Would you buy a used M8 now?

My M8 will walk off an airplane tomorrow morning arriving 10:50am and I will be standing there waiting for it. Oh...yeah the old man will be walking off that plane with it.
 
I am in a taxi on my way to the airport to pick up my Leic....father and my Leica. Very exciting, I have been waiting 4 years for this moment.
 
Thanks!

My first thoughts....the camera is a lot thicker than I seem to remember. I am using a Luigi case on it which does help hold the camera but it makes it almost too thick for my medium small hands.

Also the camera seems a lot less dense than my old M6ttl. When I take the case off it feels a little better but I am paranoid about scratching it right now. Unfortunately it wont focus to infinity on an object about one kilometer away but close up and at mid lengths it is focusing correctly so I am not worried about that.

The frame lines are typical of what I figured. I have shot a lot of RF pictures, I know they are not really that accurate. Doesnt bother me.

I found of the lenses I have, the one I am looking forward to most using is the Zeiss 21 f2.8 and a few test snaps show the lens is really up to the task of digital photography. I will buy a Voigtlander 28mm metal finder soon. I also discovered my Voigtlander 21 plastic finder, a bit above the foot is cracked in two places. $h!p.....

Either way I am really excited to get my hands on this camera. I have waited 4 years and I remember exactly what I was doing in my dead end crap job back then, a notice popped up on dpreview and I knew then why I had to not quit that job, even though I eventually did.

Its about time.
 
I've really been enjoying my new (to me) M8 since I've received it. The only thing that I don't like is the damn crop factor. It makes all the lenses feel really tight compared with my regular M's. I don't like using 50mm very much at all on an M8. 21/28/35 is a decent combo. It takes really great images.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnewhook/4937767650/
4937767650_889d45ba9a.jpg
 
Silly question, but what's the crop factor for the M8? Meaning what would be needed to duplicate the 35mm Summicron?

Regards, David
 
When i stopped shooting digital i was used to my D700 which had 6400ISO capability with really low noise e.t.c.
Now that i shoot film i still haven't used a film higher than 400 iso :S
Which makes the M8 really usable for me again. My only hesitation was the high iso noise and the crop factor.

I hate marketing and all its tricks. :mad:
 
Keep us informed, Colin--I'm eager to see what results you get from this camera. It continues to be my favorite camera, period. Once you get accustomed to the crop factor, it actually becomes kind of weird to shoot film.
 
mabelsound said:
Keep us informed, Colin--I'm eager to see what results you get from this camera. It continues to be my favorite camera, period. Once you get accustomed to the crop factor, it actually becomes kind of weird to shoot film.
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I will indeed make a nice long boring write up once I have played with the camera a bit more. I am still trying to get used to the leather Luigi case, I dont know if I like it yet. On one hand it does protect the camera, on the other hand it makes it feel big and uncomfortable, even after a couple days my hands are not used to it. Also I am sad to say I swapped the leather Luigi strap off for the original Leica strap which I like better but am giving them both a shot. I also have the grip bottom plate thing, not sure about that either. Too many accessories, I just want to take photos....

I did notice something interesting today though, my Zeiss 21's hood not only cuts into the viewfinder, but about 30% of the focusing patch too! Surprise.
 
My wife still dislikes digital images, so the M8 is out for me until further notice.
When the time comes, then I will re-evaluate the situation. M8 or M8.2 or M9 or something different.

Enjoy your M8.
 
Avotius said:
I did notice something interesting today though, my Zeiss 21's hood not only cuts into the viewfinder, but about 30% of the focusing patch too! Surprise.
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Take another look. I believe that you'll find that the hood cuts into the 90mm frame lines, not the rangefinder patch. (That is, unless your 21mm hood is a lot larger than mine.

Later,
Johnny
 
Avotius: i also use a luigi on an M8. i love it, including the protection, grip, and how it dampens the shutter sound.
 
in fact I sold my D700 + lenses and flashes a few months ago and bought a used M8 from a dealer with 3 months of warranty for € 2100,--
Sent it in a month after buying it for repairing red streaks on the sensor and it came back CLAd and with 1 year warranty. couldn't be happier.
When the 1 year warranty ends, I will send it in for shutter and viewfinder upgrade :)

What a great time it has been since I switched from the D700 to the M8!
 
Avotius said:
Also I am sad to say I swapped the leather Luigi strap off for the original Leica strap which I like better but am giving them both a shot. I also have the grip bottom plate thing, not sure about that either.
Click to expand...

I have big hands, and Zhou case with default Leica strap has been perfect accessories for M8 for me. bought camera used about half a year ago, and for a whole it stand idle, but now on the long trip, shutter has been clicking really hard! case is nice also because it balances the body for low light shots, e.g. 1/15 is easy to keep stable, often even slower. then ISO640 is quite sufficient for most of situations, no need to push higher ISO's that are noisy mess IMO.

crop factor is there, but once lens choices are made (mine are: 15, 28 and 75, havent needed anything else), it really is only a camera after all, made to take pictures, not for agonizing about its specs.
 
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