M8 good enough?

Certainly improved?:confused: I found the differences between the M8 and M8.2 rather marginal and never a reason to upgrade from the M8 The image quality was identical - which is quite a bit more than "not bad":angel:
 
jaapv said:
Certainly improved?:confused: I found the differences between the M8 and M8.2 rather marginal and never a reason to upgrade from the M8 The image quality was identical - which is quite a bit more than "not bad":angel:
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Well, let's not forget it sorely lacks autofocusing, a line of zooms, a pentaprism, and in their stubborn, unique and shocking lack of acknowledgment of the YouTube age, any means of recording video.
 
Don't be put off the M8 by what you hear on discussion forums. There are thousands out there who have had no problems and wouldn't have a clue there was any issue at all. Forum contributors (including me so you can ignore this as well!) make up a very small proportion of ownership so any views you read are not representative.

I've had an M8 for 3 years now and initially I was a sceptic. Never had a problem, and I hardly use anything else for landscape work.

If I'm working with shallow DoF's I prefer to "see" what I'm shooting so I'll use a DSLR.

Don't forget you can get a brand new full frame DSLR and a good used M8 for the same price as an M9.

If you do decide to buy, I would go to a deale and insist on a 6 month warranty.

Regards
 
goodtimes said:
Hi Larky,

I think you should keep the M6 alone. Getting some digital gear on top of the M6 is going to provide more overall hassle than just fun with the M6.
You need about 20 years to explore all the possibilities of your M6 if you use it regularly !
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Agree!
Bought an M8 back in Nov of last year which I sold to another RFF a few weeks back after coming to realize that I just don't shoot enough to warrant having both a digital and a film M. And while I enjoyed using both I much prefer the M6+B&W film to the M8. Plus I also enjoy shooting 120 B&W so sticking to film-hybrid instead of mixing film-hybrid and digital makes more sense for me at this time.
Sure I'd love an M9 but that will have to wait until I can afford it with having to give up shooting 120 B&W in order to do so.
 
_larky said:
Thanks everyone.

My needs are mainly down to the digital aspects of the camera. Basically, I want the hassle free digital use with the operational feel of the M6. I want a digital M6 in fact.
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I have little doubt that the closest to a digital M6 must be an M9. That said, I just got an M8.2. I find it to have very much the Leica feel and the Leica M experience of photographing. I took it out and tried some street photos with 28mm and 35mm lenses; and the 21mm using a 28mm finder (very close framing). Very satisfied so far. Now to finish getting the rest of the IR filters I need, a spare battery, and some really good 8GB memory cards.

Yes It's good enough, and more comfortable to carry around than my D700.
 
The M8 and a GF1 are my only cameras now. I sold my film Ms as digital + film doesn't work for me, I prefer one or the other.

I'm going to send you a PM, I'm out and about in London this weekend, come out too, take as many snaps with the M8 as you like and decide whether you want one through GAS or not.
 
I have had my M8 and 28mm Elmarit for about a year now. I absolutely love them. They go everywhere with me. The M8 has its quirks but on the whole delivers 99.9% of the time.
The Elmarit delivers 100% of the time ;o)
 
After using film Ms for several decades, I bought an M8 for color use. I do my own b&w film, but not color. The M8 allows me to carry one set of lenses and have a color body if I need one. Otherwise, its an M system and a Canon D1 with lenses. The M8 does what it should and has worked flawlessly for three years. That's good enough for me.
 
I have no doubt the M8 is a great camera capable of amazing results.

However, _I_ would never buy one. I guess Im stubborn and stodgy in my ways but the crop factor drives me nuts. And yes, I know its irrational. But I do photography as a hobby and to give me a sense of joy and happiness. Using a piece of gear that is going to annoy me is out of the question. Let me reiterate just so nobody gets insulted: The M8 is a superb camera and lots and lots of photographers take photos with it that blow any photo Ive taken straight out of the water. I simply don't want to compromise any of my enjoyment.

That being said I cannot afford an M9. Maybe in 5-10 years or so Ill migrate over to a FF Digital M. Until then, my RF jollies are well soothed by my M5 and when I want to shoot digital I have a FF DSLR and a fast 50mm.
 
andredossantos said:
I have no doubt the M8 is a great camera capable of amazing results.

