Things I LOVE about the M8

MP Guy

MP Guy

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On the brighter side of things, here are things i like about the M8


  • Sharpness. This one seems to be a sore subject with some on the forum who only have negative things to say about the camera. These people don't have the M8 yet they claim it is trash. Well, I have a different opinion. I find that the end result of images captured with the Leica glass are the best outthere. You may disagree but no other camera will yield edge to edge sharpness like the M8. Even cameras with smaller sensors that are at an advantage because of cropping out soft edges still do not come close to the M8/Leica glass combo.

  • I love the film like rendition oin the images. Much like the DMR, the Kodak sensor yields a unique image that does not look plastic.

  • I love the simplicity of the camera and menu options. Not having to press multiple buttons atthe same time to set a specific mode is a real pleasure.

  • I love the size of the camera. Although I said it feels different than my MP, I am sure once I get the Luigi case, things will take on a different feel.

  • The classic chrome finish is superb! It really looks timeless in its own way. Howmany other camera makers have a metal alloy camera with chrome finish on a digital camera. And I don't mean painted platic.

  • Did I mention the sharpness of the glass? Weather you like my pictures or not, I am confident in one thing. When I take a picture that is focused properly, no other camera in this class will come close to the sharpness.

Last note, this thread is for things i like about the M8 weather it has been said before or not. If someone else said it it wasnt me. Now that I have one, I can express the same thoughts as those who spoke before.

And, if you are going to criticize the camera do so intelligently. Don't spat out stupid comments without any supporting facts.

Here is a snap shot that I think has incredible sharpness:

rv1.jpg



Added these 100% crops tonight 11/6
 
Jorge: You posted this shot elsewhere and I was impressed when I first saw it, but didn't make a comment. IMO, this bodes very well for the M8; with a "keeper" shot, I can only imagine what a good print will look like. And that, to me, is the acid test. Well, it should be "acid free" if one is making a keeper print. But you get my point!

Earl
 
As of now I'm still a fence-sitter, so I can't say what I do or don't like about the M8 from personal experience. I do have some thoughts thus far, but they are still a work in progress (much like the M8 from what I'm gathering 😡 ).

1. I've seen many times the reference to the opposite of "film like" is "plastic". As a film shooter and a Canon 20D shooter, my definition of the opposite of "film like" would be "lifelike". If anything, at least the 20D shots look more like how my eyes see the world: grain- and noise-free. I'm not posing a value judgement here one way or the other, just making an observation.

2. The M8 may be the cat's meow for outdoor shooting at ISO 160, and frankly that's probably 99% of what I shoot and so it would be fine for me. However if there are issues in other kinds of lighting and/or other ISOs that render the camera difficult or dissatisfying to use, and Leica can't fix them acceptibly in a reasonable amount of time, the M8 and Leica are in deep trouble. On the one hand I can't imagine they would purposely let the camera slip by with these problems, knowing the way bad press spreads like wildfire on the internet, but OTOH I can't fathom how if these issues are readily apparent to people after their first trial shoot, Leica's techs managed to miss them.

3. I have been eagerly awaiting the M8, and while I am not the early-adopter type, I was expecting the usual teething troubles such as DOAs, wonky shutters, misaligned rangefinders--QC issues on individual cameras oweing to a new production line with workers unfamiliar and in a hurry. Not a system glitch that affects all the cameras and that Leica only now promises to be working on, with no idea when or what it will take to fix it. Or even if it can be.

That said, the M8 as it stands right now would probably be a perfect and seamless replacement for my M6+slide film for the type of shooting I normally do (and I do have the M6 and film to fall back on for those few shots that suffer on the M8). But my feeling is to wait until Leica either sorts or doesn't sort out these issues. If they do, I'll at least be paying full price for a fully-qualified camera. If not, there will probably be many of them up for grabs for a substantial price reduction, as would befit a camera that produces outstanding results only at low ISO and in daylight.
 
Yes it sure is sharp .... now we have to start softening files instead of sharpening 😉

To be able to shoot the Noctilux and 75 lux wide open close up with consistent results .. no focus missers. Thats'what i really like about it!

And the files sure have pop ... to put it mild .. they jump on you!
 
Jorge, nice shot. Was it a 160 iso ?

Can you post an enlargement of just the licence plate ?

