LEICA M8, 1st GOLDEN TICKET!!!

[c.poulton]

It is a pretty sad thing. In one way there was no way to be sure of Ascender's identity, on the other, who cares.

Charlie is obviously a Leica fanatic, like a good number of us. A photographer of his own expertise, like all of us. It should make no difference that he is Seal.

Charlie, thank you for clearing that up, you shouldn't have had to. I hope you get to and will continue to check in with us. Hey, when you get a chance it would get to see some of your non self portraits.

Hear, hear!!!

 

[Ascender]

The lines are fine, they are visible enough with or without glasses I should imagine. I used to wear glasses but had corrective eye surgery about seven years ago. The widest I have is a 24 but whilst in Prague, I did find a Leica dealer that had a 21 which I've had my eye on. Obviously the VF cannot be used for this and one would need the new external VF that I've seen in some pictures along with that new tri-elmar. But to answer your question the lines of the 24 do seem to barrel a little bit (maybe it's my imagination) but not to a point where it's a problem. Actually the barreling may not be so, maybe it's just that it's so wide in the VF that it appears that way.

 

[marbrink]

Charlie,
I'm a Nikon user and find that for a working photographer a SLR system is more allround than a RF system. I've been thinking of the D2Xs or D200 but I have a M8 on order. Do you think the RAW files from the M8 are better than those from D200? They should be sharper and have better dynamic range.
Thanks!

 

[Sparrow]

Best if we just say that Sean Reid may have had the seal of public approval, but he’s probably lost the public approval of seal….all’s well that ends well 😉

 

[sreidvt]

that would make someone like me lose patience and interest with what is otherwise a really great site full of like-minded individuals. However,

Hi Everyone.



Charlie here posting in from Zagreb/Croatia. Sorry I haven’t been able to post to the Forum before this but the last few trips via bus have been pretty grueling, not in terms of distance but more because the roads in Eastern Europe are pretty bad which makes for a bumpy ride…no sleep! Get it?

Actually, my not being able to post into the forum over the past few days has been quite interesting in that it’s shown me that certain people are basically ill spirited, negative, live their lives in a permanent state of being non believing pessimists and will do anything to try and p*ss on someone’s parade.

I don’t think that in the 17 or so years that I’ve been in the music business, I’ve ever come across a more pathetic example of a loser than Mr knowitall Sean whatever his name is and believe me, my industry’s wrought with them.

In your words Sean “I would normally hold my peace but for certain situations where I’m left no choice”. How dare you personally email me with such an offensive and “accusational” tone. As I said in my response, Don’t ever email me again!!

I had to make a little adjustment there Charlie, rover

http://www.seal.com/files/Charlie_and_The-M8.jpg

http://www.seal.com/files/Charlie_and_the_M8-2.jpg

Just so people know, I did not e-mail Ascender or Seal.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[marbrink]

Just so people know, I did not e-mail Ascender or Seal.

Cheers,

Sean

This is getting very confusing!

 

[sreidvt]

Hi Toby,
You’re right! I am beginning to sound like a seven year old…very uncharacteristic of me…must stop!!. I just got so annoyed though. I was only trying to share my enthusiasm with other Leica lovers because I couldn’t believe my luck. When it arrived, I was truly ecstatic, jumping up and down with all the enthusiasm of a seven year old. So when Sean actually wrote a personal and extremely offensive email to me, it really p**sed me off.

-Charlie

Again, to those who are interested, I wrote no such e-mail to Ascender or Seal. I need to finish my M8 review and then perhaps can deal with what's going on in this thread.

Sean

 

[Ascender]

I cannot say Marbrink for I am not a profesional. I have a D200 and recently bought a 28mm 1:1.4D and a 14mm 1:2.8. I can tell you that the images from that camera are nothing short of sensational (RAW images). I cannot honestly say that the M8 images are superior even with the legendary M's. I think that the D200 does a superb job at controlling noise, perhaps marginally better than the M8 (and I say perhaps, I have not had time to conduct extensive tests and to tell you the truth I don't think I'll bother because it's a waste of time) but that is not what the M8 is about. It is a camera for photographers who shot for the love, not for the profession. It is exactly like all the other M's before it except for the medium so this means work. Everything from focusing to metering....it's all work. But then that's why you buy it, because you want to be engaged as the photographer once again in the art that you love. I'm not going to tell you that it's better than the D200 or the 5D or whatever. Let us be frnak here. Those two manufacturers make SUPERB cameras and their respective R&D divisions are probably years ahead of Leica....but alas..they do not bare the red dot! They are not Leica and they are not quintessentially German.

-CHarlie.

 

[Ascender]

This is a cut n paste of the email that Sean never wrote.



This is a message from sreidvt at Rangefinderforum.com ( http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/index.php ). The Rangefinderforum.com owners cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of the email.

To email sreidvt, you can use this online form:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=832

OR, by email:


This is the message:

You've really got some people convinced. It's a throughly researched spoof, I must say. I'm absolutely amazed at how many people believe it. I'll bet you had no idea that you could pull it off this far.

It's unfortunate that Jorge himself thinks you may really be Seal.

BTW, I'm planning to interview the real Seal this fall about the M8.

