M8 for weddings?

snegron said:
Thanks for sharing! I am curious to know if you used fill flash in the indoor shots where the couples are near the window?
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No I didn't use fill flash in those situation - I try to avoid using flash as much as possible. The dynamic range of the M8 is pretty good, but I admit I had to do quite a lot of post work on those shots to bring out the background.
 
Holmz said:
OK - So what would be the reason for shooting a wedding in digital versus film?

I can only think of:
1) The cost of the film making the photographer want to save some $, or to provide a cheaper option for the customer
2) Photographers needing to chimp to be sure
3) Surely the clients don't need the photos that quickly to require digital turn around speed (do they?)

What have I missed?
Why wouldn't (or why couldn't) on shoot with an Ikon, or Bessa in film?
The shutter is quieter, and the film picture is no worse than on an M8...
From what I can ascertain so far - and I am new to it all - the white dress in harsh light could easily clip, and for me I would want to chimp to make sure that the exposure was correct.
(Which makes me think I need to start using my spot meter to figure things out for latitude with respect to the digital)

The main reason I got a digital is for ease of traveling and to avoid getting the film x-rayed to death.
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The main reason for digital is the cost saving on processing and printing. Much greater profit margin. Also lots of convenience spin offs. Oh and yes they do want is 'yesterday'.Modern kids are very techno I-pod mobile phone literate, and want their pics on the web site asap. They can even log in whilst away and absent friends can see them. Also some people deliver a power point for the guests by evenning reception. All of this is a doddle with digital images. I remeber waiting 3 weeks to see proofs of our wedding shots in 1992. Not that long ago! the album probably took months. Now there is pretty good trade in just providing the client with a CD (zero processing costs) and they upload it to a photo book site and print off a hard copy boog complete with text etc. Will it look as good as the starchy old classic square hasselblad shots in 50 years from now? Probably not, but given the divorce rate maybe getting the images asap is more to the point!

David
 
Faintandfuzzy said:
Now the 5D2 will spank the M8 for resolution, dynamic range, color accuracy, speed, low noise at high iso, autofocus, and flash capability.

I have not tried a 5dII as they are not out in UK but I do not doubt the sensor will be pretty good. Im not sure the difference will be as great as you think though up to A3. I have tested both a Nikon D7oo and also the Sony alpha 900. The D700 does not match the overall image detail with the nikon glass I tried. The Sony with Zeiss 24-70 was absolutely amazing once you up the image size, but colour rendition not as nice as the M8 and quite honestly at A3 size not noticeably more image detail.

I do conceed the flash / auto focus / overall flexibility would score a lot of brownie points.

I still wonder if we shall see a digital R series.

Richard
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snegron said:
...
So, inevitably, this brings me back to my original query; is an M8 the ultimate wedding camera for someone looking for a high quality, reliable, responsive, digital rangefinder?
...
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Given the choices (Epson or M8) then the answer absolutely is YES.

If you wanted a rangefinder and it didn't need to be digital, then I still believe that a film camera could make some sense... Maybe more sense than an M8.
(But I am not a pro and I don't know the market - but there are a few wedding photographers that use an M8, or a pair of them)
 
Holmz said:
Given the choices (Epson or M8) then the answer absolutely is YES.

If you wanted a rangefinder and it didn't need to be digital, then I still believe that a film camera could make some sense... Maybe more sense than an M8.
(But I am not a pro and I don't know the market - but there are a few wedding photographers that use an M8, or a pair of them)
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Yes it's my preferred camera for weddings. I chose it over a 1D mkII I brought with me at that time as a backup.
 
I've had a D3 for about a year and an M8 for about 3 months. I love both cameras and haven't fully figured out when to use which camera.

Clearly, for anyting telephoto, the D3 wins hands down. Similarly for anything involving flash.

However, at wider angles in lower light the M8 is an amazing camera. No Nikkor f2.8 lens can match a leica lux or cron. This is not about pixel peeping, but the way the lens draws. The combination of bokeh, contrast, sharpness wide open, ... is really stunning.

Also, for black & white conversion, the M8 is really nice.

Unclear is the above was helpful - just my thoughts.

In practice:
- My M8 is always with me (28/2.8 or 35/1.4)
- If I absolutely need the shot, I'll take my D3 - I still struggle with range finder focus (important for weddings when shots are irreplacable).
- If I want perfect pixels, I grab the D3
- If I want art - really shallow DOF, great bokeh, I'll use the M8.
- My neck hurts from carrying a D3 with a 70-200 and an M8 on a y-strap.

J
 
I've been using the M8 for casual/getting ready and the occasional ceremony shot - it's a nice camera - I've noted that I don't "need" the high ISO like I do with the 5D - the image in the church, while I could shoot with the 5D @ ISO 1600 I shot with the M8 @ ISO 640 - I don't know the reason why I couldn't shoot with the 5D at ISO 640, you'd figure an exposure reading is an exposure reading is an exposure reading but I've noted, at least in my experience, that different cameras read the exposure differently - this is something I've only experienced with digital capture - regular film is a different story (format being similar of course).
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I don't know if I'll continue to use the M8 though - part of me wants to offer a "film only" option which will allow me to use my M7 and shoot B&W - but it takes, nowadays, someone who values film and understands the process to want to book that sort of option. Who knows, maybe next years season :)

Cheers,
Dave
 
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