M8/M8.2 buying advice

ampguy said:
Part of the reason for needing this is that on the M8/M8x, there is no fast way to adjust the ISO, so if you were at 320 or 640 you can still get the shot if you are tracking something in and out of bright and dim lighting, where adjusting ISO is buried in menus. Something they did fix in the M9.
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But, on M8.2, there is auto ISO, and EV can be adjusted +/- 3 stops with turn of rear wheel and slight pressure on shutter.

Jeff
 
Jeff S said:
I think you missed my sarcasm. We're in agreement if you're saying you don't need 1/8000.

Jeff
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He is saying that he doesnt need ND filters because he has 1/8000.
I use 8000 all the time as I shoot wide open on my summilux lenses. Personally I much prefer the 8 over 8.2 + I dont see why anyone would spend double the money for an 8.2 on a 3 year old chip.

At 2k the M8 is a great value, at 4K the 8.2 will lose the most value 1 year from now.

you didnt need fast shutters on the old M's because your were shooting old film stock that didnt need it...digital sensors need faster shutters.
 
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dfxinc said:
you didnt need fast shutters on the old M's because your were shooting old film stock that didnt need it...digital sensors need faster shutters.
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Nonsense. I shot Tri-X at one stop under its ASA rating up to 1/1000. So, I could shoot the equivalent on my M8.2 using 160 at 1/2000. And, I still would have an additional stop.

But, none of that mattered much to me anyway since I didn't generally shoot wide open. If I did, I could have adjusted for it in many ways, in camera or in processing, as I can today using different means.

I haven't missed a shot yet on my M8.2 because of shutter speed deficiencies, just my own.

Jeff
 
It sounds like there was a trade off between 1/8000 and 1/4000 shutter top speeds. I tried to find out what the difference was without much of a direct answer. I'm just talking about the shutter. I don't think the lcd or paint finish played a part in the different shutters.

Somewhere on LUG claims a Leica rep said the new shutter was more reliable and quiet. I'll have to find that link.
 
With the film M's 1/1000 limitation, I always end up "burning a roll" by moving indoors or out, and getting stuck with Reala (shot at 50) indoors, or with 400 or 800 outside.

Never had this issue with the M8 (classic) ;)
 
Jeff,

I think you maybe missed the point I made about the fast shutter speed of 1/8000.

On film M you can shoot, say, wide open with Velvia 50 or PanF 50. Then, open the lens all the way to get the maximum bokeh.

On the M8 the sensor's lowest sensitivity is 160... But unlike the film M's you can at least achieve the same affect by a fast shutter.

On the M8.2 you are more limited.

On the M9, there is a sensor pull down to 80 (I think). This is another solution. But, this solution isn't ideal, because you lower the performance of the sensor. But, it's good enough I think.

You can't compare digital to film here, because you have the choice of slower films...

JP
 
dfxinc said:
He is saying that he doesnt need ND filters because he has 1/8000.
I use 8000 all the time as I shoot wide open on my summilux lenses. Personally I much prefer the 8 over 8.2 + I dont see why anyone would spend double the money for an 8.2 on a 3 year old chip.

At 2k the M8 is a great value, at 4K the 8.2 will lose the most value 1 year from now.

you didnt need fast shutters on the old M's because your were shooting old film stock that didnt need it...digital sensors need faster shutters.
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There is more- the Summiluxes 21 and 24 cannot take an IR filter and ND filter at the same time....:mad:
 
So what exactly does the firmware update for the M8 classic offer? Is it just a quieter shutter release, but not discreet mode, and presumably a loss of 1/8000th?
 
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I can't imagine the firmware update would eliminate 1/8000. It's printed right there on the shutter speed dial.

I do often wish my M7 had higher shutter speeds, so this should be a real pleasure. Anyway, I'm kind of with Vic here, I'm leery of buying one without a warranty, but that's probably what's going to end up happening. All I need is to sell my G1 body and I'm good to go!
 
Benjamin said:
So what exactly does the firmware update for the M8 classic offer? Is it just a quieter shutter release, but not discreet mode, and presumably a loss of 1/8000th?
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The firmware update offers-amongst other things- a discreet shutter advance It does nothing about either the shutterspeed or the sound of the shutter. The quieter shutter with the attendant change of max shutterspeed is a hardware update.
 
mabelsound said:
Anyway, I'm kind of with Vic here, I'm leery of buying one without a warranty, but that's probably what's going to end up happening.quote]

From my own experience with the M8 (I bought a new one 3 years ago) I would never buy a used M8 without either the right to return it for a full refund, or a real warranty. Too many issues to list here, but my M8 had to go back to Germany and was MIA for 11 weeks. Later on, I did handle the M8.2 when it first came out and decided against the M8 upgrades or trade-in...too expensive. I believe the M8.2 is really what the M8 should have been when it was first introduced. Maybe minus the sapphire nonsense. Oh, I've never taken a shot at 1/8000, so for me this was never relevent.

The M8 was rushed onstage, unprepared for the Big Show, IMHO.
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I think that the 8.2's advantage over the M8 is in the warranty, not particularly in the usage, and of course that's transitory. My M8s were both "demo" models; one was later discovered to have a blue line problem that was handled on warranty through the dealer, PopFlash; great service.

And it got the upgraded shutter and viewfinder at the same time. So the other one is my wide-angle camera, better for close-in use due to the original framelines. Both M8s have Giottos Schott Glass screen protectors, so the sapphire screen cover, while nice, isn't something I'd pay for. Using the same firmware, there appears very little difference between the M8 and the 8.2

On the shutter speed issue, note that the loss of the 1/8000 speed in the upgrade comes with the gain of an 8 sec speed at the other end.

FWIW, I got some small clear stick-on cabinet-door bumpers at the hardware store, and cut a couple of them to fit nicely on the M8 top deck so that the On-Off switch is limited to those two positions. It just got too annoying to find myself inadvertently in the Self-Timer or Continuous shutter modes. Never use 'em anyway! :)
 
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