Yes,

 Leica kindly lent me an M8 to try out. I suspect that they thought  "If he likes it, we are on the right track"! 

 

 Well, I am happy to say that they are on the right track. The M8 does behave like an M-camera should. It puts minimal "digital" between you and your picture, but if you are so inclined you can add all the bells and whistles to what you are doing. When I got it (no manual for it) I managed to turn it in to a M2/M6 with little fuss. Put it on mono-chrome, put the ISO to 320 and stick a lens on it. I don’t shoot color and to me the black/white image quality was what counted. The first couple of 100 shots were done with everything in "Standard" setting and the prints that my local lab pulled were a bit flat (to be expected as you can manipulate the image in the computer after wards). The next batch was shot with higher contrast settings and came out fine. The higher ISO settings have a bit of digital "noise" (1250/2500) but so would film if you either used a T-Speed or Delta 3200 so no big deal.

 

 It does feel like a slightly obese M6. The additional thickness coupled with the rather slippery covering had my right hand cramping up after a while. I did get used to it, except when I switched between a M2 and M8. My hand wanted to "crush" the M8 to M2 thickness! The lack of a film-advance arm is somewhat disconcerting as it does feel like an M and you are forever trying to pull out a lever to hook your thumb behind - although this is something you get used to. I love the base-plate with its folding "Leica" key lock. Battery and SD card are accessed by removing it and I still have that fleeting thought “Damn, did I rewind the film" before pulling the base plate off! The design is that close to an M!

 

 The noise is modest; a soft click and a slight "whirr" sound is not disturbing at all. My biggest problem with the M8 is that I am a left eye focuser and my nose is squished against the screen. During flu-season that could be an ugly sight! Some kind of cover would be useful - particularly as I use it as I would a regular M, shoot away happily and after 40-50 shots I looked for a shady spot (outdoor patio of cafe works well) and chimped through what I shot and deleted the misses or boring stuff. Like any digital screen, however pleasantly sized it is - I cant see it bright light and as I have to take off my glasses to see it in subdued light - i might just as well be comfortable, sipping coffee and admire my handiwork.

 

 I went through my lenses and anything that could be made to fit was put on it. from 12/5,6 to 135/4 in M-mount and even some Nikkor RF lenses with the Orion-copy adapter as well as my Viso III. I need to make a mask (i.e. draw the reduced frame size with marker on the Viso screen). It also works well with Bellows II (and a 61/2" Kodak Anastigmat from an old folding Kodak).

 

 Lenses like the 75/2 and the 50/1,4 Asph. works very well, but I found that I was suing my 40/1,4 Nokton and the 28/25 focal length for most of the "keepers".

 

 The technical  stuff I leave to those of us who like that kind of stuff but the long and  short of it is that A/I have ordered one and B/ Leica succeeded where nobody else did. They made me a believer in Digital. The M8 will be a complement to my M2's and M6's. It will not relegate film obsolete in my "book" but it will be additional tool in the arsenal.

 

 Now, all we need is a printer that is dedicated to black and white. Four shades - glossy black, matte black, mid-grey and light grey and while I am dreaming - a spot-varnish feature. Oh, the inks should also be reasonably priced! For storing the digital images I would like to see a digital to film transfer that was easy to use and cheap at that. Film is still the cheapest and safest long term storage available! Well, if Leica can build a Digital M successfully why cant  other manufacturers do what some of the customers want to have! The demand for a dedicated b/w printer would be huge - think of all those neg- files sitting around. I have in excess of 350 000 negatives on file- most are not worth the backing they are on, but some I would like to do quick prints from. The good prints I would still do in a wet darkroom as I enjoy that process - staring at a screen does not come close to the pleasure of watching a white sheet of paper

turn into an image.

Best for now,

Tom A

-----

Tom Abrahamsson

Vancouver , BC

Canada

rapidwinder.com

Pixilated M

by Tom Abrahamsson for LHSA's  "Viewfinder -  3 quarter 2006"

This must have been the worst kept secret for a long time. A digital Leica M! Two years ago I had the opportunity to put a Epson RD-1 through its paces and although I did like it I did not succumb to it’s charms. I still like film (cheap mass-storage and if properly developed and fixed we know it lasts 160+ years without re-formatting). When the M8 arrived for trials I was prepared to be similarly luke-warm about it, but this time I fell for it. It is a REALLY nice package and as a confirmed M-user I found it very intuitive to work with.

