LEICA M8, 1st GOLDEN TICKET!!!

[marbrink]

My kids (11 and 14) would laugh at me if I wanted to give them a computer that I owned when my (first) wife was pregnant with them (I seem to remember that it had a 20 MByte hard drive...) Why should the M8 produce pictures with more clarity than the M3 (provided one uses appropriate scanning technology) ?

Roland,
A good 10mp digital SLR or rangefinder for that mather for sure beats 35mm film. ISO 50 or 100 slide film is maybe at the same level but apart from that 35mm isn't really close. However, I love the look that you get from film and shoot it sometimes myself. But there's another clarity and sharpness to digital for sure.

 

[back alley]

one last comment...as i have stated before, i do not care who is who in this thread and am not taking sides...nor am i intoxicated by the possibility of a 'celebrity' being among us.
as rover has more clearly stated, i think sean deserves our common courtesy as much as anyone else here.

peace out.
joe

 

[jaapv]

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

I'm with you here, Joe. I don't care one way or another, after all this is a photography website, not a music one. However I do feel that if this gentleman feels the need to convince us of his identity- but then why should he-, a few words on his own site would have been far more convincing than lengthy posts here, with links to the Seal website added. Anybody can do that.And yes, I think Sean knows more about photography than most of us here, Ascender and me included.

 

[marbrink]

Jaap,
It didn't take long before he got the question why he got his M8. Why not tell the truth?
And why can't he be a member on a forum like anyone else and tell about his experiences here instead of on his website? seems very unpersonal to me..

 

[jaapv]

Sorry if I am unclear, but that is what I mean. This whole discussion about identity is beside the point. Especially as I am the queen of England pretending to be a Dutch dentist..😀

 

[Matthew Runkel]

why should he

Because some people here asserted that his posts were fraudulent, and one credible person claimed he could prove that they were fraudulent. And because, as it turns out, he had the means to prove who he was beyond any reasonable doubt. His method of proof was quite effective, and there is no need to fault him for not using the method you mention, or, indeed, for being put off in the first place by the suspicion he encountered here.

Anybody can do that.

This is where you've completely lost me. Anyone can link to non-public photos on Seal's website that show him holding the camera, with filenames containing a name that relates only to this thread?

 

[jaapv]

This is where you've completely lost me. Anyone can link to non-public photos on Seal's website that show him holding the camera, with filenames containing a name that relates only to this thread?

Yes- unless he has Pentagon-like security on his website

Don't get me wrong- I am nor a doubter nor a non-doubter. I'm only interested in the contents of his posts - which I happen to like.

 

[c.poulton]

Sorry if I am unclear, but that is what I mean. This whole discussion about identity is beside the point. Especially as I am the queen of England pretending to be a Dutch dentist..😀

Jaap, I agree with you wholehartedly on this point. I am more interested in Charlie's view of the M8 than him being Seal.

Although I will probably not be able to afford to buy the M8 for many years, if at all, I am interested in where Leica are going and certainly had my doubts about their foray into digital capture, however from the views expressed by Charlie, it does seem that my fears were unfounded.

I certainly look forward to hearing more about the M8 (and pictures taken by it 🙂 ) from both Charlie, and Sean.

 

[Matthew Runkel]

Yes- unless he has Pentagon-like security on his website

I grant you I may be underestimating the Dutch educational system when I say this, but I sincerely doubt it would be easy at all for some random person to access Seal's website and post photos of Seal holding the camera, and give them filenames with "Charlie" in them. Nor do I think it would be easy at all for some random person to access Seal's website, locate photos already there, alter the EXIF data and rename them. (All for the purpose of deceiving members of our little forum.)

I repeat my reference to Occam's Razor.

 

[chazzzzy]

Jaap.. stop it already... you are being a complete idiot. Nobody has access to Seal's website... especially a person who looks exacltly like Seal holding the M8 he owns with pictures he took today of the camera you see him holding in the paparazzi photos (that he has no control over - describing the camera he is holding).. etc...

My god... enough! Ascender was personally attacked by Sean who claimed he had proof he was not who he said he was. Ascender confirmed who he was by uploading pictures to his own website (seal.com duh! that is owned by Seal).

Ascender just wants to talk about the camera.. so can you stop with the idiotic continuation of disbelief? Enough already and let's get back to talking about the camera! I'm about to bail on this board as well if people cannot just talk about their equipment without getting perrsonally attacked.

 

[marbrink]

chaszzzzy,
I agree. We now know that Ascender is Charlie aka Seal. Can't we leave that behind us?

 

[Larry Kellogg]

Hey Charlie,
Well, this thread reminds me of an interview I heard with Bob Dylan, who was asked what was worst thing with having to deal with fans, and he said it was having conversations like the following when he met new people:

Fan: No!
Dylan: Yeah.
Fan: No!
Dylan: Yes.
Fan: No!
Dylan: Yep.
Fan: No way!
Dylan: Uh...yeah way...

