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JK5700

JK5700

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Has anyone has sight of the M8?

I have seen $2999 and $5000 bandied about. Any confirmation of the price?
 
UK price is £2990 (this is in our preview). No official word on US price yet.
JK5700 said:
Has anyone has sight of the M8?

I have seen $2999 and $5000 bandied about. Any confirmation of the
price?
Click to expand...
--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com
 
Thanks for responding and creating a Leica forum so quickly, Phil.
 
I know these things take time (I run a computer hardware review site) but I am eager to see Phil's full review of the M8. I am getting tired of lugging my 1DMk2 to trade shows and having a backache at the end of the day.

Phil:

I am interested in the following points:

1. Low-light performance - Alot of gear at trade shows is under glass and flash doesn't quite fly. Low noise (or film-like noise) would be a plus.

2. DR - With the M8 saving as 16-bit DNG files, I am hoping that the dynamic range is better that what I have now.

3. Upgradeability - Leica's are generally bought for the long haul (20+ years of use), will Leica support this camera with firmware and other upgrades in the future. They claimed to be "future-proof" in their official flyer. To paraphrase Sean Connery in "The Untouchables": "How far are they willing to go?"

4. Software - Capture One LE ships with the camera, but hopefully Lightroom will be finished soon. I would certainly like to see some samples run through that.

5. M Accessories - what M accessories will be compatible with the M8? I have rather large hands and would like to add the available grip.

That's all I can think of for the moment, but I will say that I am willing to jump ship from Canon if this is a good as Leica usually is.
--
Don't anthropomorphize digital cameras. They don't like it.

 
Leica lenses made in the mid-1950s should work (with few exceptions) on the M8. I know that even earlier LTM (Leica Thread Mount) lenses can work on M Leicas with the appropriate adaptor, but I am not sure how these lenses will work with the M8.

Anyone out there with some information?

Best wishes!

--
'It's better than movies, it's better than tele, it's fantastic.'

Spig, from Shooting the Past.
 
Whoa, that price is a wee bit too high for me. I guess I shall wait a couple years before I can enjoy this beauty.
 
I was thinking of selling all of my Leica stuff to buy the latest NIkon DSLR. Now I may sell all of my Nikon stuff to get the new Leica M8. Trouble is that all of my Leica stuff would trade for quite a nice Nikon setup, but I fear that selling all of my Nikon gear would not even get to the price of the M8, let alone some lenses. I guess life is a compromise. I'll have to stick with the M6 and scanner, which is not so bad afterall.

--Chuck Currey
 
Im happy with my M7 and scanner and have achieved quality I never achieved with my D200, D2hs, 1ds, etc.

Ill buy the M8 but after I save for a year.
 
Oh, I thought I was going to have to find a conversion rate for "400D to USD". You brits have funny measurement units.

And I thought you british folks did all their measurements on the Mini Cooper standard.
 
From what I understand, the 6-bit encoding that Leica announced earlier this year is necessary for the proper operation of the M8. I am not certain how large the screw mount adapter is or whether it would block the bayonet sensor. You may have to have encoded per lens in that case.
--
Don't anthropomorphize digital cameras. They don't like it.

 
You just need to have lenses encoded for EXIF infomration and in camera image correction. You will be able to take pictures with basically any M mount lens and I assume any LTM lens with an adaptor regardless of their encoding or lack there of.
--
Christian Wagner
http://www.lifevicarious.com
448 Days Around the World
 
Having never actually SEEN an LTM adapter, I could not say whether it would interfere with the 6-bit encoding. I was speaking of a worst-case scenario.
--
Don't anthropomorphize digital cameras. They don't like it.

 
I have not finished reading the preview yet but I think I am lost. I have no doubt that it is a very famous brand and the lens is brilliant (the one on the FZ20 has f2.8 throughout the zoom range) but I have neever touched a leica body before and I feel I cannot justify it for that high of a price...and there is no AF...

I honestly have no idea why it is so good...could anybody enlighten me on this issue? Why would you prefer Leica? (it is a question, not a critizism).

I have tried wikipedia but I really cannot make much sense from their article.

--

UMAX AstraCam, Nikon 21OO, 54OO, 84OO, Canon A51O, Sony Ericsson P91Oi's O.3MP, Panasonic FZ2OK, Fujifilm F7OO
 
You can't just compare real Leica glass with Panasonic's Leica branded glass. If the lens in FZ20 was built to real Leica standards, the FZ20 would cost $1500+

Manually focusing is a joy. It makes you think before every shot. There's just that something missing from the new plastic excuses-for-lenses we're willing to put up with today. This is part of the reason why I've sold all my Canon AF lenses and switched to well built manual focus primes (see profile).

I'm surprised you didn't mention the horrible fact that the M8 doesn't have an automatically closing aperture.
henryhscheng said:
I have not finished reading the preview yet but I think I am lost.
I have no doubt that it is a very famous brand and the lens is
brilliant (the one on the FZ20 has f2.8 throughout the zoom range)
but I have neever touched a leica body before and I feel I cannot
justify it for that high of a price...and there is no AF...

I honestly have no idea why it is so good...could anybody enlighten
me on this issue? Why would you prefer Leica? (it is a question,
not a critizism).
Click to expand...
--
Lasse Uusilehto, Finland.
 
Your FZ lens has next to nothing to do with historic leica glass.

Leica makes for the most part the sharpest glass out there. Only Zeiss is up there with them.

The lenses are incredible good, and will still be going when you're dead.

Also, people pay more to get the manual focus lenses, that's one of the things that makes them special. The whole idea is for them to be Manual focus. That's why Leica didn't go AF.

Digital changes things some. But if you just look at film. If you buy a Leica MP, you just bought the last Film camera you ever need. It will still be running for the next century. The digital won't last forever. But people most certainly will be running with them for many years.

Overall, the M line has a few nice things. Small, durable, sexy,simple, high quality.
 
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