dfdann
Member
My M8 is certainly a classic alongside my M7 and CL digital.
Cheers Dan
Cheers Dan
Could the M8 become a "classic?"
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I agree... The same kind of criteria applies to classic cars IMHO. I still have one of my two M8 cameras, the chrome one with two of the three M8.2 enhancements. I like it enough to hang onto it!
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I sure am pleased with my M8.2. Great color an great B&W. Works for me. Warts and all it is a classic.
jsrockit
Moderator
Well, recently it seems M8 and M9 prices keep going up ... I would think that is indicative of a classic in digital cameras. Epson R-D1 too.
That said the M8 was $5500 and the M9 was $7000 at release. The latest Leica M is $9000. If you want a digital M, you either pay crazy $ or go for something archaic. I know, people love that CCD right? However, no one seems to love the DSLRs with similar sensors.
During the pandemic, Leica M (digital) prices just keep going up...
That said the M8 was $5500 and the M9 was $7000 at release. The latest Leica M is $9000. If you want a digital M, you either pay crazy $ or go for something archaic. I know, people love that CCD right? However, no one seems to love the DSLRs with similar sensors.
During the pandemic, Leica M (digital) prices just keep going up...
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
I have an M8.2 and an M9. I like the images. But I have a Sony DSC S70 that gives great images. Maybe this recent interest in film has spilled over into cameras and these are flimlike if only in reputation. Also in reality for my money.
The Sony: https://flickr.com/photos/sandynoyes/18850289390/in/album-72157654479855469/lightbox/
Range-rover
Veteran
I have a old Minolta SLR with CCD and anti-shake and it still takes nice pictures
Dogman
Veteran
I very much like the Nikon D200, a 10MP CCD camera. The colors have a very special look and the B&W is kinda "organic" (whatever that means). Not hyper-realistic like most digitals today.
I have two of them, paid next to nothing for them second hand. I would use them more but both have lots of dead/hot pixels, making shadows a problem. I hated using Spotone on my darkroom prints back in those days. Today I hate using the spot brush.
I have two of them, paid next to nothing for them second hand. I would use them more but both have lots of dead/hot pixels, making shadows a problem. I hated using Spotone on my darkroom prints back in those days. Today I hate using the spot brush.
Doug A
Well-known
In the long run no digital camera will become a classic. They are all, every of of them, on borrowed time. My current daily user Leica IIIf is 65 years old. None of the current digital cameras will be in day-to-day use 65 years from now.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
And when there is no more film, what then?
taffy
Well-known
A classic digital perhaps. First Leica digital RF and still takes great photos today and users will claim it is still enjoyable to shoot which says a bit about its staying power over a decade since the release. Comparing it to film cameras might not be a fair comparison since mechanical cameras will last longer - but longevity is hardly the only factor to consider.
I still have my M8 and got the 28 Ultron v2 to pair with it and there are days I leave my M10 home in favor of the M8.
I still have my M8 and got the 28 Ultron v2 to pair with it and there are days I leave my M10 home in favor of the M8.
Cyriljay
Leica Like
Now this camera is the best out of all M.
It is " not only CLASSIC" but also HISTORIC in spite of being the first prototype M digital Leica.
I still use my M8.2 ( after converting to an upgrade done during 2013 ) I refused any other M that came up as to it's Predecessors.
mnutzer
no title
Peter Karbe's most hated digital Leica? - Never ever!
Cyriljay
Leica Like
What is your hated Pen?
Some might say a dip pens. In the hand of a master penman that pen is the best tool of creation. The same principle apply to all tools of creativity. Just because someone hates some thing it should not be be labeled boxed as some should be.
I truly believe all tools woks differently on many hands.
Some might say a dip pens. In the hand of a master penman that pen is the best tool of creation. The same principle apply to all tools of creativity. Just because someone hates some thing it should not be be labeled boxed as some should be.
I truly believe all tools woks differently on many hands.
35photo
Well-known
Flawed camera hated I couldn’t use Leica lenses focal length wise as there original intention. That was a show stopper for me but clearly not for others… Only time will tell people are still using em so that says a lot. I will say the best thing Leica did when they ended the digital space was use the .dng file format!! Big deal if you ask me, you don’t have to keep updating computers/software if you choose to buy a different camera…
raid
Dad Photographer
Did Karbe say so? Why?
mnutzer
no title
Yes, he expressed himself so negatively in the review of the M8.
It was the high pressure from the then new owners of Leica to finally develop a digital camera in the small dimensions of the M.
With the possibilities at that time, they had to accept the 1.33 crop factor and noticed the magenta color cast in certain blacks too late, which led to the subsequent delivery of UV/IR filters.
The weak processor also only allowed reduced 8-bit recordings.
All teething problems that were only fixed with the M9, which then had other major problems with its sensor.
Peter Karbe regards the M8 as an important milestone in relation to today's digital M, but only in historical dimensions.
