Leica R8 First Impressions | Days of Knight 190501 

Well I wouldn't be stupid enough to perch a loaned camera on the edge of the table. Nobody is interested in your hands. Put the bloody camera front and centre and stick your hands somewhere. I don't want to know you "had a massive dump". In Scotland that means you had a massive shit!!! Why Re You droning on about street cleaning and driving. FFS learn to edit. I'm off.

Omg I haven’t watch your videos in months maybe years. Awesome to see your are still on RU-vid I’m definitely clicking the bell to receive notifications

My Uncle loaned me his Leica R4s back in 2016, and i still have it today(btw he never said when he want it back ;-) ). As you said, it is very easy to shoot with a Leica R. Greetings from Germany.

I bought the R8 new when I was first released, and it is the most outstanding SLR I have every used! The metering is flawless and the R lenses are fantastic!!!

Fun video. Far as how others feel about my camera choices. I don’t care, I am old enough not to give a crap about how others feel about how I spend my money

Good job on this. These reviews take a lot of time to travel, shoot and edit I can tell.

Interesting fact, you can still wind on manually with the motor winder attached. Leave the wind on lever pulled out from its resting position, take a picture, and the motor winder won’t advance, you can wind on manually. Push the wind on lever into its resting position and the winder will automatically wind on a frame the next time you take a picture. It’s the little things!

Okay... so somehow RU-vid didnt let me know you posted a few new ones, but this is great. Nice to hear a camera review on this brand from a photographer that doesnt worship them. Hah.

DUDE! Just found your channel. LOVE IT!

Leica slrs are gorgeous. I have to Leica flex sls, and a standard. Before they went electronic, they were mechanical tanks.

Leica M series is atill in production. But yes, other than that, you are right, we are relying on antiques. There's nothing that this camera can do that for example Olympus OM1 with same lenses couldn't, all together under $250...

I’m a bass player and I’ve had people ask me to play their bass so I could critique it and so that they could hear how it sounds. That’s about as ridiculous as someone wanting someone to review/use their camera haha! Great review by the way! Your videos are very enjoyable and educational. Keep up the great work!

Great shots!!!! I just bought one R8, can't wait to try it out!

Oh wow, what a way to end the week, seeing a new video of yours pop up in my notifications! Some super lovely shots there Azriel, and I pretty much agree with you on the idea that the Leica name in this instance doesn't really mean much. The results were sharp and visually appealing of course, but you can get those kinds of results with all sorts of other brands at severely reduced prices. Many would argue that you're paying for the engineering that goes into the bodies (especially the rangefinders), but even Leicas will succumb to the test of time one day.

I have a Leicaflex SL2. That thing is an absolute tank, and a precision instrument that I anticipate will still be working long after I’m dead.

Feeling the same regarding your argument and conclusion for this video. Great work as always. Thank You.

Thank you for your honest review.

Thinking about what you said Azriel, regarding an intuitive camera. I got to thinking that yes, you're absolutly right, but do you think it depends on the camera you first learned to shoot? If you learned to drive in (say) an old Ford model T, wouldn't a modern car seem daunting? I learned how to focus, compose and then shoot an old camera when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. It was a rangefinder and had a lever on the lens used to "cock the shutter". My uncle loaded a roll of TriX into it, handed it over and took me to the town centre to have a play. Later, he processed the film and pointed out where I'd gone wrong, what I did right, and the blank frames to where I forgot to cock that blessed shutter. Roll on my 18th birthday in 1980, my mother bought me a brand new Ricoh KR-10. I loved that camera and I must have put literally thousands of rolls through it. Thing is, now every camera I own is measured against that camera. It's strikingly similar to the Nikon FE in the control layout. Maybe that's why I struggle so much with the Nikon F90X I have now. Great video, thanks for sharing :)

I LOVE Leica equipment but for me I decided to go with a strictly mechanical Contax S2 which is a gem. No batteries need - it's small and I really like using Zeiss optics.

In regards to your Nikon FE. Did you try changing your battery or setting the camera to its mechanical flash sync speed? Mirror lock up on an Fe is usually an indication of a dead battery. I too used to think that Leica rangefinders were over rated until I used one. Now I have a film and a digital one. The SLR Leica is a dog, I much prefer the Contax system.

Great shots and video man as always. Your comments at the start cut me deep😎 I fell hook line and sinker for the leica myth only to realise my shots got no better. I do how ever feel it was worth while as i somehow picked it up for a third of the current asking price. I use my olympus om1 more than any other camera though. Keep making great vids man.

I bought this new on release ages ago ... still the best slr for massive hands

Love this video, please do more like this. Especially problem solving. Some good photos

Love the video, you always put out great content! Sorry to hear about your Nikon FE, I would send mine for you to review but I understand your apprehension towards mailing things long distance. On another note, the Nikon FE locks up when the batteries die and you have to reset it to M90 or Bulb to get it to unlock, found out the hard way.

I've had issues with those crescent marks myself. With me it's my scanner. It's always in the same spot no matter what type of film I use. But I have an old Nikon film strip scanner, so I don't think I'm gonna dare opening it up.

I've looked at Leica's SLR camera designs with interest, but given the price tag, I've been a Nikkormat FTn/Nikon FM2 sort. Gear Acquisition Syndrome led me a Nikon F2 for "lab work," and away from the likes of the Leicaflex SL when I took Kodachrome slides of hybrid and species Orchid blossoms. (Hawaii is/was the place to grow and cross Orchids in the Cine Exakta/VX days.) Great images, made with a classic eye, using an interesting camera.

