A friend of mine in NY who has been in business since the begining of time selling Leica and Zeiss just gave me a report on the M8.
He tells me it is an engineering wonder. Typical German quality throughout.
A little heaver than the M7 but looks very much like it.
He said it had mechanical frame lines from 24 - 90
Very quiet almost silent shutter.
Viewfinder magnification of .68
Shutter speed from 8 seconds to 1/4000
Flash sync of 1/250
He says this is the camera of cameras. Even those with no M lenses will want to buy it.
He say we will probably sell them for 4500.00
Aug 21st Update .....
Some minor changes after some of the specs sent to dealers that are now under a nondisclosure agreement.
price seems to be close top the one I mention above. Definetly below 5k.
Shutter syn is 250 max is like the R9 of 1/8000th .
black and silver available.
official news will be as we all expected 9/15
He tells me it is an engineering wonder. Typical German quality throughout.
A little heaver than the M7 but looks very much like it.
He said it had mechanical frame lines from 24 - 90
Very quiet almost silent shutter.
Viewfinder magnification of .68
Shutter speed from 8 seconds to 1/4000
Flash sync of 1/250
He says this is the camera of cameras. Even those with no M lenses will want to buy it.
He say we will probably sell them for 4500.00
Aug 21st Update .....
Some minor changes after some of the specs sent to dealers that are now under a nondisclosure agreement.
price seems to be close top the one I mention above. Definetly below 5k.
Shutter syn is 250 max is like the R9 of 1/8000th .
black and silver available.
official news will be as we all expected 9/15
Ergo
Observer
I Want !!!
N
Nick R.
Guest
Must . . . buy . . . lottery . . . tickets
Chris Lynch
Film Enough.
1/250 sweeeeeeeeeet
the massive range of framelines is also awesome!
wow i can't wait to see more info about it.
the massive range of framelines is also awesome!
wow i can't wait to see more info about it.
I Am talkingto another dealer on the phone as I type this he is looking at an 11 x 14 print of Chicago taken with the M8. He cannot come up with words to describe the clarity and detail of the print. Let me quote what he says. " I have goose bumps looking at this"
jlw
Rangefinder camera pedant
I had been skeptical of previous M8 hype, but this sounds pretty convincing. I figure longtime dealers are the most likely people actually to get their hands on pre-production samples, and people who have lasted a really long time in the photo trade tend not to be rabid cheerleaders (since their success is based on repeat business over time.)
Dang, just when I was thinking I'd finally be able to afford a new car this year. (And the hypothetical Nikon D100-to-D200 upgrade is definitely fading into the Ain't Gonna Happen category.)
In all honesty, what interests me is not the "German quality" (whatever that means) or the specs -- nothing there that seems a radical advance over my R-D 1. But a really quiet shutter and a 90mm frameline (presumably they tucked 75mm in there as well?) would be definite enhancements to the kinds of photography I do.
Yeah, if I somehow managed to figure out how to swing this -- unfortunately, I'm not in the category of RFFer for whom $5,000 is a trivial purchase; for me it's more like, "Holy kack, that's eight months' rent!" -- I'd probably keep the R-D 1 as a second body and to have the 1:1 viewfinder, which is one of my favorite things for a camera to have.
But it does have me looking at all my Nikon DSLR stuff and thinking, "How much could I get for this on eBay?"
Could this be the year I finally ditch SLRs for good and go all-RF...?
Dang, just when I was thinking I'd finally be able to afford a new car this year. (And the hypothetical Nikon D100-to-D200 upgrade is definitely fading into the Ain't Gonna Happen category.)
In all honesty, what interests me is not the "German quality" (whatever that means) or the specs -- nothing there that seems a radical advance over my R-D 1. But a really quiet shutter and a 90mm frameline (presumably they tucked 75mm in there as well?) would be definite enhancements to the kinds of photography I do.
Yeah, if I somehow managed to figure out how to swing this -- unfortunately, I'm not in the category of RFFer for whom $5,000 is a trivial purchase; for me it's more like, "Holy kack, that's eight months' rent!" -- I'd probably keep the R-D 1 as a second body and to have the 1:1 viewfinder, which is one of my favorite things for a camera to have.
But it does have me looking at all my Nikon DSLR stuff and thinking, "How much could I get for this on eBay?"
Could this be the year I finally ditch SLRs for good and go all-RF...?
I was alsoo informed that that on Monday, the dealers will be able to give more information on the camera including pricing.
ampguy
Veteran
Lol!
Lol!
I envision Mr. Krabs with $$ signs in his eyes looking at a Costco digiprint saying "money! money! money!!" !!
Lol!
I envision Mr. Krabs with $$ signs in his eyes looking at a Costco digiprint saying "money! money! money!!" !!
Jorge Torralba said:
I want a crabby patty topped off with an M8
ampguy
Veteran
ok kids,
time to load up the classifieds with those m4's and m6's (non TTL please)
time to load up the classifieds with those m4's and m6's (non TTL please)
kbg32
neo-romanticist
I'm in the top 5 of a waiting list for this from my dealer here in NYC!
what a great combo! M8 and MP for backup. Complete opposites. It does not get any better
kidigital
Newbie
Great information, Jorge. Thanks. I can't wait.
FrankS
Registered User
One of the benefits of not being able to afford the m8 right away, is that prices will go down and the bugs will be ironed out by the time I'm anywhere close to the possibility of a purchase. (I just might have to sell off one of my motorcycles for this.)
LCT
ex-newbie
Would be interesting to see how it can focus a 75mm lens at f/1.4 or a 90mm at f/2 with a .68x VF magnification...
JoeFriday
Agent Provacateur
how much are kidneys going for these days?
Hmm, sell my M6 TTL...anyone want a nice trombone? A few lenses.....
FrankS
Registered User
JoeFriday said:
Not nearly as much as hearts.
KoNickon
Nick Merritt
OK, I've not been paying attention. What is the sensor magnification factor -- 1.5x? So the 24mm frameline = 35mm?
Sounds like a nice camera, but do we still have the issue regarding true wide angles?
I'm with ampguy -- I expect to see those M4s etc. appearing in the Classifieds real soon! (I'm looking for an M5 myself, in case anyone is interested....)
Sounds like a nice camera, but do we still have the issue regarding true wide angles?
I'm with ampguy -- I expect to see those M4s etc. appearing in the Classifieds real soon! (I'm looking for an M5 myself, in case anyone is interested....)
JoeFriday
Agent Provacateur
that doesn't help me.. everybody knows I'm heartlessFrankS said:Not nearly as much as hearts.