Burnside Bridge, Antietam National Battlefield, Two Perspectives.

Here's a shot I made of Burnside Bridge, site of a bloody battle at Antietam in the US Civil War. I made this image in 2010.

Burnside Bridge, by Reed A. George

Leica M8, Minolta Rokkor 40mm f2

iso 160, f11, 1/15 sec.

 

What drew me to this scene was the lighting - a mixture of diffuse shade, hard direct sun, and reflections of such up under the bridge arches.

 

What got me thinking about Burnside Bridge right now? The image below, by Evan Leavitt:

 

Image Source: http://evanleavittphotography.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/antietam-view-3/#comment-679

 

Evan made this shot with a Graflex Speed Graphic and 4x5 paper negative. Lovely.

 

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Night Photography in Frederick Maryland - I Need to Get Up There Again.

I live pretty close to Frederick, Maryland. I went there a while back to hear some live music, and was impressed with the nightlife - lots of people on the street, etc.

 

I just read a nice post by "Slothead" on mu-43.com, who did some night photography of his own there with an Olympus OM-D.

 

(Click Here) to read Slothead's post and see his images.

 

Here are a couple of mine, shot with the Leica M8 and Canon 50mm f1.4 LTM lens.

 

 

Frederick at Night, by Reed A. George

Leica M8, Canon LTM 50mm f1.4

 

 

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Fred Bonatto Shares Bosnia on getdpi.com With His Leica M8

I always really liked the Leica M8. Yes, it had a cropped sensor. Yes, you had to use UV/IR filters. Yes, lens coding was a pain, especially for people like me who don't have the latest (coded) lenses. But, it sure could make a nice image when all the right pieces were in place.

 

Fred Bonatto (username bonatto on getdpi.com) has shared some images from Bosnia, taken with his M8.

 

 

Image Source: http://www.getdpi.com/forum/leica-m-x-r/44317-bosnia-m8.html

 

(Click Here) to read bonatto's post, and see several more excellent Leica M8 images.

 

Here's one that I shot with my M8. I sold my M8 when I got the M9.

 

Eric Felton Orchestra, by Reed A. George

Leica M8, Minolta Rokkor 40mm f2 Lens

iso 640, f2, 1/90 sec.

 

The M8 delivered beautiful, not-overstated color. But, I think it really excelled at black and white.

 

In my humble opinion, the M9 does everything that the M8 did, and much more. Full frame, no filters required, manual lens settings (or coding, if you need them). The M8 was capable of magic when things were all correct; the M9 is capable of magic any time.

 

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Felix at efix:photography: "Goodbye M8, hello CL!"

 

Leica CL and Zeiss Biogon 28mm f2.8 ZM Lens

Image Source: http://www.efixmedia.de/photography/2012/11/17/goodbye-m8-hello-cl/comment-page-1/#comment-7663

 
I just found a new (to me) blog, called efix:photography. The operator, Felix, has just sold his beloved Leica M8, as did I.
 
I was lucky enough to replace mine with an M9. Felix, for reasons of his own, went a different and I think very productive way - he purchased a Leica CL film camera.
 
(Click Here) to read the post on efix:photography
 
The Leica CL, which was produced through a collaboration of Leica and Minolta, is an excellent camera. It has a slightly shorter rangefinder base than the other Leica M bodies, which means that theoretically it is harder to focus to high accuracy. I have never had any problem with this in real experience. The CL is the most compact Leica rangefinder camera, and will mount any Leica M lens. Back in the day, it came with a 40mm f2 Summicron (sometimes labeled as a 40mm Rokkor by Minolta). That's what I have attached to mine. The 40mm lens is just plain spectacular. The finder on the CL has lines for 40mm, 50mm, and 90mm lenses. There is also a CL-matching 90mm f4 that is tiny and super sharp. I don't have that one. Another important feature of the CL is a built-in exposure meter. This makes it a very self-contained, easy to use camera.
 
The 40mm Summicron, by the way, is a wonderful "normal" lens for the M8, with it's 1.33X crop factor. This gives it a field of view equivalent to ~53mm on a full frame 35mm camera when used on the M8. The 40mm Rokkor f2 was my most-used lens on the M8.
 
How much do I like the CL? Well, I'm leaving soon for a trip to Barcelona (I'll be back by the time this posts), and am relying on Lumix Micro 4/3 cameras for the trip. However, I do have the CL and 40mm Rokkor in my bag as well. It's the only non-Panasonic camera going with me on this trip. I have a few rolls of Tmax 400 in the bag as well. I know I'll use the CL while I'm there.
 
So, check out Felix's blog, and watch for what he's going to produce with his new camera - the Leica CL!
 
