Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/11/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Nathan... I shot an M8 for well over a year before I chose to sell it...a decision I knew I would regret but for reasons of pure economics and professional requirement I went with it. The two lenses I used exclusively with this camera were the 28/2 Leica and the new 21mm 4.5 Zeiss (for M). The 21mm is petite and balances really well with the Leica...it makes a better profile in the hand and on camera will easily fit under a jacket. The 18 is big, it throws the balance of the camera waaaay off in my opinion...I played with it enough to know while a really good lens it wasn't for me. I would add in much of the conversation about 35mm lens equivalents with the M8 chip needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Its only an approximation...a 21mm lens is still a 21mm even though it becomes "like" a 28 on an M8. So if 24mm is a favorite focal length in 35mm, you may be happier with a 21mm vs. the 18. On the M8 the 21 gives you a bit wider than a 28 (in 35mm terms) with slightly deeper perspective. Its an amazingly good lens...as good as any Leica lens I've used. The max aperture of f4.5 is not a real handicap with the availability of higher ISO's in camera. As an editorial let me add that the M8 1250iso image quality is far superior to any film, it just doesn't look like the equivalent Canon camera file everyone compares the M8 to...like it or not Canon seems to have become the tastemaker in this game. To my eye the Canon files look plastic and much like TV...and I'm using 5D's for all my commercial work...they're amazingly good for that but less useful for personal work. Recently I traveled in Central America for a month working on an immigration story, I carried only an M8 and two lenses (and a Mac and 2 external h/d's in a backpack), the camera put up with a lot of abuse and did not miss a beat. It was an amazingly useful companion and I couldn't be happier with the results. And so I too will look for the right coincidence of income and opportunity to get back into the M8 game...with what I know already its an easy decision. Hope this helps. Best, Michael Hintlian