M8 - Reality Check Ii

[Gid]

Hmmm. What may I ask are you basing your opinions on? As to trying to convince people, there are a hell of a lot of people here trying to convince not only people who don't own an M8 not to buy one, but also those who do (own one) of their folly. Yes the M8 is the leader in a two horse race but it's also one of the worlds best digital cameras based on some of the shots I've seen and acording to some of the worlds most respected digital print makers- so again, what are you basing your opinions on?

I'm basing my opinion on the same data as you are. However, my opinion is irrelevant to anyone but me. I haven't said that the M8 is not a "good" camera, I haven't tried to convince anyone not to buy one and I haven't derided anyone who has bought one. If you want to evangelise over something you've only read about, then that is your prerogative. I am not knocking the M8, I am just not convinced that it is the best thing since sliced bread. If someone was kind enough to give me an M8 I'm sure that I would enjoy using it in spite of any issues it might have. However, I still say that the emporer has no clothes on and that is my prerogative🙂

Another two pints please then we can continue our debate at that table in the corner.😉

 

[Gid]

A wise old goat this Gid is .....

I can agree with the old😀

 

[AusDLK]

hmmm... I have owned one. The M8 is a paperweight.

I catch a lot of flak for my downer opinions but since I continue to see people offering support for Leica and the M8 often with less first hand experience then I have, I see no reason to remain silent... yet.

>The treatment the M8 is receiving here and else where is unfair, illogical, and
>not called for. To me Leica is an old friend and just as I would do for any long
>standing friend I am defending their honor and supporting them as much as I
>can- not out of blind loyality but out of respect for the logical decisions they
>have made in designing to the M8.

I could not disagree more. To me, Leica was an old friend.

Leica has betrayed many of it's loyal customers either by delivering a flawed product in the minds of many early adopters (and then has taking some rather hair-brained steps to resolve them); and/or by delivering a pretender product that simply betrays many of the time-tested traditions of M photography for whatever reasons, logical or otherwise.

Some people do (or will) like and accept the M8. If that's you, then considering how badly I wanted to love the M8, I envy you. Honest. But I'd be willing to bet that 95% of these people would say that the M8 is not really the camera that they were hoping for in more ways than one. (In other words, they are settling...)

And for a camera costing more than $5000 when all is said and done and for which many, many people waited a long, long time for, I think that is reason #1 to lose faith if not respect.

 

[jaapv]

When shooting "Mountain scenes" and normal uncomplicated shots the M8 performs as well as any other semi-pro DSLR. <the Leica glass will indeed give the extra "zing" to the image, but only in average day to day photography.

When using the M8 for what one uses Leica for, low-light photography it produces images which indeed are not comparable. You should go and see the examples on LUF on what the exact effects are, and no they don't happen all the time, but in my opinion some of the time is bad enough .....

All in all I would wait until all problems are solved, I wish I would of done so ....

You mean second-rate mountain scenes like these I suppose...:
(Ausdk, if this is a flawed product I'll take flaws for breakfast every day...)

ISO 640 Elmarit asph

ISO 1250 1/4 th hand-held Elmarit 24 asph

ISO 1250 1/10 th hand-held Elmarit 24 asph

ISO 160 Tri-Elmar long

 

[AusDLK]

>You mean second-rate mountain scenes like these I suppose...

IMHO the first two are rather second rate but...

The second two (especially the last) are stunning and quite lovely. You should be proud of these -- regardless of the camera used.

Two out of four (or batting .500 is baseball parlance) is pretty darn good.

PS. Jaap -- As I said, if the M8 works for you then I envy you.

 

[jaapv]

>You mean second-rate mountain scenes like these I suppose...

IMHO the first two are rather second rate but...

The second two (especially the last) are stunning and quite lovely. You should be proud of these -- regardless of the camera used.

Two out of four (or batting .500 is baseball parlance) is pretty darn good.

PS. Jaap -- As I said, if the M8 works for you then I envy you.

Thanks Dave- but please note the camera did not let me down on any of the shots. The number of technically spoiled shots is virtually nil. I do not mean the ones I blew - not the camera- that is considerably more, to say the least. And that is exactly the reason I do not understand your posts.

