How many Leica M8's do you currently own?

How many Leica M8's do you currently own?

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Don't you find the 50mm frame lines very small to deal with compared to the M3/4? Do you just get used to it in time? I prefer a 50mm on my film cameras but switched to a 35mm for the M8.
 
I got used to using the M8 with 50mm lenses. Focusing is very easy. The view is 66mm, which is great for portraits.
 
Yes, agree with Raid... the 50 frameline in the M8 is larger than the 75 frames in the M4 etc. Easy to work with. I rather like the framing as an intermediate between the "standard" 50 and a short tele.

And remember, the M8 also shows framelines for the 24mm lenses, usefully about equivalent to 32mm on a full-frame M.
 
With 66mm as a result of the M8's crop factor on 50mm lenses, I could never make friends, but portraits are not my main topic at the moment.
In contrast, I found a 75mm lens on the M8.2 - except for the tiny frame corners in all Leica M rangefinders - very pleasant with the resulting 100mm, of course supplemented by an obligatory 1.25 viewfinder.
In addition to 28 and 50mm, I will probably prefer a 90 or 105mm lens on the M10-P in future.
However, the use of the viewfinder magnifiers on the M10 has become very cumbersome due to the mandatory adapter.
Leica should finally be able to supply its own magnifiers for the M10.
 
kevin m said:
I've always been skeptical of polling data...

Three people here own FOUR M8's? :eek: :confused:
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Found while rummaging in trash bins, surely.

Sorry, apologies, but I couldn't resist. I am now at risk of hanging from a lamp post with M2, M3 and M4 camera cords by enraged and outraged digiLeicaphiles.

The M8 is the sad puppy of the Leica range. Two camera shops in Melbourne have had them in recent times - one still does, for A$2500, a 'converted' model so it must be the convered what? M8.1? It has sat in their shop window for at least a year and has collected a respectable amount of dust, so it's obviously unloved.

Another shop recently told me the last M8 they sold went for a cut-back price of A$1800 and they declined to give a warranty on it.

Notwithstanding all its bad media, if I could find an M8 for A$1000, I would grab it in a nanosecond. With a Voigtlander 28 on it I could make it my perfect walkabout camera and a no-fail chick magnet. Or like so many older Leica owners tend to do, put it on a small altar in my home and light candles and burn incense in front of it.

(All meant in good fun, except of course the part about the elusive thousand dollar find.)
 
Orthogonal said:
Off topic question, but why does the M8 not have the "correct" filter on the sensor? Was it a deliberate design decision? ..... a weak UV/IR filter seems unusual.
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Hi – The thicker the on-sensor UV/IR filter is, the more diffraction will blur images away from the centre of the picture, particularly with non-retrofocus wide angle rangefinder-design lenses. In the [very] early days of LUF M8 forum; flak hit the fan from examples of black fabric showing as magenta from early adopters test pictures. Leica had to act fast by subsidising UV/IR-cut lens filters with all early M8 adopters. Actually, for digital-M, a case could be made for UV/IR filtration being made on the lens front rather than the sensor [screams of no, no, no, with howls at such blasphemy and scurrilous use of italics]. I prefer my M10 daylight shots with infrared-cut filters on my lenses [I set white balance to cloudy, same as on my M8].

raid said:
...Is the M10 P worth the extra money when compared with a standard M10?....
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Raid – Hi. Leica and 'worth' is a query best left untouched [I know you know that], but the level is very useful, the quieter shutter is nice, and the toy screen ignorable by me. However, I'm following the M10-R's release and the sensor improvement seems a real success in its handling of highlights [the M10 can have a savage cut-off with very bright areas]. I've made my commitment, selling my M10-P, taking the beating; and will get a sod-Covid M10-R in 5 months time.

For what it's worth I think the M8 files are gorgeous. I always use image review for each shot to check exposure and framing [not to look at the picture], the M8 battery can sustain having the monitor brightness on high and I can easily see what I need to see in bright sunshine. The M10 battery struggles to do the same, and in some ways I prefer the handling of the M8 over the M10 as a rangefinder camera. The thing is; I need live-view and an adjustable EVF for a lot of my work and the M10 fulfilled that role.

Enjoy your M8/M9. [I know you will].

............ Chris
 
Thank you, Chris.
I am waiting for my M10 in the mail.
It is a standard M10 and not the new M10-R.
 
I feel that the M8 used to be more reliable than my M9, but with the sensor being replaced in the M9, it is now maybe as reliable or better than the M8.
 
Still have, and use, the one I bought new when they came out. Still carry it when I'm shooting M cameras and need something to do color when the demand arises without carrying the Canon DSLR set or using my phone. It still does just what it always has and I won't replace it until it dies. Then we'll have to see, but it's unlikely I'll get another Leica digital with their short service life.
 
presspass said:
Still have, and use, the one I bought new when they came out. Still carry it when I'm shooting M cameras and need something to do color when the demand arises without carrying the Canon DSLR set or using my phone. It still does just what it always has and I won't replace it until it dies. Then we'll have to see, but it's unlikely I'll get another Leica digital with their short service life.
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... but you said that you bought your M8 when it came out and that it is still working well! How much longer do you expect a digital RF camera to last?
 
raid said:
... but you said that you bought your M8 when it came out and that it is still working well! How much longer do you expect a digital RF camera to last?
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Why can't you expect from a digital camera to last at least a very long time, say 75 years? These digital Leicas are extremely expensive. There should be at least free updates for a very long time, in my opinion. My oldest Leica is from 1928, still working perfect.


Erik.
 
Erik van Straten said:
Why can't you expect from a digital camera to last at least a very long time, say 75 years? These digital Leicas are extremely expensive. There should be at least free updates for a very long time, in my opinion. My oldest Leica is from 1928, still working perfect.
Erik.
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Why would you want it to last a long time ?
The firmware updates are free.
 
If you were 30 years old when you bought your Leica digital camera, do you want to use the same camera when you are 105 years old? The technology may be slightly outdated by then.
 
My first digital camera was a Panasonic FX3.
That was in 2006 and it still works but I wouldn`t use it because I prefer using more up to date technology.
 
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