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Woohooo M8 firmware update!

Seascape

Seascape

New member
Great news, tried a demo 8.2 for a weekend (thanks to Eight Elm Photo:thumbup:) and liked all the upgrades, but the discreet advance was REALLY, REALLY, nice. My M8 is ready and waiting !!

A very smart move by Leica, will please everyone who has shot with film M's over the years, and wants a digital camera with a similar feel ;)
 
R

robertwright

New member
it really makes a difference. I tried out an M8.2 and the delay significantly reduced the camera shake at the end of the exposure. I upgraded my M8 to the new shutter and thought that was going to be as good as it was going to get, this announcement is very welcome news.

The new shutter is a lot softer, and the release is softer as well. You can squeeze off a very long exposure if you are careful. the delayed recock will make it that much better.

additionally, it takes the '8 about as close as you can get to a film M, that nice silence after an exposure. The wind on always sort of ruined the moment for me....or the great silent gap in a one second exposure. (except for the buzz on my M6) more like an M7 or Mamiya 7-my ultimate holy burrito camera.

would mamiya just make a 6x7 digital rangefinder and be done with it!!
 
F

fotografz

Well-known member
Wahoooo indeed. That was the ONLY thing that I was interested in on the M82 ... now I get to keep the 1/8000th and have my cake too!!!!
 
C

cam

Active member
fotografz said:
Wahoooo indeed. That was the ONLY thing that I was interested in on the M82 ... now I get to keep the 1/8000th and have my cake too!!!!
Click to expand...
you and me both.... but now i bought my Nocti instead of the M8.2 and can't afford a regular M8. ah well, i don't regret the glass. i'm really pleased Leica did this show of good faith. good on them!

and good for all of you too -- enjoy!

i will remain in my neither here nor there corner, though at least i will have joe (back alley) joining me.
 
W

woodyspedden

New member
fotografz said:
Wahoooo indeed. That was the ONLY thing that I was interested in on the M82 ... now I get to keep the 1/8000th and have my cake too!!!!
Click to expand...
I'll wait and see. I have had one of my bodies upgraded to the new shutter and now the old one sounds like a cannon going off by comparison. The new shutter is really great (and smooth also) Now I can put the delayed release on the upgraded one as well as the non-upgraded one and see what results.

Woody
 
jonoslack

jonoslack

Active member
HI Terry
Thanks for the information.
This is wonderful news. I did think they would do it, but I though that
1. it would only be for the upgraded shutter
2. it wouldn't be until the M9 was announced.

Doing it now is, for me, a wonderful thing. Like you Woody I have two bodies, one upgraded and one not - the second one comes up in the next week or so, and I was still dithering about whether to do the shutter or not (I sometimes use 1/8000 in bright light). (I was going to do the framelines / LCD / vulcanite anyway). Now I'll be able to try it with the delay and see if it's any different.

It should do good for the price of secondhand M8's as well, so, CAM, buy Terry's other one quick, before the prices go up!

Wooohooo indeed
:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
 
Terry

Terry

New member
Jono, haha. I'm actually dithering on which one to sell now! I too should be up on the list for upgrades very soon. One M8 has shutter, vulcanite and framelines.

Thinking about suspending my sales until I hear and feel both in delay mode.
 
Peter Klein

Peter Klein

New member
Wow, this is *wonderful* news. I can't wait to try the new firmware on my M8. I do "decisive moment," classical concert and theatrical stuff--where the delayed recocking will really help. With film Ms, I would often put the M under my coat to wind after a concert shot, now I can do it digitally!

--Peter
 
Cindy Flood

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
TEBnewyork said:
Jono, haha. I'm actually dithering on which one to sell now! I too should be up on the list for upgrades very soon. One M8 has shutter, vulcanite and framelines.

Thinking about suspending my sales until I hear and feel both in delay mode.
Click to expand...
I would sure appreciate a report on this from you (and anyone else who has both). Mine is scheduled to go in April 1st and I'd love to know your opinion before I have the shutter replaced. Thanks in advance.
 
Terry

Terry

New member
Cindy. They've asked someone on LUF to try and record the sounds and make an MP3. I'm not so high tech but check there as well!
 
Peter Klein

Peter Klein

New member
No one but Leica really knows why they chose to release the delayed shutter cock now rather than earlier. It might be hardnosed marketing. Or it might be that the code had to be adapted to work with both the old and the new shutter, and the one staff person who knew how to do that was busy with other things. Or both.

My own take is that not releasing the "discrete shutter" code for M8s was probably a reasonable business decision at the beginning, since it might have hurt M8.2 sales. But it's an equally good decision to release it now.

Those who bought the M8.2 to get the discrete shutter, who might have simply upgraded the firmware in their original M8 if they could, have made their decision. Owners of the original M8, who (like me) decided that the M8.2 wasn't a sufficent upgrade for the price, have long since spoken by not buying the newer model. We can now get the new firmware, be happy, and post positive remarks on Internet forums, thereby spreading good "buzz" for Leica. ;)

I have much the same attitude about a lens-type menu for uncoded lenses. Coding old lenses is probably a significant source of revenue for Leica, and they don't want to give that up. But there will come a point, probably soon, when most people who would have sent their lenses to Leica for coding will have done so.

The rest of us will have made other arrangements: Live without it, get Millich adapters, do our own coding by hand. At that point, it makes sense to release a lens menu in the firmware, with a disclaimer that the best results happen with Leica-coded lenses. Leica loses nothing, and they gain goodwill and positive buzz.

(How do you say "hint, hint" in German?) :D

--Peter
 
C

cam

Active member
TEBnewyork said:
Cindy. They've asked someone on LUF to try and record the sounds and make an MP3. I'm not so high tech but check there as well!
Click to expand...
it's been available for months.... Link is in the first post.

if the link doesn't work for you and you're interested, send me an email (even if i don't know you) and i'll send you the sound files.
 
Cindy Flood

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
Terry- I've heard those MP3's. I just wanted your opinion of the upgrade of the shutter once you install the delay in the old M8. I hate to give up my 8000 shutter speed.
 
Terry

Terry

New member
cam said:
it's been available for months.... Link is in the first post.

if the link doesn't work for you and you're interested, send me an email (even if i don't know you) and i'll send you the sound files.
Click to expand...
Cam, the links work fine but that is the shutter plus the recocking of the shutter. The discreet shutter allows you to separate out the shutter from the cocking (if you hold your finger on the shutter it only recocks when you let it up). So, it will be nice to hear just the first part alone. Also, I keep mine in a Luigi case which dampens down the noise so I will try them both in the case. I'm so used to the full sound and I don't release the shutter very quickly that when I used an M8.2 I kept thinking dang this is a really slow shutter speed. My brain seems to think the recock is end of the shutter release :rolleyes:

terry
 
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