M8 M8.2 or Fuji X Pro 1 or X100

[Mongo Park]

I have a few film cameras and after many years I am thinking digital for black and white. I know the fuji x pro 1 has only just come out. Erm, already have 4 lenses that will fit the Ms. I'd like simplicity - ease of use, picture quality and pleasure of snapping. Will shoot mainly portraits, street and city scapes - and the odd flower. Which would you recommend and why. Thanks.

 

[David_Manning]

The Fujis will give you technically better, cleaner images. They operate differently than Ms though.

As far as simplicity, the X100 wins...you can go full Auto, and will never have to change a lens. Or...you can shoot in manual like a mechanical camera.

If you want or need an M's operation, nothing else will suffice. As you know, sometimes it's about the images, sometimes it's about MAKING the images.

I've never even seen an X-Pro 1, but if it operates like an X100, it'll be a good camera.

The X100 seems like a digital Hexar AF, and the X-Pro 1 seems like a digital Contax G.

 

[Jubb Jubb]

The M8 is one of the best cams for BW conversion... so i have been told and heard many times on this forum.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

You might want to add the Sony NEX-7 to your list. I know nothing more about it than what I read on the web. But the specs certainly look competitive with the other cameras on your list.

Good hunting. 🙂

 

[Archiver]

I own a M9 and X100, and have shot very briefly with the M8 and X-Pro 1. The X100 is a very decent camera for auto and manual shutter/aperture shooting, but not for manual focus. The X-Pro 1 is somewhat better for manual focus but still nothing like a M.

Black and white conversions with the X100 and M8 are super. I find that the M8 has more micro-detail in its black and whites and overall, despite having a slightly lower megapixel count.

As for your lenses, the jury is still out for whether the X-Pro 1 can handle M-mount lenses well. While many of the images look good, there are reports that the wide angle lenses do not fare that well. I love shooting M-mount lenses with my Ricoh GXR and I use it as much, perhaps even more, than my M9!

 

[ktmrider]

Fuji or M9

Fuji or M9

The X100 is simply outstanding. I had an M8.2 for about an hour before deciding to send it back (poor ISO above 650). And it is coming up on 4 or 5 years old.

I too have several M mount lenses and keep hoping for an alternative to a $7000 M9. For now, I use them on my film bodies and use the X100 for venturing into the digital realm.

I would go with the latest in technology if you are going digital. Film does not really matter.

 

[Mongo Park]

Thanks for all your help. I think I'll go with the Fuji X100 - added bonus is prices have come down by about 20 - 25% here in the UK. Thanks again.

 

[jsrockit]

The Fujis will give you technically better, cleaner images. They operate differently than Ms though.

I think you may want to conclude that sentence with "at high ISO."

 

[Shade]

Honestly, I love the xpro1, and I own one myself to accompany my m9. But if I were to choose to just have one of the m8 or the Fuji, I would get the m8.. Definitely not the 8.2, I see no point of a sapphire screen and a slower shutter for a premium price.

 

[elmer3.5]

Get the fuji x100, the m8 is a terfific camera, but to get the fov of 35mm you´ll have to buy yourself a prime lens that will cost you a great deal and you will loose a large part of the lens capability also you won´t get f2 unless you spend 4 k on the 28 cron!

The x100 it´s a more versitile camera, afterwards you can get yourself a nice m9😀

Someone mentioned the nex, i have the 5 version and i´m impressed with it...although there are no prime lenses for it (the za zeiss is large)...i´m longing for the new sigma dp2 merrill...:bang:

 

[jsrockit]

the m8 is a terfific camera, but to get the fov of 35mm you´ll have to buy yourself a prime lens that will cost you a great deal and you will loose a large part of the lens capability also you won´t get f2 unless you spend 4 k on the 28 cron!

Voigtlander 28mm f/2 lens... though its not a fan favorite.

 

[jippiejee]

Voigtlander 28mm f/2 lens... though its not a fan favorite.

I actually love my 28mm Elmarit on the M8, it's tack sharp and not the most expensive lens in the Leica family either. If I had to choose between the Fujis and the Leica M8, I'd only pick Fuji if I regularly had to shoot concerts and other low-light events. For everything else, the Leica M8.

 

[Archiver]

Agreed about the 28mm Elmarit on the M8. It's a 36mm equivalent and yet feels both wider and longer than 35mm on other formats. I can't quite explain it. Sometimes it feels like a 40, at other times it feels like a 32. If I had a M8, the 28mm Elmarit would be on it all the time.

 

[Jubb Jubb]

I was going to buy a 28 Elmarit for my M8, but then a 35mm Summicron pre asph came available at a cheaper price, so i grabbed that. It is pretty awesome on the M8...

 

[willie_901]

As someone who uses a X100 and enjoys it, expects to pick up a pre-ordered XP1 any day now, and who has never owned a Leica product and never intends to use one - I think the M8 sounds best for the OP.

Low light performance is not important to the OP and neither is color. If the OP will be happy with the new angle-of-view of their current lenses on the M8, then I think that's the way to go. In a year or so it may be practical to pick up a second M8 body as a back up ( much like some have two RD-1 bodies now).

 

[dreilly]

The X100 (and X-1 Pro I guess) gives the most rangefinder like shooting experience south of an actual rangefinder that I have experienced. The X100 is a very fun camera to shoot with. The X-1 Pro would be a LOT of money to spend without being a good platform for the leica lenses you have now. (At least, so it seems now.) You might gander at the R-D1--you could get that for your M lenses and the X100 for the price of an M8.

I had an M8, really enjoyed it, but couldn't justify the cost compared to what else I could get.

 

[emiguevara]

Thumbs up for M8 B&W

Thumbs up for M8 B&W

I really enjoy my M8 for black and white, and I use the camera's B&W JPEGs mostly, with minimal post processing. Specially at higher ISOs, they just look nicely grainy.
But I must accept the M8 is a bit of a pain sometimes, slow, erratic framelines, not particularly good for low light... in fact, that's why I like it so much, it feels just like my film cameras, if you know what I mean...

 

[jaapv]

Slow?😕Erratic framelines?😕 I find the camera pretty responsive and the frame lines completely consistent, albeit demanding in that they need some understanding of an optical viewfinder system.

 

[hausen]

I think the Leica B&W jpg that you get from the M9 is superb. I Read Thorsten Overgaard's blog thoughts on the Leica M9 JPG and have been using it ever since.

 

[Frontman]

I have been shooting the X-Pro for a short time now, and I find it does black and white quite well. I didn't buy the camera for it's high ISO capability, as I have been comfortably shooting 400 speed film for years, but now it seems that I have been missing out, high ISO capability turns out to be quite handy.

Focusing speed is not as quick as I would like. On my Leica M cameras I generally preset my focus and aperture, and simply shoot. Fortunately, the Fuji can be operated the same way, but shooting is still not quite instant. All that said, the X-Pro usually focuses fast enough, and, with a little practice, you can get perfectly focused shots quickly.

I have never been a fan of the M8, it looks something like a M film camera, but it is not. I shot an M8 at the same time I was shooting a Nikon D70s, and, personally, though the M lenses were better, the Nikon made better images.

I am still getting used to the X-Pro, but so far I see it as money well spent. I do like the Leica M9, and I have been tempted by it, but I'll stick with my film M4's for the time being, and perhaps wait for the M10.