The Leica M8 Q&A - Review - Is it still worth it? 

Thanks for commenting. Yes that's a great way of describing it. Maybe like a continuous roll of Kodak Ektachrome E100? :) I guess it opens up the Leica system to at lease some more people who love the rangefinder, when you can get an M8 / M240 for a quarter of the price.

I am also using the same lens as you, and the Zeiss 35f2 and 50f2 lenses are both excellent lenses

I love hearing this. That’s such an amazing gift. It’s great it’s been all over the world with you. Aside from the occasional service I’m sure you’ll have that with you for a long time to come.

It really is. I love the natural light port that allows the focusing patch to appear. It’s present on the m9 as well and of course all the older film cameras. Love that look, now replaced with electronic version of course so it’s not on the newer m cameras. Hope your lasts you mate. Cheers

Just realised I was just watching your Portugal video. Really enjoyed it mate. Thanks for coming over to the channel.

感谢您的观看，希望您订阅。 M8确实是一款特殊的相机。对我来说，它无处不在，所以我对这个工具充满了感情。只要我还在，我的就会一直陪伴着我。我可以问一下你在哪里吗？我希望您喜欢使用相机。小心。

你的节目很棒，我已经订阅有几个月了。我在中国，在中国有很多徕卡的用户。使用胶片或者数码 。我也会一直持有M8 并且用它拍摄很多照片，这机器是我认为可以替代黑白胶片的徕卡数码相机。

@@colinosullivan 加油! 多拍摄多分享，持续关注

很高兴你喜欢这个频道，我将在这个周末稍晚些时候发布一个短视频，希望你能回来查看。我相信现在在中国一定有很多徕卡用户。我希望有一天能到那里去，花一些时间好好看看。那里看起来是个非常有趣的地方。希望有一天我能实现这个愿望！是的，M8的输出确实像胶片相机一样。我非常喜欢用我的徕卡M4拍摄胶片，我真的需要更多地使用它！我希望能更频繁地发布视频，请多多评论，我期待与你交流。干杯！

@@colinosullivan 好的，欢迎您来中国旅行和摄影，中国是有悠久历史的文明古国和好客的中国人民，如果有机会一定要来旅行摄影。人文摄影 ，风景摄影，街拍等很多摄影题材。另外美食也很多，相信会给你带来不同的摄影体验和创作灵感。M4是一台优秀的徕卡旁轴胶片相机，尤其喜欢黑色。胶片能让摄影慢下来，可以半天很快的把一卷菲林拍完，也可以一卷拍一个月，没有遇到好的机会 我就不按快门。当然我很喜欢思考后按快门的感觉。思考更多出片率高一些。我胶片使用M3,我很喜欢它大而明亮的取景器，镜头是50 2DR 50 3.5 和35 2.8眼镜版，这些镜头都可以和M8使用。

Thanks mate. The M9 is a gorgeous camera if you got the sensor replacement they were offering! Appreciate that mate :)

Roger great to have you back. Yes, you never know how long they are gonna go for but tbh with the travel I've done with mine I'm blown away it's still working. I have a couple of video from Austria due out in the next week .. if I get the edit done so hope you check back mate. Cheers

That's very cool. Great to see people who hung onto the cameras as well :) The M10-R is a machine! haha in a good way I mean. But yeah the M8.2 absolutely has the charm. I would love to try some of the new AI up rez software for fun to see how it goes. I bet it's unreal on these files! Might try as a video! Where are you based if you don't mind me asking?

