M8 Focus Accuracy

[pass]

It seems my M8 has some back-focus error. I have to manually adjust to counter that. It is not too much but when using 90mm wide open, it is very obvious.
Anyone else having this problem?

 

[MP Guy]

I have a difficult time focusing with the 90 wide open. All other lenses are fine. I think it is more of where I focus rather than a back focus problem Try lining up a row of bottles or candles and focus on a specicif one. see where the focus actually is?

 

[jaapv]

Mine is spot-on, even with the 75/1.4 or 135/2.8. But for any focal length over 35 mm the 1.25 magnifier is standard equipment. The basic focus adjustment on a M body is childishly simple btw.

 

[Harry Lime]

Here's my take on things, if I had an M8.

First off I think Leica handled the PR end of this about as bad as you can.

That said, I can live with the IR filter on the lens. I really only shoot with two focal lengths (35/50), so two or three filters would cover me. Frankly I'm not exactly thrilled about this solution, because I worry about reflections. But given the choice between filters and no digital M, I would use filters.

I'm pretty sure that the white balance issues can and will be addressed with a firmware upgrade.

I don't know enough about the blobs and banding issue to comment on them.

One issue that really interest me, and could be a deal breaker, is the accuracy of the framelines. If they are as bad or worse than the 50 markings in the metered M film bodies I would be very disappointed. I've been shooting Leicas for 10 years now, so I do not expect the framing accuracy of an SLR, but there is a difference between the framing being acceptably close and wildly off the mark.

Cheers,

HL

 

[jaapv]

One issue that really interest me, and could be a deal breaker, is the accuracy of the framelines. If they are as bad or worse than the 50 markings in the metered M film bodies I would be very disappointed. I've been shooting Leicas for 10 years now, so I do not expect the framing accuracy of an SLR, but there is a difference between the framing being acceptably close and wildly off the mark.

Any M has totally accurate framelines -given the theoretical limitations of any RF system, not just Leica. That means that at 1m distance the inside of the framelines is the exact field of view for a slide, i.e. 23x35 mm, at 3m the outside of the framelines and at infinity, depending on the focal length used between one and five frameline widths outside the frame is your FOV - exactly three for a 50 mm lens. The reason for this is that a lens when focussed to infinity has a shorter focal length than at close focus and thus a wider field of view. A 50 mm lens for instance varies from 50 mm at infinity to 54 mm at full extension, a 75 mm lens varies between 75 and 85 mm. That is assuming that the marked focal length is the actual focal length of this specific objective, which normally is not the case, just an approximation. A lens marked 50 can easily be 48, or 53...:bang: That is an optical fact that cannot be ignored, so Leica (and any other RF manufacturer for that matter) chooses to take the narrowest field of view for the marked focal length as the size of the framelines. And that is at 1 m. The extra 1 mm can be regarded either as allowing for the slide-mount or an extra safety factor for focal length variation between various types of lenses. I might add that SLR viewfinders only show between 85% and 95 % of the actual coverage of the lens, depending on the camera brand.
I guess your deal-breaker would prevent you from using any rangefinder - ever, which clearly is not the case 😉

 

[pass]

Mine is spot-on, even with the 75/1.4 or 135/2.8. But for any focal length over 35 mm the 1.25 magnifier is standard equipment. The basic focus adjustment on a M body is childishly simple btw.

that sounds very interesting, how do you do the focus adjustment?

 

[jaapv]

that sounds very interesting, how do you do the focus adjustment?

Before answering I checked my camera's. Basically the wheel that connects the lever in the camera to the helix on the lens is mounted on an excentric spindle and closed by a screwhead. To adjust one simply turns the screw. But I noticed that on the M8 the screwslit seems to be replaced by an internal hex. I assume the mechanism is unchanged, but I cannot be absolutely sure, so before attempting any adjustment make sure with a knowlegable repair-person that the M8 indeed offers this facility as well.