a 5D with a zoom for reportage, even if the M8 shutter is slightly louder than the 5D. I get intimidated and my shoulder gets sore even looking at a Canon f2.8 zoom. To each his own.
 
Matthew said:
And I'm a bit surprised he thinks the M8 with a prime lens is more obtrusive than a 5D with a zoom for reportage, even if the M8 shutter is slightly louder than the 5D. I get intimidated and my shoulder gets sore even looking at a Canon f2.8 zoom. To each his own.
Click to expand...

Why can'y you just slap a small prime on the 5D? the 50 f1.4 + 5D is a rather compact package. If you're shooting in an environment where the noise of the camera will be more noticed than the camera itself, then the quieter camera will be favored.
 
Holy crap, people. Nit-picking over the sound (which he says he "thinks" is lounder than his 5D, thus admitting he didn't really "test" them side by side), etc., etc. Did no on read this

"Then, of course, comes the most important test - take some snaps, download them, see them on a large monitor - and get excited! There it is again, the famous Leica definition, which is so hard to describe in words." or

"But it is stunning how much interpolation these Leica files can take. I have yet to try a 44x60" output but the first 24x36 inch Leica print from my HP Designjet looks just great!"

Yeah, he found the IR problem, but he ends with

"So will there be a happy end to my short relationship with the M8? I certainly think so. Next year I will take a long hard look at my bank account ...."
 
It's no secret that Magnum has an endorsement relationship with Hewlett Packard (see HP's printer website for examples of the tie-in) and I note that the writer duly managed to work in a plug for his DesignJet printer late in the story.

I wonder if he also has a commercial relationship with Canon?

I'm not criticizing that -- after all, Magnum is cooperative whose members are in business to make money -- but it might explain a bit why so much of his "Leica M8 review" seems to be devoted to how great his Canon 5D is...
 
I think all he was pointing out is that his 5D is very predictable, he is less likely to miss a shot due to its speed, ergonomics, zoom lenses, and reliability. As was pointed out he wasn't completely disappointed in the M8, its just not everything he needed it to be

Out of all the endorsements Magnum may or may not have... I don't believe Canon has any relationship with Magnum as many of their photographers use many different systems

now thats not to say he himself may have some sort of endorsement
 
ywenz said:
Why can'y you just slap a small prime on the 5D? the 50 f1.4 + 5D is a rather compact package. If you're shooting in an environment where the noise of the camera will be more noticed than the camera itself, then the quieter camera will be favored.
Click to expand...

I was three-quarters joking... Use whatever system you like. Personally I found the M8 to be very quiet, greatly prefer the rangefinder focusing and viewfinder to autofocus SLRs and can't wait to actually get mine. The 5D with a 50/1.4 prime is certainly not that big a package and quite capable. I've only briefly used one but if I was in the market for a new DSLR it would be on the top of my list.
 
talking about quiet shutter, one must mention Hexar RF, in terms of smoothness and quietness, the M8 shutter is really no match

M8's shutter is the same as R8/9's? Leica just make good use of what they have, not really putting the best into M8. just my two cents.

the glory of any M is its rangefinder.
 
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