@@colinosullivan I’m in the US. Part-time in the north, part-time in the south. ☺️

@@davidkieltyka9 very nice. Hoping to get back there soon

I appreciate the support mate. That’s really a lovely comment. If anyone at all finds some value in the videos that’s job done 🙏. I find it quite relaxing to make them, and so I’ll keep doing them as much as I can. Austrian videos on the way so hope you enjoy those too. Cheers

That’s very cool. There seems to be a lot of us that feel the same. 😊 what are you shooting alongside the m8 these days? Cheers

I am a Sony A7IV shooter but I always prefer using an old minolta vintage lens since I get it and all my other digital cameras are now mostly on my cabinet… I have been thinking to get my First Leica M digital (maybe M8) and save up for a nokton 35mm lens for it… but If I already have the budget, I will definitely her 1 Leica already…

@@randomness7053 just keep in mind the crop factor. I like to use the m8 with a voigtlander 28mm which becomes a kind of 35mm field of view with the 1.33 crop

@@colinosullivan I slowly switched over to Leica completely. I now also have an m10, SL, CL and TL2. I love all of them. They are all very different and good for different things. The good thing is that the lenses can be used with the different bodies.

Thanks so much for the kind words. I also have a 35 voigtlander and it’s a beast. The nokton 1.2 v1! Wild vintage imperfect boche! I love it on film or the m8. What 35 have you got mate? You’ll have so much fun with it. That’s a really low shutter count and I guess with these older cameras the key is each month take some frames to keep it moving. Oh it’s so hard to recommend a cameras as they’re so dame expensive 🤣 hence it only took me 14 years to get my second digital. From what I’ve seen the m240 is an absolute brick in the best possible way. They’re good value now and the black version is black paint so will brace just like my m8.2 and I don’t mind the thickness as I said. If you like the feel of the m8.2 you’ll like the 240 and i guess the higher iso will be fun for you but you probably don’t even need it! The m10 series are super reliable too but costs a bit more. I love my M4 which I plan to use more on the channel coming into spring! Where are you based ? Cheers

That's a real shame the shutter failure happened so soon after getting it. I suspect these camera do better when used an unfortunately people decide to sell them when they've been sitting around unused for 10 years. It means the shutter is not moving as freely as it should with regular use. My shutter stuck on one side, and then released itself so I though I got away with it but on the next shutter release the jam happened and the top rail continued all the way over meaning a full shutter current destroy! It was not fun. 14 years of heavy shooting, I guess it was time.

Kolari vision repairs them for a reasonable price.

Good to know!@@UncleMichaelable

@@UncleMichaelable I didn’t know this wow. So you can contact them and book it in. Interesting. Thanks mate.

@@colinosullivan yes sir, they even sell repaired copies.

Very good point. Yes the m8.2 went back to the standard 1/4000. You using the m8 mate ? Thanks for commenting.

The ME is a sweet camera. Enjoy it mate. Another M8 with come up for you. ;)

Oh I hope you got some good info from the video. Check back soon mate. Cheers

Hi to Japan ;) I will get there! Just picked up a book on Kyoto! and all I can say is wow! I would LOVE an M9 with a shutter replacement done! They are actually tricky enough to find at a good price now here in Europe! I'll be putting my Austrian videos up in the next two weeks so check back mate.

Haha it does sound all wrong doesn’t it but I’m ok with an infinite roll of ektachrome 🙏🤣 yeah it’s the same for me, my M8 images are just lovely right from 14 years ago. Are you taking photos these days mate ?

Oh I remember the G9. I VERY NEARLY got that at the time actually as my small carry. Great camera. Yes I agree completely, we can get totally carried away with gear. I thought genuinely shooting a camera for 14 years meant at least I can give a solid informed view on the M8.2. Really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Where are you based, always curious?

Sorry. Missed reply. Wexford.

I hope you recovered from your long term health crisis. It sounds like a great treat for yourself after that. It's funny how the older M8 replaced your newer 240 and you preferred it? Yes certain memory card brands and sizes had issues with my M8.2 also! I forgot to mention that in the video! Are you shooting much at the moment?

@@colinosullivan … shooting much - it’s relative I guess -, but this camera is with me 70% of the time I go out, for a walk, in the city… and yes, didn’t think it could kind of replace the 240!or better open another niche of photography for me on digital - monochrome photography- which I normally do/did with film…the 240 I use for certain assignments when colour is needed… thanks for your comment and great shots you published here, by the way ;-)👍🏼🙋🏼‍♂️

Hi mate, glad you liked it. I would love to try the M11M. I'm sure that's a crazy camera! I tried the M10M in store some time ago. The M8 is a fun camera, or the M8.2 if you can find one is that bit nicer. Fun to try it. Let me know if you do it.

