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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Landscape Photographer Hans Strand Shares His Story On Zeiss Lens Blog

 

Hans Strand - Master Landscape Photographer and Zeiss Enthusiast

Image Source: http://blogs.zeiss.com/photo/en/?p=1785

Hans Strand, Swedish landscape photographer, and I have at least a couple of things in common. First off, Hans is a trained Mechanical Engineer with a passion for photography. Second, he appreciates fine photographic equipment, from the point of view of an engineer.

(Click Here) to read Hans' complete story on the Zeiss lens blog, outlining how he transitioned from Engineering to Photography as his vocation, how he composes his images, and why he enjoys Carl Zeiss lenses.

We also have some differences. Hans is a master of the wide angle, which is somewhat elusive to me (I'm working on it). He maximizes depth of field and ultra-sharp focus in his landscape work. Another difference - he loves cold places. If I were to pick an ideal location to photograph, it would likely be a tropical island (Kauai comes to mind), or the Sierra Nevada Mountains, at the cold end. Hans prefers Iceland. To each his own.

Finally, one more point we share - even though he does a completely different style of photography, Hans appreciates the precision and timing of Henri Cartier Bresson's (HCB's) compositions. In my opinion, no other famous photographer has gotten it as right as HCB. Every time I pick up a rangefinder and head out to shoot a street scene, I wish for some insight from that guy.

I also enjoy Zeiss lenses - especially old ones, like the old Zeiss Tessar f2.8 on my 521/16 medium format folding camera that I used for these two shots:

Snow Dance, by Reed A. George

Zeiss 521/16 Medium Format Folding Camera, Zeiss Tessar f2.8

Waterford News, by Reed A. George

Zeiss 521/16 Medium Format Folding Camera, Zeiss Tessar f2.8

To tie it in a little, of course I enjoy my modern Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8, which makes a wonderful normal lens on the Lumix G3, great for street photography.

(Click Here) to see my recent post of a triptych shot with that combination.

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A Fun Triptych (Series of Three Pictures)

Just thought I would share this little triptych from a quick venture into Washington, DC this morning:

Triptych, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Carl Zeiss 25mm f2.8 Biogon

I shot this at about f8. I like how you can see the seconds count down in the crossing signal: 20, 19, 18...

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