Just back from Photokina

[jaapv]

The M8 is even for somebody with the high expectations I had, a pleasant surprise. It is a M, and in my hands the added thickness is an ergonomic bonus. The camera feels superbly made, and handles like any M camera. The leatherette is similar to the stuff on the Digilux2, and might have been more classic. The grip is a very useful addition, but I kept feeling for a shutter release on its top.
The sound is slightly different from the M6, but only marginally louder, not enough to notice.
Some details
The 3.4 135, though it brings up a 50 mm frameline, is easy to focus with the 1.25 Okular. The FOV is approx twice the RF patch. The files look superb on the display.
A nice detail is that the framecounter displays the number of shots left on the card or in the battery, whichever comes first. Batterylife is over 500 shots, like a 4 Gb card.
The ISO adjustment is the first choice under the lower left/hand button, not too bad.
The viewfinder was more M4 that M6TTL imho. Excellent of course.
The new auxilary finder was not to my taste. About as large as a pack of cigarettes and too complex.

I did not really like the new Tri/Elmar wide either. Big, heavy, controls not as smooth as we would expect from Leica. Can only be used with a rather silly lens/hood, as the front element protudes, they even coloured the mounting thread red to remind you to put it on.

The new 28 was a dream. Small, but not too small to handle, smooth, all Leica. For the price a no/brainer.


And even this gentleman liked the camera

Sorry for the double post with the news forum...


The new D/system I did not like too much. Of course the camera was fine, as is the Panasonic, and the Leica looks a whole lot better, nor was the viewfinder as dim as some reviewers made out, but the new zoom is HUGE. Not my taste.

No/ I prefer pretty ladies on the `beach` 😀

 

[jlw]

Holy kack, that viewfinder really is gargantuan! I thought the people who had complained about it previously had been exaggerating. What was the name of that gizmo that turned your screwmount Leica into a TLR... an Essenkay or something? This looks every bit as huge.

Sure, it would be almost essential for the Tri-Elmar as otherwise you'd be switching finders every few seconds, but I suspect a lot of people are going to look at it and conclude that the designer didn't "get it"...

 

[J. Borger]

Good to read we agree on the tri-elmar & finder.....🙂
Any confirmations about the firmware?

 

[ywenz]

What the hell was Leica thinking with that viewfinder?! I guess if you desperatly need the finder, then you'd stilll use it. Leica is probably banking on that fact.

 

[Mark Norton]

I thought the Tri-Elmar was fine, and much smaller than the Zeiss Distagon. The sample I tried had excellent controls, so maybe sample variation early in the products life.

Anyway, I've ordered one, with the finder... I'll probably use the old telescope finder.

I was there yesterday (Tuesday) and it looks even busier on the Leica stand today. Those guys are going to be hoarse by Sunday evening!

BTW, Jaap, did you see Leica have hiked the price of the 24mm by 22% - to €2990 in Germany?

 

[jaapv]

Good to read we agree on the tri-elmar & finder.....🙂
Any confirmations about the firmware?

They said it was finished and final.🙂

 

[jaapv]

I thought the Tri-Elmar was fine, and much smaller than the Zeiss Distagon. The sample I tried had excellent controls, so maybe sample variation early in the products life.

Anyway, I've ordered one, with the finder... I'll probably use the old telescope finder.

I was there yesterday (Tuesday) and it looks even busier on the Leica stand today. Those guys are going to be hoarse by Sunday evening!

That is true, the Zeiss is stubby and fat. But in my experience the olderTri/Elmars are not as smooth as a single FL lens either. It IS a complex mechanism....

 

[Mark Norton]

Well, if you want to go wider than 28mm EqFov, there aren't too many choices - Leica Tri-Elmar, Zeiss Distagon, CV 12 and 15mm. T-E makes sense to me.

Did you notice the barrel distortion on the finder? I likes the built in spirit level which is visible through the finder though.

 

[jaap]

The M8 is a last resort to get the M line in a better stream. Leica failded to do so. It's sad to see the M line is on a dead track. The M8 is just a little better than the Epson RD1. In proportion to the sensor size the camera and the lense are to big It's a sad joke the M8. All the M line values are lost in the M8.
If you want to go digtal buy yourself a eos5 with a few fine lenses you'll be a lot better of

 

[jlw]

If you want to go digtal buy yourself a eos5 with a few fine lenses you'll be a lot better of

There's a rangefinder version of the EOS5 now? Wow, that is a big Photokina announcement that I must have missed...

