I love reflections, shooting through glass and the way light renders the interior of a vintage car. But of course, it’s all about emotion. For me, the key to shooting in my documentary style is capturing these emotions in the best possible setting. Without interfering or pushing the couple in to the setting. Sometimes you just need a little luck.
Here’s my wedding website. I am available for destination weddings and weddings abroad, as long as you’re looking for a documentary approach. I don’t do any staged settings, nor pre-wedding shoots. Bear in mind that my calendar fills up quickly and that most days are booked more than a year upfront. Feel free to send me an email.
At Magdalena island it is not so hard to frame a few penguins. Actually, it’s pretty hard to shoot a single one. Of all pictures we shot on that island, this is my favorite. And you know what? My wife shot it…
Did I tell you how lovely the Noctilux renders a scene? I probably did, but I’ll tell you again. If you nail the focus and the circumstances are good, nothing beats the rendering of this lens. Of course, there are a few downsides as well, before you rush to the store with 10K in your pocket. I’ll come back to that this year.
Leica M9-P with 50/0.95 Noctilux
Here’s my wedding website. I am available for destination weddings and weddings abroad, as long as you’re looking for a documentary approach. I don’t do any staged settings, nor pre-wedding shoots. Bear in mind that my calendar fills up quickly and that most days are booked more than a year upfront. Feel free to send me an email.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but it’s slightly less than 10 years ago that Leica produced their first digital rangefinder camera. By the time the M8 hit the shelves, many professional Leica users already made the switch to Canon or Nikon, just because their clients demanded digital files. So Leica was late. Very late. And when the M8 came out, they didn’t make a good start either. It didn’t take long before people started complaining about black fabrics that rendered purple in pictures. The lack of an IR-filter appeared to be the cause of the problem and although Leica didn’t admit they ‘forgot something’, they supplied the M8-buyers with a set of IR-filters.
A razor sharp CCD sensor in a tiny and gorgeous package. That’s the Leica M8
And then there were the inaccurate frame lines, the cropped sensor, the shitty LCD, the short battery life and the bad noise on high ISO. But there was also something good: a gorgeous CCD-sensor that delivered superb images when used at base ISO. And even better: the M8 stayed true to its roots: a simple camera with a rangefinder mechanism. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not suitable for pro work? Oh, come on, I shot this image a few years ago (long after the M8 was regarded outdated) and won a couple of prizes with it.
When the M9 came out, many people rushed to the stores and for a couple of years, it was hard enough to get a camera. The M9 ‘corrected’ for most of the issues of the M8 and started to depreciate slowly, but steadily. The M8 remained popular with many users though and it seems that the last few years, it is becoming a true cult camera. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen less M8s on the occasion market every day.
And this shot was used on the cover of a greenhouse magazine. In fact, I shot many covers with my M8.
Here’s why you should get one.
The Leica M8 is the perfect entry into digital rangefinder photography. And if you already have an M9 or other M, the M8 will make for very nice back-up body. Why? Because it is cheap. Yes, I bought one for 1000 Euros a couple of months ago. I don’t think prices will drop any further, so this is the time to get one. If you don’t like it, you can sell it without any loss.
The Leica M8 has ‘only’ 10,3 megapixel, which is an ideal size for everyday photography. It doesn’t clog your computer and hard drives like an M9 or M240 does and it is more than big enough for huge prints. In fact, I’ve got a 150x90cm print in my office that I shot with a 8,6 megapixel Canon 1D2 ten years ago. It’s full of detail. Just insert an 8Gb card and you can shoot for weeks.
The Leica M8 is also called the ‘poor mans Monochrom’ and for a reason. The M8 is capable of delivering fantastic black and white images. Better than my M9 and M240. As long as you keep that ISO down.
The Leica M8 has a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second. In bright sunlight, this is very convenient if you want to shoot your summicron wide open. If you buy the 8.2, of an upgraded version of the M8, you’ll get the slower shutter, which is also slightly more silent and has the reputation to be more reliable.
Unlike the M9, you can buy the M8 in chrome and in black. With the M9, they switched to steel grey and black. After some complaining, Leica released the M9-P in true chrome again.
