Buying the M8.2--here's my question...

[BigSteveG]

what caveats would have for an MP/M2 user? what little quirks can I expect for my first few sessions? I am wondering about the Exposure compensation function...is it easy to use? Are the menus easily readable? Anyone shooting w/ the Konica M lenses? I have 3 so they should get some use. Anyhoo....your comments are appreciated.

 

[kbg32]

You'll get as many answers as there are M8 users. But there are no caveats. Just use it as you would your other M and you'll learn its own quirks accordingly.

Don't forget, have fun.

 

[ampguy]

not 8.2, but using a couple of M-Hexanons

not 8.2, but using a couple of M-Hexanons

not much, am trying to use 2 lenses for a year. However, the regular M8 works great with the uncoded 28/2.8, and 90/2.8 M-Hexanons.

what caveats would have for an MP/M2 user? what little quirks can I expect for my first few sessions? I am wondering about the Exposure compensation function...is it easy to use? Are the menus easily readable? Anyone shooting w/ the Konica M lenses? I have 3 so they should get some use. Anyhoo....your comments are appreciated.

 

[dof]

You can expect a lot of unusual purple fabrics in your images if you don't use UV/IR filters on your lenses. In the 35mm+ range, coding isn't a must but the filters definitely are at all focal lengths!

 

[Doug]

Agreed on the filters after my own resistance to that idea! The camera is amazingly easy to use for one familiar with manual film cameras and not weaned on video games. 😉

 

[JPSuisse]

I find the subjective user experience to be "clunky" in comparison to my other Ms. My other Ms are so quite and the shutter my M8 is distracting, also the body feels a bit "tin"-ny in comparison to my other Ms.

Otherwise, it really does feel like the same camera. Somebody wrote on this forum once that "it's the only digital M in town." It certainly is an "M-camera."

Have fun, it's a good tool.

JP

 

[Roger Hicks]

Feels a bit fat, and the shutter speed dial goes backwards. Otherwise, no problem. The M8.2 even sounds like a Leica.

I've been using MP + M8 and then M8.2 since the digital models came out...

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ben Z]

I transitioned to the M8 pretty much seamlessly. The only thing that took some experimentation was the difference in calibration of the framelines (which is now back to "normal" since I had them upgraded). I shoot only DNG and have the auto review set to OFF, and I can easily forget it's a digital. I think for M7 users (especially those who use the M-winder) its even an easier transition, because the shutter speed wheel is numbered in the same direction, and has AE and an ON/OFF switch, and the finder display is very similar.

 

[_goodtimez]

The only big drawback for me is dust on the sensor. At the end you tend to swap lenses less and less. Also digital tends to have you shoot more pics and with less composition than with film, and the digital files appear then less valuable to you. This has nothing to do with the specific M8 though. You will have to fight these tendencies to re-strart taking pictures the Leica way and creat less crap.

 

[aniMal]

Its really brilliant when it comes to this, I actually got a shot the first afternoon with my M8 which I will keep showing for years to come... As I have used winders on Ms before, it was almost seamless.

I got an M7 half a year ago, as it has a shutter dial that goes the same, wrong, way. Getting the same ergonomics like this is very valuable for me, and I am sure you will be happy with the transition to digital M!

 

[cnguyen]

Shoot RAW if you can even with latest firmware the Jpegs still don't very good in my eyes. Leica AWB is shaky...

 

[johannielscom]

M8 and M-Hex

M8 and M-Hex

Hi,

I shoot the 28mm, 50mm, 50mm 1.2 and 90mm M-Hexes with the black edition M8.

All work like a charm. I feel the M8's build quality matches that of the M-Hexes. They look a nice combo and handle like a dream.

What I like most: I can compensate shutter speeds when changing the aperture without having to look at camera or lens, as long as I know what I started out from.😎
The M8 has intermediate shutter speeds (there's a click stop for 1/12th between the buttons 1/8th and 1/15th, etc.) and the M-Hexes have the same intermediate click stops on the aperture. So, counting clicks and remembering which way to turn is all you have to do. So, when changing the aperture without looking at your camera (extreme stealth mode here!) I can compensate shutter speeds as well without looking at the camera. Just a quick glance to set the hyperfocal distance for the new aperture and when I get the camera up to my eye, I only need to frame to get the shot.

What I hate most are the filters, I leave them off as much as possible. They are highly reflective, and project a bright purple spot off the filter when walking in sunlight. So much for stealth mode... Mine only come out indoors and at night. But, I need to change almost daily...🙁

 

[JNewell]

You can expect a lot of unusual purple fabrics in your images if you don't use UV/IR filters on your lenses. In the 35mm+ range, coding isn't a must but the filters definitely are at all focal lengths!

I have the filters but have not been using them. I guess my subjects don't typically include the "wrong" stuff. YMMV...

 

[ampguy]

No filters, coding, or photoshop here, either.

 

[Doug]

I'm not so skilled at Photoshop, so that's not a solution for me. Early on I figured I'd do without filters or coding and see how it went. I took the M8 on a tour/vacation to Malta, Sicily, and the Canary Islands, using the 28 Summicron and 35/2 Biogon. No filters, etc.

Most photos looked fine, no noticeable IR effects. Sometimes grey or black fabrics looked a bit violet or purple but it was ok, while at other times it pretty much ruined the shot, at least for color. Shots in a restaurant lit only with tungsten bulbs were unusable in color (too much IR content I guess), and no amount of fiddling with the processing (absent those PS skills) could fix them; the color spectrum was simply screwed up.

Well, I'm using filters and getting lenses coded, and now the colors look better, not just those fabrics. CornerFix is another solution too. I've used it when I messed up and set the camera to UV/IR Off when using a filter, or when I used the wrong coding and the lens wasn't recognized, or even with the 18 Biogon with no filter. Handy program, but doubles the size of the output files, which then retain that doubled size even after processing the DNGs to TIFFs. There are compression options, but I opted for max compatibility.

 

[jaapv]

No filters, coding, or photoshop here, either.

You have me gobsmacked. You spend thousands on a camera system, yet you seem to accept results that can easily be bettered by a 500$ P&S.
Colours all over the place, not as sharp as it could be and prints at the level of a 24 hour lab....

 

[jaapv]

I have the filters but have not been using them. I guess my subjects don't typically include the "wrong" stuff. YMMV...

Your subjects don't contain chlorophyl or heamoglobin?