R8, a quick impression

[Kari Eloranta <eloranta@lammio.hut.fi>]

The other day dropped by a local dealership to check some equipment  
and stumbled to the Leica representative there with a shining R8 on  
the desk.

Looks massive and feels solid. Almost as heavy as my F-1's but  
somehow does not feel quite as invincible. All the electronics in  
there unconsciously still makes me worry a bit. I couldn't throw  
this around the same way, freeze and fry it and so on. Inspite of  
looking ergonomic I'm not sure it really is. My hands are average  
size male hands and it didn't sink naturally in the hand as some  
bodies do (F-1, Nikon F-3 etc.). Has something to do with the center  
of gravity (maybe a bit higher than usual) as well as the contours.  
Quite personal of course.

The finder is bright and displays at the bottom of it exemplary.  
Not a HP finder though, I had to wiggle a bit to see it all. Dials  
on top logical and easy to operate. Didn't put my gloves on though -  
then there might have been some problems as the dials are sunk in  
deep. Double tripod socket at the bottom as well as some other stuff  
I didn't have time to figure out. Shutter release firm and  
predictable. In the mirror chamber the meter curtain presumably has  
even more "dents" to collect more light for the meter to chew. Don't  
know about the EV's - didn't take the brochure as I'm not planning  
of getting one.

So the bottom line: looks like a fine piece of electromechanical  
engineering. Superb quality and finish as expected. But looking at  
it couldn't help thinking about where the SLR-photography is going  
and the point of R's. In comparison to say F5 the R8 feels almost  
like a designer item. Is its only real justification simply the fact  
that R-glass exists and one needs a box behind it?

Never expected anything revolutionary. OM-4 wasn't anything novel  
either but somehow it thrilled me at least a little bit...

Ok, that was just a quick impression and I'm sure there will be  
many happy R8 shooters. Incidentally my preferred tools are SLR's  
with M4P thrown in for special occasions. So don't blame me on  
rangefinder bias.

Regards,

Kari