Should I get a M8?

[Clark.EE]

I Posted this a few weeks ago on a similar forum.

What do you shoot?
What camera do you use now? Does it have AF.
If you are used to AF you may struggle.
Especially if the Mince Pies are failing!

Heavy, I would say, one of the reasons I have just sold mine.
Got an x pro 1 + 2 lenses for same money.
Reliable.... Only use small (2 GB Samsung I used to use) memory cards.
Sandisc are a big no no.
I found if I let it go to sleep. Then tried turning on and off quickly to take picture.
I regretted it.... Freezes up etc etc.
You have to take the battery out and reset it.
UV/IR filter? Depends what you photograph.
Most of the time you will not notice.
My favourite lenses in the camera, 35 summarit. Currently listed in classifieds.
And the CV 50 1.5 Nokton.

Screen is terrible. Frame lines, well you get used to them. Eventually...
Shutter sounds like a road traffic accident. Cocking motor like a hydraulic tail lift.
Noisy in other words.
Walking round with it all day can give you a sore back.
Results can be great however.
Don't drop it….......

 

[Lss]

Sandisc are a big no no.
I found if I let it go to sleep. Then tried turning on and off quickly to take picture.
I regretted it.... Freezes up etc etc.
You have to take the battery out and reset it.

I have at least a dozen cards that I use on my M8, many of them are Sandisk. Never a problem, never frozen. The whole incompatibility legend of the M8 is a huge mystery to me.

 

[Clark.EE]

Looks more like Norfolk than Florida!
Lovely pics. Not the usual pixel peeping we are used to!

 

[Clark.EE]

I have at least a dozen cards that I use on my M8, many of them are Sandisk. Never a problem, never frozen. The whole incompatibility legend of the M8 is a huge mystery to me.

Don't think I am the only one that had Sandisc issues.
There are a couple of threads in the archive on it I think.

 

[Mcary]

Don't think I am the only one that had Sandisc issues.
There are a couple of threads in the archive on it I think.

Don't think anyone is saying that you didn't have issues with the Sandisk cards you used in the M8, or that other people in the past haven't had issues. Rather what people are saying is their experience with using Sandisk cards in their M8 have been without issue. Which why when you made a blanket statement people whose experiences differed from yours challenged you on that statement.

 

[raid]

I like my M8 because it s an excellent camera for tbe type of photography tht I enjoy doing. The sharpness is great, and so are the colors. It excells with B&W images too.

 

[raid]

Nice one raid.

Thanks.
The M8 captured the pastel colors well.

 

[raid]

Nice pics, Raid!

So I received the camera the last week and was a slightly disappointed with the stiff wheel selector. I'm not sure if it's my copy or a known issue (not a biggie).
I've read somewhere that you can push the camera to ISO 1250 and get useable images; viewing the images from the lcd looks okay, but I have to upload them onto my computer.
Speaking of my computer! My imac lcd panel just went ka-put so I can't even view my images on my computer. *sigh* Such is life.

I'll report back when I get my computer fixed and images uploaded.

Thanks.

Sone users of the M cameras recommend to set ISO low and then add exposure in Lightroom.

 

[raid]

Looks more like Norfolk than Florida!
Lovely pics. Not the usual pixel peeping we are used to!

Thank you. I love tking photos on foggy days.

 

[jvr]

I have a M8 for a long time, and my start with it was a love and hate relationship (just dig out my frustrated posts on RFF...). After all these years, I still keep it for B&W and it grew on me (after living 20 years with Tri-X 400, 1250 ISO in B&W and LR 5 is a step-up). I gave up on color, mainly because... I don't really know. It's the IR-filters and the Nikon D700 (and now the Olympus E-M1), I guess, and the fact that over 640 ISO color gets worse (one gets spoiled by something like the D700).

My main irritations with the M8 are the shutter sound (loud "clack", followed by recocking) and the shutter button feel. Can't do anything about the sound (except using a half-case: it helps) but I got a certified leica mechanic to remove the small screws that provide the "detent" on the shutter button. The difference is huge. More than the feel, I am able (again) to use really slow speeds without shake (something I whined a lot about in earlier posts, used to the shutter button on the M3). This means I can keep ISO lower and images are great. Never felt any temptation to change for a M9: the IQ I get from the M8 in B&W is more than enough for _me_ (notice the underline, YMMV). I really don't care about the bad LCD, I don't tend to review the photos there or see the histogram (can't find a histogram in my M3 or Mamyia 7...). The DNG files are sturdy enough (on B&W) to correct whatever I have to correct in post.