The Leica M8 has a very sexy frame counter and battery indicator in the top plate. It’s not as precise as the info button on the M9, but it does the trick and you don’t have to press any button at all.
Leica still repairs your M8 in case it gets broken. And some things will even be done under warranty.
You can still get brand new batteries for the Leica M8, because it uses the same batteries the M-E does.
The best reason to get an M8 however isn’t in the list. It has been said too many times and it starts to sound like a cliche, but like most cliches, there is some truth in it. For me, a rangefinder camera is a different type of camera. The manual focus, the bright viewfinder without any blackouts, the fact that you can see beyond the frame lines and the size and weight of the camera. It’s not better than any other camera, but it is different. And if you happen to like a tool like this, you won’t ever regret getting the M8. If you need some help working your M8 (or other M), here’s a little help.
Here’s a little help when you’ve decided to get one.
One of the good things about a (relatively) cheap camera, is that you can be a easy with it. This is a selfie, and I wouldn’t put my M240 on the ice I think. Well, I would, but most people wouldn’t.
What can I say: a beauty in black and white.And again: lovely B&W rendering.My favorite M8 shot: my best four legged friend, who I miss so much.Sitting, waiting, wishing…The M8 unsuitable for low light situations? Just use your steady hand.And again. Sharpness is a bourgeois concept my friends…And a selfie, after I had the M8 refurbished.Hey you! Even Clint Eastwood seems to like the M8. With deepest respect for mister Corbijn of course…With the Nokton 40/1.4, shooting in the dark is perfectly possible.
And this is how the Noctilux renders on the M8. Pretty nice, I’d say.And one more with the CV35/1.2. Shot by my wife.
Need faster and more accurate focussing skills for your Leica rangefinder? Check this.
I’ve been getting some emails from readers asking me what to look for when buying a used Leica M8. Well, here’s a checklist.
All ‘normal’ things you’d check when buying any camera. That means checking all the buttons (also the wheel: mine doesn’t work perfectly), any visible damage to the camera, the viewfinder (filth or dust in the viewfinder system), etc. Black cameras easily loose their paint with normal use, especially on the bottom plate, but dents may be a sign of rough use and may affect the accuracy of the rangefinder.
Rangefinder accuracy: if you want to get sharp pictures, you’ll need a calibrated rangefinder. You’ll need a lens and a computer to check this. Bring a tripod, mount the camera, take a few shots of objects with multiple distances from the camera. Focus carefully, hit the shutter and check for sharpness on your computer. The display on the camera is not good enough for proper assessment. Remember that sharpness is a combination of lens and rangefinder calibration. An ill calibrated rangefinder can work perfectly with an ill calibrated lens.
The coffee stain: some M8s have a problem with the back screen. If the screen suffers from a ‘coffee stain’ in the screen, your screen may die in the near future. Leica has to replace these screens ten years after the production of the camera ends, which means till 2019. Screens are no longer made unfortunately, so Leica will make you an offer to upgrade your camera to a newer model, which would probably be the M-E.
The shutter: yes, it is quite loud. And yes, there are some stories on shattered shutters on the M8. Leica used the same shutter as in the R8 and R9 for the original M8. The M8.2 featured a new shutter, which produces less noise, but is also one stop slower. It seems that the M8 shutter is slightly more sensitive to dirt and grit than other shutters. Some people think it’s best to opt for a low actuations M8.2, but there are plenty M8 users without broken shutters, myself included.
Shutter actuations: A shutter won’t last forever. Here’s a link to a thread how to determine the amount of shutter actuations. Of course, a camera with 100K actuations should cost less than a camera with just 10K actuations.
Green blobs, rainbow images, banding, etc: In the first batches some M8s showed some weird artifacts in the images. Don’t worry: this is fixed in all cameras. Some users still report a green stripe with strong lights present just outside the frame. You might want to test for that. And with regards to banding: all Ms tend to show banding at high ISO. Even my M240 does.
Hot pixels: You see any red pixels in your magnified image? These are dead. Nothing to worry about, as long as there aren’t too many.