James for sure. This video was my experiences over 14 years. Apparently it's been done too many times (chuckles hahaha!!!), some don't get it ;). lol. Yeah the M10R will totally feel different to the huge gear, they're not even that light the M's as they're not all plastic but I love carrying mine. I agree, sure i was happy with my M8.2 for 14 years, I mean I still am pretty happy with it really. I'll never move it on. tbh I would love to get an old M3 double strock with the 50 rigid lens! Also a black paint MP! it would be super nice. But with my M4 I hardly need it! :)

@@colinosullivan Man, totally. I've still got my SLR Nikons, but I can completely feel a black paint MP coming on (though a TTL would be nice). The M4s a beautiful thing tho! But so happy with the M10R - just back from Hadrian's Wall with no rain - great light, still a few gnarly hawthorne's and numb hands! Stoked! Light gear, manual focus, such a pleasure!

That's great Tony. YHeah not even sure what the count was when my shutter finally went... lets say an insane amount as I got every year for 13 years a lot. The shutter replacement while not cheap, for me was worth it! I hope you get to enjoy it for a long time mate. Where are you based if you don't mind me asking?

@@colinosullivan I'm in chicago, also great channel by the way!

@@tonym9635 I would love to get to Chicago someday. I’m glad you enjoy my new channel. 🙏 I appreciate the support. It’s fun when folks connect in the comments. Have a great week.

@@colinosullivan you'd love Chicago great architecture, food and a great place for photography. You have a great week as well.

Yes the black and whites are stunning for sure. The Summilux lenses are pretty incredible. I recently tried one in vienna and NEARLY pulled the trigger on it! But I felt the new lux was too perfect for me. I sort of think I like a little less perfect. which version of the lux do you have mate?

@@colinosullivan I have the version 2 in silver, version 3 in black, and the ASPH in black chrome. I like the soft look of the two older versions for portraits and more artistic photography, but I usually carry in my traveling bag the newer one for landscape and street photography. The shorter focusing throw and the closer focusing distance of version 3 are desirable features but the nice look of the version 2 cannot be discounted especially when mounted on a silver M (classical barrel design now only found in more expensive limited edition models). If you prefer softer images and want only one, I would recommend the version 3

@@wilfredshum3703 Thanks Wilfred. I will watch red dot's lens series and find the V2 and 3. Maybe they had them on there! I'm taking note anyhow. Some day. :)

@@colinosullivan The black V.3 will look good on your black M8.2. Despite the discontinuation of the use of lanthanum oxide glass in the 70’s, I found the v3 actually performs quite similar to the v.2 on both M8.2 and M9 (but interestingly, not on SL).

@@wilfredshum3703 Are they rare to see on the market in a clean staet do you think? Something for later in the year or xmas ;)

I totally agree Steve. I have gorgeous prints in my house from the M8.2 and basically all the meaningful photos I've taken are with it! I am so used to not cropping now, on the M10-R I forget I can crop (if I have to!). Have a great day.

@@colinosullivan The best cropping / zooming tool is your legs, in my opinion 😄

@@SteveHorne I agree haha..... where I live you can often think if only I had this lens or that lens but I don't really even think like that any more. I'm sticking with my M. I don't miss my Canon 500mm!

Fergus that’s funny. You know what maybe I am you?! We should have a pint and discuss this haha. Sounds like you’ve a great setup of lenses there. Always wanted to try a 135 as a travel lens. It’s so rare to meet somebody who still shoots it after 14 years. They’re amazing though on fairness. Cheers mate. Check back soon.

Aging!!! oih dear!!! Wiser though !!!! :) we will see how long it lasts but a while I hope.

👏👏👏 I sure enjoy mine. You shooting one mate?

…. Ah yes I did think the one take shoot that night would have a mistake or two haha. Your correct. Mine at least has no marks and ya no screen complaints for me. I would love to try nearly all of those cameras you mentioned. I very nearly opted for an m9 monochrome instead of the m10R but Given how we travel I figured I’d need colour for those family photos too! What are your shooting mate ?

