I just read the article in Professional Photographer Magazine UK reviewing the M8.2. I am impressed how much the author loved the camera, and explained why the simplicity of the M8 brought him back to 'Thinking" about the photo and not relying on all the modern gizmos on DSLR's.
I do agree that the simplicity is refreshing. Whether it gets one back to thinking, well one man's meat is another man's poison. One could argue that having a camera that does all the exposing and focusing for you frees up more brain power to concentrate on composing. Personally, the one advantage is really that its a RF and allows me to see outside the frame and hence make last min changes to composition if something is about to enter the frame.
He said it IS the best made camera anywhere. His only fault with the M8 was the high ISO performance. Once corrected in a future model, he said many photojournalists would flock back to the M.
I think many previous reviewers will contradict this point. I personally use the M8 as well as a 40D at the moment but have at various points used a 1dmk2, 1dmk3, d2x, d3, and various other cameras. Best made? I'd take my 1dmk2 over an m8 any day. Every bit of it screams out to me as fragile whereas i've been able to use my 1dmk2 even after having dropped it off a 2nd story ledge (long story). my canons have also been shot in tropical storms, and snow storms, whereas i see major battery drain issues just using the m8 out on a cold day (significantly less shots). As in other posts, high iso is not the m8's only problem, its got to sort out its IR problem, the random shutter failures, its write speed, CA, etc. I doubt many if any journalist will ever flock back to it as their main camera. As far as reliability goes, its in the stone ages.
The M8 as it is outperforms many of my medium format cameras, a dream come true!! Just imagine awesome high ISO performance with a 35mm Summicron!!!! It would blow Nikon and Canon AWAY!!!
Or not. I don't know what other med format camera u've shot. But i recently attended an open day for the P65+ digi backs on a the new phase one camera. Trust me, even shooting at reduced resolution and high iso, it'll blow the m8 at low iso DNG out of the water. I've also been shooting a canon 5d lately, and for something that came out years before the m8 and its still yonks better. Lots of tests have been carried out on this issue, both in labs and in the field, and there's no disputing that the m8 has lots of catching up to do. Compared to medium format film, i've had some scans of work done using iso800 negs and the grain and tonality is still much better than the m8. With film, a lot is dependent on the scanner u use. Something scanned with a v700 flatbed might not compare to an m8 file (never tried), but something done on a dedicated one like the hassy flexscans or a drum scan will reveal much better quality.
the Noctilux with great high ISO would be a religious experience!!!
Coming to a cinema near you!!! Check out a 5d or 1dsmk2 with a canon 50 f1.0L or f1.2L. Fraction of the price, double/triple the quality. U have to compare like with like really.
I know i'm probably gonna get shot down for saying this on a RF forum, but the truth is that you don't bring a knife to a gunfight. I love my RF to bits, but they are toys and when i need something for work, i bring the guns. Perhaps you have special abilities with a RF, but last i tried, my 40D can track focus faster and more acurately in low light than i can on a RF. Static objects, we're about par, but in low light, i hand it to my camera.