Appreciated
 
I added 100% crops of smaller sections to the original post on top.
 
I'd love to see some high ISO stuff in mixed lighting/wide contrast scenes. This shot looks excellent. It's a very rare thing for me to shoot below 400 (shoot probably 4, 6 times as much 1600 as I do 100...) so the low light/night scene capability is going to be a big deal for me... particularly what with these pretty nasty banding issues I've seen images of. Also, how is the viewfinder brightness compared to the prior models?
 
Last edited:
While it looks good, there's hardly anything I haven't seen before regarding sharpness, color rendition or otherwise. I don't think in a blind test I would've been able with this shot to tell an M8 from a high-end Canon digital.
 
varjag said:
While it looks good, there's hardly anything I haven't seen before regarding sharpness, color rendition or otherwise. I don't think in a blind test I would've been able with this shot to tell an M8 from a high-end Canon digital.
Click to expand...

You'de be able to tell the camera's apart with a blindfold on, one would hope... Even if the shots are as good or about as good as a 5D, which I cannot tell either way from jpegs on the screen (although they look pretty good) the thing that sets it apart is the rangefinder.
 
jaapv said:
Even if the shots are as good or about as good as a 5D, which I cannot tell either way from jpegs on the screen (although they look pretty good) the thing that sets it apart is the rangefinder.
Click to expand...
I fully agree that the rangefinder (and small size) sets it apart. However, that wasn't the point of Jorge's original post. I happen to like M8 too, just I don't see the image properties often ascribed to it. Quality is great, yes, something special, no. I don't find M8 images plasticky looking, but can say the same about 5D. Konica C41 negs, on the other hand.. 🙂
 
"Don't spat out stupid comments without any supporting facts."

How can you claim the camera has flim like rendition? I think out of the camera, the M8's image look far from film.
 
Here we go again... yes the shots of Jorge's are nice but it's true if I posted these same shots from my full frame 5D you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I also agree that the Rangefinder is the key thing that sets these two apart. As far as film like rendition, with any post processing you can acheive this effect be it DSLR or RF.

I think in reality if we're being truly honest with oursevles what we all really like is that it's a digital rangefinder and it's a LEICA. 😉

Let's not fool ourselves into thinking otherwise. Canon and Nikon lead the way in Digital technology and everyone else is trying to catch up or find their own niche.

If you are fortunate enough to own one of the new M8's that's terrific, but is all this commentary for those of us who don't own one or for those of you that are trying to justify the LARGE investment that is the M8

Scott
 
From what I've seen of posted photos, the M8 is simply a very good digital camera. Period. No better than other high-end models, but it IS a rangefinder camera, with all that implies, and it can use excellent manual lenses. That makes it almost unique (except for the R-D1) and very attractive to anyone preferring a rangefinder. Two of my friends own Canon 5D units and I can't say the Leica images are any better at all. I suspect the 5D images are better. BUT, the size and weight of their 5D's and the usual huge IS zoom lenses puts me off. No argument about the quality but I'd never want to use a cam that large.

So, the M8 hits the sweet spot for me for a digicam. Very compact for a top-end digital and it works much like a film cam, though not totally. Now, if I can just win the lottery...

Gene
 
Gene and Scott. You two pretty much hit it. I will repeat it in my own words.

  • The M8 will render as good an image as a high end DSLR.
  • The M8 lets me use my M lenses and that is worth a lot to me.
  • The M8 and my lenses fit in a fany pack. The DSLR would need a backpack 🙂
  • Having already owned M lenses, the cost of the M8 is justifyable and not over priced. When you consider a Nikon D2X costs more than the M8, A 1DII and 1DSII cost about the same and about 3k more than the M8. The 5D is cheaper than the M8 but noy by much. So the M8 is fairly priced for those who say it is too expensive.
  • M8 is built like a tank. So are the other DSLR's but not to the extent the M8 is. The DSLR's although are made of alloys as well, they rely heavily on plastic for some of their outside case.


Thats pretty much it.
 
The M8 has the user interface of a camera, not a consumer-electronics gizmo. It has a shutter speed dial and the lenses have aperture rings and DOF scales and smooth, helical focusing, rather than cams.
 
Jorge .. that pretty much sums it up .. and still there will be people out there who will say it is overpriced and a failure .... all i can do is laugh about it and enjoy the M8!
 
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