I might have to buy an M8...

M

merciful

Guest
... and I'm a bit concerned. I shoot people exclusively, often fairly close-up and with lens wide-open (or nearly); I've found my M3 viewfinder excellent for this (obviously, that's what it's designed for). My concern is that I am going to have trouble focusing a fast 50mm or 90mm lens wide-open on the .68x mag M8; after all, superior focusing accuracy is why I switched from M6 to M3.

I'd rather shoot just film (except for the rapidly increasing lack of service in this crappy little town) but I'm feeling some pressure to shoot digital and I have no desire to get a Canon rig: SLRs don't fit my style at all.

What's the word?
 
jklotz said:
might want to budget for the 1.25 magnifer if you are shooting a 50mm or longer
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That's great. I suppose there's some reason they couldn't make the damned thing in multiple magnifications from the start, and I just haven't discovered it yet.

Another annoyance of the digital world. But I guess you're right, that'd be the way to go.

Thanks!
 
Wait 'til you see your M8 images. You will use your M3 less and less over time. You will still cherish your M3 - you just won't use it very much.
Eric
 
Yeah, I know: well, I'm pretty sure you're right. I still do a lot of low-light stuff, though, and there's not much chance of a good 3200/6400 equivalent (at least, i don't think as good as I can get out of TX and Rodinal); but I really do like a lot of what I see from the M8.
 
As the official RFF pusher, Andrew knows his scheeit for low life ... er, low light shooting.

So, I'd say, Andrew, keep pushing for the M3/scanned files but be prepared to shoot the M8 as well. Stupidity (the editors) takes a long time to be educated.
 
Both, baby, both...

Trius said:
As the official RFF pusher, Andrew knows his scheeit for low life ... er, low light shooting.
Click to expand...
 
Eric T said:
Wait 'til you see your M8 images. You will use your M3 less and less over time. You will still cherish your M3 - you just won't use it very much.
Eric
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Was speaking about this with a friend the other day, about "what digital does to your practice"... we both agreed that film was still "easier", despite the neg scan for customers expecting "data files" raher than film/trans/prints. Easier because what we have come to "know" about certain films and what they might yield and that WB, blown highs, and the mess that is the so-called "Digital Work Flow" ends up taking hours to understand and get, what?, the image we thought we'd made on the shoot... and then the customer--employing several photogs--comes back with /concerns/ about WB, levels and "sharpening": that the post-proc is pushed back on the photog, some customers tend toward a "stable" of photogs who produce files of the same data type. Film/trans used to level the field, now Adobe and PhaseOne have changed all that. Not better, just different.

My friend and I both find shooting film with our Ms very liberating, and fun... not gonna sell them, no how.

rgds,
Dave
 
If you already value the unique propoerites of rangefinders and want a digital camera to use your exisitng lenses then it can only be an M8. The alternative is to wait and see what turns up, but life is too short and the M8 is already a fabulous camera. I actually sold my film M in order to buy the 28 2.8 for my M8 but after about 6 months I really missed black and white print film (and the whole darkroom thing ) so have acquired a nice minty M6 about 3 months ago. The daft thing is that I dont use it anywhere near as much as the M8 but somehow need to know that its there! Old habits die hard. The two complement each other nicely. If you have a 28mm lens on the M8 and a 35 on the M6 you have the same focal length film and digital simultaneously (or 35 M8, 50 M6) what more could you possibly want.

Best wishes

Richard
 
I have a heep of fully working and almost new film gear. That I don't use anymore. Shooting digital with my M8 (and 1Ds II) is so much cheaper and more practical. Some of the 'exitement of expectation' has gone. That's for sure. But my analogue stuff has no real meaning to me anymore.

My advice; get yourself a M8 and go digital!

But I do not agree that 'an armed society is a polite one. An armed society is an unsafe one. Be it Kabul or Dallas.
 
No, I'm not going to sell, either. I'm well-aware of all the bad (and good) ramifications of working with RAW: and while I'd really prefer to stay analogue, I'm just concerned that there are going to be some opportunities I'm going to miss if I can't provide very quick turnaround. And there's my previously-mentioned problem with support for film in this damned place - I can't even get a contact sheet from a lab now.

At least I'm a skilled PS guy, too.

DaveSee said:
My friend and I both find shooting film with our Ms very liberating, and fun... not gonna sell them, no how.

rgds,
Dave
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