[Leica] Initial M8 impressions

[firkin at ncable.net.au (Alastair Firkin)]

It is interesting that there are 2 such distinct camps:

1. Leica must have the highest quality to be a leica, it should be
perfect, and you should not have any issues at the cost of the camera: not
unreasonable perhaps and

2. I've been waiting for the M8 since the day they told us it could not be
done. I love the handling and understand the computerside was always going
to be a bit iffy. After all the real reputation of the Modern Leica is
seen in the electronics of the R8, a camera with a troubled start that
Leica worked through and finally cured.

I've become frustrated at how long it has taken to get my M8 back, BUT
I've just heard that John Amiet's and My M8 have returned from their
christmas holidays and are ready to pick up: Now if I could get down to
Melbourne I could start joining in the debate again :-)

Cheers



> It has been a bit over a week now with my M8, and I am getting some images
> to upload to the Gallery.  Overall I am really happy with the camera.
>
> To summarize my two cents on the M8 issues:
>
> 1.  Shutter sound.  It is not much different than the M Winder.  Since I
> use
> the winder on the M7, this is no problem.  It is less intrusive than the
> mirror slap on my Nikon DSLR's.
>
> 2.  Magentaville, or IR Hell.  Yes, it is very real for tungsten lit
> scenes.
> But I have two filters coming from Leica, and 3 Heliopans on order from
> B&H.
> I have one Heliopan IR cutoff filter, and that corrects 100% of the
> problem.
> I have always used a filter on my Tri-Elmar, so no problem there.  I got
> the
> color profiles for Capture One that are supposed to correct this without a
> filter, but I am still learning Capture One.  Long term I consider this to
> be a non-issue.
>
> 3.  IR Heaven.  I love to shoot IR film in the M7, and the M8 promises to
> be
> even better, in my first tests.  The Leica lenses have no significant
> focus
> shift for IR (IMHE), and with an 87 filter on the lens you can still focus
> a
> rangefinder.  That would be impossible with a DSLR.  So, I put the 87 on
> the
> lens, set the exposure to manual, Color to B&W, and I intend to fire away!
>
> 4.  Battery life.  I bought two extra batteries, after the first one
> needed
> recharging after 150 shots.  But, I shortened the review time to 1 sec (or
> even better turn it off), set the camera off time to 2 minutes, set the
> monitor level lower for User Setting 3 where I have high ISO levels set,
> and
> use an external unit to download the SD card (an Epson P2000).  This seems
> to have made a big difference, and I bet I get closer to 300 shots now.
>
> 5.  SPOTS on the Sensor!  Well, not really.  What appeared to be tiny dust
> spots started appearing on the images.  In some images they seemed to be
> faint dark circles.  Turned out they were all on images from the
> Tri-Elmar,
> which had a dirty UV filter.  At small f/stops the dirt actually resolved
> onto the image.  At large f/stops the dirt as a dark fuzzy spot.  So, I
> will
> have to keep those new IR filters clean!
>
> 6.  DNG issues.  Adobe seems to do a nice job with DNG (it is their
> creation
> after all), but other companies need to support it.  I am still learning
> Capture One, but meanwhile PS and Bridge are fine.  I am shooting DNG+JPG
> which works well.   On the Epson P2000 (which doesn't show DNG files), I
> can
> see the image from the JPG file.
>
> 7.  B&W mode.  This makes the JPG into B&W, while the DNG file still
> retains
> the color information.  Best of both worlds.
>
> 8.  Coding.  I have not tried a coded lens yet.  My widest lens is 28, so
> maybe this is not a problem.
>
> 9.  Exposure.  I have found almost all of my images are right on using the
> A
> setting, and if not, I can see it immediately.
>
> Overall I am delighted with the camera.  I am taking it everywhere I go,
> with the T-E, which is like having a 35-70 zoom.  The handling is just
> like
> an M7 with a winder, and the images are beautiful.
>
> Regards,
> Bob Rose
>
>
>
>
>
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