So, Charlie, don't worry, even if somone spots you clutching the M8 at one of your concerts and posts their experience here, there will be ten other people claiming it was a holographic image. Enjoy the new M8, that's what it is all about.

Anyway, I'm afraid that Sean is now on the hook now to explain why he is convinced that this is all a hoax. I hope he doesn't get too distracted from his M8 review, currently in process.

I spent a nice morning shooting my R-D1 in Central Park. It looks like I am getting ready to sell the camera though, with the imminent arrival of my M8, at least, I have been told it will arrive soon! So, if anyone is interested in my R-D1, PM or email me. I think I will be posting an ad shortly, unless I reconsider. 😉 That will leave me with no camera until the M8 shows up, not a good situation!

Regards,

Larry

 

[rvaubel]

:angel:

chaszzzzy,
I agree. We now know that Ascender is Charlie aka Seal. Can't we leave that behind us?

Seal

If your still out there, I, for one, would be interested in your observations.

:angel: LETS TALK CAMERAS, NOT CONSPIRACY THEORIES! :angel:


Rex

..arf, arf, ARF!

 

[jaapv]

The problem being - at the moment there isn't enough to talk about regarding the M8. Just wait till next week. And please guys, read my posts ( the very few there are on this unimportant subject), I'm not for or against anybody's identity. I just don't care....

 

[zhemgang]

A Question for Ascender

A Question for Ascender

Charlie,

As I understand, the full name of Seal the artist is Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel. Where does the name "Charlie" come from?

Rick

 

[JonasYip]

Charlie,

As I understand, the full name of Seal the artist is Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel. Where does the name "Charlie" come from?

Rick

Presumably from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", paired with the "Golden Ticket" reference in the thread title

j

 

[zuikomatt]

Ascender just wants to talk about the camera.. so can you stop with the idiotic continuation of disbelief? Enough already and let's get back to talking about the camera! I'm about to bail on this board as well if people cannot just talk about their equipment without getting perrsonally attacked.

I agree with this, absolutely.

I'am glad to have some info about M8, and I think that most of RF comunity does the same. It's nice to see personal experience from a owner of this camera, especially if it's not available for us now.
Thanke you for sharing with us, Charlie.

 

[zhemgang]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks for the clarification on the name "Charlie. " I saw Chocolate Factory on a flight from Milan to Bombay but probably missed parts of it so the Golden Ticket bit was not obvious in the brain numbing of long range travel.

Not intended to doubt the identity of the OP. Just curious.

Rick

 

[sreidvt]

Well...now that the article is done I suppose I best respond to this thread. Where to begin....?

From early on I suspected that someone was having us on despite his (or her)having very detailed information about Leica's loan of an M8 to Seal. When Jorge came out in support of Ascender, I started to pay closer and closer attention to the thread and became more and more suspicious. I spoke with Jorge off-list and/or by phone several times and told him that I thought someone was trying to make a fool of him and others. I'm still not convinced that this isn't the case. Jorge certainly knows that I had no agenda other than a concern that someone was trying to make a fool of him and others.

Compounding this is the fact that Ascender has said that he owns this camera whereas a Leica contact tells me that Seal was loaned a camera and that his own camera is still on order. I can't imagine why someone of Seal's accomplishment would misrepresent that. Then there were details in Ascender's posts that either weren't correct and comments that to me didn't sound consistent with someone who was actually using an M8. Seal's overall demeanor in the thread also has seemed unusual. Several other RFF people had similar suspicions but myself and Michael Johnston seem to be the last holdouts.

The real Seal does indeed have an M8 and whomever Ascender is must have some very good connection to Seal and his web site, etc. If I am mistaken, and Ascender truly is Seal, I will certainly apologize. I am afraid, however, that based on my conversations with people connected to Leica I remain skeptical about this.

Ascender, if you would like to discuss this further off-list, please feel free to e-mail me and we can arrange to speak by phone. You have shown in your posts that you are insulted by my skepticism and you have responded by insulting me several times. People who know me well know that I tend to treat people very respectfully. My concern is only with this all being a hoax. In the two years that I've been on this forum, I don't think I've ever before described any thread as a hoax.

I am not going to participate in this thread long term but I've spoken my peace about this and people can choose to take my comments as they see fit. Already, I'm getting nasty PMs from people who are sure I'm wrong, had an evil agenda, etc. Ascender, I will be happy to speak with you off-list by e-mail or phone. I will not continue the discussion on list because it seems to get ugly easily.

BTW, lots of people have worked and are working with M8s. I don't think any of us have a problem with other people using the same camera. I've heard that suggested and it's ridiculous. My concern is with this thread being a hoax and, again, if Ascender and I speak off-list and establish that I am wrong, I will make a most public apology. Until then, things still don't quite add from where I sit. Call me crazy....and I know that many will.


Cheers,

Sean

 

[Sparrow]

Sean, that was the justification I mentioned previously

regards