Lenses perform better than the nikon or contax lenses I have owned. Body fits my hands and working style perfectly.
No one has mentioned the built in flash meter which is terrific and so easy to use.

None

If you are a doctor, lawyer or rich guy, please buy a bunch of these and then get tired of them so I can buy a bunch of slightly used bodies at a lower price!

Customer Service

All my dealings with Leica over the years have been exemplary.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F5, Original Canon EOS 1, Contax RTS 3 (three of which died in mild studio use in less than a year!!)

Ease of use.
Very easy to use.
Everything on the camera speaks for itself. Very logical

Some battery drainage occurred. Professionally resolved. Compliments to Leica.

They should get rid of "Proverbial Quality Made In Germany" found in all their documentation.
Best camera and lenses, customer service is tops. Let the product speak for itself.

Customer Service

Outstanding. You pay a good price, you get better service than you would expect.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta X-700

Best lenses (on a case by case basis) available for any SLR, best manual focusing SLR, brightest viewfinder in any SLR, great ergonomics, metering modes, internal flash meter, forces you to think, smooth.

Forces you to think, slightly larger than average body, tain't cheap.

This is a german-designed and built camera which, selectively, has some of the highest performing optics available for 35mm photography. Like most high-end products, you pay more for this additional incremental performance gain, which can be negated by sloppy technique. But if you are careful, the camera, and its lenses, are capable of extraordinary performance. An under-rated camera, overall, and taylor made for those who are very serious about both the craft and aesthetics of photography.

Customer Service

Excellent, human.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F5, F3.

Extremely well built and easy to handle. Superb optics, easy flash metering,extremely bright viewfinder and great general design.

None really.

It is simple a great camera as all Leica's are including the M series. There is also the superb lenses and the Leica "feel" that have created a huge group of fellow photographer loyal to this brand.

Customer Service

Superb service and warranty. They seem to really go out of their way to please and even take the time to talk to the users over the phone or during their Leica days at a variety of Leica dealers every year where they also provide free testing and simple cleaning at no cost. Just great.

Similar Products Used:

Eos 1n, ELAN, Pentax, Nikon N-80, various M series,Fuji 6x4.5, R4,R5,R7, Rolleiflex,Olympus and a variety of other cameras.

Wonderful ergonomics (the best of any camera I've laid hands on), especially with the motor-drive attached. Fits my hand like it's tailor made.
Solid construction.
Impeccable lens quality.

Occasionally (yes, only occasionally) unacceptably slow shutter reaction when used without motor-drive - unlike all other cameras I've used, the R8 doesn't always release it's shutter when (or before) the button reaches the bottom. This is what happens: you press the shutter release, you feel (and hear) the button hit the bottom of it's travel, then after a fraction of a second, I'd say around 0.2 seconds, the shutter fires. I've missed more than a few potentially great shots because of this. All is well when either one of the shutter release buttons on the motor-drive is used instead.

With the motor-drive attached, this is the best camera I've ever used. Worth every cent of the price.

Customer Service

Very friendly, but not always efficient.

Similar Products Used:

Canon T90, AE1 Program, EOS 50; Contax RTS III and various other models; Pentax LX, ME Super etc; Leica M6 classic, various R models; etc etc

Great ergonomics, great metering, fabulous lenses, excellent adjustable diopter.

A little heavy, I am used to the R6.2, but most of my work is done on a tripod, so not a significant issue.

The R8 features some nice upgrades over the R6.2 like extended maximum exposure, a mirror lock-up button (you need an additional cable release on the 6.2), AE modes, though generally speaking I use the manuul mode. This is a "best of class" camera. The R6.2 is in my view the best available fully manual 35mm SLR, the R8 picks up where the R6.2 left off and is the best manual focus AE camera on the market right now. The Leica line of lenses is beyond compare. This system tripod mounted and loaded with slow, fine grain film will, in the right hands, yield results that compare very favorably with medium format negs. I regularly produce 9x13 enlargements that compare interchangably with medium format prints of the same size. I love this camera.