Never had any sort of mechanical/electronic problem with my M8 and I have to (sadly) concur with other people on this thread about the RD1s: I just quit trying to keep the RF aligned properly.

After all these years, I am finally considering the switch from the M8, but to a M240. Why? I don't know. Maybe I have the hope I can replace the Mamiya 7 with the M240 (landscape) and get a 2 in 1, just like I did with the E-M1, who replaced my D700 and my GF1, with just one body.

But I will surely miss the 28/2 Cron ASPH as a 38ish... Well, I can always crop, right? 🙂

Should anyone buy a M8 now? At the prices they are sold on eBay, probably yes, especially if one loves B&W, one lives with the shutter sound and one removes the detent screws on the shutter button... 🙂

It's just 2 cents and mine, of course...

 

[dshfoto]

My M8 came up with the message "Attention Shutter Fault" about 2 weeks ago.
I originally got it so I would not have to travel on airplanes with film (more about going through security, then carrying the film.
Since I already have a digital with the same vintage and quality of sensor, I would not have replaced it. (Leica R8 and DMR back combo) Or, have fixed the shutter at anything more than shipping cost.
I purchased a used Imacon scanner, and am now shooting more film.
I just bought an M6 in the "sweet spot" serial number range of 1 74x xxx to 1 78x xxx.
Looks like M8's are reaching their 1/2 life. In the next couple of years, about 1/2 of them will be dead or totally obsolete. Apparently the market price of the used ones reflects this.
All that being said, if I have a working M8, its the camera that I grab, along with a Summicon 35mm ASPH when I need a good color 14 x 16" print of an art work.

 

[JPSuisse]

I don't consider the M8 a "dud" either. "Dud" implies not usable or very bad. I like the term that somebody else brought in: "quirky."

There are two reasons to buy an M8 in my opinion:
1.) Amazingly good raw files for their small size
2.) That rangefinder experience

At least, those are the 2 reasons that kept me from moving up to an M9 or out to Canikon. I find the M8 with my Elmarit-M 24mm ASPH is a hell of match for high quality but still small files.

Nobody says or implies that this camera does not have reliability issues. Finally though, all digital tools are "tosses" when they fail though. So, people should not think that these cameras will last as long as their film counterparts.

John

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

I bought my M8 used. Shot with it and noticed some specs of "dust" in the image. Visited the leica service in Finland. They cleaned the sensor and explained the "dust" is actually some paint or other from the shutter. After a professional clean I haven`t had any problems, not in the sensor or othewise. Since reading about the screen problems, I decided to do the same as with my M3 and M6: tape my "visit card"with my name permanently on the screen. No problems after that. I see the images only after loading to my computer, just like I see my film images after developing the film. No problem there as wel, just makes shooting more interesting. I have the M8 mmenu at 650 Iso and exposure -2/3 stop under.max sharpening and max contrast. That gives me exactly the imges as my film work with Doublle xx and acufine development at 400 ISO... Wonderful. !

 

[Lss]

Don't think I am the only one that had Sandisc issues.

There may be various reasons, and the camera may be to blame for your (and others') problems. All I am saying that whatever card I have put in the M8, they have worked without issues. Most of my Sandisks are genuine, some of them were bought very cheaply off eBay and I have no way of telling whether they are fake or not. But they all work. This is why the Internet truth that M8 is picky about the cards makes no sense to me.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

This is why the Internet truth that M8 is picky about the cards makes no sense to me.

I think the truth lies in-between. From new, 2007, my M8 was fed all sorts of cards, usually lowish capacity, and never murmured. Suddenly "card full" now appears. This with 6 cards previously, and only, used in the M8. Card is formatted in camera, always, no change still full, external format on Sandisc with their program, no effect etc etc. New card, how cheap the old cards are, if you can find them, and no issues works fine.
All the cards failed at the same time? M8 being picky? Cards exposed to some magnetic field? No wonder rumours start and bad experiences are posted.
Love the M8, still, especially the monochrome, but would I trust it on something really important, not a chance, unless double back up available.