This Leica M8 review by member rossawilson1 was chosen for its detail and enthusiasm. Reviews by community members are the foundation of PhotographyREVIEW.com. Share your experience with other photographers by writing reviews for your cameras and other photo gear. You don’t have to be an expert – everyone’s opinion counts.
Featured Review: Leica M8 Digital Rangefinder
by rossawilson1 (Intermediate)
| Price Paid: $2500.00 from Robert White, Poole Review Date: May 1, 2009 Used product for: Less than 1 month Overall Rating: |
5 of 5
Summary:
You’re all probably are aware of this cameras week points and the controversies surrounding it. A digital Leica M camera in itself is a controversy!
As an avid M6 user who prints and develops his own B&W and C41 film, choosing to try the M8 seemed counter intuitive in some ways. However finding time in my life to do things the old fashion way has become a problem. I convinced myself early on that there was no point in thinking about digital unless it was the M8. Leica M series cameras changed me as a photographer, I wasn’t about to throw that away.
The camera has a few things that underwhelmed me minutes out of the box. The mode switch is of poor quality and makes the camera seem cheap and poorly built. How Leica thought this was not worth a redesign I don’t know. The camera, slightly bigger than a film M seems strangely hollow feeling. This camera is not as solid as a film M, but over all it is as well built. I guess it’s just not as dense with metal.
The IR filter issue isn’t an issue anymore, do yourself a favor and decide it won’t be an issue before you buy. Get the filters and get over it. Lens coding of old Leica lenses and third party lenses is a must in my book. I don’t want weird colour shifts in the corner of my pics when using IR filters. Price in the Coder kit before you buy, another issue solved.
So was that worth all the effort? Oh, yes, it, certainly, was. It’s weird the feeling of using an M camera but having the flexibility of digital. For a start you don’t keep looking at the LCD, because your brain is telling you it’s an M. You take shots you wouldn’t normally, but all the time it feels like your film M.. only you can see the pictures when you get home! The cameras features, Aperture priority etc, auto WB, Auto ISO.. these things take the M experience to a whole new level. This camera is a hell of a lot of fun! The shutter sounds different, a little hollow, but after a day or two I actually really like it. It’s the sound of me having a good time and it’s not intrusive.
So after all this fun what are the pictures like? Sharp, film like, beautiful, I really thought my fun first outing was going to end in mediocrity because after all this is digital right.. wrong.. well, it is digital but it’s the most film like digital I’ve seen! The images are so sharp, so rich, so flexible, it really has its own quality. In short this thing delivers the goods and is a joy to use to boot, dare I say it even more so than a film M, just because of the flexibility.
I’m over the moon with this camera, it feels pro, I know pro’s use it, and what it delivers is so pro!! Forget the megapixel count, it’s more than enough.
Buy this M. Stop wasting smaller amounts of money on lesser cameras. This camera is an M for life… do I sound in love… I am.. that’s not happened since I got my M6 and I’ve had cameras of every format since then.. always kept the M6. Now I can go out, come back and be satisfied and get on with other things.
It’s weird but some how all this cameras little qwerks make it even more lovable, even more personal somehow.. it has bags of character and it will make you happy. Though at first you may find some conflict.. but in my book, that’s how all the best friendships begin.
Strengths:
M camera
Sensor
Fun to use
Flexible
Did I say it’s an M camera!?
Upgradeable
It’s a Leica
Weaknesses:
IR filter issue – solvable
Coding issue – solvable
Change in feel from film M
Price
Similar Products Used:
M6
DSLR
Customer Service:
Superb. You get a little area on Leica’s website all to yourself with news, updates and info about things to do with your little M!
Related Content:
All Leica User Reviews
All Featured User Reviews
All Leica News & Articles
Leica Web Site
Congrats, rossawilson1!