The vertical line: This seems to be a persistent problem: a thin vertical line across a part of the image. Take a shot with the lens cap on, after you’ve cranked up the ISO and check on your computer on high magnification. I wouldn’t buy the camera if you see a line. Leica still remaps and replaces sensors if needed, so don’t worry too much about this issue if it develops after buying your second hand camera.
Battery: make sure you get an original one, or even better: get two of them. If the camera hasn’t been used frequently, don’t expect the battery to be flawless and be aware that a new battery costs almost 100 Euros.
IR-filters: As you know, the M8 sensor has a problem with IR light. If the camera you’re interested in has one or two IR-filters, you’ll save quite a bit of money. On the other hand, I used the M8 as a daily camera without any filters.
Warranty: here in the Netherlands, the difference between buying a Leica M8 at a dealer or from a private person is 200-300 Euros. Usually, you get a warranty of 3-6 months. If you’re unsure about buying a camera like this, you might want spend a little extra and get the warranty. Personally, I’m OK with a little extra risk, knowing that as a second or even third owner, most problems will be solved by Leica.
Buying a used camera is never without any risk. And with the low proces of used Leica M8s, people that usually cannot afford a Leica might jump in at this stage. If the camera performs without any flaws, they will be happy, but if it turns out to be bad one, they’ll regret it ever so much. Bear in mind that the Leica M8 is a (almost) ten year old digital camera form the first generation of digital M cameras. I’m having a wonderful time with my M8, but manage your expectations before you buy one.
I was one of our first days in New Zealand and my wife woke up, got out of the tent and stretched in the morning sun. It was one of those perfect days and I just can’t get enough of shooting against the sun. It’s magic.
Sometimes you just need to have some luck. I have worked with the worst light you can imagine and I have seen the most beautiful light there is. Here, in the library of a castle somewhere in Holland, I could shoot with this beautifully filtered light that I haven’t seen often. While the groom and his brother were focussing on their ties, I shot a few frames and the Leica M240 with the 35/1.2 rendered the scene even better than I could wish for.
Leica M240 with CV 35/1.2
Here’s my wedding website. I am available for destination weddings and weddings abroad, as long as you’re looking for a documentary approach. I don’t do any staged settings, nor pre-wedding shoots. Bear in mind that my calendar fills up quickly and that most days are booked more than a year upfront. Feel free to send me an email.
Last week I was in Berlin and luckily I had some time to enjoy the good weather. Along the river Spreh there are some very good places to relax and drink a beer. Some people bring their own beer (which is allowed in public) and in general, everybody is very relaxed.
I didn’t see anyone with a Leica though…
Leica M9 with 28 elmarit
Want to know more about how to use your rangefinder camera on your travels? Check out my Leica workshops or read my ebook.
I never regretted having been an alpine climber for a few years. If you know how to handle a camera while it’s freezing, hanging in a harness, with an ice axe in one hand, you’ll probably be able to handle that same camera wearing a suit on a wedding.
But the day we crossed John Gardners Pass in Patagonia, I was happy for another reason. This specific pass on the 130 kilometer ‘Circuit’ is the bottleneck of a classic trekking route. On some days, you’ll just encounter the typical wind gusts that are created by the glacial winds that are forced through a keyhole shaped pass. But on other days, this wind will throw enormous amounts of snow at you, creating terrifying whiteouts and sub-zero conditions. While hikers on the ‘Circuit’ are usually better prepared than the hikers on the other side of the mountains, you’ll need some good gear to get through this. And even more important, you’ll need some alpine skills.
We got through, but most people that started the same day went back to the campsite, in order to wait for better weather. And after that, we raced to the end of the trek, completing the trek in no more than seven days. The day we crossed the pass, my wife told me she’d never expect to have a honeymoon in these conditions. Of course, our three weeks road trip on Cuba made up pretty well for all of that.
Want to know more about how to use your rangefinder camera on your travels? Check out my Leica workshops or read my ebook.
The Noctilux keeps proving itself as a pretty versatile instrument. Here, I noticed one of the family members laughing out loud after a joke was told. The Noctilux enables me to isolate the man, even over a distance of a few meters and draws the scene with a buttery smooth rendering. I think one of the key elements in using the Nocti is to use its maximum aperture selectively. Not every picture is better at 0.95. But sometimes it is.
