M8 owners still use film M's?

The fact that the M8 is digital was my reason to buy it. Haven't used film professionally or for fun in five years or so. Sold my M4 to get the M8.
 
I think that once the novelty of the M8 has worn off a little I might use my M4-2 and CL now and again but who knows?

Every time I pick up my bag to go out I start to think "Do I have enough film, do I have the right fil..." and then there is a little chuckle inside me. I also love not having to worry about airport x-rays. I love being able to "change film mid roll" on the M8 too.

On the other hand, I pick up one of my film Leica's and they just feel so much better in my hands than the M8 - I doubt they'll ever be for sale.
 
Just sold my MP to fund another lens.
I still shoot plenty of black and white with my Rolleiflex. Still not convinced by digital black and white but im unlikely to shoot 35mm film in any hurry.
Intersting question though.
 
If you never used Panf or other slow film in the past then you probably wont need a M <8 in the future, now an add on M9 maybe, whenever...

I dont see the M <8 prices falling, yet.

They kept the IIIf and IIIg going for years.

Noel
 
I've put my Hexar RF to the side for the time being, but I went out today in Shanghai for my first outing with my M8 since buying it in the States last week, and I grabbed my Rolleiflex to take along. Shot less film than I would have ordinarily, but there were situations where it just felt right to use the beautiful old beast. I suspect I'll eventually carry the Hexar and the M8 on some outings, too.
 
Last edited:
I'm still in the watchful waiting mode with respect to the M8 but I do have an RD1 and a Canon 20D. I still use my film cameras, not just Leicas. Film is plentiful, affordable and processing is still not a problem locally in the big cities or by mail (I sent my slides out by mail for years before digital came along). I have a good scanner if I want to digitize but mostly I like slides to project. I shoot my Canon and RD1 with the LCD's turned off and never review or use histograms or any of that. I shoot them like film cameras and see what I got when I get back home. I'm retired, I don't shoot for a deadline, so the advantages of immediacy of digital are unimportant to me.
 
I only shoot film with my Panoramic Cameras. I use Linhof 617s and XPans. To see some images please go to panoramicimages.com and type Scott Tansey in the white box. I also have an M6, M7 and a Rolleiflex 2.8GX all of which I will not sell. I believe in the future, I will use them again.
 
I'm sort of w/Mr. Z. I'm an amateur who's rarely under strict time restraints (photography-wise). I also enjoy using & collecting film cameras, & I love the look of film. So, yes, I still shoot lots of the stuff. I don't see the M8, or any future digital camera I might acquire, changing that state of affairs.

Since I got my 1st digital (R-D1) last year, the only films I use less of are the ISO 800 & 1600 C41 emulsions, but those were always a relatively small part of my 35mm shooting. Digital has prompted me to shoot more color in available darkness, which has always been mostly B&W for me. The R-D1 & M8 aren't the best in class in that department (still waiting on a small camera w/a 5D-quality sensor), but they're still better than 35mm film, @ least in grain (though Fuji NPZ/Pro 800Z & Natura 1600 often require much less color-correction than the digital files).
 
I'm enjoying my M8 but I still love to use my M6. I know there is talk about the M8 capturing the unique Leica look but I still haven't found that to be quite true. There is something about the properties of film coupled with a good rangefinder and lens like the the Leica M that can't be replaced in my opinion. I keep my M6 loaded and ready and still shoot with it. I will not sell it, even if film goes the way of the dinosaur at some point in the hopefully very distant future. It's a piece of history and I like having it.
 
I haven't used film professionally in three years. The only film I've bought since then was used in my M6. I've had my M8 less than a week (absolutely love it...) and anticipate selling my M6 sooner rather than later.
 
endustry said:
For every day snapping around the city, I think I'll be using the M8. For excursions, I think I will still bring film. For one, I cannot help but chimp endlessly with a digital camera and this can tend to bog down a vacation and piss off the wife quickly. With film I have to wait and see. Besides, I do still enjoy the day when our film comes back from the lab four or five days after returning home from a trip and spending an hour or two on the couch going through all the prints looking for surprises.
Click to expand...

Ah yes... Nostalgia: "a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time" (Random House unabridged)
 
I think I am with endustry and Andy Aiken. I only got the M8 a few weeks ago, but I have not really shot with a film M since then. If I go on a trip or have a important occasion, I think I will. In the meantime though, I am definitely still shooting film; I am just shooting medium format film. I think in general though, I will be shooting a lot less color film. Black and white film still seems to be much better to me than digital black and white, and I freely admit that that may be because I am unskilled at digital bw and lack the right equipment, but for now, what I can do in the darkroom far exceeds what I can get out of a 2200. I only wish that I could render the M8 files as negatives so that I could print them in the darkroom. That would be AWESOME.
 
Use film?

Use film?

No.
I went from dSLRs and film SLRs to the M8.
My 20D and Eos 5 are going out on perpetual loan to my younger brother.
Just got back from a trip to New Orleans for a medical-IT convention and only brought the M8 along. In 2 weeks I've become comfortable with the controls and settings so that I can keep chimping to a minimum.

For those who are interested I posted a few pics here
http://www.leica-camera-user.com/landscape-travel/17931-meandering-through-new-orleans.html
 
rsl said:
Ah yes... Nostalgia:
Click to expand...

In the digital age things go from cutting-edge to nostalgic in a matter of months😉


I have a good friend who makes furniture with hand tools, and another friend whose wife has a loom and weaves all sorts of things. If these people were "professionals" whose only goal was being competitive in mainstream commercial markets, they would be idiots not to be using the power, computer-controlled equipment that is available for those purposes. Since it's a hobby, for them the process is half the fun. Same for many in photography.
 
Last edited:
Ben Z said:
In the digital age things go from cutting-edge to nostalgic in a matter of months😉


I have a good friend who makes furniture with hand tools, and another friend whose wife has a loom and weaves all sorts of things. If these people were "professionals" whose only goal was being competitive in mainstream commercial markets, they would be idiots not to be using the power, computer-controlled equipment that is available for those purposes. Since it's a hobby, for them the process is half the fun. Same for many in photography.
Click to expand...

I'm with them. I used to make furniture entirely with hand tools too. It's really a lot of fun. The first thing you learn is that you need to keep your planes and chisels very, very sharp. Same thing goes for photographic tools.
 
i snapped over 1,000 pictures with my M8 during my month long business trip to europe and the states. i didn't even have that much time to take pictures because of work, but i still snapped over a 1,000. probably 99.99% worthless, but i'm thrilled that i have a 1,000 pictures experience with my lovely leica lenses.

i've never shot more than 10 rolls with my M6 on any business trip. i love that camera but its not going to see fresh air for a while ^^
 
I know the absence of film and processing cost compels some people to snap like mad, somehow it never had that effect on me. I really do shoot my digitals as if they were loaded with film, with the exception of changing ISO on the fly much quicker.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
Mamiyaflex c2 professional set
Replies
1
Views
211
KoNickon
K
Roastchestnuts
m8.2 or a m9? In 2024?
4 5 6
Replies
118
Views
10K
stephane_tougard
S
A
Plaubel Makina 670 shutter release lock?
Replies
6
Views
153
Archlich
A
L
1958 Yashica 35 - The Time Machine
Replies
18
Views
767
Ernst Dinkla
E
jaredangle
Cinema rolls in 100ft daylight loaders
Replies
18
Views
1K
maddoc
maddoc
Back
Top Bottom