Please go into detail on this camera.

Good video. I completely agree with all the sentiments expressed.

Ooooh, I've always wanted one of those! Just because it looks like some sort of a futuristic spaceship :-) Also hoping to own a Leica R3 one day, or the Minolta XE-(insert number). Those are really nice cameras.

Jeez that thing looks like it weighs a ton! Good looking camera though. I liked the sample shots.

Good video and photos, thank you. I have Nikon F4 which shares design style and function with Leica R8. F4 much cheaper but unsure of Lens comparison regarding quality, contrast etc.

You switch the Nikon to m90? Or whatever your versions mechanical back up speed is. Dead batteries will lock the mirror if you shoot at a speed that uses the electronic shutter, switching to bulb or whatever should reset everything

great conclusion of the price issue. thanks for your awesome video.

I use whatever gives me the best image. Regardless if its a $28 dollar lens or $10,000 dollar lens or brand. I can get some great images on my old OM 28mm prime lens on my Sony A7. That only cost me $30 bucks.

... for that Hotel, you don’t pay for the night. You pay for the hour. Extra mirrors and sticky sheets at no extra charge! LoL

Beautiful review, I love mine so much. 😊🔴📸 P.s Yeah I understand, for the price you will buy Nikon/Canon/Contax... set up.

Great videos and thanks for sharing your sincere thoughts. I totally agree about spending as much as you're will to lose. I have many (too many) film cameras and yes it is a risk. I've had several die on me. Thanks again

I’ve never been completely sold on Leica SLR’s tbh. IMO Nikon are the king of SLR design but Leica make superb optics so I ended up adapting a single cam Leica Summicron-R to my F2. The best of both worlds

The FE may just need a new battery, the mirror locks up if the battery is dead

If your mirror is stuck up on the FE, replace the batteries first before trying a service. Sounds like the R8 needs a CLA.

Great video. My FE kicked up a while ago and it was an easy fix for my local camera shop. If you ever have a working one, I’d love to see a review. Thanks

It would have been nice to see some of the detail of the camera. I've only ever used and M4-P and a IIIf. It look humungus...

Thanks for sharing they really are build so well :-)

I really liked the last image of you Highlight Photos! I myself am not a big fan of the R8 because I don't like the design very much. But I am indeed a big of the the R3 (against all the hate for this camera). Give it a try if you ever have the chance to!

Correct Azriel .. I have always maintained the Leica M series is over hyped ..R series is as good as M

Will you buy one today?

Love the look of this camera!

Hey, I live in Calgary as well. Let me know if you want to borrow some cameras. I have a couple cool ones.

Take off hoser, Leica is the finest camera in the world. If you don't get eh, drink an Elsinore beer and lighten up.

From what I can see in the video your aperture blades are dirty and sticky. Older lenses tend to have some oil leak from the grease in the focusing barrel and this can get onto the blades. Its one of the reasons you check for oil on the blades when looking at an old lens. It can be cleaned off and if not then the oil can dry and make the blades stick so they no longer work or are sluggish. The aperture blades should be smooth and dry, your ones are encrusted with cr*p :D Also with automatic diaphragms like in this lens, if you have lots of oil on the blades the oil can be thrown off the blades onto the glass lens elements when it is operated automatically when shooting. I have several old lenses that are showing this issue, which I intend on trying to resolve myself. You don't need to dismantle the entire lens (well it depends on the lens) and just need to get enough access to gently run a q-tip (and I mean GENTLY) soaked in alcohol. There are fortunately many videos on youtube showing how to do this for many lenses. Back before youtube I'd be totally stuck. I once tried to get a Jupiter 8 lens service to clean oil off the blades. It came back a week later, with oil still on the blades and with an assurance that it should be there. They charged me money of course but without youtube back then I had no real way of checking that I was being conned.

Don't break this camera!. The only folk who own Leica cameras are usually high payed Lawyers!! 😋😁

Equally annoying is the anti-Leica circle jerk, and honestly I see way more of that than the douchey Leica-phile guys. Using an expensive or more inexpensive camera doesn't make you superior. Use what you like, they're all black boxes that hold film and lenses. btw I hear people saying their Tri-X is curly but I have never had that issue, it always dries flat for me... I wonder if it's a humidity thing, are you using weights when hanging it to dry?

HEY! CANUCK!....Shutup and take pictures.

Leica or not I can't help it the camera doesn't look right to me.

I too get tired of people on social media kneeling at the altar of Leica. And Hasselblad for that matter. Good gear does help but good doesn't have to equate to super expensive. My Bronica gs-1 was very inexpensive but will put the iq up against any. Of course I wouldn't say no if someone gave me a Leica or a Hassy. Just wouldn't drop that kind of dough for one. I like the images you took. Keep on Sir

Neat! and drool!

I thought this was about the R8? Less than half the time spent on that.

Your videos don't have to be this long and tedious. It's just a review of an old box that relies on expensive film technology.

I can respect your views on Leica. The brand is very over rated and too many people use the red dot a s a crutch. Incidentally I shoot on an old Nikon range finder that costs about 1/5 of a Leica setup and get better images than most Leica owners I know.