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

Leica R6.2
Pentax LX

Superb optics as always
Easy to use
Comfortable and not as heavy as my F5

Useless when the battery goes flat

A wonderful camera, which does a great job of continuing Leica tradition of precision engineering at its best. Shame its battery reliant.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F5
Nikon F3
Leica M6ttl
Bronica SQB
Mamiya RB67 pro S
Contax Aria

robust, perfect. stimulates your brain.you are controling the camera and not other way round

none

If one really wants to learn and enjoy the photography this is the camera to buy. I am happy with the camera.

Customer Service

very good

Similar Products Used:

canon rebel

Comfortable shape for my hands.

Controls well set out in general, although there are some oddities.

Any of the 3 metering methods (spot, matrix, center-weighted) can be combined with any of the 4 exposure mdes (manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, program)

Viewfinder display is clear and uncluttered.

Bright viewfinder and easy to use with spectacles.

Superb lenses that can be had for reasonable prices on the used market (but very expensive new).

Easy to use mirror & aperture pre-fire.

Very well-damped mirror and reasonably quite operation.

1st/2nd shutter curtain flash synch option.

Flash control very flexible, mainly because of SCA 3000 compatibility.

Range of shutter speeds from 16 sec to 1/8000 sec, selectable manually in half-step increments or automatically in stepless increments.

Max flash synch speed of 1/250 sec.

Provides "idiot-proof" control of exposure and flash in program mode. Very well suited to beginners (but probably more than a beginner would want to pay!).

Fully compatible with lenses for previous R cameras; the ROM insert is not needed unless you want automatic zoom flash.

Cannot see frame counter unless camera is activated.

Totally reliant on batteries.

Operation and position of exposure compensation switch - uncomfortable to operate and doesn't work unless camera display is activated.

Heavy compared with previous R models.

Expensive, except in Asia at the moment.

Not many R8 bodies or accessories have reached the used market yet.

I consider the R8 to be the best camera for me and that includes its value for money. It is surprisingly cheap in Asia (I bought mine new) but even in the USA it's still good value. The lenses are prohibitively expensive if bought new but are surprisingly cheap on the used market. It mat be considered big and heavy, considering it doesn't have a built-in motor or autofocus.

Customer Service

Not needed yet.

Similar Products Used:

Leica R7
Olympus OM-10, OM-2n, OM-2S

Rugged, sturdy, solid like a tank, the most ergonomic camera alive !, easy to use, very reliable and flexible, you get what you pay for !

None

The best manual camera on earth ! Solid like a tank, if you get used to this one, you won't feel the camera any more after a while. You have the choice of manual winding and rewindig or of motorized winding/rewinding. It's suitable for every situation and compatible with the best lenses on earth, e.g. the famous Apo-Telyt 180/3.4, the super sharp Apo-Macro-Elmarit 100/2.8, Summicron 90 and some very fine zooms (Apo-Elmarit 2.8/35-70, Vario-Elmar 4/35-70 and 4/80-200). To mention just some of them. I'm using it with the R7 as a second body. It is a very expandable camera system for life. I also use a Canon EOS-1 with the Sigma 2.8/14mm EX, the brilliant Canon EF 2.8/28-70 L USM and the EF 2.8/80-200 L when speed matters. But the feel and intuitive use of the Leica system can't be beat. The customer service is great. The check your cameras and lenses as often as you wish and the do only charge you if something is broken. Nothing compared to Nikon, Canon or Minolta. Canon CPS is also great, but you need a permission to join the CPS. And they won't check it for free as often as the Leica customer service does. And they are very fast : 1 to 2 weeks here in Germany. I had a few things that needed to be re-adjusted many months after the guarantee-period ran out, and they did it for free. So 5 stars for the Customer service.
The R8 has everything a serious photographer needs : fast shutter speed, great lenses, it is tropicalized and very sturdy, it has all metering capabilities you need, it is very creative to use and very ergonomically. The price is OK compared to the top cameras of all other brands. It doesn't make sense to compare this manual and high quality SLR with an autofocus SLR. The systems are too different and no, really no AF-lens can compete with the mechanical and optical built-quality of a top-of-the-line Leica lens.
Those AF-cameras and lenses won't last forever. The chances that a Leica system does are quite good.

Customer Service

Great ! Best service I've ever experienced ! Fast and friendly !

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS-1, Leica R7