Leica M8 test report by Erwin Puts!

[cyclohexane]

"a small step for mankind, but a big step for Leica"

Read up if you like.

[cyclohexane]

The article almost sounds like he's defending Leica, as he never really outright identifies anything as "bad", but adds stuff like "this may or may not be important."* Darned brand-loving.* =)

Interesting tidbits:

The sound of the shutter is extremely subdued; it produces less noise than the M7 shutter: the noise when the heavy curtains must be stopped by the braking device is clearly absent. On the other hand I have to say that the sound of the motor-driven shutter cocking is less pleasing, but that is a matter of adjustment.

So the metal shutter is quieter than the cloth shutter?* Well, I guess that can't be bad then, though the motor would probably give you away to the sharp ear.* DPReview has a sound file up of the old shutter vs. the new shutter, btw.* HERE

The battery is lithium ion, and can fire about 300 shots (depending of course on the level of studying the pictures in the display). As a comparison the Canon 5D can hold 600 to 800 pictures. The CCD is a currency guzzler!

And my D2H's EN-El4 can do something like 1000; the new EN-EL4A is even better, but we're comparing to some of the best batteries available on the market right now.* Ugh, 300 shots?* That's Digital Rebel territory; I guess it'll feel like changing film when you take the bottom off though, LOL

ISO speeds are a bit queer form ISO 160 to 2500 in full steps. Leica gives the basic sensor sensitivity as ISO160, a move that can be applauded. Why Leica has not opted for the more traditional 200, 400 etc range is a bit of a mystery.

I suppose we'll live; just a bit more math when sharing exposure information.

The M8 has an electro magnetic-shutter release that is less responsive. After pressing the release, there is a slight moment of hesitation and indecision before the shutter actually is released.

There goes one of the great advantages of the Leica M...

The sensor is made by Kodak and has as one of its ancestors the Olympus E1 sensor architecture. The software is written by a German company.

Attn: Paul, E-1 lover!* This is something interesting, eh?

Personally, everything I'm reading is pushing me to try out the Digilux 3 and Olympus E-400 (Japan, here I come again, or Europe...) first, or just get a D200.* But hey, as always, once I try the M8, I'll want one.* LOL

[Paul Shields]

I like the sound of it a lot, and it's not just because it's using a variant of that lovely Kodak CCD sensor . I know this is going to sound horrible to the died in the wool Leica fans who probably don't care about such things, but I'd love to know how it works at high ISO. It would be great to think Kodak has improved in this area, maybe for the benefit of a future Oly (well we can dream...).

[Jose]

Did not know that the Leica M8 was a SLR camera . Interesting article for a former Leicaphile, at one time accumulated 13 Leicas in my collection, beautifully made cameras but cameras in a shelf do not take pictures, so I passed them to others hoping that they still in use and not collecting dust.

[cyclohexane]

Did not know that the Leica M8 was a SLR camera

All my Leica threads get moved here, so I stuck it here to save someone some work. =)

Dang, you passed 'em on and don't have any left? LOL =P

[dougjgreen]

I would get one, but I'm P.O.'d that it doesn't have live view and a flip-able LCD. - LOL!

[Artichoke]

Originally Posted by Paul Shields

I like the sound of it a lot, and it's not just because it's using a variant of that lovely Kodak CCD sensor . I know this is going to sound horrible to the died in the wool Leica fans who probably don't care about such things, but I'd love to know how it works at high ISO. It would be great to think Kodak has improved in this area, maybe for the benefit of a future Oly (well we can dream...).

the M8 gets noisy at ISO 1250, but is quite useable
given the fast lenses available and the ability to hand hold at lower shutter speeds inherent to a RF, this has not been a big problem for me, though I would have liked less noise at high ISO ...if it is any consolation, the noise is "film like" and certainly less than what one sees with film

[cyclohexane]

You have an M8? Can you share some firsthand experience? The stuff I read about near IR pollution (hot mirror filters in front of the lens introduce new problems), streaking, and whatever put me off a little, but I've seen people happily using them without a problem, and I hear the M8 sells well, so I'm guessing all the internet reports are being overblown on DPReview and the like...

[Artichoke]

I have had mine for about a month now & love it
there are profiles that pretty much eliminate the IR problems when converting from DNG & Leica is sending two IR Cut filters to folks who purchase a camera as well
I have not found this a problem
it is noisier than my Fujifilm S3 at ISO above 320 for sure, but this has not been a problem as RF can be handheld at much slower shutter speeds ...the noise is indeed film like
the IQ from this camera is exceptionally fine ...amazing detail, looking far more than the 10 MP the sensor is rated ...I think not having an AA filter helps as does having access to truly outstanding glass
color is vibrant & accurate, though I custom balance everything ...AWB is not as bad as some make out, but custom WB/RAW is the way to go with this camera ...you can recover a great deal from shadows, so unlike the S3, which I shot for shadows, this camera likes you to expose for highlights & recover from the shadows
the camera is extremely well built and of course much smaller than a DSLR ...wide angles work extremely well with it & some of the great wide angles are made for it
if you are interested I put up a Leica M8 gallery on my pbase gallery, here -----> Leica M8 photographs Photo Gallery by Artichoke Vinagrette at pbase.com
this is not an all around camera, but for what it does best, it delivers the goods & is a great deal of fun to shoot