My friend just handled the M8 !!!

[egpj]

Wow. It looks like I am the only person that does not like the fact you have to get your lens coded in order to use them with the M8. If you do not get your lenses coded then the camera's sensor will not optimize for the lens you have mounted. At least that is how I understandit. I guess that I am the pickiest one out of the bunch. That sucks.:bang: 😱

 

[Chris Lynch]

i'm thinking the lens code really only helps with Exif data- or does it actually NEED it, kinda like the consumer/prosumer Nikon DSLR's need for a CPU'd manual lens?

 

[RdEoSg]

Right you are Frank! Unfortunatly I did it for a living for about 3 years and sorta ruined the fun of it all. I just might dig out my Jobo tanks though and start again cause I really want to play with some Delta 100 and 3200! It's just a matter of finding the proper place to hang the film to dry... someone mentioned a shower I think once.. that might be a good idea! Though not for an M8 thread I suppose 😛😛 Send me a PM if you have any ideas!

 

[John Camp]

how much are kidneys going for these days?

Whose kidney?

 

[RdEoSg]

Yours maybe?😛

 

[John Camp]

As far as financing goes, there's a whole school of thought that says the M8 will depreciate quickly in the face of massive digital upgrades, etc. If you're of that school of thought (I'm not), you *could* get a credit card from somewhere -- anywhere -- put the camera on it, fail to pay anything, and by the time they managed to legally seize the camera, it'll only be worth $46 and you'll be able to buy one for cash...

Just a thought.

 

[John Camp]

Yours maybe?😛

Naw, I'd fight back. And that's always the trouble with sellling kidneys, the owners fight like junkyard dogs. I mean, jeez, they got *two* of them.

JC

 

[RdEoSg]

Is this personal experience talking then? 😛

 

[Mark Norton]

Wow. It looks like I am the only person that does not like the fact you have to get your lens coded in order to use them with the M8. If you do not get your lenses coded then the camera's sensor will not optimize for the lens you have mounted. At least that is how I understandit. I guess that I am the pickiest one out of the bunch. That sucks.:bang: 😱

Why does that suck, Glenn? Leica have provided image optimization which depends on it knowing what lens is mounted. The existing camera knows only which of 3 focal length groups the lens falls into which is not enough. They have also gone to the trouble of providing a reasonably priced upgrade service for current production and the majority of recently discontinued lenses to protect users' investment in Leica glass.

So what part of that sucks, Glenn? What part of that don't you like? How would YOU have done it (since you are presumably an expert in these things)?

If Leica had said that only new lenses could be coded with no upgrades to existing lenses, that would suck. But they haven't.

 

[sirius]

Wow, wow, wow. I know that the film camera market was ever-changing with the latest and greatest, but there was a base mechanical technology that remained very consistent over the years. But computers, wow, they change so fundementally. A ten year old computer is practically useless now. Are people going to spend so much on something that will likely be a paperweight in 10 years? USB will likely change and no longer be supported, operating systems, file formats, repair facilities, the list goes on and on. Is the computer development at enough of a plateau now?

Frank is right, digital cameras are peripheral computer devices.

Nothing that I'm sure every potential buyer hasn't considered, but buying the newest Leica seems like more of an risk then it ever was.

I've thought a lot about my comments here and I've changed my mind. Everything gets old. I'll wager a Leica ages better than most things, and what fun for the moment.

 

[egpj]

Why does that suck, Glenn? Leica have provided image optimization which depends on it knowing what lens is mounted. The existing camera knows only which of 3 focal length groups the lens falls into which is not enough. They have also gone to the trouble of providing a reasonably priced upgrade service for current production and the majority of recently discontinued lenses to protect users' investment in Leica glass.

So what part of that sucks, Glenn? What part of that don't you like? How would YOU have done it (since you are presumably an expert in these things)?

If Leica had said that only new lenses could be coded with no upgrades to existing lenses, that would suck. But they haven't.

No, Mark. It "sucks" that I am so picky. But since you asked. I would have just made it a menu option for those that do not want to send their glass off. Change a lens and select from the menu what lens you have on the camera. That way I would not have a degraded product if I really do not want to trust "Brown" or "Fed-Ex" to deliver my lenses.

It could be that they have very little in the way of interface. Therefore making it necessary to mill out lenses to be used with the M8. To me it just seems like PPP.