Raid, come to the Leica Experience Days at the Leica Store Nuremberg from July 27 to July 30, 2023 and you can talk to Peter Karbe about it yourself as we did some years ago at the Leica headquarters in Wetzlar.
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raid
Dad Photographer
Ah, it was a wonderful day at Leica in Wetzlar several years ago! My teaching schedule during the summer make such a trip very difficult.
I briefly visited the Leica store in Basel a few weeks ago! A few Leica users were there, enjoying Leica chats and drinking wine and eating some pastries.
As for the M8, I bought my copy a while after this camera came out. By then, I had read about the "issues". So far, I had to send it only once to Leica for repair. My viewing screen was split. It happened while being in Berlin with the family years ago.
I briefly visited the Leica store in Basel a few weeks ago! A few Leica users were there, enjoying Leica chats and drinking wine and eating some pastries.
As for the M8, I bought my copy a while after this camera came out. By then, I had read about the "issues". So far, I had to send it only once to Leica for repair. My viewing screen was split. It happened while being in Berlin with the family years ago.
Tom R
Established
If one means "classic" as a adjective, meaning "judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind" then no.
If one means "classic" as a noun, meaning "a thing that is memorable and a very good example of its kind" then yes but only for a small percentage of a relatively small subset of people (Leica owners, dealers) within a slightly larger subset of people (people who are interested in photography).
The nature of "digital" technology and its associated "marketing" (with the possible exception of Collectors) militates against the possibility of anything being or becoming "classic." (as an adjective), but perhaps one can meaningfully say that "the M8 is a classic example of ...".
I own a Leica 8.2u, which I purchased years ago in order to have a digital camera to support my Leica lenses. To date, I have < 5,000 actuations on the shutter (it had 571 actuations when I purchased it second hand). I'd dump it in a heartbeat for a good reason.
On the other hand, I've used Leica M bodies (M2, M3, M4, M4-P) since the late 1970's and have had few problems which were repaired by skillful technicians. To date, I still own two M4-Ps and one M4, neither of which I'd elevate to the status of "classic." That said, I use one or two of these cameras along with the suite of lenses (most of which I've owned since the 1980's) nearly every day that I am photographing. I wouldn't hesitate to replace either of these with an M-A if they needed replacement and a suitable second hand body couldn't be found.
If one means "classic" as a noun, meaning "a thing that is memorable and a very good example of its kind" then yes but only for a small percentage of a relatively small subset of people (Leica owners, dealers) within a slightly larger subset of people (people who are interested in photography).
The nature of "digital" technology and its associated "marketing" (with the possible exception of Collectors) militates against the possibility of anything being or becoming "classic." (as an adjective), but perhaps one can meaningfully say that "the M8 is a classic example of ...".
I own a Leica 8.2u, which I purchased years ago in order to have a digital camera to support my Leica lenses. To date, I have < 5,000 actuations on the shutter (it had 571 actuations when I purchased it second hand). I'd dump it in a heartbeat for a good reason.
On the other hand, I've used Leica M bodies (M2, M3, M4, M4-P) since the late 1970's and have had few problems which were repaired by skillful technicians. To date, I still own two M4-Ps and one M4, neither of which I'd elevate to the status of "classic." That said, I use one or two of these cameras along with the suite of lenses (most of which I've owned since the 1980's) nearly every day that I am photographing. I wouldn't hesitate to replace either of these with an M-A if they needed replacement and a suitable second hand body couldn't be found.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
Mine takes pictures with good color and IQ. That's enough for me.
Retro-Grouch
Veteran
Many of these arguments over the classic status of certain digital cameras remind me of my own former rigidity about mechanical vs. electronic film cameras. Used to be, I would only shoot with mechanical cameras, and claimed it was a question of longevity vs. certain electronic death (at some time in a vaguely distant future). Secretly, I valued the "classic" aspect of the mechanical cameras more than any hypothetical indestructability. But since the actuarial tables tell me I'll only be around for another 14.7 years 😱, I decided to embrace the dark side. Now my favorite and most-used cameras include a Nikon FE, a Rollei 6006, and a number of Pentax 645N's. None are classics. All will die of dead circuit boards or whatever, at some point, but most likely long after I'm gone. I enjoy them, take good care of them, and appreciate what they do, more than what they are.
I think the parallel with digital (Leica or otherwise) is obvious. Cameras are tools for making images, though of course they bring pleasure as objects in their own right. Use the tool that works. Ideally, use it 'til it wears out or no longer meets your needs. Equipment comes and goes as your work changes, which is as it should be.
Now, all that being said, I worship my 500 C/M. It will go with me to the Big Camera Shop in the sky.
I think the parallel with digital (Leica or otherwise) is obvious. Cameras are tools for making images, though of course they bring pleasure as objects in their own right. Use the tool that works. Ideally, use it 'til it wears out or no longer meets your needs. Equipment comes and goes as your work changes, which is as it should be.
Now, all that being said, I worship my 500 C/M. It will go with me to the Big Camera Shop in the sky.
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