Leica M8, any suggestion?

Hi, I'm currently using Leica Mp and thinking of geting the M8, still hesitate

of how good the quality of the image it would be compare to my Mp. Since all of

the digital camera will always come out with greater maga pixel every year.

Would Leica do the same thing to us? and keep us update to the greater maga

pixel and image quality every year. I live in bangkok, thailand where it is

very tough to find a good place to developing B/W film and it is impossible to

get developing chemical to even try to develop b/w on my own. So, should i

replace my Mp wtih the digital M8? Any suggestion?

 

Thanks

I wouldn't get too hung up on the MegaPixel thing. 10Mp is more than enough and will always be more than enough. If Leica increase the pixel count it will adversely effect the noise levels so I think the 10Mp on a 1.3x sensor is a good compromise. The image quality from the M8 is superb, in my opinion better than equivalent speed 35mm film. The M8 is a very expensive camera, but then so was your MP. If you are having problems with film development the M8 will solve thatbut you will have to buy a good printer too.

Spend a lot less on a Digital Rebel or a D40 and keep your MP until you learn how to

use digital and see for yourself how it fits your preferences.

It's a bit risky asking about the M8 on this forum. Contributions tend to be either from

those who have one and are pleased with it, or from those who don't, but recycle internet-

talk. The former get accused of justifying their outlay to themselves; the latter of sour

grapes.

 

However, one thing that few (if any) moan about is the megapixel count on the M8. It's

plenty for virtually all normal purposes. Sure the M8 has its weaknesses, but this isn't one

of them.

 

My M8 produces images that are every bit as good to my eye as anything I ever got from

my M6 - M7 - MP. Add to that the virtues of digital and to me it's a winner. That's one

persons's subjective view, and I've had mine long enough to have got over the need to

justify it to myself.

"Since all of the digital camera will always come out with greater maga pixel every year. Would Leica do the same thing to us?"

<p>

Too funny! :)

<p>

What do you think?

<p>

Do you expect there will M9, M10, etc (st)rolling out this/next/coming years?

<p>

Very funny, indeed!

"Since all of the digital camera will always come out with greater maga pixel every year. Would Leica do the same thing to us? and keep us update to the greater maga pixel and image quality every year."

 

They only wish! (And we only dream). At this point Leica is far from break-even on the M8 let alone making a profit they can invest on further R&D. Their efforts at this point are fully involved in patching and circumventing issues in the hopes of recapturing the interest of the potential buyers who bailed out.

 

"I live in bangkok, thailand where it is very tough to find a good place to developing B/W film and it is impossible to get developing chemical to even try to develop b/w on my own."

 

What's preventing you from ordering powdered developer online? And what about buying a book of formulae and buying the individual ingredients from a chemical supply. Surely there are those in Bangkok? What about using C41, either chromogenic or colour (and desaturate)? Surely there are labs still doing C41 in Bangkok?

 

"So, should i replace my Mp wtih the digital M8?"

 

It sounds like that's what you want to do. If you need excuses, rationalisations or the blessings of strangers on the internet, maybe your in an internal conflict and better wait until that's sorted?

> very tough to find a good place to developing B/W film and it is impossible to get

developing chemical to even try to develop b/w on my own.

<br><br>

Whoops!<br>

Is it already that bad in your part of the world?<br>

 

I have a suggestion for you that'll top the M8's image quality, at least in B&W: mailorder a

developing drum and the required chemicals plus a film scanner, get into developing your

own film, scan the negatives (or even enlarge them, if you have the room for a chemical

darkroom!) and enjoy the money you saved and the archivalness of the negatives.

<br>

Don't give up on film!

I had an MP and loved it. Very nice camera, but honestly, after using the M8 for the past

month I could NOT go back to the MP. The M8 files are better than any film shots I have

taken in regards to image quality. I canshoot ISO 1250 in the M8 and have less noise than

400 Tri X. The Detail in the shots (shooting RAW) is amazing and i never achieved this

detail from film. You can shoot BW, color and have a few hundred shots on one SD card.

You can change ISO on the fly, review your images as you take them AND correct them if

needed. It has the look, feel and use of an M7. Ive had mine for a month and have taken

over 2k images. NOt one bug, flaw, defect, freeze up or problem. Happy as can be. 10MP

is ALL I will EVER need as i can take a M8 file and blow it up as big as I could ever want. I

will only upgrade to an M9 if it has better features, not due to megapixels.

 

The build of the MP is a bit better, but the image quality from the M8 is in my case much

nicer than my MP film shots.

 

I have owned both.

 

m8 shots

http://stevem7.zenfolio.com/p802740336/

Also, with the MP I developed my own B&W, and scanned them on a $1100 Nikon scanner.

FIlm was $4-$5 a roll, chemicals cost $$ as well and the time needed to process the film

and dry it was a couple hours. Then to scan one hi res frame took about 6-8 minutes. The

result after all of this work still did not provide a more detailed file than one from an M8.