However, _I_ would never buy one. I guess Im stubborn and stodgy in my ways but the crop factor drives me nuts. And yes, I know its irrational. But I do photography as a hobby and to give me a sense of joy and happiness. Using a piece of gear that is going to annoy me is out of the question. Let me reiterate just so nobody gets insulted: The M8 is a superb camera and lots and lots of photographers take photos with it that blow any photo Ive taken straight out of the water. I simply don't want to compromise any of my enjoyment.

That being said I cannot afford an M9. Maybe in 5-10 years or so Ill migrate over to a FF Digital M. Until then, my RF jollies are well soothed by my M5 and when I want to shoot digital I have a FF DSLR and a fast 50mm.
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What astonished me was that I use(d) a 50mm lens most of the time. As I almost always use 35mm on full-frame, jumping to 67mm was odd.

But then I realized: it's a different camera. I use 21mm very little on full frame -- but 99% or more of my Alpa shots are 38/4.5 on 44x66mm (exact 21mm equivalent). On 8x10 I mostly use a 21 inch (533mm) lens, roughly 75-80mm equivalent. And so forth.

Yes, I'm more comfortable with FF, and I really miss(ed) a FAST wide-angle on the M8, but I'm beginning to suspect that this is mere hardening of the categories. On FF it's 35+75; on M8, 50+21, but I almost never use 28mm on FF, even though that's what 21 equates to. I don't even own one, though my wife does.

The mixed tenses are because I use the M8 far less now I have an M9, but I still use it.

Cheers,

R.
 
M8 is good, very good. M8.2 is probably more luxurious and if you can afford may be nicer (the screen does not require the plastic protection).
However the M8 "classic" has a more functional shutter, with 1/8000 and 1/250 flash times. This is a very important factor for taking pictures in sunlight and without ND filters.

Battery needs a backup, be ready to switch on/off to reset the camera at times, to store large amount of data (RAW are 10MB each). To have fun.

The M6 is a nicer camera and the quality of film is superior to the digital M8. However you need to have always a spare roll, to develop, print and scan. If you do not mind the wait to see the end images it is good enough on its own. But it is hard to remain pure...

From a cost view point the price of a M8 used equals 200 rolls developed, scanned and printed on 3 x 4 paper. I started to expose about 5-8 rolls per month. So in 2/3 years I had spent about the same amount required to purchase an used M8 in film...

At that point I doubled the effort and went digital.
And so did my wife and my sister in law... a LEICA sponsoring family...

Regards
G
 
I had a play with Kully's yesterday, and decided I needed one. ;) Next freelance pay check will take care of it, Kully has said he'll pop into London for a shopping trip :)
 
I wish I had been able to afford to keep my M8 when I "upgraded" to an M9. I miss the M8's files, needing so little processing out of the camera. I miss shooting the M8 with a simple 2 lens kit (an 18 and 50). I miss 1/8000 because I do like to shoot fast lenses wide open in strong light.

Despite or maybe because of the M8's short product life, it's already a classic to me.
 
I have an M8 for several years and an M8-2 for just over a year. The M8 needed a sensor line sorting under warranty (remapping) but has otherwise been fine (~25k actuations) if you discount accidental damage fixed under its passport warranty. The M8-2 has been fine - no problems and I think that it has just passed 10k actuations. The only hassle I can see with using one alongside an M film camera (I had an M6 alongside the M8 for a while) is the filter changing. The M6 went and M802 arrived - problem solved!
 
I don't believe the saving on film and processing (there's really no need to get everything printed, just scan the negs yourself or have the lab do it) outweighs the cost of Leica digital bodies. If the M8 were a camera for life like an M3 (mostly outliving their original owners by now), fine, but it's a piece of consumer electronics and as such you'll get into a never-ending upgrade cycle. Will parts be available for it in a few years' time - especially the sensor - and will any third party repairers be able to handle it?

The M9 is a better prospect altogether because an M10 won't be such an upgrade now the M9 has a full-frame sensor. The long term supportability would still concern me at $5000 - at $1000, less so.
 
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