I hear you mate. Hope they keep working for another while !! The files are great tbh and I’ve to try the noise reduction Ai, I always felt it made the photos mushy but maybe it has improved? I’m using Lightroom classic.

@@colinosullivan Do give it a try. There’s no mushiness at all. No idea how it works but there’s some weird voodoo going on in there! I use it in LR Classic too.

@@PaulTimlett I’ll check to see if I’ll using the latest.

@@PaulTimlett I definitely will mate. Cheers

Ah yes it was the R6.2 I'd been looking at with the mechanical shutter. I would imagine the prices have jumped in recent years like most film gear?! My M4 will have to do me. ;)

:)

Actually I don’t think I’ve met somebody with m11 and m11m. How do you find they compare besides the obvious hahaha colour! But do you rate the m11m? Very curious about the monochrome!

@@colinosullivan in my opinion they are similar yet very different. Aside from aesthetics and functionality the M11M is the best performing camera in low light. I tend to gravitate a lot towards monochrome at night and in bad weather. Paired with a fast lens this camera is very versatile a in areas where a color camera will struggle. ISO 50000 with ease. I’ve even pushed it at 100000 getting images that were acceptable to my liking. The editing part of a monochrome camera is somewhat different too as you don’t have color information and rely solely on luminance. Yet if find the DNG files of the m11m super easy to edit. I travel now with both an m11 and a Monochrom.

@GastonShutters someday I’ll dip my toe in with maybe 246 or m10m! 🙏 I’m shooting a lot of hp5 this winter and really loving monochrome. Have a few more rolls from Austria to develop and scan for the next video. Hopefully you check back.

David, I agree when you nail exposure it's really hard to get a nicer out of camera file. imo :). The M9P is gorgeous, it also came in black paint right? How's the sensor holding up?

@@colinosullivansensor is fine except some tiny spots that are easily removable. oddly I picked up a Leica 220 with fully replaced sensor and the files did not look as rich or beautiful. I shot same subject side by side with same lens and the replaced sensor was not as good as the original

@@davidrothschild8913 that is odd that the 220 isn't as nice. I guess they were reengaged to do those replacements so I guess it is from a different batch?! mmm m9 ... tempted.

It’s very cool you have used these right back. There was me thinking 14 years with a camera was a good spell!!! 😬🤣 I will try myself the R6.2 sometime. The m6 is a sweet camera too if you have a clean copy. I’d say some have been through the mill from what you see for sale! What slide film did your shoot? Very very cool.

Well I love my M4 so I can totally understand what your saying. I shoot mostly Hp5+ and FP4+ from ilford. I love those. In fact my next video has a roll of FP4 in it! stick that tape on it and see how you get on I reckon. 1995 M6 was a pretty late version? Sweet. The M6's have gone to crazy money these days, if they drop down I can see myself going for one. I will see how they go ;) How are you finding XP2?

That is super you have it in your hands. Vintage 28 sounds idea. The 35 will be handy, I never used that particular version. So How the M8.2 is it has the following sets of framelines. It supports 28, 35, 50, 75 and 90. I'm not sure if the M8 is different and has 135 but my M8.2 does not. So you don't need to worry about setting the lens. The physical lens mount on the lens side if the manufacturer got it right should select the correct lines on the M8. So for a 28mm lens it'll bring up the wider 28 framelines, 50mm lens mounted will automatically bring up the 50mm framelines. this has to do with the physical notch on the lens mount. So really you don't need to worry about it, the 1.33 crop factor. This is just the field of view and the M8 handles it for you. what you would see if you shot a 28mm on an M10 versus an M8 would be that the 28mm on the M10 would have the field of view of a fullframe 28mm lens. but really it doesn't matter, when you're used to shooting the M8 and once you see the right framelines for the M8 you shoot an have fun :) One interesting difference is that the M8.2 was optimised for close focus at 2m and I believe the M8 for close focus at 7m. this just means the framelines on the M8.2 are just a little bit tighter but really I think you won't notice it! Did I explain it ok? haha

