The M8

[jlw]

J|W: The lens release is lit from the bottom. The focus tab is also lit from the bottom. Looks legit to me

Yeah, okay, makes sense. I should have known -- I do a lot of product photography at work, and the quickest way to do it is on a vertical copy stand, the kind with a frosted glass base plate. Turn on the light under the base plate and you automatically eliminate any awkward shadows, saving the production artist from having to spend time drawing a "clipping path" around the image to silhouette it. That's probably what they did here. I'm sure the final official-release photos will be much more beautifully lit.

The more I think about it, the more I think the little blue dot has to be an auto-white-balance sensor. SLRs can read white balance through the finder (although some Nikon DSLR models also have an extra ambient sensor for it) but an RF camera would need a separate sensor. Without a sensor, you'd have to read white-balance data at the moment of exposure -- presumably what the R-D 1 does. There have been some complaints about the R-D 1's auto-white-balance performance, so it would make sense for Leica to provide an extra sensor to assure better performance.

Many thanks to Jorge for tracking down these interesting images. Of course, who better to get the first look at the M8 than us RFFers?... after all, this is the international community for rangefinder camera enthusiasts/geeks. If Leica is really smart, they'll follow up by sending Jorge a review unit!

 

[MP Guy]

I took the original photo an d blew it up 200% thus it may look a little jagged.

 

[humanized_form]

The upper-right button says "MENU," the top two left buttons say "PLAY" and "DELETE", and the bottom two say "INFO" and "SET." I can't read the middle one. It looks as if it says "TROUBLE", but let's hope not!

thanks! i think i'm reading the third button as "protect"? that could make sense.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Prutty. Me want. Money have not 🙁

Red dot? I hope they sell w/option to have w/o.

 

[Nemo]

It would be possible, Jorge, to see the chrome version of the camera?

 

[amateriat]

To quote Ricky Nelson, that M8 is playin' guitar like ringing a bell, and lookin' like it should. I'm not buying one, but I'll smile if Leica has trouble keeping up with demand for a while (which reminds me: anybody know what Solms' initial production run is supposed to be? Any bet on whether they'll sell out?).

Oh, and that "missing" advance lever? As a heavy Hexar RF user, all I can say in reply is: what missing advance lever? 😉


- Barrett

 

[Nemo]

Is it just me, or do those images look like it's been rendered using Photoshop?
The light reflection on the back looks somewhat artificial. I don't want to put a damper to the excitement but...

I see a little problem with proportions and ergonomics in these pictures.

 

[rogue_designer]

Red dot? I hope they sell w/option to have w/o.

Electrical tape. Solves most problems. 😀

 

[FrankS]

I'm going to get one, eventually.

 

[John Camp]

The more I look at it, the more questions I have (although I'm not questioning the veracity of the photos.) Why would you not have an info LCD on top? On my Nikon, it's really the most valuable one for shooting -- tells you how many shots you have left, how much compensation you've got dialed in, the battery state, and a bunch of other stuff, very neatly and compactly; and you can backlight it if it's dark. It also has a very useful set of dials that rotate under your thumbs that allow you to change many settings without going to menus...

I hope Leica didn't short-change the M8's functionality in an effort to keep it "clean." I also wonder about that knurled dial around the multi-selector. I suppose it could be used to dial-in new settings and select them with a thumb, without taking your eye away from the finder,, but it's an unusual way to do it.

These ARE 100% certified, no-b.s. photos, right? They're not mock-ups or planning documents or something like that...

JC

 

[jlw]

The more I look at it, the more questions I have (although I'm not questioning the veracity of the photos.) Why would you not have an info LCD on top?

Yeah, but a Leica is already pretty densely packed under the top cover. To have room for a Nikon-size LCD, they'd have had to make it taller, and I can see a lot of resistance to that.

On my Nikon, it's really the most valuable one for shooting -- tells you how many shots you have left, how much compensation you've got dialed in, the battery state, and a bunch of other stuff

I agree that when using a Nikon DSLR, the top LCD is by far the one I use the most when shooting. But that's partly because Nikon DSLRs have all-electronic controls. You need an LCD to see what shutter speed and aperture you've set; on a Leica you'll be able to see that by looking at mechanical dials, and possibly exposure compensation as well. I wouldn't mind having white-balance and quality-level info relegated to a back-panel display.

The one remaining piece of info I'd really want to see on the top of the camera would be number of remaining shots. But this could be squeezed onto a tiny LCD that might just not be visible in the photos.

I hope Leica didn't short-change the M8's functionality in an effort to keep it "clean." I also wonder about that knurled dial around the multi-selector. I suppose it could be used to dial-in new settings and select them with a thumb, without taking your eye away from the finder, but it's an unusual way to do it.

Interesting thought. It wouldn't be much different from the "command dial" on the back of a Canon DSLR, only with buttons in the middle. If well implemented, I can imagine it being a pretty slick, quick way to enter menu-driven settings.

 

[Ted Witcher]

To quote Ricky Nelson, that M8 is playin' guitar like ringing a bell, and lookin' like it should. I'm not buying one, but I'll smile if Leica has trouble keeping up with demand for a while (which reminds me: anybody know what Solms' initial production run is supposed to be? Any bet on whether they'll sell out?).

Oh, and that "missing" advance lever? As a heavy Hexar RF user, all I can say in reply is: what missing advance lever? 😉


- Barrett

I think you're quoting Chuck Berry there.

And I remember reading the initial run was 10,000 units... but I may be wrong there, or plans may have changed.

 

[humanized_form]

i'm curious about the info that will be displayed in the viewfinder, without a top LCD they may try to cram more info in the finder display.

the way the shutter speed is displayed in the M7 viewfinder is great, but the M8 finder could get crowded if it also has ISO, file quality, WB setting, etc.

 

[amateriat]

I think you're quoting Chuck Berry there.

And I remember reading the initial run was 10,000 units... but I may be wrong there, or plans may have changed.

I was quoting Ricky quoting Chuck ("Garden Party") 🙂

This is going to be an interesting next few months. Never mind about potentially-dropping used Leica body prices (not a whole lot, IMO); what's this going to do for used lens prices?


- Barrett

 

[Harry Lime]

Looks great...still so many questions...

Flash goes in the hot shoe on the top of the camera, as it always has.

The button on the far right says 'menu'

I bet the flap/square cover on the back of the camera, below and to the left of the eye piece is for an USB or Firewire port. From what I have heard the battery and SD card are inserted in to the bottom of the camera. I think I see some sort of release button on the edge of the baseplate. I wonder if it comes off, revealing the battery and SD slot. So, it looks like you still get to hold the baseplate between your teeth while you 'reload'. 🙂

 

[Ted Witcher]

Gotcha.

I would think lens prices will stay relatively flat. Bodies, though -- M6-era -- might go down. Doesn't that make sense?

 

[humanized_form]

lens prices...

lens prices...

yep. i have been buying some old school lower contrast lenses (rigid summicron, canon stuff, etc), ala the Sean Reid theory, for use on the M8 before the prices may rise. this is to complement the modern high contrast lenses.

 

[ghost]

oh yeah, the blue dot must be the extra metering cell. those are blue. that way it'll be able to calculate aperture for exif.

jlw called it.
http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=312435&postcount=47

 

[Chris Lynch]

haha M8 A La Carte = $10,000

 

[Mark Norton]

I think this is a fake, a Photoshop special.