Would you sell your 5Dmk2 for an M8?

[x-ray]

As I mentioned I have an M9, D800 and Df along with a Hasselblad digital system. Unfortunately my M9 hasn't been very reliable. Bad luck of the draw I guess but the problems haven't been uncommon with other owners. Looking past my annoyance with Leica and the M9 I honestly would not give up any of my gear for one even if the M9 a perfect camera. I purchased a Df last year just after they came out and I must say I absolutely love it. I shoot vintage primes on it and the current G series zooms and a few primes on the D800. The files from the M9 are pretty at base ISO but much above that they really look so so. The Df is remarkable at very high ISO. The vintage primes are beautiful and have a very lovely look that would remind you of the good old film days.

To me the only reason I bought the M9 was to use current high speed glass wide open on documentary shoots. Unfortunately my M9 body spends most of it's time in the shop so I don't get much use out of the lenses.

I shot side by side with my D800 and M9 at a tent revival last year. I shot the M9 and primes at 1.4 and 1600 ISO and shot the D800 at 6400 at 2.8. I must say the D800 files had much less noise and were cleaner overall plus the VR on two of my lenses made it possible to shoot hand held at much lower speeds than I would have thought possible.

Fr the low light difficult situations I shoot in I feel the Df is a better tool and is quite small. I did a side by side of the M9 and Df and posted images here and they are surprisingly close in size. The mirror box and prism make it appear larger but in reality it isn't much larger.

Just my perspective.

 

[Berth]

Hi

since I stopped doing fashion photography and only use my 5dmk2 for some commercial portrait stuff, I was wondering what the thoughts would be on selling the 5dmk2 + 24-70L set and get the M8 to use with the lens of my M2.. a Summicron 50mm f2 Type 3.

Would appreciate your thoughts and motivation.

I happen to own a 5D Mark II, and a gaggle of L lenses. The answer is no, I wouldn't change to any digital Leica.

On the other hand, I did buy a Leica MP about 7 weeks ago. To complement my 5D by opening the world of street photography.

 

[jippiejee]

Jeebus, I thought this was a rangefinder forum. Look at all the 'get the auto-everything A7', 'stick to your dlsr', 'buy an all-AF fuji' advice in this thread. I'd assume you come to this forum because you like rangefinders.

 

[Gary Sandhu]

I have a M8 and D700. They're so different it's hard to pick just one; but if pressed, I'd keep the M8. The d700 makes awesome photographs but it can be a chore to pick the right settings and to carry it. It's impossible to replicate the rangefinder experience in an SLR.

 

[Scrambler]

Jeebus, I thought this was a rangefinder forum. Look at all the 'get the auto-everything A7', 'stick to your dlsr', 'buy an all-AF fuji' advice in this thread. I'd assume you come to this forum because you like rangefinders.

The OP has a (film) rangefinder already, so perhaps that's affecting how people are responding? And the suggestion of an M9 has been made more than once. I haven't said anything so far, but in the same shoes and with the same budget I'd get an A7 ahead of an M8: for one thing I could use the Canon lens/es on it! The A7 isn't "auto-everything" with a Summicron stuck on the front, it's about as auto as an M8. In fact it's going to be harder to manually focus, if hair shirts are the measure of what is "best".

I can recall how a few years ago this forum readily endorsed the Minolta CLE as a viable camera, now the sense is it's too risky. The M8 has crossed that bridge: the collective wisdom is that with limited parts availability it's a slowly ticking timebomb. The M9 at least has the M-E's currency driving stocks of parts for repair. Many M8s will continue to take great photos, and I recently bought a CLE that works fine, but don't be surprised when people are given the established wisdom in response to a fairly common question.

 

[__jc]

Rangefinderforum.com > 35mm Film Range Finders > Leica M Film Cameras

Could it be that this discussion is in the wrong section?

 

[jsrockit]

Jeebus, I thought this was a rangefinder forum. Look at all the 'get the auto-everything A7', 'stick to your dlsr', 'buy an all-AF fuji' advice in this thread. I'd assume you come to this forum because you like rangefinders.

