5 minutes with M8

[chican]

I was getting my MP from cla and the dealer comes and asks if I want to "see" the M8, "it as arrived today"...
Firmware version 1.05, noise still not controled over 640... hope they fix it soon...
GREAT CAMERA, the first "normal"/possible digital camera after the Rd-1(not wide angle enouhf). viewfinder wierd for someone used to the MP, M6 , hope it will sell enouhf for them to make different magnifications, one with the 24mm fov/frames please... oh and a small 18mm to go with😉 and a high noise setting for black and white :angel: the rest as all been said in the forums... GREAT CAMERA!!!

 

[johnbuckley]

It has 24mm frames, according the sample shots of the viewfinder.

 

[chican]

I meant 24mm Field Of View, which with the 1.33 crop needs a +- 0.55 viewfinder...
The 18mm in the M8 is equivalent to the 24 fov...
What I meant was an M8 with a 0.55, 0.50 finder to use wideangles and a new (small) 18mm (24fov) to go with it!!! (I don't use more than 50mm fov, as a lot of photographers that use Leica M for documentary/photojournalism work).
Yes it has the frames for the 24mm which with the crop factor means a 32mm fov.

 

[Andy Aitken]

Chican,

Please tell us more about the noise levels at ISO 640, 1250 and 2500 if you can! I couldn't see any noise on the ISO 320 sample that was leaked recently and am hoping it will be clean at 640 and decent at 1250. The noise at 1250 will be a big factor in whether I order one or not.

Cheers

 

[Ben Z]

I was getting my MP from cla and the dealer comes and asks if I want to "see" the M8, "it as arrived today"...
Firmware version 1.05, noise still not controled over 640... hope they fix it soon...

According to Leica's product manager they have not yet shipped any finalized M8s out of Solms and it will be the end of the month at earliest. The one you saw could not have been anything but a roving demo, so don't worry about the noise yet, it was not a production firmware.

I will be happy if the M8 has no more noise than the grain I get from shooting film. I have a Canon 20D and have used my friend's 5D, which are very noise-controlled in the high range. But because of their weight and the mirror slap I have to use higher shutter speeds in the same light as I would my M6. Taking that into account ISO 1600 on my 20D is "equivalent" to about ISO 400 on the Leica.

 

[ywenz]

Taking that into account ISO 1600 on my 20D is "equivalent" to about ISO 400 on the Leica.

The slower shutter speed on the Leica will be of no help when your subject is in motion.

Firmware will not make a night and day difference on the performance of the sensor. If it's noisy now with a beta firmware, they won't be able to magically change the law of physics and make the noise dissapear with a couple weeks worth of code tweaking..

 

[Ben Z]

The slower shutter speed on the Leica will be of no help when your subject is in motion.

Firmware will not make a night and day difference on the performance of the sensor. If it's noisy now with a beta firmware, they won't be able to magically change the law of physics and make the noise dissapear with a couple weeks worth of code tweaking..

Then I guess everyone will be cancelling their orders and Leica will go bankrupt after all 😀

 

[newyorkone]

I was getting my MP from cla and the dealer comes and asks if I want to "see" the M8, "it as arrived today"...
Firmware version 1.05, noise still not controled over 640... hope they fix it soon...

I saw the M8 at my Leica dealer too.

I also saw Elvis, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny there too and they were crazy about the M8 🙂

Pardon the cynicism but 4 posts and you make claims that you're the first person to see a production M8 AND also had time to accurately discern high ISO ability...all this in 5 minutes!

I think not.

 

[blakley]

Firmware will not make a night and day difference on the performance of the sensor. If it's noisy now with a beta firmware, they won't be able to magically change the law of physics and make the noise dissapear with a couple weeks worth of code tweaking.

Right; the M8 is doomed. The sensor has a physics problem. It's got too many bosons or something. And the Leica staff just started working on the firmware after Photokina - what a buncha losers. Better go get a 5D.

 

[chican]

Yes, newy u 2! I was there and all I could do was stare at my hands holding the historical man made machine from heaven, so afraid to aim, shoot or even remember the firmware version or look at the jpgs in the lcd... yes I saw the M8 at a dealer and I was able to shoot a few clics😉
Because the firmware is not final, I don't want to especulate too much, for me I wouldnt mind a high iso "with" noise for black and white!!!
but that's me...are we all diferent???
as for color, yes it would be good ,high iso/low noise, and i think Leica knows that!!!
Let's hope for the better, with the first(well 2nd) non tiranic digital rangefinder in history...
as it looks in the lcd and with the leaked images it's a breath of fresh air without the antialiasing filter, finaly a camera that makes pictures not blurred visions...

 

[Ben Z]

So just to be sure I've got it right, when you said "noise still not controled over 640" you were basing it on what you saw on the LCD? Darn, and to think those silly guys to write the reviews waste so much time downloading RAW files to their computer and making prints 😀