Things I don't like about the M8

[MP Guy]

Someone had to start this thread ....

• I don't like the lightweight feel of the camera. It does not feel like a brick in my hand. Yes I know some like it lightweight but I don't. Thats just me.
• I don't like the shutter release button. It feels cheap and sticky. Almost like a toy. It wobbles in its place. The MP shutter is a perfect fit with no play.
• The Frame selector lever is too big. Looks ugly.
• Do not like the plastic rim around the lens release button.
• The skin could have been more textured and a bit rubbery to the feel. As it is it feels slippery.

But for all I don't like there are many things I like as well. That will be in a different post.

 

[jgeenen]

Interesting... The weight of the M8 is pretty much equal to the MP (40grs according to the manual, not including the battery). Your feeling must be influenced by other than pure weight - may be it is the size/weight ratio, or the leather texture, the use of plastics, or just "self-fulfilling prophecy"?

The frame selector lever seems to be similar to the non-classical M bodies - e.g. the M7. You should ask Leica for a M8 "a la carte" - you'll get your perfectly textured skin, the smaller lever for just another x bucks😕

 

[drjon]

I concur on the subjective feel of the camera - my M6 feels more 'solid' and heavier in the hand. You also can feel that the M8 is a bit thicker.

The plastic cover for the USB port is fiddly and the port difficult to access. I am not convinced how much 'wear and tear' it will take.

My main gripe is the battery charger which seems unecessarily large for the battery size; I have seen much smaller chargers around. It will take a l.ot of travelling room.

But...it is a digital M and I can use my Leica lenses so the above issues are easily forgiven. And...the performance so far is living jup to expectations.

 

[Ben Z]

Someone had to start this thread ....

• I don't like the lightweight feel of the camera. It does not feel like a brick in my hand. Yes I know some like it lightweight but I don't. Thats just me.

• 
  
  You can feel the <1.5 oz difference? That's quite impressive.
  
  
  

  [*]I don't like the shutter release button. It feels cheap and sticky. Almost like a toy. It wobbles in its place. The MP shutter is a perfect fit with no play.

  
  How much play does it have? My M6s and My M4 all have a little side play, as did my MP. Just a smidge though, maybe a 1/32".
  
  

  [*]The Frame selector lever is too big. Looks ugly.

  
  It looks like the MP style but longer like the M6. I disliked the one on my MP, my finger slipped off it more than the M6.
  
  

  [*]Do not like the plastic rim around the lens release button.

  
  The M6-M7 all have that plastic rim.
  
  

  [*]The skin could have been more textured and a bit rubbery to the feel. As it is it feels slippery.

  
  I would have to agree, I like my M6s coverings better. But the M8 has (per Leica) the identical material used on the off-the-rack MPs.

 

[iml]

I handled an M8 the other day, briefly. It does feel quite light, and for my hands impossible to hold securely without a grip.

Ian

 

[greggebhardt]

I hold both my M7 in one hand and my M8 in the pther and the M8 does not feel much lighter, slightly thicker but not much lighter.

My only complaint is the size of the charger, what the heck? Ridiculous large! I also wanted a spare battery and none are to be had.

Others than that, I could not ask for more than the M8. Considering it is a new Digital M body, I would be shocked if some of the traditional Leica owners were not doing a little complaining but in the end the M8 will more than hold it's own!

 

[jlw]

Come on, people, he called this thread "Things I Don't Like," not "Things That Are Objectively Wrong"!

He paid his five thousand bucks, and for that he's certainly entitled to his opinion of what he bought!

 

[MP Guy]

Like JLW said,

These are justthing sI do not like. They are not things that are wrong. Its a personal thing and nothing to do with the quality of the camera. This could be because I have been spoiled with the MP. Wait and see the thread Things I like about the M8.

I am not saying I can feel the 1.5 oz difference in weight between the two cameras. I am saying it feels lighter thats alot different than saying its lighter by 6 oz's. It probably has to do with the ergo of the camera.

The bottom line is it take digital pictures with my M lenses and it's built in the traditional style of the M.

 

[Grober]

Adding the M8 handgrip will give the camera more heft, yes?

I know what you're saying: after using the Leica Motor drive so much on my M7, I found handling the "naked" camera without the drive unit a bit odd. (Similarly, I don't like the feel of a CV Bessa without its trigger mechanism.)

Maybe Tom A. in Canada will design and manufacture a weight add-in for the M8 to replace the marketshare he'll lose to diminished Rapidwinder sales, eh?

-g

 

[Ben Z]

These are justthing sI do not like. They are not things that are wrong. Its a personal thing and nothing to do with the quality of the camera.

I get ya. OK, here's the one and only thing (so far) I do not like about the M8: the $#@*& price :bang:

 

[sf]

how long before everybody spending 5k on m8's have to either upgrade or somesuch (as of late, digital cameras in general have a short lifespan --- in a year they'll have an m9 or some such with more digital bells and whistles --- 1 year in digital is the equivilent of 10 years real world... example, you just spent $1500 on a new pc -- obsolete technology in 6 months --- buy a new one in a year... the constant replacement factor might be an issue in the future...


but what do I know? just an old luddite with no desire to chase the digital dream...

The only reasons to buy the M8 are if you spend enough on film (and don't like film) to warrant the 2x more expensive-than-an-m7 pricetag of the M8 AND if you really wish to exit the whole film/developing/scanning process. These two things might render the aging technology factor unimportant. If you spend enough on film in two years to make up for the replacement cost of the digital technology, then it might make sense to buy the M8. Otherwise, it's just a toy.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I'm glad that people volunteered to participate in this technological and marketing experiment called Leica M8. How could we find out if the brand has appeal otherwise?

