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Anonymous
I just saw some insane guy riding the crowded subway with a Leica M8 on a neck strap.

How does /p/ carry their cameras? I have a pro-looking camera bag, but recently I've been thinking that it's not too discreet to have everyone know that you carry some $1,500 worth of gear around.
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>> Anonymous
First off, Interesting shot of the M8

I have two bags, they both look like camera bags though. I guess a camera backpack is the way to go if you want discreet.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
A Tamrac like this.
>> Anonymous
>>54225
This looks awesome. How much does it cost?
>> Anonymous
Lowe Alpine Stealth Reporter 400D AW.

Quite heavy full loaded but very well built. Built in weather cover is a pain to use, and since it's built in it can't be replaced or taken off to dry.
>> Anonymous
My Pentax KM had a spiffy leather case and a long strap -- perfect for slinging over your shoulder without having to drag around a backpack.
I wish I could find something similar for digital SLRs.
>> Anonymous
> with a Leica M8 on a neck strap

How else are you supposed to carry a camera for street shooting, which is pretty much the purpose of a Leica? It's either around your neck, wrapped around your wrist, or completely hand-held.
>> Anonymous
>>54233
The main purpose of the M8 is Leica fetishism, not street shooting. Also, I dare you to carry a $5000 camera on a neck strap in a subway of the most crime-ridden city in your country.
>> Anonymous
>>54221
Well, for one thing, to the untrained eye (the eye that's most likely to steal your camera on a subway) the M8 looks like a film camera that's worth a couple hundred dollars, at very most.
>> Liska !!LIVFOETqL8j
I have a camera bag, then when I need my large lens, a backpack.
>> Anonymous
>>54238
To the trained eye, it's a rather nice dSLR that's small enough to easily conceal/escape with.
>> Anonymous
>>54237
>The main purpose of the M8 is Leica fetishism, not street shooting.

Absolutely untrue. All the reports I've heard of the M8 as a field performer rate it highly, with the exception of the IR sensitivity and one or two other minor, fixable issues.

>I dare you to carry a $5000 camera on a neck strap in a subway of the most crime-ridden city in your country.
I would if I owned one. Again, what other options do you have to shoot with it?

Oh, and protip: one can't get off a subway immediately. There'd be a small window at each stop where someone could get away with stealing it. Solution, if you're really worried? Hold it whenever the doors are open.

>>54238
Truth.

>>54240
See my comments about subways, first of all.

Second, not too many bit theives are camera experts. I'm sure they exists, but still.

Also, there's few enough M8s out there that if one was stolen, it could be tracked down easily unless it was sold under the table to some mobster who's decided to get into photography as a hobby.
>> Anonymous
>>54245
>Absolutely untrue. All the reports I've heard of the M8 as a field performer rate it highly,
Oh, don't you dare to start a rangefinder flamewar. How practical is a camera without AF, zoom/telephoto lenses, and costing four grand more than SLRs of comparable image quality? The M8 is catered to a small group of rangefinder enthusiasts who can bear with the lack of common features and have money to spare.

>Solution, if you're really worried? Hold it whenever the doors are open.
I would. He did not.

>Also, there's few enough M8s out there that if one was stolen, it could be tracked down easily
Lol, the local police can't track down stolen Lamborghinis, and you think they'll bother with a camera?
>> Macheath
a cheapo Tamron shoulder bag. It fulfills my needs and I got it for free, so I'm not complaining. I'm going to outgrow it soon though. When I buy more lenses, I'm going to get a Tenba XPress Daypack.

Crumpler bags look interesting (their website is ass though) but I don't have the money for their better ones.
>> des
>>54245
>>IR sensitivity
that's not really a minor issue in any case, and certainly not a minor issue on a camera of that expense. Why people are rewarding leica with purchasing that thing is a mystery to me.

>>54250
>>How practical is a camera without AF, zoom/telephoto lenses
lurk moar? 35mm lens and fast film you don't even have to focus, really It has telephotos. There are a few zooms (iirc) but why bother, it's a rangefinder.
I agree with your other points but that comment is a little silly. Whatever did we do before AF and superzooms~

>>54221
I usually just carry a body around my neck and my little lens bag on my shoulder with one or two lenses and some film/batts/smokes/whatever inside. I sometimes carry a second body on my shoulder in an everready case with a 50 on it, depends
>> Anonymous
hood shit is good
>> Anonymous
>>54250
I've never shot with a rangefinder, to be honest, though I'd very much like to, so I'm not going to talk at all about the rangefinder mechanism. And I'm not trying to start a "flamewar" of any kind.

