leica m8 and shutter lag / delay

[Gary Sandhu]

It took me over two years to find the answer, but it's 80 ms.
To compare:
Nikon F6 37ms
Nikon D700 40ms
Hexar RF 90 ms
Leica M3 12 ms
Leica m7 20 ms

I compared my D700 and the M8, and the D700 is definitely and consistently faster.

See this:
http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-forum/5316-m8-shutter-lag-delay.html

[aniMal]

Hmm - never felt that the M8 is too slow, but when come to think of it it should be different from an M2/4/6 which is what I uses before.

I feel that somehow it doesnt matter too much - as I can see the exposure itself in the viewfinder anyhow. When it comes to timing, this has always been the most important feature with rangefinders for me.

Unless this is for A mode then - could perhaps be shorter in manual?

[russianRF]

Digital point and shoots are notorious for shutter lag. I'm guessing the M8 sort of behaves like one of those?

[Olsen]

I use my M8 parallel to my 1Ds III. I can't recognize any difference in shutter response between the two cameras. - Rather, the 1Ds III is slower since the 'AF-pling' has to be activated first. Which would be similar to a Nikon DSLR.

That there is any significant difference between M8 and Nikon D700, - and to the advantage of the Nikon, that I want to see documented.

[Keith]

It's interesting that there has often been criticism of the shutter lag in the Hexar but in reality it's nearly the same as the M8. I noticed it in the Konica but have never even thought about it with the Leica ... ?

[ruslan]

Strange, I have 1dII and look like M8 is little bit faster, at least with Leica I have less faces with closed eyes than with 1D, and 1D is fast.

[jaapv]

Strange, DP review mentions a shorter shutter lag than DSLRs. How did you measure it? In my experience the M8 shutterlag is virtually nil, allowing me to catch birds in flight, fireworks going off, etc....
The M8 website mentions the same 0.08 sec, but most users seem to feel that this is a very conservative number.

[Keith]

The LEICA M8.
Naturally Quiet.


I found this a little hard to swallow in amongst that PDF blurb! There is nothing naturally quiet about the M8 IMO!

[jaapv]

Hmm. The upgraded shutter is quite silent, I find. Not that the old one is bad, it is better than quite a number of other cameras, but I can see what some people used to be complaining about. The M8-2 with the delayed rewind is really a silent camera.

[Gary Sandhu]

The number is based on Leica's own advertisement and then comparing it by shooting it against a Nikon D700, Hexar RF, Leica M3 and M6, Nikon 35ti, Hexar AF, and Nikon D50. Checked visually using flash (front synch where switchable), cameras taking pictures of each other, using left and right hands, standing infront of a mirror, and getting another person to compare (blinded to which camera was which). The 80ms (0.08s) time is consistent as being slower than the D700 and M3/6, but faster than the RF and D50, which have advertised faster and slower shutter lags.
People (including myself) have complained of the RF shutter lag, which is advertised as 90 ms and tested by a magazine at 120 ms; the Panasonic G1 has a pre-focussed shutter lag of 77ms and manually focussed shutter lag of 105ms -- so it's an interesting number to some, I would think, to make an informed decision.

[aizan]

People (including myself) have complained of the RF shutter lag, which is advertised as 90 ms and tested by a magazine at 120 ms

the same pop photo test said the m7 had a 100ms (1/10s) lag.

i think what we're seeing here is that preconceptions dominate when humans try to tell how much time passes between two nearly instantaneous events.

[Gabriel M.A.]

Interesting. My M8 is as responsive, if not faster than any of the cameras I own; I do think that the M2 and M6 are slightly faster, but that may be because there is no "half-press" stage in those, as is the case of the M8 and all the other SLRs I own.

[jky]

As Gabriel mentioned, because of the half-press, I initially thought that it was slower than previous Ms I've used. I've now adjusted & keep my finger @ the half-press point and find it responsive enough for my needs.

[photomoof]

i am sure when you get down to 1/10 of a second -- that eye-brain-finger lag is much greater.

[mountainrivera]

I don't think the term shutter and M8 belongs in the same sentence unless it talks to there not being any.

[Gary Sandhu]

mountainrivera wrote: I don't think the term shutter and M8 belongs in the same sentence unless it talks to there not being any.

Beg your pardon?
http://static.photo.net/attachments/bboard/00I/00I0uR-32337184.jpg

[mountainrivera]

QUOTE=Gary Sandhu;968480]mountainrivera wrote: I don't think the term shutter and M8 belongs in the same sentence unless it talks to there not being any.

Beg your pardon?

Picture's worth a thousand words. Point well made :)