Like Memphis, I'm not interested in the digital stuff, but then, that doesn't mean I'll trash it... because it's beneficial for photography.

Now... like Ben Z, I just hate the price of the M8. However, I may think about snagging a used one sometime in the future. Maybe by the time they issue the 40G M10! 🙂

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Sorry... double post. Computer is a bit slow today (and I'm getting impatient with it).

Besides, I'm sick (wheezing, coughing, chest congested), which only makes matters worse.

 

[c.poulton]

The only reasons to buy the M8 are if you spend enough on film (and don't like film) to warrant the 2x more expensive-than-an-m7 pricetag of the M8 AND if you really wish to exit the whole film/developing/scanning process. These two things might render the aging technology factor unimportant. If you spend enough on film in two years to make up for the replacement cost of the digital technology, then it might make sense to buy the M8. Otherwise, it's just a toy.

I wouldn't call it a toy, it would work for someone who shoots digital now and wishes to get back to the rangefinder, or as an upgrade to a M* that someone already owns but wishes to move over to digital, regardless of how much film they shoot now.

I too have my reservations on how long the M8 will remain 'current' before the next sensor (full frame?) comes along, or indeed the actual lifespan of the unit. However, once bought it will provide years of very servicable use to the photographer.

If the images it takes come out to the satisfaction of the photographer, and they are happy with it, why change or upgrade unless there is a significant reason to do so.

 

[John Camp]

I think, after a day and a half, it's the best camera I've ever owned.

However -- 😎

1. Too slippery, and the arrangement of features on the back make it difficult to grip securely. The back is not like other Leicas, which are pretty open. This one has all kinds of stuff on it, that you don't want to stick your thumb on. I see some great possibilities here for Luigi, and would be happy to act as a Luigi consultant, for the low, low price of one free Luigi half-case, in light brown.

2. The shutter speed dial is too loose, and moves too easily. I've already nudged it out of one speed into another. Needs a bit tighter click.

3. The removable bottom plate, as Michael Reichmann mentioned in his review, shouldn't be a pain in the *ss, because you can get a couple hundred shots per card and 400 shots on a battery, so when you're out shooting, you're unlikely to have to change it more than once a day. However, if you're testing, and running back and forth from the computer loading shots, it's a pain in the a**.

4. If the Leica strap cost as much as the Leica packaging, and vice-versa, more people would be happy -- unless you really, really like packaging. They could have cut a deal with UP strap and had the best straps in the world wholesale for probably $12-$15, and they shoulda done it. I'd say the Leica strap is a $2 strap.

5. Special note to Sean Reid: Oh, NOW I see why you didn't like the ISO menu arrangement.

6. I think the LCD is going to need a plastic protector of some kind. I wish one had come with the camera, as an optional-installation thing. My nose is now covered with LCD grease.

JC

 

[sunsworth]

The only reasons to buy the M8 are if you spend enough on film (and don't like film) to warrant the 2x more expensive-than-an-m7 pricetag of the M8

Twice as expensive? In the UK, M7 = £2079, M8 = £2990. The difference is approx 100 rolls of film and processing, maybe less.

 

[Chaser]

how long before everybody spending 5k on m8's have to either upgrade or somesuch (as of late, digital cameras in general have a short lifespan --- in a year they'll have an m9 or some such with more digital bells and whistles --- 1 year in digital is the equivilent of 10 years real world... example, you just spent $1500 on a new pc -- obsolete technology in 6 months --- buy a new one in a year... the constant replacement factor might be an issue in the future...


but what do I know? just an old luddite with no desire to chase the digital dream...

I think Leica has a slower turnaround on new cameras. How long has teh DMR been out?

 

[Chaser]

Thing I don't like about the M8:

I don't have one.

 

[Magnus]

come on, it' a new product, it's been developed and manufatured by a company who has no experience in doing anything electronical, of course theres something wrong with it, theres probably a lot wrong with once all the buyers have come over their whoo's and whaaa's
Every introduction of a new didgital camera has seen it's problems in the early stages, the companies will make things better, but only after a while and those stuck with the first edition crap ... well so be it, you would know this in advance if we weren't blinded with the wnat to have thing.
Other than the "feel" and weight there is a lot wrong with the M8, pictures wise that is. And I feel that somebody like Sean reid should of researched this better and taken his time instead of rushing from one forum to the other marketing his exclusive review of the m8, but there again again it's the M8 madness, people will blindly buy anything with a decent brand name and defend its top quality beyond belief, and after the inititial "having" blast has gone people will see their product for what it is and start complaining. You can read these complaints all accross the Net by the way.

I have the M8 too.... I didn't expect a great product, I just like having it, I thought of all of the above before I bought it, and still bought it ... and after having used it for 3 days or so .... it's nothing special, it doesn't make magnificent pictures, it's just another digital camera, a very expensive digital camera, no ... a very very very expensive digital camera ... for what it's actually worth. At least I didn't have to take any credit out in order to buy it, people that did and will be paying xxx$ a months for the next few years will probably be very pissed off deep in their hearts, for it's nothing special ....

 

[Magnus]

.... and peole will still do their best to defend their purchase, this is what I find unbelievable .... after a day and a half it is still the best camera I owned ... !!!! boy it may be the best, but his only ever camera.....

try taking a 2500 asa low light ... and see what you think then