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Canon 5D to Leica M8 focusing/general impressions wanted

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JohnCarolan

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I've been intrigued by the M8 ever since it was announced. I'm considering making the leap but as a Canon DSLR user I'm interested in any impressions those that use the 5D as well as the M8 may care to share, or those who have moved from one to the other. I'm particularly interested in how you found using manual focusing/zone focusing after being used to AF. I recently had a chance to briefly demo an M8 and found this was the one area that I had concerns about - speed and accuracy being the main issue. I assume that as you get used to the focusing range of whichever lens(s) you use you get faster and more accurate, is this the case?

I tend to photograph urban/street and portrait subject matter more than anything else so don't intend to use the M8 for wildlife/sport etc.

--

John Carolan
 
I sold my 1Ds MKII and some lens; I kept my 5D and jumped in a got myself an M8.

I am getting used to it. It is easy to carry all of the necessary gear and therfore is great for travel. I enjoy photgraphing people out and about in the public domain and find it much easier with the smaller camera system.

As for metering and focusing, I am still getting used to it but am doing quite well. The whole gestalt of rangefinder and simple metering is great and for me it is a return to where I started out in photography many, many years ago and I am enjoying it.
It will be interesting to see just how long it is before I pull out he 5D again?

Regards
 
I sold all my Canon gear to go back to the rangefinder. Focusing with a rangefinder is not as quick as the split screen I used on my Minolta SRT 202, but that viewfinder was gigantic. Don't worry, practice makes better.

I do find difficulties when using lenses that pull up the small focus lines, but thats overcome if you purchase the Leica 1.25 multiplier for another $300. (Everything Leica produces will cost you).

As I don't take a lot of sports, I find the frame rate of 3 fps to be acceptable. Don't have any issues with setting the exposure. You'll miss the high ISO functionality of the 5D. Many Leica members here call it "grain", I call it "noise" or a deterioration of picture quality.

You won't find a flash that tilts made by Leica, or even Metz, so I haven't purchased one yet and rely on my Fuji 31fd for snaps.

I'm only pointing out realistic issues I have found with the Leica. Personally, I overlook them all and enjoy the rangefinder every time I pick it up. Couldn't say the same for the 5D.
Good Luck with your decision
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Rob
 
Thanks for the replies Kdtreb/Rob

I suspect I'd be happy enough with either the 28mm or 35mm Summicron lenses for most subjects. I like the size of the M8 and although it was heavier than I expected it's a little lighter than the 5D, which I'm getting tired of lugging around for street use, plus the 5D draws a little too much attention at times. High iso isn't that big an issue for me, I don't object too much to a little noise/grain. Difficult decision...

...................

John Carolan
 
JohnCarolan said:
Thanks for the replies Kdtreb/Rob
I suspect I'd be happy enough with either the 28mm or 35mm Summicron
lenses for most subjects. I like the size of the M8 and although it
was heavier than I expected it's a little lighter than the 5D, which
I'm getting tired of lugging around for street use, plus the 5D draws
a little too much attention at times. High iso isn't that big an
issue for me, I don't object too much to a little noise/grain.
Difficult decision...
Click to expand...
Hi John,

You stated some of the reasons I sold the 5D and all my Canon gear. I just got tired of carrying so much stuff, and I don't think I was in touch with this before getting the M8... but I think it was separating me more from my subjects and the art of photography.

Sold all my Canon stuff... got an M8 and a few Zeiss lenses, and 1 CV and I have not looked back. I too worried about learning to "zone" focus, or learning to focus quick enough... but I've alread found that it was very easy to learn and I was quick to get used to it.

At the same time, I knew there'd be times I just needed the dSLR so I jumped into an Olympus e410... which is TINY. If you've never held one, check it out.... and Leica (co-branded with Panasonic) even makes glass for it ;)

I have zero regrets. I'm in love with the M8 in a way I just never loved my 5D.



