New M8 and M8.2 users- report in!

[Bavaricus]

> BUT i am not happy with some of my lenses. Some do have a loevely character and
> some aren't great performers

Which lenses are these? Fellow Sonnar Addict. I'll be putting a full range of Sonnars on the M8. It will make testing converted and shimmed lenses much easier.

On the performance issue: do you think this a function of the CCD and microlenses? Or just Film vs Digital look?

Oh, the sonnars are definetely no issue! Their shots have the look i like very much. Some modern lenses do have a strange look on silicon, and M8 is revealing some issues with focus shift etc. you would have never recognized on film. Also CA is somehow an issue with some lenses, especially the CVs. But you have to know that i am little bit allergic to CAs 😉. When the look is alright and sharpness is OK CA can destroy a good shot - in my eyes.

I find it a challenge to select lenses for the M8. On th other side i am surprised over the quality of some old lenses, e.g. my Jupiter -11

 

[ampguy]

huh?

huh?

All my M8 cards read fine in both SD card readers and a dell multi-card slot.

Bought one before Chrismas and now it's on its way to Leica NJ.
Any SD card used in the camera can not be recognized by computers. Saying it is not formatted.
Why leica makes a simples thing so complicated?

 

[Makten]

Wouldn't it be a better idea to trade all this for a really good lens like the Summicron 35 asph?

No, it's too expensive if I am to keep the D700. Though it is THE lens I would buy for an M9.
I still use the D700 very much in the darkness up here in Sweden, mainly with a CV 40/2 Ultron. The only thing I don't like about that camera is that it is too heavy.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Tim, I know what you mean. I recently got caught into the 90mm / 135mm lenses . After payng for one, I see another at a fantastic price. And pretty quickly the expenses adds up.

 

[jsrockit]

Do NOT look at Konica Hexanon lenses, I repeat, do NOT look at Konica Hexanon lenses

(how come everybody keeps forgetting these?)

😛

Because they are relatively hard to find...

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

M8 is revealing some issues with focus shift etc. you would have never recognized on film.

Some would say that it's the M8 that is broken and all is lost and Leica is dead and doom doom doom doom doom 🙄


My snarkiness aside, the Sonnars (and the Sonnar knock-offs) shine with the M8:



M8 + 50mm f/1.5 Zeiss-Opton Sonnar (Contax mount w/adapter)



M8 + 50mm f/1.5 Zeiss-Opton Sonnar (Contax mount w/adapter)



M8 + 50mm f/1.5 Jupiter-3 "Brianov" LTM (some call it "Sweenified")



M8 + 50mm f/2 Jupiter-8 "Brianov" LTM

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I might have to try one or two of those Sweeney-fied J-3's with my incoming M8...

Especially the one modified for close-focus.

 

[paulhart]

Bought an almost unused black paint M8.2 a month ago.

I was an M8 buyer at launch...went through 2 replacements for the usual reasons, then gave up.

This one is completely different. Much better camera. When mated with my new 24/3,8 ASPH, it's perfect.

 

[Roger Hicks]

The M8 and M8.2 are great cameras. I love mine.

Trouble is, the M9 is even better.

(Ducks and runs for cover).

Cheers,

R.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Roger- I know and understand that fact about the M9, and weighed it seriously. Having worked with Digital Sensors for almost 30 years now, back when we had to fund the R&D to get them made, I would like to state the M9 is a real accomplishment. Full-frame digital sensor with the microlenses that also solves the IR problem that is able to work with such a short back-focus amazes me.

And- came close to getting it. But realized I wanted the Digital RF to build and test lenses, and film cameras for fun. If I really like the M8 and Digital RF photography, funds for the M9 are collecting interest in a CD.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

The thing about the M9...first off, if I were well heeled enough (or professional enough) to be comfortable using the crap out of a $7000 camera, it would be really appealing to me. But the M8's current price is about my limit...I feel good lugging it around, like if it gets busted or stolen, it will suck, but it won't represent a massive hit.

The other thing is, what in the hell am I gonna do with 18 million pixels? It seems to me that 10MP is kind of the sweet spot--the files look great at every size I will ever print, and are small enough to load and process pretty quickly in Lightroom. If I had an M9 I'd have to buy a faster computer, too.

And full frame digital doesn't mean all that much to me, as I've been shooting wide less and less lately, and still have my film cameras. I think the CV 15 on a crop sensor is as wide as I will need anytime soon! So the M8 is the perfect camera for me right now, and I think I will get a TON of enjoyment out of it this year.

