[Leica] Leica M8 hands on

[bd at bdcolenphoto.com (B. D. Colen)]

Any camera's BW mode is and has to be jpg-only, Chris - unless someone has a
tiff bw mode I don't know about. RAW gives you what the sensor captures, no
more, no less - jpg gives you a combination of more and less, because it
gives you added sharpness, color adjustments, etc., but you lose some
dynamic range. As good as some built in bw modes are - and the one Olympus
has in the E330 and E500 is terrific, and I have no reason to assume it
isn't just as good in the M - you're still much better off shooting raw and
converting yourself. A tad slower in the end, but much more satisfying.

B.D.


On 9/14/06 9:05 PM, "Christopher Williams" <leicachris@worldnet.att.net>
wrote:

> Thanks for the review Tom. Is the BW mode for Jpeg only? I'm a RAW shooter
> after getting my batch processing down.
> 
> Chris
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <TTAbrahams@aol.com>
> To: <lug@leica-users.org>
> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 6:36 PM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica M8 hands on
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yes,
> Leica  kindly lent me an M8 to try out. I suspect that they thought  "If he
> likes  it, we are on the right track"!
> Well,  I am happy to say that they are on the right track. The M8 does
> behave
> like an  M-camera should. It puts minimal "digital" between you and your
> picture, but if  you are so inclined you can add all the bells and whistles
> to
> what you are  doing. When I got it (no manual for it) I managed to turn it
> in to
> a M2/M6  with little fuss. Put it on mono-chrome, put the ISO to 320 and
> stick
> a  lens on it. I don?t shoot color and to me the black/white image quality
> was what  counted. The first couple of 100 shots were done with everything
> in
> "Standard"  setting and the prints that my local lab pulled were a bit flat
> (to
> be expected  as you can manipulate the image in the computer after wards).
> The
> next batch was  shot with higher contrast settings and came out fine. The
> higher ISO settings  have a bit of digital "noise" (1250/2500) but so would
> film
> if you either used a  T-Speed or Delta 3200 so no big deal.
> It  does feel like a slightly obese M6. The additional thickness coupled
> with
> the  rather slippery covering had my right hand cramping up after a while. 
> I
> did get  used to it, except when I switched between a M2 and M8. My hand
> wanted to  "crush" the M8 to M2 thickness! The lack of a film-advance arm 
> is
> somewhat  disconcerting as it does feel like an M and you are forever 
> trying
> to pull
> out a  lever to hook your thumb behind - although this is something you get
> used to. I  love the base-plate with its folding "Leica" key lock. Battery
> and
> SD card are accessed by removing it and I still have that fleeting thought
> ?
> Damn, did I rewind the film" before pulling the base plate off! The design
> is
> that close to an M!
> The  noise is modest; a soft click and a slight "whirr" sound is not
> disturbing at  all. My biggest problem with the M8 is that I am a left eye
> focuser and
> my nose  is squished against the screen. During flu-season that could be an
> ugly sight!  Some kind of cover would be useful - particularly as I use it
> as I
> would a  regular M, shoot away happily and after 40-50 shots I looked for a
> shady spot  (outdoor patio of cafe works well) and chimped through what I
> shot
> and deleted  the misses or boring stuff. Like any digital screen, however
> pleasantly sized it  is - I cant see it bright light and as I have to take
> off my
> glasses to see it  in subdued light - i might just as well be comfortable,
> sipping coffee and  admire my handiwork.
> I  went through my lenses and anything that could be made to fit was put on
> it.  from 12/5,6 to 135/4 in M-mount and even some Nikkor RF lenses with 
> the
> Orion-copy adapter as well as my Viso III. I need to make a mask (i.e. draw
> the
>  reduced frame size with marker on the Viso screen). It also works well 
> with
> Bellows II (and a 61/2" Kodak Anastigmat from an old folding Kodak).
> Lenses  like the 75/2 and the 50/1,4 Asph. works very well, but I found 
> that
> I was suing  my 40/1,4 Nokton and the 28/25 focal length for most of the
> "keepers".
> The  technical  stuff I leave to those of us who like that kind of stuff 
> but
> the  long and  short of it is that A/I have ordered one and B/ Leica
> succeeded
>  where nobody else did. They made me a believer in Digital. The M8 will be 
> a
> complement to my M2's and M6's. It will not relegate film obsolete in my
> "book"  but it will be additional tool in the arsenal.
> Now,  all we need is a printer that is dedicated to black and white. Four
> shades -  glossy black, matte black, mid-grey and light grey and while I am
> dreaming - a  spot-varnish feature. Oh, the inks should also be reasonably
> priced!
> For storing  the digital images I would like to see a digital to film
> transfer
> that was easy  to use and cheap at that. Film is still the cheapest and
> safest long term  storage available! Well, if Leica can build a Digital M
> successfully why  cant  other manufacturers do what some of the customers
> want to have!
>  The demand for a dedicated b/w printer would be huge - think of all those
> neg- files sitting around. I have in excess of 350 000 negatives on file-
> most
> are not worth the backing they are on, but some I would like to do quick
> prints from. The good prints I would still do in a wet darkroom as I enjoy
> that
> process - staring at a screen does not come close to the pleasure of
> watching
> a  white sheet of paper
> turn  into an image.
> Best  for now,
> Tom  A
> -----
> Tom  Abrahamsson
> Vancouver, BC
> Canada
> rapidwinder.com
> 
> 
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