<G>

Sean

 

[Ascender]

I'm guessing there are two Sean's. In any event I don't appreciate emails like this. So nay sayers back off!!

 

[sreidvt]

This is a cut n paste of the email that Sean never wrote.



This is a message from sreidvt at Rangefinderforum.com ( http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/index.php ). The Rangefinderforum.com owners cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of the email.

To email sreidvt, you can use this online form:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=832

OR, by email:
mailto:sreid@sover.net

This is the message:

You've really got some people convinced. It's a throughly researched spoof, I must say. I'm absolutely amazed at how many people believe it. I'll bet you had no idea that you could pull it off this far.

It's unfortunate that Jorge himself thinks you may really be Seal.

BTW, I'm planning to interview the real Seal this fall about the M8.

<G>

Sean

That was a PM sent to Charlie via the RFF, not an e-mail. I received no response to it. I'll deal with the rest of this when I get done with the review.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[marbrink]

Charlie,
I also shoot for the love. Not a full proffessional yet and photography is a big passion not just a future profession. But I believe that equipment doesn't matter. Just use whatever you're comfortable with. I have made som images with my GR Digital that I'm very happy with and don't care if it's not tack sharp or if there's a little noise.
But I don't think I'll use two full systems with expensive lenses however after having had the MP and M6 TTL and some Leica lenses the M8 is indeed very tempting. For the passion of photography 🙂 Having the right tool than the right sensor is far more important for me but when you're making a 5000 USD investment you'll think twice before going for it.

 

[newyorkone]

Charlie:

Thanks for the update. Do you find that it is easier for you to freely shoot when you are in New York? Fewer cockroaches?

I really llike shooting candid street shots in Harlem and SOHO and I'm really looking forward to having the M8 for the stealth aspect. Hopefully, I'll have my M8 soon to do more of that 🙂

 

[Ascender]

I agree with you Marbrink. I think that if you're like most of us and you love it then you should get it. If you're question is 'will you be disappointed'? How can you be, it's a Leica in every sense and you will LOVE it.

Steve- Actually I find it harder to shoot in NY due to the sheer mass of cocroaches and my not being able to disguise myself very well. I'm going to try to shoot more down town LA after the baby comes. I love it down there and it is so interesting. you too will love the M8. Forget what people may or may not say about it. You know there are going to be some ney-sayers right? Forget all of them and get ready to own this piece of history which will calm you and give you endless hours of enjoyment. You will pass it on down to your children and grandchildren just the same as your MP and other Leicas. It is no different in spirit. Yes the Pixel count may increase and yes there may be an M9 but who cares? Does that all of a sudden mean that this camera will be obselete? It takes great hi res pictures with more clarity than any other M before it...how could it become obselete.

I have to hit the road now, gig tongiht here in Zagreb. Wish me luck and I'll speak to you all soon.

-Charlie

 

[back alley]

i don't particularly care who is who in this thread but i have my doubts about some.
there seems to be quite a few new people here defending away.

i will say this...sean has been a friend to rff all along and has treated all here with respect and never have i seen a rude word or angry phrase expressed towards anyone.

fwiw, he has my support...

joe

joe

 

[rsh]

Charlie:

Good luck with your show in Zagreb. Colonel Bruce Hampton and I share a nephew. Yes, The Aquarium Rescue Unit lives on.

Richard

 

[mfunnell]

i will say this...sean has been a friend to rff all along and has treated all here with respect and never have i seen a rude word or angry phrase expressed towards anyone.

fwiw, he has my support...

joe

I'm sure Sean is a good guy - I value his writing, subscribe to his site and have learned from all that. In this, though, he's just going to be either correct or mistaken. Not a big deal either way.

...Mike

 

[back alley]

i have no money bet on either side, as i said, i do not particularly care.

i do however have a hard time watching a respected member of this community getting bad mouthed by anyone.

call me old fashioned.

joe

 

[Matthew Runkel]

That was a PM sent to Charlie via the RFF, not an e-mail.

Plaintiff's attorney: "Please provide all internal safety memos about seatbelt injuries at accelerations of more than 60 miles per hour."

Defense attorney: "60 miles per hour is a velocity, not an acceleration."​

I don't think there is any more place here for unhelpful hair-splitting than there was in that lawyer's response, or than there would be in a credible camera or lens review.

At this point, anyone with basic critical faculties and a shred of common sense reading this thread (notably, post #235) knows that Ascender's identity is no more a matter of opinion than whether there is a beta of CS3 called "Red Pill." A gracious mea culpa was possible on Red Pill--what is so different now?

Joe, I don't think there are "sides" to this debate anymore, and so I think the reference to "defending away" is misplaced. That is, unless someone can explain--and here attention to Occam's Razor would be nice--how there can be photos with the name "Charlie" in their filenames on Seal's website if the Charlie/Ascender postings are a hoax. This continued "who knows what's true?" is infantile.

 

[rover]

Joe, I don't think there are "sides" to this debate anymore, and so I think the reference to "defending away" is misplaced.

What isn't misplaced is the thought that every member is due the respect of the others. We don't have to agree with each other, but we need to converse in a respectful courteous manor. Old member or new, let's all just get along now.