I remember seeing the M8 on DPReview back when it first came out, before I knew anything about RF cameras--i was just shopping for a point and shoot. And I thought, that is the most beautiful camera I have ever seen in my life. Since then I've of course gone RF crazy and have multiple Leicas...but finally getting an M8 was the culmination of that. See me in three years about buying a used M9!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

When the M10 comes out, I can post a thread for new M9 users to report in...

When I got the DCS200ir in the early 90s, I thought "ONE Point SIX MILLION PIXELS! Who would ever need more than that!"

Let's all hope that the M8's and M9's work as reliably as that Kodak still is.

And it's only picked up three Hot Pixels. It was a Zero-Defect CCD when new. That is amazing, considering it was done almost 20 years ago.

 

[naruto]

Double Negative and Gabriel, I cannot wait to try out my M8 with the Sweenified lens. 🙂 We should create a special tag on flickr for these lenses under the M-mount lens group.

Roger: this is a strictly M8/M8.2 thread. No OT please.
😉

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I think we new owners owe a debt of gratitude to the early adopters of this technology. I'm happy to see long timer users such as Gabriel posting here. If I were making a living doing wedding photography, I would pick up an M9. I spent a decade making a living by developing the data acquisition systems that went into Digital imagers. So I can appreciate the engineering that went into the M9.

Especially happy to see my Green-Eyed Beauty of a J-3 being used on the M8 on this thread!

 

[Rotdot]

I picked up my M8 on this forum a few weeks ago, and it is every bit as good as I imagined it would be. As others have said, this camera is really at a sweet spot right now. Plenty of examples in excellent condition are available now, but I would not expect to be the case as time passes.

Cheers to the early adopters!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Welcome to RFF! You will find a lot of collective experience here, from the latest M9 to the earliest Leica II.

 

[bherman]

I just picked up a really nice M8.2 with only 3000 actuations on it. I currently have the 28mm F/2.8 ASPH Elmarit and the 50mm F2 Summicron (latest version). I started looking for a 90mm Elmarit, so I would have a 28, 50 & 90 (37, 67, 120 on the M8.2), but my dealer tried to talk me into a 75mm Summicron, but it is alot of 'coin' right now. We'll see...

Brad

 

[piazza63]

I just got mine a month or so ago for a great price and am loving it. Using a 35mm preasph summilux, 50 cron collapsible, and 15mm CV. I'd lieke to get a 28mm and try out a lens with some newer coatings. Any advice about the SD issue? occasionally when I turn the camera on the LCD on the top plate doesn't turn on and when looking through the VF "SD" can be seen flashing. If I take the battery out for a few minutes it usually clears up.

 

[Bavaricus]

Some would say that it's the M8 that is broken and all is lost and Leica is dead and doom doom doom doom doom 🙄


My snarkiness aside, the Sonnars (and the Sonnar knock-offs) shine with the M8:

That's the way aha aha i like it!

Great shots, great sonnars!

I had a really great Jupiter-3 and sold it to get C-Sonnar 50, but by now i am a little bit sad and think it was a mistake although the new is much crispier wide open. Stopped down there is IMHO not that much difference i awaited.

 

[daymadi.t]

I'm not the only one here that has bought a used M8 or M8.2 since the M9 was announced.
I bought my M8 1n 2008 and it cost 4.600 euros to me , with the new M9, the M8 price has fallen a half , now one can have a used (like new) M8-M8.2 at less than 2.600 euros. Last month a Leica shop in France sold their M8.2 (New) for this price.
I received my M9 one month ago and past my time making picture with it , bringing with me my old M8. Honestly I don't see much different between the M8 and M9 in term of operation , except, the shutter noise in M9 is very smooth and silent .
About pictures , with the same lens I can't distinguish which one is been used in term of contrast and sharpness.
I assure you at A+ prints its give the same quality.So I conserve my M8 for the 90mm/2.8 Elmarit-M and my M9 with 18mm/3.8 S.Elmar , so I have not to change the lenses in field, avoiding the risk of falling lenses and dust !
So if you like to use leica , and don't want to wast money , I strongly recommend you to go to M8 or better M8.2 (You may find out at the same price or if difference is not so important, go for M8.2, you win with its saphir screen which leica propose 1.200 euro for adapting on M8)
Look at my www.photoerrant.smugmug.com and judge yourself - Kind regard .