The M8 feels like a film M...

...now, how can you get rid of the feeling of emptiness when your thumb automatically reaches for the

advance lever... and there's nothing there. It's like when you quit smoking and your hand feels the crave

for manipulating the darn cigarette. Oh, well, I guess time will do its job there as well.

 

Maybe this is old news, but it really feels like a real, albeit slightly overweight, film M. The whole thing

is

compact, well laid out, and the built feels very good. À la Leica. It is a tad lighter than the M7. The vf

(0.68) is nice and clear. The shutter noise is surprisingly low for a metal shutter. It is, in fact, hardly

noisier

than the M's. How did they do that? I had a

little trouble finding a resting place for my left thumb because of the buttons on the back, but that'll

take care of itself with time, I suppose.

 

But the real surprise is I saw a few 12x18 Tiff prints of shots taken with a 50 Lux at 640 ISO, and they

didn't show a trace of noise! Impressive. And the Leica rep said that, no, no noise treatment had

been applied. And were they sharp. That should more than take care of the available light tradition of

the M.

 

The M8 will be available in my corner of the woods around mid-november. Very tempting, though I

would have to trade in my whole collection of Nikon film SLRs to be able to afford one. Now, if only

there

was a way to get the look of APX 100 deved in Rodinal... Yes, I know.

so many rumours, so many speculations, so many thoughts, prejudices, pro-s and con's about the M8 on the web today. Man sponsored by Leica... the proof will be in the pudding as they say. There hasn't a digital camera been built that doesn't look like a digital camera, the M8 will be no different, will be no better than x,y or z.

 

 

It's all in the little magic little red dot.

 

Even "wizards" like Leica GmbH cannot reproduce a tri-x look yet.

 

But there is something to learn for the competitors, and this is probably the only thing that leica is really good at, and thats low expensive marketing.

 

Trust me, you will not be able to see the difference between a D70 and an M8, let alone a 5D.

 

Digital cameras require good lenses, they do not need perfect lenses, this is the difference between film and digital.

 

Nevertheless I have ordered mine and hope to get it in before Christmass 2008,

"so many speculations, so many thoughts, prejudices,"

 

And yet you couldn't resist adding yours to the pile :-)

You got it that I did actually play with an M8 just today, a real M8, with finalized firmware

and everything, right, Jonathan? And that I did see a few 12X18 prints?

 

Now, even if it's only AS good as the 5D, then it'll have the great advantage of being a

Leica rangefinder using Leica glass. Which is what it's all about.

Vinay,

 

I buy one because I can and I like it, I don't follow the multiplt threads on how good or how bad it is, I just want one .. thats all..

" I don't follow the multiplt threads on how good or how bad it is "

 

Well, you do follow at least this one, my friend, don't you? :-)

The M8 feels like a film M...

 

Jeez, boutique boy or what. How about quality of the images....or, does that not really matter anymore.

 

I suppose they won some boutique\dsigner award so perhaps not.<div></div>

Allen, everybody knows that you can only take square photos with a Rollieflex or a Hasselblad ;-)

...or even with a well equiped swiss army knife....

Swung by Hunts outside of Boston today and fired a couple of frames and was genuinely impressed. Loved the clarity of the RF, the heft and feel and "presence" of it. I do think the shutter clack is a bit loud, but like it that you can feel it in the camera; I think that's half of the ergonomical splendor right there.

 

Nice deal of $200 rebate, free shipping and no sales tax, but I didn't bite ($4595). If the pictures are as impressive as everything else, I'd say it's a winner, notwithstanding the price.

 

Must say that I thought the silver brick of the 4:3 Leica Digilux3 version of the Panasonic is hideous. It looks like a 1980s thing. What were they thinking? Forgot to look for teh Panasonic while we were there. So much for my idea of mating that into my existing Olympus E-1 4:3 system.

 

I may just abandon Oly's brand new E-1 replacement and go for the M8. My Leitz glass is a lot more valuable.

 

Cheers,

Ray Hull

Allen, everybody knows that you can only take square photos with a Rollieflex or a Hasselblad ;-)

 

It was taken with a Leica and cropped. The print would blow you away.

Hey, I believe you! That's why the ";-)" at the end of my statement. The square crop works very well with that image!

Allen, I suppose you missed the part where I praise the quality of the prints I saw.

 

BTW, that's a real great shot. I bet you could do as well with the "boutique" M8 if you put

your heart and soul into it ;)

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p25.jpg">

</center>

It reminded me of my old M5, just a bit large.

 

The metalic ring of the shutter is a reminder not to go for the advance lever. I was not tempted even one time.

 

I did not leave the store, but the in store pics represented Calumets Chicago location well. 35 1.4 ASPH

 

Shot fine JPEG as I was afraid there would be a problem opening RAW as my cheapo P#S does not have RAW. I would post some but was asked not to do so by the Leica rep.

another mediocre snap posted online, in compressed jpeg format to prove a point allan?

 

how about you go stop talking out of your balloon knot and go make some nice pictures :)