In the digital world, there are just not many RF options that are sensibly priced or that are not antiquated. That leaves a lot of us looking elsewhere.

 

[jsrockit]

Could it be that this discussion is in the wrong section?

Moved it to the digital M section. Thanks.

 

[hepcat]

I didn't know they were such a hassle!
🙁 bit disappointing.

A used M9 is 3500€ that would mean saving up 2500€ extra 🙁

I'm a pragmatist. They're not "such a hassle." They're the most affordable Leica digital rangefinder camera. Some have had issues, but I suspect that the majority of them have been solid performers. Mine is so far.

I dumped my DSLR gear last year and returned to Leica digital as my small format digital. I also have an M4-P and Hassy 500 gear. Despite the naysayers, the issue is more one of your gear suiting your style of shooting. If you're more comfortable doing commercial work with your M2 than your DSLR, then the M8 will work for you. As with any gear you're using commercially, you'll want to have a backup plan for a failure on a shoot, but you should have that with any other brand as well. I shot with Canon film equipment for years and had failures, particularly in lens motors. Failures happen.

So... if shooting a rangefinder camera works better for you than a DSLR (as it does for me) don't be afraid of the M8. Recognize it's shortcomings, learn the "ins and outs" of what can fail and how they're repaired, learn the work-arounds, have redundancy, and get on with it. I have an M9-P, my M8 is my back-up body now, and I have a Panny GX-1 with an M adapter that is the back-up to my back-up. If something fails, I'll still get the job done; perhaps not as easily, but I'll get the images.

 

[Fuchs]

Keep the 5D2, use the Canon 40mm pancake, or a Summicron-R 35 with an adapter. The M8 is a wonderful camera, but with plenty of issues, and IMHO the Canon's IQ is superior.

 

[bideford]

If you can, get the M8 and keep the 5D2. You will more than likely use the M8 for everything apart from where autofocus, zoom or a longer reach is required.

The M8 is a superb rangefinder - as a quick search through the forums here will attest to.

James

 

[jsrockit]

Maybe sell the MKII and get the original 5d and the M8!

 

[NicoM]

Definitely not! I don't think the M8 is worth it for the price that they're still going for.

 

[semordnilap]

Ive had an M8 since 2007, purchased as a demo. I've shot over 80k frames, have taken it to 4 continents and never had a problem. I got the shutter upgraded in the hopes that it would be quieter but, yeah, not so much...

Aside from the RD-1 it's the least expensive digital rangefinder, and there's a lot to be said for that.

Maybe go into a shop with your summicron and an SD card, try it out and look at the files at home, see if they're ok for you. They won't be perfect without the IR-cut filter, but once those are on your lens you basically forget about them, or at least I do, as I don't shoot film leicas anymore.

 

[semordnilap]

Maybe sell the MKII and get the original 5d and the M8!

Or get a used crop canon body for your portraits...

 

[Montygraphics]

I have both and use my 5d mk2's for prof shoots and the M8 for fun.

iQ on the M8 is great but can't match the 5d2. I have no issues with my M8 and I believe the vast majority of them are reliable.

 

[cosmonaut]

No I would live in fear it would die and leave me without.

 

[jammcat]

Absolutely not.

The M8 is more trouble than it's worth, and the 5DII is a better camera in almost every way.

 

[jaapv]

Will look into the Ricohs.

I've seen a 1350€ M8 at Photo Professional of example.

I wouldn’t buy a Holga from Photo Professional…🙄

 

[jaapv]

The M8 is a wonderful camera, admittedly a bit quirky and in reality, after all the Internet hype has been stripped, quite reliable with an image quality that far outperforms the 5D2.
The main advantages of the Canon are an ff sensor and easy (mind, I do not say better) high-ISO performance.
It is still fully serviceable except for one series where the rear LCD is no longer available.
I would not hesitate, but remember with Leica you are buying into a system where the body price is only marginal, high as it is. The real cost is in the lenses.
If you think about it, it is really rather shocking that my everyday Billingham contains the equivalent of a midrange VW Golf, regardless of the body I feel liked using.