I really appreciate you taking the time to watch some of my videos. Thank you 🙏. On the m8 I usually only shoot DNG. I’m not sure why I don’t use DNG and jpeg actually!! Habit. I then take them into Lightroom for very minor edits. For me the M8 when you just have a regular uv filter and you do not use the IR infrared cut filter you may need for accurate colours, the black and white photos I have always got are amazing to me. I think non perfect lenses work amazingly well too on this camera for black and white imperfect look that I tend to love. I mean who wants perfect anything right!?!? 🤣 hope you check back soon. Cheers.

Danke für deinen Kommentar. Das ist großartig. Ich bin neugierig auf das 25-mm-Objektiv, ich habe dieses Objektiv noch nicht ausprobiert. Ich stimme zu, dass es eine wunderbare Kamera ist. Ich hoffe, Sie abonnieren. Prost

Hi Ricky, Well this is a very interesting question. I would say my M10-R is more of a clinical beast and when the light is low or challenges it's just so easy to put the iso up a couple of stops! I stil think as a travel camera I love the M8.2. The B&W's right out of camera and the unique colours out of camera without touching lightroom. In terms of feel as I said I prefer the thicker body! Which most always complained about until the M10! The M8.s build feels more industrial while the M10-R is refined smooth and perfect. Again I think i'm more an industrial guy :) A lot of my recett videos feature the M10=R during winter and I'm shooting a few projects which the resolution will be handy for. Also My film cameras are getting plenty use! I want to shoot my M4 a lot more this spring and summer. I'd love to see your panda if you had a photo, my emails on the profile page here. if not it's cool. I can see prices on even the M8 is gone up now. I think the less of them in good condition available is probably why! How do you find the M10-R for landscape and arch?

Yeah I guess it's fairly normal these days, or I should say we're privileged to be able to do it I guess and have multiple cameras. I would say it has less editing required as the look is sort of baked in. Newer cameras lets be straight are built to intentionally give you a wide dynamic range for editing after. For me as I live in Ireland the low ISO, as I said is extremely limited but in good light this is a super camera. The M10-R was a purchase as the wait time on my shutter repair was in months not weeks. I had my eye on the M10-R anyhow as everyone was opting for those M11s. :) Got at the time quite an unbelievable price form a Leica dealer with 2 years warranty! For me my forever cameras are my M4 and my Leica iif (which you'll see in my Vienna video). Digital / Electronics are most likely not forever but as we know unfortunately often the digital cameras often outlive their owners these days! Lets hope we all last longer than our digital cameras ;) What are you shooting these days mate?

I meant to say my fav without a doubt is my M4 with HP5+ pushed too stops! Film all the way :)

Absolutely want to get there 🇯🇵 soon 🙏

The shutter failure I had was after 36203 exposures. Not sure how others got on with shutter counts. Hope this helps.

For the last 14 year I’ve had the two zm lenses. The 28mm f2.8 biogon and the 50mm f2 planar. They’re fantastic and considering the mileage on them and all the travel they’ve done with me it’s remarkable how good condition they’ve been in! At some stage I’ll get some Leica glass. I’ve an eye on the 35mm summilux.

My m8.2 shutter which I believe might be slightly different certainly sounds a little different to your stock m8. My m8.2 went well past 15000 shots. My first shutter replacement was 2023. And I’m a weekly shooter on it since I got it 14 years ago now. Which is pretty nuts really. Your mileage may vary I guess on shutters. Good to know if you are getting one that it’s been done and maybe via a Leica store so it has a 6/12 month warranty. Peace of mind. Hope you check back soon. Cheers

I use Final Cut Pro to edit my videos and audacity for audio adjustments. I have used premiere pro before but never for video on this channel. I hope this helps. 👍

thank you Colin@@colinosullivan

@@zhengwang2160 you’re most welcome.

Yes Sapphire glass*. 🙏 thanks for commenting. Do you have an m8.2 mate ?