 It arrived with no instruction manual and just the battery charger (almost the size of the camera by the way) and an extra battery. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to turn it in to a Digital M2, ISO set to 320 and in monochrome mode. I did play with ISO settings but 90% of all the shots were made at 320 and the camera in A –mode (aperture priority). A 1 GB card gave me about 250 exposures (nice “film” counter counting backwards on the top). My usual test-procedure is simple, put a favored lens on the camera, wander off aimlessly and shoot. Only difference with the M8 versus a “regular” M is that every 50-60 shots I would find a shady café patio and sit down and “chimp” through the shots and delete the ones I did not like. You need the shade as with all digital screens, you can’t see a thing in bright light! A couple of hours of wanderings usually gave me 90-100 shots left on the card. It is amazing how many shots you do when you don’t have to process the film. Often the card got filled up in that time and then 60-70% was deleted. Once I had a SD card with acceptable shots only, I took them to my local lab and had them run a CD and 4x6 prints. I am not a fan of looking at pictures on a computer-screen and there is still something about the paper print that appeals to me.

 Of course there are some niggling idiosyncrasies with the M8. Some is probably because I am not a regular Digital user and some are more basic.

 The M8 body is about 6mm “fatter” than the regular M because the screen and sensor has to fit the 27,8 mm lens-to-body registration of the M. The covering is also a bit slippery and the combination of the two had me holding the body to tight and after a while my right hand too cramped up. There is a desperate need for a grip of some kind and I would advice the use of a neck-strap too. If you are using a heavy lens such as a 75/1,4 it gets quite tiring to hold. Incidentally, the 75/1,4 works extremely well on the M8 and that is a lens that is not easy to use on regular M’s. The 1.3 factor will give something close to a 105 - perfect for portraits.

 The M8 has a distinct sound to it, louder than a regular M but not too loud. The shutter has a metallic sound and the motor that cocks the shutter has a “whirr” sound to it. It is different, but not disturbingly so. On the other hand it will give you 1/8000 second top speed if you so desire.

 Basic functions such as “start-up” from off position or from “sleep” mode is very fast. No longer than if you have your camera uncocked in the bag and pull it out and cock it! Shutter response is marginally slower than on a M2 but much more responsive than most DSLR’s that I have tried!

 It is initially slightly disconcerting holding the M8, apart from the thickness and the lack of a film-advance arm it feels like a regular M and I found myself trying to cock the shutter with either my right thumb or having my left hand trying to find the RapidWinder lever. The finder is very comfortable, the “heft” of the camera and shutter release is distinctly M. This M feeling actually extends to removing the base-plate (same lock as a M- although at the other end of the base-plate) and I found myself checking if I had rewound the film! Underneath the base-plate is the slot for the SD card and the battery compartment. Nice traditional touch!

 There are a couple of things I would like to see on the camera. One is a cover for the screen and controls at the back. I am a left eye shooter and my nose was forever squished against the screen and during flu-season you do not want to borrow the camera. I was forever wiping the screen and I was also a bit concerned that carrying the camera on the chest, the screen could easily be scratched by metal buttons and zippers. I would also like to see a simple screen On/Off switch somewhere on the top plate. It is cumbersome to have to go into the Menu when you want to turn it on or off. I used the camera as I would use a M2/M6 and thus never looked at the screen while shooting. Once I found that shady spot it would be easy to slip off the cover, turn on the screen and edit away.                                                                                                            

 I did try the M8 with lenses from 12mm (15mm with the 4-3 factor) all the way to 135 (a bit of a hit and miss finder wise but nothing some black tape on a 135 finder could not cure). It did not take long to establish favourites, the 75/2 Summicron, any of my 28’s, 12/15mm VC lenses ( 15mm finder works well with 12mm and the 21 finder works with 15mm) and a bit of a surprise the 40/1,4 Nokton rather than the 35’s. AND let us not forget that dusty Viso III in the back of your camera cabinet – works like a charm and it certainly allowed me to try out some less common lenses at close up. I do need to make a mask for the ground glass though, but that is nothing that a felt marker can’t fix! Now the M8/Viso III and a 280/4,8 or a 400/6,8 would become a rather formidable combination. Not the fastest in the world but useful none the less.

 I have left all the technical stuff to the other reviewers as they tend to know the “techno speak” that is seems to be affiliated with digital. Would I buy a M8 – you bet and I have already ordered one – in black! Is it worth $ 4800, I don’t know but it has made me a partial digital convert. I see the M8 as a complement to my regular film based M2’s/M6/MP’s. Now, if only companies like Epson, HP etc would get their act together and produce a dedicated mono-chrome printer with 3-4 different bl/w inks ONLY.

 It took a long time but at last I got hooked on digital and it is no surprise to me that it was Leica who did it! Good for them and the M8 should get more of us “dinosaurs” to reconsider. Alright, I am still stocking up on film and chemicals, but the M8 will earn its keep too.

Note: True to form, Tom shot the M8 only in B/W