 

I got burnt out on film as I was shooting a TON of film. Every day I had film to process and

my color film cost me $2.50 a roll to process, then the scanning took me hours per roll.

 

In 6 months I spent $3500 on the camera, $600 on film, $1100 on a scanner, about $350

in supplies and chemicals, and approx 300 hours scanning the film. Also countless hours

printing in a darkroom.

 

With the M8 I take the shots, process in C1 (VERY quick) and print in minutes. ISO 640 is

CLEAN as a whistle and the ability to shoot BW or color on the fly and switch ISO on the fly

is worth the price alone. Add a built in motor drive and it's a no brainer. Again, the MP is a

wonderful camera. I feel it is Leicas best for film. BUT the M8 will open up more

possibilities and encourage you to shoot more and as a result you will enjoy photography

even more.

 

Good luck with your decision. I would not go back to film. 6 months ago I was saying I

liked film better than digital after many years with digital. The M8 changed all of that as it

is just that good.

>>>> Spend a lot less on a Digital Rebel or a D40 and keep your MP until you learn how to

use digital and see for yourself how it fits your preferences.

 

 

Very wise words of advice...

The M8 is a sweet camera. Why didn't you get a Nikon FM10 or Canon Rebel when you got

your MP? You could've saved quite a pile of cash. Certainly the DSLR is a better value, just

like the cheap film SLRs were. But getting the best bargain may not be your goal.

 

I think the M8 is worth the asking price, and I would not expect an upgrade for at least three

years (and likely more).

 

--clyde

You can get any of several DSLRs with 10Mp for a small fraction of the cost of the M8. 10Mp is now the entry level DSLR for Nikon, Canon, Sony and Olympus. Only Pentax (6Mp) and Panasonic/Leica (7.5Mp) offer less than 10Mp in their entry leevel DSLRs.

 

I strongly suggest that you should try a DSLR and see if 10Mp is enough for you before investing in an M8. You might find that the proven technology of a DSLR is a better option than a still-problematic M8.

 

The good thing about getting a DSLR is that you can buy a relatively inexpensive 10Mp model and keep your Leica MP, giving you the best of both worlds.

So, should i replace my Mp wtih the digital M8? Any suggestion

 

Keep your MP variety is the spice of life...personally i love using an all mechanical camera. Love using digital too.

 

M8, well, it has its issues, sort of magenta colour so i'm led to believe.

 

Good advice try a Nikon or Canon sus out if you are happy with the digital deal. Think they both take photos one has a film inside one doesn't.

 

It's always going to about the photographer not the process used.

<i>I live in bangkok, thailand where it is very tough to find a good place to developing B/

W film and it is impossible to get developing chemical to even try to develop b/w on my

own."</i>

<p>

There is an excellent B&W pro lab in Bangkok: <a

href="www.halfmoonlab.ne"><u>www.halfmoonlab.net</u> </a> run by Surat. It's in

Ekemai. ( 267/13 Sukhumvit 63 (Ekamai).

<p>

--Mitch/Bangkok

<p>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/">Flickr portfolio</a><p>

(10 posts removed)

I have just sold my M4-P & 40mm Summicron C & will probably let my Hassie & Nikon outfits go as well. I will keep my IIIF w/wondeful old 50 Elmar & probably spring for the M8 and a 24mm asph. or the new 28 asph. It's where the world is going. But I love the old Leica & will never sell it (unless I do. . .).<div></div>

Hey how about a contest...whoever guesses closest to the number of days how long before Paul sells the IIIf, buys the M8, and sells the M8 wins a box of bokeh. <wink>

I'm in - my guess is 193 days

Gadge A loses.

 

There is no IIIF! That was returned already after the "mechanical marvel" stopped working half way through the first roll of film!

No no, that was a IIIf-selftimer that went back. This one is a plain IIIf. If you're having trouble keeping up, try blinking one eye at a time <grin>

Jerry is right: IIIF RD ST went back; IIIF RD went back for synch. fix -- but it's coming back to me to join the 50mm 1:3.5 Elmar, NOOKY, & 50mm Briteline Finder, known to Jerry & Vivek as a SBOOI. I'd say 178 days sounds right, Gadge is close. Where is Al Kaplan?<div></div>

I am as pleased with my M8 as Steve and Paul(Hart). I am not going to sell my M7, but I think it will not see much light. On Saturday, I shot the birthday of my daughter, first outdoors in bright sunshine, then in the subway, then inside with light disappearing. No problem, just swith the ISO.

 

Prints from the files are wonderful, much better than what you see on the screen.

 

WB is not perfect, but if you shoot raw (which I would advise to do), then there are some very effctive profiles for C1 available in the leica user forum. And IMHO, the white balance in difficult lightning situations, such as in a subway, is still way better than with film (unless you carry filters or a special film).

 

And finally, no more hours wasted on scanning.

 

I should say that I hesitated long, partily because of the many negative commments on the net. But I am very happy I got the M8. In my view, it is a winner.

 

The only critism I have is that it's too expensive, but that, of course, applies to the whole M range.