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

People seem cranky today . . .

Thanks for the report, Jaap.

 

[kbg32]

Yes, thanks Jaap.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

People seem cranky today . . .

Ya think?? At least nobody has made a photo critique.

Easy on the McKoffee, guys.

Thanks for the report, Jaapv.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

The M8 is a last resort to get the M line in a better stream. Leica failded to do so. It's sad to see the M line is on a dead track. The M8 is just a little better than the Epson RD1. In proportion to the sensor size the camera and the lense are to big It's a sad joke the M8. All the M line values are lost in the M8.
If you want to go digtal buy yourself a eos5 with a few fine lenses you'll be a lot better of

Is there one M8 thread without this kind of blah blah?

BTW, it's been the same kind of blah blah for the past 40 years. I don't like fries with mayonnaise on them, but I'm not going to bore everybody with that every single time I see a post from Belgium or Holland. That would be a tad ridiculous.

I am, however, hoping to get some more of those pancakes the next time I'm in Amsterdam.

 

[Goodyear]

For all the doubting chat, the M8 is the first digital I've lusted over in a long time (since I grew up 😉 ). Although I do like the look of the Panasonic, but not to the same degree.

 

[jaapv]

A great feature of the M8 is imo the superb chimping screen. It renders the image in a highly informative flat look, both in colour and contrast, making it a lot easier to judge the shot than the oversaturated and oversharpened offerings of some other camera's. The best thing about it is that it zooms in to individual pixels, making it as good a tool to judge technical quality as any computer screen.
I handled the camera for maybe half an hour and I was able to take some shots a the higher ISO settings. Going by the screen, the noise was a tad less than the newest Nikon camera's, but of course more than the 5D, which is no surprise, as we are comparing a CCD with a CMOS there.
In all, I think Leica has come as close to the ideal digital camera as is humanly possible in 2006. I have a feeling that this is indeed the digital to last a lifetime.

 

[jaapv]

Maybe- I was very positive about the M8 in general before. Holding and using the camera exceeded all my expectations, deemed unrealistic by some on this forum.
General opinion in the crowd around the M8 stand -not the most representative group imaginable, I admit, although some DSLR's were worn 😉-
was that the price of this camera was very competive, considering the concept and the quality.

And that LCD is easily the most useful compared to any I've ever seen on any DSLR 🙂

 

[Trius]

For all the doubting chat, the M8 is the first digital I've lusted over in a long time (since I grew up 😉 ). Although I do like the look of the Panasonic, but not to the same degree.

I lust too, and I haven't even seen one in person. The interenet tends to do that ... very dangerous.

But the prospect of a Leica 25mm/f1.4 on a 4/3s body IS interesting to me. I would have a DSLR like the Oly line primarily for one thing: macro. I don't care about sports/action photography, only rarely need super-telephoto, so a👎 (d)RF is fine for 80%+ of my needs. But when you need to do macro, the SLR rules. The 4/3s sensor size is fine for me for that.

 

[HenningW]

The M8 is a last resort to get the M line in a better stream. Leica failded to do so. It's sad to see the M line is on a dead track. The M8 is just a little better than the Epson RD1. In proportion to the sensor size the camera and the lense are to big It's a sad joke the M8. All the M line values are lost in the M8.
If you want to go digtal buy yourself a eos5 with a few fine lenses you'll be a lot better of

Having used both the M8 and the RD-1, I'd have to say that that is nonsense. The M8 is a huge advance, and if the RD-1 was worth $3000 a couple of years ago, the Leica M8 is definitely worth $5000 today. The difference in the useability is that great.

If you equate 'M line values' with a rewind crank or knob and a wind lever, then yes, the 'M line values' are lost. If you value handling, feel, the viewfinder and responsiveness and full useability with one of the outstanding lens lines in existence, then no, the 'M line values' are not lost, but both preserved and heading with confidence to the future.

Henning

 

[newyorkone]

Having used both the M8 and the RD-1, I'd have to say that that is nonsense. The M8 is a huge advance, and if the RD-1 was worth $3000 a couple of years ago, the Leica M8 is definitely worth $5000 today. The difference in the useability is that great.

If you equate 'M line values' with a rewind crank or knob and a wind lever, then yes, the 'M line values' are lost. If you value handling, feel, the viewfinder and responsiveness and full useability with one of the outstanding lens lines in existence, then no, the 'M line values' are not lost, but both preserved and heading with confidence to the future.

Henning

Bravo...well put 😀