Wow...Some Thoughts

[kinok1]

Wow.
A lot of hate in the air. Feels like it at least.
With all the noise surrounding the m8, the reviews of the m8, the complaints about the m8, and the praises – I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I take photos for a living.
Ah. Much better. Get that out of the way.

And.

I take photos of people who are usually doing what they love – music or modeling.

I don’t shoot for a wire service. Much respect to those that do.
I don’t shoot war zones. Much respect to those that do.
I don’t shoot pap. They can all F off and die.

Here are my thoughts on the m8.
I’ve said it to many friends (even some enemies). Its noisier than my m6. It has a crop factor. I’ve heard it freezes up. Its slow to start up.
All true.
Its not perfect.

But neither am I.

I do love that its small. Im not on some red carpet line with a bunch of other photogs (if you can call them that) blasting images of tori spelling for the next US Weekly (or whatever cover). I find myself backstage. Fly on the wall. And a Nikon ‘D-whatever’ or the Canon ‘Whatever-D’ just aint gonna be appropriate. Too big, too black, too…obnoxious.

Now the m8 does well for the other part of my shooting life - Live concerts. I never shoot over 320, so I cant comment. But it takes the leica glass, and that’s what is important.

I have the best stuff Nikon makes. Don’t shoot canon, but its all the same. Leica glass looks different. It just does. And I don’t care if it’s a piece of celluloid or some Kodak cropped sensor. The images feel different.

And publicists, art buyers, creative directors, and execs all tell me so. And its not like I hear ‘hey is that an m8’, but the way when they go thru my selects and pull their favs there are always more that have been shot with the m8 than my d3.

Always.

Attached are 3 photos. One cd cover that is being given away at a national retail stores as a free gift. The other band press material.

All shot with the m8.
Thanks leica.

 

[DaveB]

The M8 is so expensive for most of us that we become "spring-loaded" as regards the most benign criticism or observations about the camera. Whether the reviews or comments have merit almost doesn't matter. What it does is awaken that tiny voice deep inside every M8 owner who spent his or her own bucks on the thing, the little voice that says, "you're an idiot, you're a fool, you're a poseur..."

I think that's natural. I just bought a second M8 body so I'm primed to be revealed as an ultra fool. I also just spent $300 on a P&S camera. Funny thing is that I don't feel so sensitive about that camera.

I think you capture the essence of the thing with your photos and comments about the glass. The images are just so recognizable. I don't mind taking sh*t about it so long as I get shots that have that painterly quality that Leica does.

Last winter a number of my photos were used for promotional material for a kids summer adventure camp. Nothing credited, no mention of equipment. So some parent writes the camp director and asks, "Tell me, who's got the Leica?"

 

[Bébèrt]

Kinok1,


you just hit the nail on the head.

(altough I don't have much Leica glass, ... yet)

 

[dee]

I am bewildered by all this knocking the m 8 - it has it's flaws , but carrying a bulky heavy plastic covered blob isn't much fun , no matter how consistent the images .

I just take pictures with my Dream Camera .

But then I am certified crazzzee .

dee

 

[Paul Kay]

Kinok1

Yes, I can go along with that. I too shoot to make a living. I use Canon FFs underwater (which is NOT somewhere that the M8 is of any use whatsoever!) and for much commercial work. But I do use M8 as and where appropriate for work and my own projects. I could go into all the things I'd like changed on BOTH camera systems, but hey, life's too short and neither have anything wrong which is so troublesome that I can't just ignore it.

The M8 is simply a pleasure to use. And I can carry it with spare batteries, cards and a couple of lenses all day long without noticing. It does require a lot more user input that the AF dSLRs which is no bad thing IMHO. Great!

 

[Michael Tyler]

I agree with every piece of criticism out there. All the faults of the M8 are true. Especially the high-ISO noise.

But I don't care. The M8 was the most expensive camera purchase I've made for my business, and one of the best choices I could make -- I feel like a photographer again, not a camera operator. It's changed the way I shoot. I've done some of the best work of my life in the last six months. I'm challenged, I'm gratified, I'm no longer stuck with the vanilla aftertaste of operating an auto camera/computer. The M8 is worth it.

 

[delander]

WOW Some thoughts, and some sense at last,

Jeff

 

[Paul Kay]

WOW Some thoughts, and some sense at last,

Jeff

You are right Jeff, but too late. My next action after this post will be to delete RFF from my 'favourites' as it no longer holds sufficient interest for me to continue viewing it. A pity!

