[Leica] Leica M8 hands on

[bernardofeio at yahoo.com.br (bernardo feio)]

And the rapidwinder?  J
   
  Bernardo Lopes feio


Yan Zhan Lee <yzlee@starhub.net.sg> escreveu:  Tom

Would the rapidgrip works on the M8??

cheers

TTAbrahams@aol.com wrote:
> 
> 
> 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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
> 

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