I'm simply stating that I have not read one negative thing about the Leica M8 other than a few minor issues, like the IR sensitivity and a slightly longer start-up time than some other cameras. All reports say it is a genuinely great camera.

As far as autofocus, I almost never use autofocus. I use it for less than ten percents of the shots I take. I don't want to deal with autofocus lag, the autofocus going for something I don't want to focus on, and so on. Precise manual focusing is fast on any camera for someone who knows what they are doing, and prefocusing is possible at most apertures. I understand Leica cameras and lenses are exceptional in both these categories.

Most people who use Leicas prefer primes, because of the sort of photography they do and Leicas are intended for. Primes are lighter and generally of higher quality than zoom lenses.

There are plenty of telephoto lenses that the M8 will take, both by Leica and I'm sure third party manufacturers. In Leica's current lineup, there are five telephoto lenses, ranging from 99.75mm to 179.55mm with the crop factor taken into account. Sure, not as large of a range as is available for a DSLR, but perfectly fine for almost every photographic application.

On image quality, I really don't want to believe you're stupid enough to measure that in megapixels.
>> Anonymous
>I would. He did not.
Because he realizes that less than every second person is a thief, amirite?

>Lol, the local police can't track down stolen Lamborghinis, and you think they'll bother with a camera?

Simply tell Adorama, Tamarkin, and all the other sort of stores that an M8 with serial number whatever was stolen. A theif tries to trade it in, and he gets caught. The only place he could dispose of it would be some cheap pawn shop that probably would only offer him five hundred dollars for it.

>>54260
>that's not really a minor issue in any case

Screw on a free filter to the front of the lens and it is fixed. Sounds minor to me.
>> Anonymous
>>54260
>35mm lens and fast film
lol wut? M8 is digital.

>Whatever did we do before AF and superzooms
We did fail at focus more often, and we couldn't capture distant objects we wanted more often.

A few weeks ago I've been to the exhibition of old French photos made using photographic plates. There were some really amazing ones, but that doesn't mean we should all use plates, does it?
>> Anonymous
I wrap mine in a microfibre towel and keep it in the front pocket of my backpack
>> Anonymous
>>54265
>On image quality, I really don't want to believe you're stupid enough to measure that in megapixels.
Image quality of a given camera *body* is defined mostly by its resolution and noise levels, and both of these are not quite stellar on the M8. And you can get both bad and excellent lenses both for the M8 and any given dSLR.
>> Anonymous
>>54268
See comments on auto/manual focus above.

But seriously, are we really going to fucking talk about focusing methods? Use what one prefers, and shut up about it.

If you prefer autofocus or do the sort of photography where autofocus is better, the Leica M8 isn't meant for you, no more than a large format camera is meant for playing Henri Cartier-Bresson or Garry Winogrand.
>> Anonymous
>>54267
$500 isn't that small of a sum. And the victim still has to shell out full price for a new M8.
>> des
>>54267
you're missing the point, it's a $5000 camera, the consumer shouldn't have to make up for a design flaw. The solution is a recall not a couple free filters.

>>54268
>>M8 is digital
Don't be a pedant, I'm talking about concepts.
"35mm equivalent lens and higher ISO"
better?
>>but that doesn't mean we should all use plates, does it?
Of course it doesn't but you're not helping your arguement. Just as we all shouldn't be using wet plates, we all shouldn't be using *foo*.

A DSLR with a superzoom is not anywhere near the right tool for a job of intimate photography, especially in low-light, especially of strangers. I don't own a leica, I'm just being objective. You use a compromise between the tool you know the best, the best tool for the job and the best tool that you can afford. Everything is a compromise and especially photography. There aren't any universal truths.
>> Anonymous
>>54275
What about a DSLR with a 35mm equivalent lens and higher ISO?
Seriously, I can't imagine a situation where the M8 is the right compromise you're talking about, unless the photographer is a rangefinder fan.
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
There aren't any zoom lenses for the Leica M series that I know about. The way the lens is coupled means that you have a limited number of choices for frame lines, not a continuous series, so a zoom lens would be incredibly difficult to frame with.

However, there *are* lenses like the Tri-Elmar which give you three focal lengths in one lens. Not quite the same as a real zoom, but keeps you from constantly having to change primes.

