Exchanging my M8

W

Way

Guest
Got new M8 (v.1.09) home took shots to run down the battery and charged it from the ground up over night. When reviewing pictures the camera would go dead. Needed to reinsert the battery to bring it back to life but after a few shots and again during review the camera went dead. Happened several times and it appears that when magnifying the image and pressing one of the scroll arrows (usually the right one) the camera would die. Dealer has no problem with an exchange - hope they have another black one!

So far I like the M8 a lot but the auto white balance (at least indoors) sucks. Haven't seen any wierd blotches , banding , etc. yet.
 
Sorry to hear that. Hope you get the exchange sorted OK. I've just had mine exchanged. Auto white balance is known to be very poor - I just use one of the presets, but shoot raw in any case.
 
Gid - AWB indoors with tungsten is really orange! Setting WB to tungsten is a world of difference. Glad to hear that your exchange went well. Hope your camera is functioning with no problems.

Ted - problems started maybe around 50 shots or so.
 
aizan said:
way, did you get your m8 at paul's photo?
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No, Samy's offered no sales tax (their Valentine's Day special) so I had to jump on it. I really like Paul's but it came down to $$.
 
Gid said:
Sorry to hear that. Hope you get the exchange sorted OK. I've just had mine exchanged. Auto white balance is known to be very poor - I just use one of the presets, but shoot raw in any case.
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I am using my new expo disc with much success. Others use $8 wb filters from ebay or coffee filters. I have no experience with those.
 
Way said:
Got new M8 (v.1.09) home took shots to run down the battery and charged it from the ground up over night. When reviewing pictures the camera would go dead. Needed to reinsert the battery to bring it back to life but after a few shots and again during review the camera went dead. Happened several times and it appears that when magnifying the image and pressing one of the scroll arrows (usually the right one) the camera would die. Dealer has no problem with an exchange - hope they have another black one!

So far I like the M8 a lot but the auto white balance (at least indoors) sucks. Haven't seen any wierd blotches , banding , etc. yet.
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That happened with mine. You can also Leica and get them to send you a new batery charger. Mine was DOA and I had these exact symptoms.
 
AutoWB

AutoWB

Way said:
So far I like the M8 a lot but the auto white balance (at least indoors) sucks. .
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Am with Gid on this one. AWB in general really sucks for most cameras (don't have an M8 though), and this has proven true for all the digicams that I've owned and used.

AWB would work fine in 'ideal' situations where the image processor would have a really large white or neutral-hued area to base its white point on. In cases where the lightest area isn't really white, such when it's a tad cream or yellow, the WB would go towards blue. And in instances where there isn't a 'white' to base on -such as having a large red background-, the white will go towards the complement of the dominant colour (with many reds, WB will be on the green/cyan side).

It's best to use the presets when shooting in situations where the illumination colour is known- go tungsten if it's an indoor scene lit with incandescents. I rarely shoot on RAW, but keep my cameras' settings to 'daylight'. Just like shooting with a daylight-balanced colour film.

Also, having AWB on can lengthen the image processing time. Having to decide or set what sort of white balance a shot has to have is extra work for the camera's image engine.

Jay
 
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Got my M8 exchanged and it seems to be working as it should! Only got about 100 shots on the first charge and I'm hoping that those numbers will increase with the next charge. Images have a very rich quality to them on standard settings. Even my wife says they look different and beautiful! Shutter's noiser than my MP but I think I can live with it.

One thing that I've noticed is that my 50 lux back focuses quite a bit. But I REALLY want the new 50 lux asph! My 40 Rokkor brings up the 50 framelines and images look very good. Comes out to a 52 with the 1.3 crop while the 35 becomes a 45. Hmmm, not sure which I like better as being closer to a true 50.

Gloomy overcast day in Los Angeles. Recharging the battery and itching to shoot more with the M8!
 
no M8 here but if you want decent WB learn to do it custom, as pundit suggests. indoor usually presents mixed color temps and even the best presets are generally off. custom can be set on any white subject. even my handkerchief in a pinch ...

my two cents
 
I've been using custom white balance with my Canon D60 and 1D Mk II for a long time and it works great. Always carried a little grey card with me. I'll need to try it with the M8. I don't mind a little color cast indoors but the M8's AWB is a bit too hot!
 
Well, my old 50 lux and new 50 lux asph along with another 50 lux asph at a camera store all back focuses. My 90 cron also isn't accurate but my 35 cron and 40 Rokkor are right on the mark. This M8 body will have to be exchanged also. I don't think there's anymore black ones left. So far I love the images the M8 produces. Crud!
 
Way,

I see you are in Torrance where did you buy yours? Did you buy from Samy's and if so how are they on doing the exchanges for you. I am in Riverside and Sailor Ted is in Newport Beach. I purchased mine from the Delray Beach store in Florida but fortunately have not had any problems that would require an exchange.
 
Way,
Mine does not back focus- 50 cron, 35 cron (version IV), 21mm Biogon, etc. I even used my M8 for a product shoot under studio conditions focusing at aprox 4-foot distance. It's either your camera or your lenses but I doubt its endemic to the M8.

Sorry,
T
 
barjohn said:
Way,

I see you are in Torrance where did you buy yours? Did you buy from Samy's and if so how are they on doing the exchanges for you. I am in Riverside and Sailor Ted is in Newport Beach. I purchased mine from the Delray Beach store in Florida but fortunately have not had any problems that would require an exchange.
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Hi John,

Yes, the camera is from Samys and they have been very good about addressing the problem. I haven't contacted them about the back focusing problem yet but they assured me that any problems will be taken care of (exchanged). The only problem I see is that they may not have anymore stock and I may have to wait a while to get a replacement. I showed the camera and lens to Paul's Photo here in Torrance and they confirmed that there is a back focusing problem.

On the plus side I really love the images and expecially the film-like 'grain' at high iso. In camera B&W seems incredible. The images have very different look than my Canon D60 and 1D Mk II. Hate to be cliche but I do feel that they have that Leica look and glow!
 
Sailor Ted said:
Way,
Mine does not back focus- 50 cron, 35 cron (version IV), 21mm Biogon, etc. I even used my M8 for a product shoot under studio conditions focusing at aprox 4-foot distance. It's either your camera or your lenses but I doubt its endemic to the M8.

Sorry,
T
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Hi Ted,

You are lucky to be enjoying this great camera wtih no issues! I've shown the camera and my 50 lux to Paul's Photo here in Torrance and they confirmed a problem with the camera. They said the rangefinder cam needs to be adjusted, but to get the camera exchanged. It was odd that these two M8s had the same problem.

As I've posted before, I love the images this camera produces. I hope the next one works as it should.
 
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