Here's a sample shot from my CL:
 

Chinese New Year Antics, by Reed A. George

Leica CL, exposure unrecorded

 
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Rethinking My Leica M8

Well, my Leica M8 has been up for sale for a couple of weeks now, and to no avail. It's amazing that I can't sell such a nice camera, complete with one year warranty from Leica. So, I'm rethinking the idea of keeping it as a companion to my M9.
 
I am on the bus as I write this, coming home from a weekend in New York City, where I got to shoot the M9 quite a bit. Here's an example of a street shot I got with the M9 and 50mm Summicron f2:
 

Koreatown, New York City, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Summicron 50mm f2

iso 400, f8, 1/125 sec

 
So, I'm very pleased with what the M9 has to offer, more than I was with the M8. However, the M8 has some quite nice qualities. One is that it works so well with one of my favorite lenses, the Rokkor 40mm f2 that originally came with the Leica/Minolta CL and CLE cameras. The 40mm has an equivalent field of view of about 52mm (on full-frame) on the M8. The M8 also works very nicely with the Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8, which gives an equivalent field of view to a 34mm lens on full-frame cameras.
 

DC Noodle Shop, by Reed A. George

Leica M8, Zeiss Biogon ZM 25mm f2.8

iso 640, f11, 1/500 sec

 
I recently read an old post on Steve Huff's blog about revisiting the M8. Steve did it out of necessity, after having to sell his M9. The comments from readers were very supportive, and showed that many people are still using the M8 quite happily, with comments as recent as August of this year.
 
(Click Here) to read the M8 Revisited post on Steve Huff's site.
 
I also read an interesting article in the August 2010 edition of the Leica Forum International (LFI) magazine, about actual benefits to using the M8's sensor for black and white photography. Basically, the article makes the point that the lack of heavy filtering (or even sufficient filtering for color photography) in the M8 allows for more flexibility in post-processing images in black and white.
 
So, maybe the M8 will remain with me. I can imagine it making a good backup to the M9, especially for black and white. And, the crop factor will allow me to use my 90mm Elmarit f2.8 lens as a 120mm telephoto. I do like a little longer telephoto for portraits, for example.
 
One other thing - since my M8 is now serviced and warrantied by Leica for another year, I am less concerned about treating it overly gently. In fact, there are places that I feel worried about carrying the M9, especially when I'm concerned about the possibility of theft. I sure wouldn't want my M8 stolen or damaged, but it would be better than breaking or losing my M9.
 
In truth, I'd like for the M8 to sell, to free up some funds. But, it's just too nice of a camera to sell for a bargain basement price. I'd much rather keep it and use it. We'll see what happens in the next week or so. If it doesn't sell, that's just what I'll do.
 
UPDATE: I have traded my M8 for a Limited Edition Zeiss ZM body and Sonnar 50mm f1.5 lens. I figure that the film body and M-mount lens will hold value as well as the M8 (which wasn't very good in that respect alone). I'll give it a try, and decide whether to keep it. The Sonnar is loved and hated by many great photographers. More on that later.
 
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Selling My Leica M8

I guess the M9 has a hold on me. I'm selling my Leica M8, which just arrived back today from a check-up at Leica, which includes one year of coverage.
 

My M8 For Sale

 

It's used, but very lightly. No scratches or dents, laminate still on bottom plate. Service included new skin, CLA, meter system check, switch cleaning, rangefinder adj., CDD position/tilt adj., clean CCD, pixel/column restoration, repair/adjust motor coupling, clean and adj. for good working order. Clean bill of health signed 9/13/12.

 
 

I'm asking $2200, and I will pay the Paypal fees (continental US only, please). Shipping at cost.

 
It's a beauty, and takes wonderful pictures. Many more pics on my post at getdpi.
 
(Click Here) to see all the pics.
 
I also have an as-new grip for the M8 for sale, which I just bought in August, 2012. $160.
 
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Leica M8 Goes Off For a "Check Up"

 
Image Source: http://www.reddotforum.com/content.php/248-Leica-Announces-Service-Discount-on-M8-M8.2-Tune-Up
 

Leica USA service is offering a special check up for M8 owners.

 

(Click Here) for details on red dot forum. Thanks to Dale Photo for posting the information.

 

Basically, the service includes a cleaning, calibration of the sensor, rangefinder, and meter, pixel mapping, and sensor cleaning. Another big plus - it comes with a one year warranty.

 

This service normally costs $475. From now until September 15, 2012, it's available for $350!

 

FYI - the contact number in the link above takes you to Dale Photo. You can contact Leica service directly at 800-222-0118. They'll give you the details on how to ship your camera, and information to include.

 

Now that I've bought the M9, I'm probably going to sell my M8. I say probably because it's going to be hard to let go of it. I figure the service will 1) help the camera sell faster, and 2) give the new owner coverage for a full year. Of course, if I decide to keep it, I'll have a functionally brand new M8.

 

So, my M8 is on the Fedex truck as I write! If you have an M8, you may want to consider this service special seriously.

 

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