Practical photography M8 review - redressing the balance!

[dougdarter]

Hi,

I thought this subject deserved a thread of it's own, rather than being tacked on to the end of the rather derogatory, earlier thread, which I found to be completely biased.

I bought the magazine this morning, and having read it, I found that rather than PP trying to 'rubbish' the M8, it's findings were that it was in a lot of areas, not all bad. In fact, to quote PP's technical editor ' I WANT ONE!!'

I admit, that in it's summing up, PP said that 'It costs a lot, is slow, and needs a special filter to ensure quality results'. So what - don't we all admit that??

In the body of the review it also says ' The M8 is outperformed (by digital SLR's) in many areas, ie start time, write time, AWB and metering'. We all know this too.

I found that the review was very objective, and in any area that they found the M8 wanting, they gave good reasons for doing so. They obviously do not review a lot of digital rangefinders, indeed, apart from the Epson RD1, the M8 is the only example available, and in comparing it to modern DSLR's, it has of course, been found wanting, but then, you can't really compare it to a DSLR.

In light of the fact that a lot of RFF members are unable to buy or read a copy of this UK publication, I am going to quote direct from the magazine, with no alterations whatsoever. Read the quotes, and then make up your own mind.

It is supplied with the excellent Capture 1 LE, which is certainly better than most software supplied with digital cameras.

Those that used a Leica M series before will immediately be impressed with the handling that the M8 provides.

The main advantage that the M mount offers is ultra fast apertures in such small lenses that really can't be replicated with DSLRs at all.

Shutter noise........is a soft noise rather than the loud clank of most SLRs.

With the Leica Summicron 28mm - as you would expect from the world famous Leica lenses, there is almost nothing visible in the way of CA or fringing around the edge detail.

Sharpness and colour accuracy remain high throughout the ISO settings.

There is no arguement thst the body of the M8 is a highly crafted piece of fine engineering, and looks stunning.

Image quality - this is where the M8 excels - reportage shots in b and w. The compact but ultra fast aperture lenses are truly excellent in the field.

The M8 is capable of producing stunning results.

In it's summing up:

It's a digital M series. Build quality of the highest order, the lenses are capable of excellent quality. All manual shooting. High resale value.

The most telling, and important lines however were written by the Technical Editor, Bob Martin:

........Although I stand behind the scores in this months test, if I had silly amounts of cash, I'd buy an M8. Crazy, isn't it? But then this totally sums up why Leicas are legendary. There is some indefineable quality that makes me want one, even though I know it's expensive, and I wouldn't use it very often. Thankfully MOST OF THE PP OFFICE AGREES WITH ME, and there is no logical explanation for it.

In light of this mysterious phenomenon, WE'VE CREATED A NEW AWARD, that recognises the special quality of products like the M8, perfect for products that TRANSCEND RATINGS to appeal to the inner photographer:

'Practical Photography award 'I want one.... but don't know why'.

We do, dont we?????😀

 

[jaapv]

The only word I take issue with here is "slow" The lack of shutter lag makes it the fastest digital camera on the market from a photographers point of view. Of course, if you want the machine-gun approach it is not your camera, but that is another kind of fast.....

 

[etrigan63]

While I agree that AWB on the M8 is not the world's greatest, what camera is? I always fine-tune AWB in post as a matter of course with all my cameras. The metering system, however, IMHO is top-notch for a center-weighted system. I have managed to get some shots with my M8 that would have utterly baffled my 1D Mk2's exposure system without switching it to some other mode.

Some might call this rationalizing my purchase, but this has been my experience with the M8.

 

[HAnkg]

Whether the M8 is trash or fabulous depends on your prefernces in camera ergonomics and working style. For most of the readers of Practical Photography whose prefrence matches most of the photo market for highly automated, feature rich big DSLR's the M8 would look like an over priced retro throwback. And from their point of view they would be right.

But if your idea of perfect is a Leica M then the M8 may be your dream machine and the typical DSLR is just about as far from perfect as you can get. Different strokes.

 

[Olsen]

I am using the M8 paralell to my 1Ds II. When handling the RAW files (M8 jpg's are awful!) there isn't much difference. With the exception that the M8 files don't need sharpening, contrary to the files from the 1Ds II. Sure, the Canon files are larger and has a potential for larger enlargements than the M8 files, but not much. For pictures up to A3, and possibly larger, the file size difference means nothing.

But the M8 is far better when photographing people in different settings. As when I photographed Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones at a restaurant here in Oslo. Had I used the 1Ds II a heep of bodyguards had been on top of me instantly. Even when photographing people I know, like family members, they tend to be more relaxed when I use the M8.

I prefer not to use the filters, but set the lense recognition 'on'. I use my M8 mostly for street scenes, architecture and landscapes. Only when I photograph people and that it is important that their clothes are in the right colour do I put the filters on.

 

[etrigan63]

Big DSLRs are intimidating to ordinary mortals. They do not act normally around them. In this day and age of increased paranoia, people are reacting to DSLRs as if they lived their entire lives in the deepest parts of the Amazon rainforest: wondering about the huge gadget, why you are pointing it at them and whether their soul will be stolen by it.

 

[Isca]

Jaap, I think you hit the nail on hte head, it's a magazine aimed at dlsr users. The rangefinder is a different type of photographic tool and the M8 is different again because it is digital. Being a long time slr user and using dslr's for a few years I can honestly say that I enjoy both styles of shooting (and some people don't ahve different styles I guess).

To compare is useless, it would be fairer to contrast.