There are definitely reasons where you'd want an M8. The most obvious is if you're trying to be discrete. Like a previous poster said, the M8 looks not just like a film camera, but like an old, cheap film camera. The kind you could maybe get $5 for at a pawn shop. Certainly not the kind of camera a pro photographer would be sporting. Granted, people who know cameras will immediately recognize it as a Leica M and become *physically aroused* at the sight of it, but your common street thief or random passers-by will just think you're a tourist.

Additionally, it's way quieter than any SLR, since it's got no mirror slap. My discrete street shooting options have gotten much more limited since I upgraded from a small, leaf-shuttered point & shoot to my big mirror-slappin' SLR. The click is noticeable, and I get noticed.

The other reason you might want to get an M8 is if you've already got a substantial investment in Leica M equipment. E.g., if someone's got a Noctilux, you can bet your ass they're gonna want to keep using that f/1.0 loveliness.

Finally, as to the OP's original question.. I just use a shoulder bag that makes it really obvious I'm carrying expensive camera gear around.
>> des
>>54277
>>I can't imagine a situation where the M8 is the right compromise you're talking about
I'm not trying to argue for the M8 at all, so I'd agree.

An SLR, digital or otherwise, is going to be larger, louder and more obtrusive than a rangefinder. A D40 with a 28mm(42mm equiv) f/1.4 , is probably as close as I can think of as the DSLR equivalent of the "classic" rangefinder configuration. A small camera with a fast shortish normal/longish wide lens. but that lens is xbox heug and doesn't autofocus on the D40. You could switch to a smaller lens like the 28 f/2.8 but you just lost a lot of speed. If you want that AF, you'll have to switch the D50 and you just lost the size advantage of the body.

I suppose something like a D40 with an old adaptall tamron 28mm f/2.5 would be damn near pocketable but it wouldn't even meter with that lens.
See? Compromises. :3
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
Oh, and don't get one of those photo backpacks unless your primary shooting style is landscapes where you have an abundance of time to set up. You can't pull a different lens out of a backpack on a moment's notice like you can a bag that hangs at your hip.
>> lolno des
>>54285
>>*physically aroused*

oh lawd. there's gearsluts and then there's *leicaphiles*.

>>54289
word. I really advocate everready cases even though they're kind of hard to find good ones these days.
>> Anonymous
>>54289
And unless you're some kind of professional photographer I can't really imagine any reason to want to lug around all or most of your lenses just to take photos on a whim.
>> Anonymous
>>54287
In before someone mentions the Olympus E-400/E-500 + Leica D Summilux 50 MM. 1:1.4 ASPH.
>> Anonymous
>>54297
God damnit, I ment E-400 or E-410. Pardon my fail.
>> heavyweather !4AIf7oXcbA
I would fuck a whale if it meant I could get an M8.

I'm actually a little more interested in the Epson R-D1 though. I'm anxiously awaiting the R-D2. The main downside of it compared to the M8 is that it's got a 1.5 crop, whereas the M8 has a 1.3 crop for more beautiful bokeh and wideangle fun. But otherwise I think the Epson is a better camera.
>> Anonymous
arnt all the leicas just re-branded panasonics or something???
>> Anonymous
>>54311
yeah def
>> Anonymous
>>54311
>While the earliest Leica digital cameras were rebranded Fujifilm models, all current Leica digital cameras except the R8/R9 Digital Modul-R and M8 are rebranded versions of Panasonic's Lumix digital cameras.

--Wikipedia
>> Anonymous
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>>54319
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
>>54303
Me, I'm waiting for the Epson R2-D2. Great photos, *and* it'll keep my car running in the middle of a laser battle.
>> Anonymous
>design flaw.

It's not a design flaw per se. It's a disadvantage of the design for color shooting. The only way to make an acceptable quality digital sensor in an M body was to put a really thin IR filter on it.

>>54303
May I ask why?
>> heavyweather !4AIf7oXcbA
>>54336
Most of the controls for the M8 are accessed via a menu system, it lacks a winder (the Epson uses it for re-cocking the shutter), and apparently it's just had a lot of functional problems and is a little bit unreliable, especially for the M line of cameras, which have long been the most dependable photographic tools available. The Epson also has a screen that flips around and folds back into the camera, so it doesn't even have to look like a digital camera! It's a pretty awesome little package.
>> des
>>54336
and I'm Mary, Queen of Scots

I could maybe believe this if the thing was five *hundred* dollars
>> Anonymous
In Canada, cameras come in bags