mark_theken

<p>I recently bought a used Leica M8. It has been upgraded by Leica to the new shutter with the top speed of 1/4000 and with the modified frame lines.<br>

Can anyone tell me or direct me to a site that lists compatible SD cards?<br>

I bought a San Disk SDHC 4GB card and would like to know if it should work properly.<br>

It is not an ultra or exreme version of the San Disk card.</p>

I have also seen the serial number on a paper sticker attached inside the lens mount so the missing "scratched" serial number is not a 100% certainty of a "mismatch". Probably it is best to shoot a test film with camera on a tripod and check the film for sharpness with a loupe. Lens can also be recalibrated by a competent repair person.

Anyone headed to the LHSA meeting next weekend in Rochester?

Magnum photographer Costa Manos will be speaking and show some of his latest

color work with the M8. Please let me know if you plan to attend.

Any visitors to this forum that plan to attend the LHSA Spring Shoot next week

in Santa Fe? As of early this week, 82 members have registered.

I suspect this will be the largest gathering in the USA to date of M8 owners.

Hopefully, we will sort out many of the reported M8 issues and separate fact

from fiction.

Norman Mauskopf, a outstanding documentary photographer, will present his work

to the group following the Saturday evening banquet.

Information is available at http://lhsa.org/shootout.html

Nice analogy Cardy. My results concur with yours. I still have my 4th version 35 Summicron however because it remains my favorite travel lens for a film camera.

Hello Alex:

you wrote: "The Voightlander 12/5.6 feels wider with the Voightlander 15mm finder's frame". Please clarify this.

Yesterday, I ordered a 15mm C/V finder to use with a 12 5.6 C/V lens on the M8. I am hopeful it is a close match for the coverage of this lens on an M8. When you suggest that it "feels wider", are you suggesting that the lens coverage is still wider than what is with a C/V 15mm accessory viewfinder?

With the M8 1.33X focal length magnification factor, the 12mm lens "converts" to a (12+4) 16mm. I am hopeful that the 15mm viewfinder will be a reasonable match for the field of view of the 12mm lens.

Best regards, Mark

Please contact me.

Hello Gus:

The .58 viewfinder magnification was available about one year after the introduction of the M6TTL camera. The non TTL M6 (aka M6 classic) was never produced with a .58 magnification viewfinder. The MP and M7 were available with .58 viewfinders several years ago. Currently they are only offered as an option in the ala carte camera program.

It is my estimate that about 3000 .58 M6 TTL cameras were produced. I suspect more were sold in black than in silver, perhaps 1800-2000 black and 1000-1200 silver.

I am unaware of any factory records that have been published with the specific information you are looking for.

Best regards, Mark

I plan to use a 21mm lens with a M8.

Being that the framelines are in the M8 viewfinder for all of the wide lenses

except the 21mm, apparently an external bright line finder is needed.

Am I correct in thinking that a 28mm viewfinder will show the correct field of

view for the 21mm lens on a M8? This assumption is based upon the 1.33

conversion factor and the 2:3 aspect ratio of the M8 sensor.

Hopefully someone will respond who is using a M8 regarding the framing accuracy

with a 28mm viewfinder for a 21mm lens.

Happy Holidays.

Mark

Yes.

YES

Just received the new 28 2.8 ASPH Summicron-M. For those waiting to see this

lens, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised. This lens is vitually

identical to the type 4 35 Summicron-M. The build quality and ergonomics are

identical to the 35 Summicron ASPH. The 6 bit coding is is milled into the rear

lens mounted and the paint is then applied.

I think this lens at the $1495 MAP will make it very popular among M film

cameras users and it become the standard lens for anyone using a M8 digital camera.

Sorry but I am unable to post pictures this weekend but I will try to by next

weekend.

My mistake...the conversion to USD is less than $2200. I did not realize that Euros had been converted to Australian $ in the auction listing. This is a very low price for this outfit as others have suggested.

As a package, $1900 for a M7 and $1000 for a non ASPH 50 Summilux-M, seems to me a fair market price for these items for both the buyer and seller. Leica M equipment in nice condition has, in my experience, retained it's value extremely well compared to all other 35mm and medium format film cameras and lenses.

I think Vinay's post sums this up. The bigger question for me is whether customers who have never owned a Leica camera will buy the new digital products. The Leica customer age demographic is most likely the oldest in all of photography. Leica will need new and younger customers to survive another generation.

With all the excitement of the new M8, it seems the companion lens to be

introduced at the same time has received very little attention. The new 28/2.8

ASPH-M appears to use a more compact version of the 35 2.0 ASPH-M chassis.

According to the information I received, the new 28mmm lens weighs only 180

grams, uses E39 filters and the same 12526 lens hood as the 35 2.0 ASPH. At

$1495, I think it will find a home on many M8 cameras as well as M series film

cameras. I plan to buy one to use on a MP .58 viewfinder camera as well as my

RD-1. I think this will make a nice travel outfit along with a 50mm lens,

especially now that the airline carryon requirements may become more restricted

than in the past.

This camera would sell in the USA for $1000-$1100. A price of E900-950 would make it a reasonable deal at a fair price. I am sure a forum member can offer you a M6 for that price. Keep in mind the M6 you described is 20 years old and most likely needs to be serviced.

Good luck, Mark

Your 35 2.0 black paint lens should have been supplied with a #12504 lens shade finished in black paint. Leica has never made a front lens cap for this lens shade.

In addition, your lens should have been supplied with a black paint metal slip on front cap.

It is my understanding that 1000 were produced for a special order by Lemon Camera in Japan. Some of the lenses that were not sold by Lemon Camera were imported and sold in the US by Leica USA.

For indoor and low light situations such as a courtroom or a theatre, the 135 2.8 M is my preferred lens. Both the focus and framing are more accurate and the extra full stop allows the next faster shutter speed.

The 12585H unscrews into 2 parts. A filter, series VI if I remember correctly, can then be inserted between the detached halves. All 12504 lens hoods take a series VII filter in the same way.

Last weekend at a camera show in Philadelphia, I handled a Zeiss Ikon RF camera for the first time. IMHO it in NO way compares in overall quality to a Leica M7. It is also my understanding that the USA distribution is no longer in the hands of Hasselblad. I suspect the ZI will go the way of the Hexar RF with no USA factory service or support available if this has not happened already.

I would look for a used M7 and spend a few hundred $$$ more or consider the Bessa R2A/R3A at 1/3 the price if cost is a major concern. Just my .02 worth.

Best regards,

Mark

.58 magnification M body with 35 2.0 4th version.

Hi Paul:

I think you forgot to include your asking price for the knife,

just trying to keep you out of trouble. I think you may have used it in the past to repair your M4P :-)

Cheerz, Mark

I suspect 1000 serial numbers were allocated for the first batch of this lens in 2004. My lens is #3982790. If you can obtain some other serial numbers, that may help determine the number of lenses actually produced to date. An additional batch of these lenses in both silver and black finish in a retro lens mount was produced for the LHSA MP3. The total of the lenses in LHSA batch may be 750.