 

[AusDLK]

>Thanks Dave- but please note the camera did not let me down on any of the
>shots. The number of technically spoiled shots is virtually nil. I do not mean
>the ones I blew - not the camera- that is considerably more, to say the least.

Jaap --

You're welcome. And I completely agree that the reasons I was less impressed with the first two images was completely unrelated any negative aspect of the camera.

>And that is exactly the reason I do not understand your posts.

I have specifically chosen to keep the specifics regarding my distaste for the M8 off the forum. I actually voiced these early on (i.e., back around Photokina) and see no point in rehashing them.

I do pipe up now and again because I remain bitterly disappointed with Leica and I do not like seeing them getting free passes in so many postings without a counterpoint. It is interesting to me to see more similar counterpoints in recent posts then there were just a few weeks ago. What do you suppose that means...?

If you'd like to contact me OL (at ausdlk@gmail.com), I'd be happy to discuss my personal views with you.

Enjoy your M8. Right now I am gazing lovingly at my beautifully restored chrome M3 sporting a new ZI 35mm F/2 lens from Tony at Popflash and resting in (my personal) knowledge that this is what an M camera is all about. (IF only it had an SD card slot...)

 

[aad]

Is that magenta leather?!

 

[Sailor Ted]

I have specifically chosen to keep the specifics regarding my distaste for the M8 off the forum.

I do pipe up now and again because I remain bitterly disappointed with Leica and I do not like seeing them getting free passes in so many postings without a counterpoint.

Yea you're too busy throwing around cogent arguments like "CRAPTASTIC" and "POS." Very persuasive.

I am gazing lovingly at my beautifully restored chrome M3 sporting a new ZI 35mm F/2 lens from Tony at Popflash and resting in (my personal) knowledge that this is what an M camera is all about. (IF only it had an SD card slot...)

Awwahh- Pimp my Leica- yikes! I will however concede I too wish the M8 were more like an M7 with an SD card slot and a flip out screen. Alas.

 

[AusDLK]

Well, actually it is called dark burgundy lizard.

Although I have no problem per se with anything magenta... 😉

 

[AusDLK]

>I will however concede I too wish the M8 were more like an M7 with an SD
>card slot and a flip out screen. Alas.

I think this is further support for my "they are settling..." argument. But that must be slip up because someone doesn't like anything this one has to say...

 

[dspeltz]

I love my M8 in spite of the purple people eater who will be put to rest in a few weeks. It is a wonderful camera.

 

[John Camp]

Speaking of another kind of reality check -- the most serious kind, because it involves actual money rather than virtual money -- Jorge announced yesterday (this morning?) that Tony Rose had several silver M8s for sale. Tony has now announced that they are all gone -- something like eleven hours, I think, for ~$35,000 worth of what some seem to think are terribly flawed, essentially unusable camera bodies. Must be a lot of idiots floating around this forum; they should be taken out and beaten for their stupidity. But you probably couldn't find them, because they are out taking photographs... 🙂

JC

 

[Sailor Ted]

JC,
Yes I got the last one (I can't wait) and I'll be posting my photos from an upcomming trip to Las Vegas- man what an idiot I must be : )

ST

 

[Ben Z]

Speaking of another kind of reality check -- the most serious kind, because it involves actual money rather than virtual money -- Jorge announced yesterday (this morning?) that Tony Rose had several silver M8s for sale. Tony has now announced that they are all gone -- something like eleven hours, I think, for ~$35,000 worth of what some seem to think are terribly flawed, essentially unusable camera bodies. Must be a lot of idiots floating around this forum; they should be taken out and beaten for their stupidity. But you probably couldn't find them, because they are out taking photographs... 🙂

JC

If M8s are still wait-listed, how is it these didn't get sent out to people on Tony's list rather than offered up for public sale? Surely among all those scads of people who're supposedly still on every dealer's waiting list, he could've found takers for a small number of them regardless of what color they were. 🙄

 

[Sailor Ted]

If M8s are still wait-listed, how is it these didn't get sent out to people on Tony's list rather than offered up for public sale? Surely among all those scads of people who're supposedly still on every dealer's waiting list, he could've found takers for a small number of them regardless of what color they were. 🙄

Clearly, you have a dizzying intellect.

 

[Ben Z]

...been around the block a few times since I fell off the turnip truck is all 😉