My Leica M8 Review - ya.. seriously..

Thanks Dave, that was a good read. I'm still in the "one day... maybe" camp. I hope you get your M8 back quickly and in perfect working order.

A small correction, my cover is never blown when I enter the room because I always wear my trusty invisibility cloak! 😉
 
Thanks for the comments guys - ya.. there's always a trade off right?

The R-D1 is no longer in production to the best of my knowledge.
I know that Matsuiya Store still has them but I'm unsure whether these are New Old Stock (NOS) or if it's something that Epson is still producing only for the Japan market.

That said, the R-D1s is still cheaper than the M8 by a long shot.

So there are trade offs - if the M8 was priced the same as the R-D1s (i.e. around $3000) it would be, I think, a good deal (even with the niggles that are being touted online and around the net) but at $5500 (I was lucky to get mine cheaper) the M8 isn't exactly a "good deal" but I still say it's a good and perfectly usable camera. 🙂

Cheers,
Dave
 
errr....is it just me, or is the letterspacing higher than it usually is? could be the full justification, too.
 
The most persuasive thing about RF is, like you say, Dave, that it is fun to use. "Fun", when analyzed, can include everything from handling to PP, price point to IQ, depending on the aesthetic values. The value-added quality of "fun" is most elusive. When a camera provides to discerning users both pleasure in use and pleasure in final images, that is a mighty persuasive combo at any price.

Yet dealing with Leica's quality control problems at the M8's price point is obviously NOT a whole lotta fun. And so on and so forth.

Your well-written article--a lot of fun to read, by the way--shows to me the reasons for sticking with film and waiting a bit further in the glacial cycles of dRF production.

It is hard to say if competition alone is the answer to Leica's problems.
 
noimmunity said:
The most persuasive thing about RF is, like you say, Dave, that it is fun to use. "Fun", when analyzed, can include everything from handling to PP, price point to IQ, depending on the aesthetic values. The value-added quality of "fun" is most elusive. When a camera provides to discerning users both pleasure in use and pleasure in final images, that is a mighty persuasive combo at any price.

Yet dealing with Leica's quality control problems at the M8's price point is obviously NOT a whole lotta fun. And so on and so forth.

Your well-written article--a lot of fun to read, by the way--shows to me the reasons for sticking with film and waiting a bit further in the glacial cycles of dRF production.

It is hard to say if competition alone is the answer to Leica's problems.
Click to expand...
Hi Jon,

Thanks for the compliments and you're right on that last point; competition alone will likely not be the answer to Leica's problems.

I guess, the way I was looking at it was, Leica had always claimed "can't be done" and then when Epson / CV did it they had to produce or be called on it.

I am hoping that, with further competition, that they would be able to continue to develop, improve and perfect the dRF.

The concern, for me at least, is that without a "reasonably priced" dRF; the format may, in fact, slowly die - just look at the large numbers of folks here over the age of 40... not that there's anything wrong with being over 40 mind you 😀 ... but it's going to be awfully hard to turn on the twenty something set to a dRF when it's priced well beyond their means...

Cheers,
Dave
 
dcsang said:
Hi Jon,

Thanks for the compliments and you're right on that last point; competition alone will likely not be the answer to Leica's problems.

I guess, the way I was looking at it was, Leica had always claimed "can't be done" and then when Epson / CV did it they had to produce or be called on it.

I am hoping that, with further competition, that they would be able to continue to develop, improve and perfect the dRF.

The concern, for me at least, is that without a "reasonably priced" dRF; the format may, in fact, slowly die - just look at the large numbers of folks here over the age of 40... not that there's anything wrong with being over 40 mind you 😀 ... but it's going to be awfully hard to turn on the twenty something set to a dRF when it's priced well beyond their means...

Cheers,
Dave
Click to expand...
Dave firstly gald you like the M8. Sorry to hear it has already gone back. Id be tempted to ask for a replacement if the fault is there from the outset.

Regarding the age of leica users and the company's future prognosis; That is an interesting one. I think at least a bit of this is image and probably not just price. In my 20's i certainly wanted something big and flashy with auto everything. The styling of leicas for a 20 something year old is definately a put off I think. The rangefinder I first went for was a Contax G1. That in its day was a very stylish camera. I think future rangefinders if they are going to appeal to a young generation actually need a bit of styling. Do not get me wrong i love Leica rangefinders just as they are, but I bet a lot of 20 somethings would laugh at being seen using one.


Richard
 
Dave - thanks for the thoughtful review... sorry to hear about the deadpixels... i'm sure Leica will correct that (hopefully quickly as well)... also noticed that on the second group shot that you posted on the review, there is a greenish, yellow strip near the top right of the frame... is that a post-processing artifact or an in-camera issue? do you see it in any of your other images? you may want to have Leica fix that as well if it's not an anomoly...

good luck!
 
Hey Ken,

I answered you on my blog wrt that artifact - I'll make a note of it but seeing as how I've only seen it in one photo out of about 125, I don't think it's a seroius issue - I will still make mention of it to Leica as that photo is one of the ones they're "getting" so they're aware of the issue across all ISOs.

Dave
 
Thanks for the review, sorry to hear about the camera issue, hopefully it will come back resolved. It does give me some pause though... I guess it is the risk one takes as an early adopter
 
Last edited:
dcsang said:
Hey Ken,

I answered you on my blog wrt that artifact - I'll make a note of it but seeing as how I've only seen it in one photo out of about 125, I don't think it's a seroius issue - I will still make mention of it to Leica as that photo is one of the ones they're "getting" so they're aware of the issue across all ISOs.

Dave
Click to expand...

ah, just saw that... thought you might want to raise it with Leica since they are resolving the other issue... any chance Brian will give you a loaner while it's away on vacation?
 
monochromejrnl said:
ah, just saw that... thought you might want to raise it with Leica since they are resolving the other issue... any chance Brian will give you a loaner while it's away on vacation?
Click to expand...

Ya.. I'll mention it to them Ken. It's going in for one thing anyway right? 🙂

Re: Brian
I can always ask what can be done..
He's been pretty helpful so far.

I know folks in the other thread are claiming that this is "unfair" but, ya know, it would be a lot worse if I had to do all the running around myself. At least he'll take care of it. This is what he's told me and, so far, this is what he's doing.

Oh.. and I know it's been questioned whether the camera was "new" or not - I wouldn't have been able to register it and get the free filters had it been a refurb/demo.

Cheers
Dave
 
no doubt about it being new... i've dealt with Brian and he's a standup guy, I'd be surprised if he kept inventory around anyways so he probably contacted his Leica rep when you ordered one and they served it up... no incentive for a Leica to send you anything less than a new one since it'll end up going back ... it is disappointing that Leica didn't get all of the M8s right the first time (especially when they have a reputation for excellence that they are relying on)... in any case, from what you've said, the M8 is a hobby camera and you still have the othe Ms and 5Ds for work so it'll be resolved without too much disruption... it's good that you put the M8 through it's paces right away to discover these issues well within the first 2 weeks... otherwise it would be a real nightmare having to deal with Leica Camera Canada/USA directly on a stricly a warranty basis in the first month of ownership... maybe you can get them to through in some comp. upgrades while it's in Solm??!? ;P
 
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