Poll - Progression to owning a M8

[biggambi]

A Poll - it seams like the season. But, I am curious to know how people came to own an M8. As for me, I owned an M6 and a bunch of glass, for the past 15 years. I just recently purchased a M8. I currently shoot both film and digital.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Since about 1970 it's been IIIa - M3 - M2 - M4P - MP - M8 (missing out a few steps & duplicates).

Cheers,

R.

 

[Olsen]

I clicked on no. 2 - but frankly; I first had a Zeiss Ikon. Film Leicas were all too expensive for me. Later, after a drastic fall in their 2.hand value, I have bought a MP.

 

[biggambi]

I clicked on no. 2 - but frankly; I first had a Zeiss Ikon. Film Leicas were all too expensive for me. Later, after a drastic fall in their 2.hand value, I have bought a MP.

I too started with something other than a Leica - a Nikon FM. But, I wanted to keep the progression limited to once one was purchasing within the Leica M series. Otherwise, it was just to many variables.

 

[dof]

I belong to the #1 camp. I've owned an M6ttl for about nine years and after much sitting it out on the sidelines, bought an M8 earlier this Spring.

I do shoot both, but when I ask myself why I want to shoot one over the other, I can't help but to relate to the M6 as "Church" and the M8 as "State".


-J.

 

[tbarker13]

But where is the RD-1 in the progression?
I started with film Ms, then added the RD-1, which was my gateway drug.
The M8 came next.

 

[jaapv]

I can't figure out the poll, But in the M series I owned an M3, M4 M4-p, M6, M6 TTL and now 2 M8s, I still own the M3 and rarely use it.
Digitally I progressed from a series of P&S to Canon 10D, Canon Rebel backup, Canon 1D to Leica DMR. Before that, on the SLR front ExaII, Olympus OM2, Leica R3, R4,R5,R7. Plus a number of sideline systems. All gone

 

[abenner]

Something like this for me... The exact order is a bit fuzzy at this point.

M7 - MP - M3 - M2 - M6 - M3 - S3 2000 - ZI - M4-P - SP - M2 - M4-2 - M3 - M8

In the end I'm no more than a few hundred bucks ahead or behind. They were all decent cameras, but the two I miss the most are probably the might-as-well-have-been new silver MP I got for $1800 and a Shintaro black M3 with Rapidwinder that I bought from Tom A. that was dented and scraped but oh so beautiful.

I've finally come around to the M8 because a) a good deal came along and b) I'm too busy to keep up with developing all that Tri-X, drying the negs, scanning the negs, touching up the negs, etc. We'll see how some (relatively) instant gratification works. If it doesn't work out, well, I've never had an M4...

 

[tomasis]

M7 - MP - M3 - M2 - M6 - M3 - S3 2000 - ZI - M4-P - SP - M2 - M4-2 - M3 - M8

it seems so you liked M3

 

[biggambi]

But where is the RD-1 in the progression?
I started with film Ms, then added the RD-1, which was my gateway drug.
The M8 came next.

Oh sure, we now have a hanging chad. I may have to declare my poll invalid.

 

[MikeL]

M4-P, Nikon S2, M4, M3, skip, then Nikon Digital SP.

 

[benkelley]

m3, then m8. still have the m3 but i don't use it so much... always did prefer bits to chemicals.

 

[Doug]

I've had an M2 for over 40 years and still use it, so the M8 already felt familiar. I had several digital cameras which always seemed to require reference to the manual before use beyond the most basic. The M8 is simple enough to operate that even I can manage without reference material. Similarly, in 1984 I bought a Macintosh... It's all about the interface!

 

[biggambi]

Constantly reading what a pile of crap it was and seeing the ensuing passion and ongoing arguments that peppered the forum ... how could I resist, I had to find out for myself!

That sums it up perfectly - too funny!

I've had an M2 for over 40 years and still use it, so the M8 already felt familiar. I had several digital cameras which always seemed to require reference to the manual before use beyond the most basic. The M8 is simple enough to operate that even I can manage without reference material. Similarly, in 1984 I bought a Macintosh... It's all about the interface!

I also find it simply has the features that I want and the ability to control them easily - just like my mac. The comparison can be extended to a number of similarities between these two products in my opinion. Great analogy.

 

[Moto Mark]

I started with an M4P around 1982 and kept it until 2001. I also had an M6 from 1990 to 2001 when I got bit by the digital bug and sold the lot for a Canon DSLR kit. I always regretted that decision but with 20/20 hindsight it was the right decision at the time. Now I want to go back to Leicas and get the M8 (or 8.2)

So I guess my progression to a Leica is about to come full circle. I'm considering keeping my 5D and the 24-70 or using my G9 as a backup to the M8 as there are some thing they provide that the M8 can't, but hopefully early in 2009 I'll be back in the Leica camp.

 

[yanidel]

Went from a P5100 to a Panasonic L1 to a Epson R-D1 to a M8 over a one year period ...
After owning the M8 for four days, I'd say that this is it, I found THE camera !

 

[wayne.mills]

I Started in 35 mm with a Pentax Spotmatic, progressed through the Nikon F system and having a swag of F lenses decided to jump into DSLR when the D100 came out, paying $5.5K (and some whinge about the cost of an M8!) After persevering with this dogbox and it's soft images, resorting to constant post processing and dumping all my Nikkor zooms for primes in the quest for image quality, the penny dropped when I saw D100's going for $350 S/H - obviously I am a slow learner! What to do? Get back on the planned obsolescance treadmill with another and even heavier FF DSLR or go back to film? The M8 ticked a lot of boxes, not the least that I could actually manually focus it (ageing eyesight!). Try that with a DSLR. AND no more 6 monthly model changes and overnight depreciation. Superlative image files, full stop! That the M8 ever made it onto the market is something of a minor miracle. Now it seems Leica is rounded on because it brought a DRF out without finding solutions to all of the technical hurdles that come with DRF design. Well, if they had waited until all those issues were resolved, then we would not have seen a Leica DRF. The M8 is a niche market product. Had its launch had been put off till now, the economic climate would guarantee that it would never see the light of day. Sure, it's got some shortcomings (I for one would like to have exposure bracketing), but there are workarounds for most of them. All the Nikon F gear is now gone and I have no regrets whatsover. The M8 does 95% of what I want a camera to do.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Missing from the poll "progressions" is where all of us M8 owners automatically got medical degrees.

 

[gfspencer]

My "journey" was circuitous. I started with Nikon film cameras. Then I saw a Leica and "fell in love with it" . . . so I switched to a Leica M6TTL. Then digital came along and I started shooting Canons (10D, 30D, and 40D). However, my Canons (even with L lenses) did not satisfy me the way that my old Leica did. So I started shooting with the M6 again but it was a pain in the rear to get the film developed. :bang: So I finally broke down and bought the M8. I think I'm happy now. I might get my lenses coded and I might opt for the quieter shutter . . . but I will stick with my M8.

 

[tajart]

i'd be curious to know how many bought new, demo, or used m8.