[Leica] M8.. Kurland

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

At 10:48 PM -0700 8/25/08, Alastair Firkin wrote:
>Hi Mark,
>well said. Well summaried. To be honest, the full frame bit is the 
>least of your issues. If Barnark had made the film size a bit 
>smaller you might be demanding that, but you are correct on the 
>other fronts. The camera is more like a Barnark than the M6. In 
>those days, there were all sorts of fiddles and things that the 
>photographer had to remember. I recall setting ASA: what an 
>annoyance, and the data read out on the film was lousy. You had 2 
>windows to use, one to focus one to compose, you needed multiple 
>viewfinders, close up attachments, 2 dials for shutter speeds, reset 
>the film counters, even load your own film!!!!
>
>The M8 is a compromise. I don't think anyone would have built a 
>digital rangefinder from scratch like it, but that is the issue, its 
>a 21st C camera trying to use 1950's technology. I still thank Leica 
>for being brave enough to release it. I suspect there must have been 
>many doomsdayers who saw this noisy heavy fat M on steroids to be 
>the death of the company, but it is the only real way to use the M 
>glass and digital together.
>
>Lets hope it evolves like the original cameras into something more 
>useful: In reality, Leica should have abandoned its old mount and 
>re-invented the system like most other companies, but I'm glad they 
>didn't. The bugs are "fun" for an amateur, but I'm sure they are 
>hell on earth for pros.
>
>Cheers
>



The use of my cameras is very simple. I pick it up, turn it on, set 
aperture and focus and shoot. I don't fiddle with menus, filters are 
on the lenses but then are no longer an issue and the file quality is 
superb.

Would I like a camera that was the size of a IIIc, with a viewfinder 
like a Zeiss ZM, dead reliable and never needing adjustment 
rangefinder, noiseless ISO's to 100,000 at 25Mp, dead silent shutter 
to 1/50,000 and with 10 stop stabilization capability: of course. But 
compared with other cameras available now, and for what I like 
shooting the M8 does a fine job. My Canons don't see much action. 
This camera is much more useful.


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    *            Henning J. Wulff
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