Amy
--



Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
http://www.DangRabbit.com ~ http://www.PetSnapshots.com
 
I just sold off everything that said Canon in my collection, because I had Tennis Elbow and it would not go away after so many months. Got myself an M8 and 6 ASPH lenses as a replacement. I started taking pictures again after a hiatus of a few weeks. It was different at first, but easy to adapt, especially focusing dead on. I now carry a small bag with the M8 on most outings. It is so much lighter compared to the 5D. And with the 5D, I owned L lenses and that meant a battery grip to balance the larger lenses. One thing I noticed is that when using the M8, people tend to get in my way, because it is not too noticeable, unlike the Canon 5D with a lens like the 85 MK II and hood in place!

I'm only a few weeks old into RF, so here are my few newbie samples:





 
Drabbit/Hacker thanks for that (always nice to see images taken with the M8 also Hacker, nice shots). I was thinking the Zeiss lenses might be an option to consider as well. I suspect I made up my mind about the M8 the moment I saw it announced, it's just one of those heart vs head debates currently.
--
...................

John Carolan
 
Stefan I forgot to say, very much enjoyed looking through your site, thank you for linking to it and the M8 photos. Beautiful work.

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...................
 
You cannot go wrong with the Zeiss or even CV. You just need to make sure you get the UV/IR filters with the 6-bit coding for the wider lenses.
JohnCarolan said:
Drabbit/Hacker thanks for that (always nice to see images taken with
the M8 also Hacker, nice shots). I was thinking the Zeiss lenses
might be an option to consider as well. I suspect I made up my mind
about the M8 the moment I saw it announced, it's just one of those
heart vs head debates currently.
--
...................

John Carolan
Click to expand...
 
Hi! Hyperfocal in Leica's works well, the distance on the lenses is the correct one. In the web the are many DOF calculators you can use to pre establish hyperfocal
depending on lens and situation. Hyperfocal is the fastest "AF" in the market!
Kind regards.
--
Se
 
I switched from the 5D to the M8.

What I miss from the 5D:

1. Auto focus (e.g. when on vacation I could ask someone to take a photo of me & family).
2. Superb image quality (no WB issues; no need for special filters).
3. Construction quality (modern and well built).
4. Accurate viewfinder.

What I gain with the M8:
1. Small and light.

2. Passion about the camera as a beautiful \ mythical object (it is amazing how uninteresting the Canon looks when put close to the Leica).

3. Pleaser photographing (you really have to "construct" the image not just press a button).
4. A new (expensive) toy.

Overall I am happy with this evolution.
--
Pedro
Current photo project: http://homepage.mac.com/pedro.h/cruzquebrada/
 
I forgot one important issue. After sales service:

Canon, at least in Portugal, has very bad customer care. It is much worse than you can imagine.

Leica takes very good care of the clients' problems with friendly personalized service. It shows that Leica personnel has passion about the product they sell.

--
Pedro
Current photo project: http://homepage.mac.com/pedro.h/cruzquebrada/
 
Some great insights here, the focussing thing is a big deal for moving subjects and trying to capture a DOF and I'm not sure you ever get used to it but in order to justify it more you look at the experience of the image construction vs the image observation.

I may have had a bit of an advantage going to manual focus as I have spent a fair amount of time using manual focus lenses for shooting landscapes (eg Zuiko 18/3.5, Zuiko 21/3.5 and Canon TSE) but photographing th kids is another issue.

You'll love the images out of the M8, so much more depth to them.

I still have the 5D and will continue to use it as I like the expereince of taking a photo, as noted above. Setting the camera up on a tripod to take a photo is a tremendous experience for me when I take a landscape shot.

--
http://www.pbase.com/garethc/good_stuff
 
excuse me.
350D is smaller than M8
if you think 5D is too big, why not go to 350D?
 
This isn't just about the size of the 5D - it's about wanting an M8 but testing the water before leaving the 5D behind. With a 350D I don't like the 1.6 multiplier (used to have a D30 and a 10D) I don't like the small viewfinder, it won't allow me to use Leica/Zeiss lenses (without an adapter) and it's not an M8 :)
--
...................

John Carolan
 
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