No, ...but I own the three LEICA bodies with sapphyre glass in it: DMR/R9, M Type 240, and S2P. I actually called LWIVA and suggested to put the best materials with sapphyre glass included. They' ve listenned my thoughts. I wished M10D screenless, but thisbdamn COVID time isolated me from the real world so it is not available any more. Good luck with your beautiful cameras and enjoy life! Cheers, T.

@@tomislavstanich9379 oh nice the R series. Been very curious about the R6. Lovely collection. Yes that time was very unpleasant here as things were very strict. I get nightmares thinking about it 🤣. The M10D was a very interesting idea which I love the idea of. I did get to use one once in store. Stunning. Keep shooting and hope you subscribe and stick around. Cheers

Yea my shutter failed after 13 years of heavy use. I sent it back to wetzlar for a complete shutter replacement. Not cheap but for me worth it to keep it going for a few more years. Will you send yours in?

@@colinosullivan I am a home shop machinist and have a pretty strong urge to strip it down and see if I can fix it. Although I have resisted that urge for about six years since it failed. There is now a "How to" on line showing the steps to strip it down. Problem is whether I can actually address the root cause once disassembled. I thought the M8.2 had a more robust and longer lived shutter than the M8? My M8 shutter died at only about 20K photos. I was surprised when you said it was €700. I was expecting an even worse Leica tax than that. There is also a a bloody minded side of me who would like to hack the shutter and film advance from a Zorki into the M8 and do a digital to analog conversion :)

@RotarySMP would be pretty cool if you managed to replace it yourself!! My m8.2 had some silly number of shots on it! So I can’t complain really. My shutter curtains got mangled the way it jammed unfortunately. It wasn’t pretty 🫣 let me know you end up doing mate

Did the €700 include the shipping costs? Did you get any special rebate from Leica? I am not the original owner of my M8. I suspect that Leica charges less if you bought from them new. That M8 sensor does give a unique and lovely look.

@@RotarySMP I am not the original owner. It was 2 years old. No special rebate jabs return postage included in the quote. Yes they’re definitely unique! :)

All things being equal in terms of both cameras being from a reputable store with preferably some warranty, then it’s likely down to price and if the price is anywhere close it’s m8.2 all the way. It is gorgeous. it’s personal preference, I’m a sucker for black paint cameras. A black paint mp is somewhere in my future :) if you had a chance to see the m8.2 in person and m8 also it would help you decide I think.

Finally acknowledgement!! 🤣🤣🤣

As you can see in the video I have other cameras, but not I have the M10-R for really poor light situations. so having the pair, well the M8.2 is great.

If there was just a single type of camera for everyone wouldn’t it a boring world! It was my first experience of a rangefinder and I loved it. It made no sense technically as my Sony camera had more dynamic range and way more features and it took me a long time to understand why it got selected over my Sony nearly every time :) This camera requires a lot of patience. Main thing is you are enjoying whatever you use. I usually say at the end of each of my videos it doesn’t matter what you shoot. And I mean that genuinely. I hope you enjoy some of my walk around videos If this video wasn’t to your taste. Out of curiosity what camera does it for you? Cheers

@@colinosullivan i have a big camera collection, but if we talk rangefinder I kept epson r-d1 and M9 and Id say I will never sell the epson, its less resolution then M8 but its good at AWB, better in low light, no filters, no color shift and the fact that you need to crank it just makes it soo cool

@@Moonrakerd never had the pleasure of trying the Epson and unfortunately never seen one in the wild! Ah yea the M9, used it back in the day when it was released but never owned one. Yeah right now I’m shooting my barnack a lot. Not everyone’s cup of tea :) haha are you US based ?

@@colinosullivan nah UK, I also have a broken m240 that I almost got working, but no one is brave enough to even attempt to fix a drowned leica, so still looking for someone to fix that as it would replace m9 without any regrets :)

@@Moonrakerd I very nearly ended up with a 240. Hope you find somebody to do the soldering ;) you’re only over the pond for me. ;) haha

Generally on this channel I focus mostly on my experiences and not the tech but ya! Maybe you’d prefer those non tech videos here. 🍻