Sooo, since I am the only one that has brought this up I stated that it "sucks" that "I" am that picky. OK? Peace, out.:angel:

 

[Harry Lime]

Wow. It looks like I am the only person that does not like the fact you have to get your lens coded in order to use them with the M8. If you do not get your lenses coded then the camera's sensor will not optimize for the lens you have mounted. At least that is how I understandit. I guess that I am the pickiest one out of the bunch. That sucks.:bang: 😱

Leica has said that you don't HAVE to get your lens encoded for it to work with the M8.

 

[Mark Norton]

We don't yet know whether Leica will include a menu option to select the lens manually. The argument for it is, as you say, that you can take advantage of the M8 features without having to code the lenses. The argument against it is that incorrectly selecting it may make things worse, not better.

We know that the coding shows not just focal length but the actual lens formulation so the processing is likely to be highly specific to the lens mounted so what works for a Leica 21mm f2.8 might not work for a Zeiss equivalent. If I was Leica, I would only want these additional features to be enabled when I was sure the correct lens was mounted.

The Nikon D2X allows you to manually configure the focal length and maximum aperture of a lens mounted on the camera which it does not recognise. This is done purely for metering purposes, not image enhancement and if you get it wrong, the exposure and recorded aperture are wrong.

There is also the commercial reason to limit the functionality to Leica lenses - best image quality comes from the Leica camera, the Leica "film" (sensor/processing software) and Leica lens working together as a tightly integrated whole.

 

[Mark Norton]

Harry, yes they have said you can use uncoded lenses but they have also said that the features which make use of the code will not be available.

 

[dogless]

Yes, a sub menu that lets you select the lens attached. If the camera can set frame lines when the lens is attached why not provide a list of possible lenses of the same focal length that are supported by on-board image enhancment. Also provide an option for 'none' in the list. This way a user can program their most used 35mm or 50mm as the default so when they're changing lenses on the fly the correct settings are applied without going back through the menu.
Also, perhaps, hackers will develope there own or variations of the original provided factory selections of image enhancement (firmware rev's) for certain lenses will become available.
Sub menus would allow you to select perhaps one of four possible choices for the summicron IV rather then just the current factory revision. I could see debates among users as to what rev IE was better for each lens or which rev favors a particular scene or usage.

 

[Nachkebia]

Have you tried working with 100 RAW files? you think it is easier? well I don`t, at least I know with film I get the texture and grain I want, with raw files I have to try hard to give it a bit of depth, time spending is same, developing films are more enjoyeble though 🙂

Been there, done that (not with a drum, just a regular film scanner.) It's a great work model if your style of photography is to aim for an occasional really good individual picture.

If you shoot a LOT of pictures, you'll quickly discover that spending hours developing and contacting PLUS more hours prepping and scanning become a huge millstone around your neck.

 

[sf]

Hmm . . . . American Express Gold Card, here I come!

not really.

Tempting, though.

 

[sunsworth]

Have you tried working with 100 RAW files? you think it is easier? well I don`t, at least I know with film I get the texture and grain I want, with raw files I have to try hard to give it a bit of depth, time spending is same, developing films are more enjoyeble though 🙂

Yup I have and I find it far easier and quicker than developing and scanning 3 rolls of film. I preview the images in iView Media Pro and only convert the ones I want to convert at that point in time.

Steve

 

[thafred]

time to load up the classifieds with those m4's and m6's (non TTL please)

haha, I guess thats the really good news for other people like me who don´t even come close to that money for digital capture! I hope that the prices of old M -gear (here I come M4) are coming down a bit cause of a lot of shooters will "upgrade" to an M8 (like it happened to Nikon..a friend bought an "new" F4 last week for 300€!! holy cr*p)

I think thou that there will be a "breaking point" in the future when the old analoge Leica M´s will be worth more than the M8 (It all depends on how the digital market developes and how fast Leica will come out with M9 / M10) At least that is a wonderfull argument to the better half for purchasing another M body 😉

Nonetheless I´m very interested (as everybody else) in info about the machine itself and finally want to see a picture!! Thanks Jorge for the Update! (can´t you get the test picture from the guy you know? Maybe you can talk him into sending you a scan to help you decide youre purchase :angel: )

 

[sunsworth]

It seems the NDA could be lifted on Monday, I expect there'll be a picture or two then ;-)