 

[gb hill]

My thought is this: All the "Why this blah blah camera sucks" threads should be deleted as soon as a mod sees one. People who post this crap have nothing better to do apparently, & should be classified as spammers. If a thread doesn't teach or invoke one to get out & want to improve better photography in ones life, or cause GAS!😉 then it's a waste in most part for me.

 

[Nh3]

Most amateur photographers lack imagination and the creative drive so they end up spending the rest of their days with inane discussion of gear and other boring and banal parts of photography.

Building up gear collections and showing it off to others. they enjoy the buying and selling of equipment and discussion of those equipment with other amateurs. For them photography is like stamp collecting or toy train hobby.

That's why I also find myself in a precarious situation, I'm not a professional yet and at the same time I have begun to realize that I have nothing in common with most the amateurs... So, who I'm then?

Anyway, a random and spontaneous rant. Ignore it.

 

[Ben Z]

Most amateur photographers lack imagination and the creative drive so they end up spending the rest of their days with inane discussion of gear and other boring and banal parts of photography.

Building up gear collections and showing it off to others. they enjoy the buying and selling of equipment and discussion of those equipment with other amateurs. For them photography is like stamp collecting or toy train hobby.

That's why I also find myself in a precarious situation, I'm not a professional yet and at the same time I have begun to realize that I have nothing in common with most the amateurs... So, who I'm then?

If I might make a couple of suggestions, as politely as possible...first, I think you would enjoy the Leica forum on PNET better than here, because your attitude is more in keeping with the fictional version of reality supported over there, not to mention that flame baiting (and other antisocial behavior) is encouraged by virtue of the hands-off policy of the moderator(s). Second, it would be great for all of us imagination-lacking amateurs to get a look at your photographs so we can see what we're doing wrong.

 

[Pherdinand]

😱
yawn
🙄🙄🙄

 

[Pherdinand]

hehe.
sorry, yes it expired. leicasniper, are you interested?


No, i just wanted to express my feelings about the thread. But if it helps selling my Kowa, well, thank you leica, thank you m8!

 

[grduprey]

The M8 is so expensive for most of us that we become "spring-loaded" as regards the most benign criticism or observations about the camera. Whether the reviews or comments have merit almost doesn't matter. What it does is awaken that tiny voice deep inside every M8 owner who spent his or her own bucks on the thing, the little voice that says, "you're an idiot, you're a fool, you're a poseur..."

I think that's natural. I just bought a second M8 body so I'm primed to be revealed as an ultra fool. I also just spent $300 on a P&S camera. Funny thing is that I don't feel so sensitive about that camera.

I think you capture the essence of the thing with your photos and comments about the glass. The images are just so recognizable. I don't mind taking sh*t about it so long as I get shots that have that painterly quality that Leica does.

Last winter a number of my photos were used for promotional material for a kids summer adventure camp. Nothing credited, no mention of equipment. So some parent writes the camp director and asks, "Tell me, who's got the Leica?"

Personnaly, I ignore all the complaining crap and just shoot with the camera. Is it perfect? No, but so far I have not found any digital to be the equal to my M & R film cameras. I find I shoot with the M8 and work around the few REAL problems. I have had ZERO defects and love the results. I have bought Nikon and Canon DSLRs and both of them sit either on the shelf or in the bag, as the M8 out performs either, and is far more user friendly, IMHO. So go out and start taking photos, it is far more enjoyable than dumping on the camera.

Gene

 

[Keith]

I was ready to ditch my M8 a couple of months ago then suddenly like a 'barnacle' it latched onto my subconscious.

It still displays all the quirks and shortcomings that made me want to jetison it but I now don't care for some reason .... Sigh!

 

[cuss]

thanks kinok for your witness!
I'm not a pro, but I have an M8. I find it the best camera I've ever had. I won't shoot with it in war zone too, and I probably don't even approach its limit.
Still, I enjoy it very much, it's just that I need some money for more lenses 😉

now, forgive me for my ignorance, what is a "pap" ? and "tori"?. I mean a know what a torus is (in mathematics), but probably they are different things you are talking about ( I'm not a native English speaker...)

thanks,
cuss

 

[los]

lot's of m8's for sale in the classifieds. caught me by surprise.