Leica M8

The Leica M series is a simple, refined design. It is very expensively-built: the cap and bottom are milled out of solid blocks of brass, and the front and back are magnesium alloy castings. The costly construction pays off. There are no poorly-matched joints. In fact, none of the joints are evident at all. The seam around the bottom is so tight that it's a surprise when the thing comes off – the components are so well-matched they seem to be one piece instead of two. The camera is very solid. Beyond that, it feels and looks luxurious, in an elegant, form-follows-function way.

Size / Portability
The M8 is 5.45 x 3.16 x 1.45 inches, and weighs, without the battery, 19.2 ounces. That's small compared to DSLRs. M-series lenses are also relatively small. They are just as fabulously expensive as the cameras, so $10,000 of Leica equipment takes up a tiny fraction of the space $10,000 worth of Canon, Nikon or Olympus equipment might. An M8 and a couple of lenses are much smaller than a DSLR with a normal zoom lens – and the Leica lenses will be wider-aperture.

The M8 will hang nicely from a shoulder strap. Though some photographers use wrist straps with Leicas, they're a little heavy for that. The close fit and strong latch on the bottom, and the resilient door on the USB port indicate good seals against dust and moisture.

Handling Ability
DSLR users have gotten accustomed to bulbous hand grips, and Leica makes an accessory that supplies one. We found the Leica M8 comfortable as it is. One digitalcamerainfo.com staffer was a long-time Leica M2 user, and found the M8 very familiar in hand – even though it lacks a film advance. The most unfamiliar sensation was that the M8 felt a little thick. It's about 2 mm thicker than its film predecessors.

As plain and flat as it is, the M8 is comfortable to hold. The round right side fits between thumb and index finger, while the left had sits a bit lower, with part of the hand supporting the camera from underneath, and the thumb and index finger turning the focus ring on the short lenses.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
The M8 shutter release is smooth, with a short travel and not much resistance. It has three positions. A slight depression activates the light meter, a bit more locks exposure in automatic mode, and pressing fully takes a shot.

The other buttons feel solid and work smoothly. The 4-way controller is a set of four buttons. We typically favor a single control that can be rocked in four directions. The dial around the 4-way buttons is a little like Canon's Quick Control Dial, though the M8 version offers more resistance, and is set up to function with smaller movements.

Menu
The Set button brings up frequently-used shooting functions, while the Menu button brings up items most often on cameras' set-up menus. Because the camera lacks a few key functions, its menus are relatively short. 

Set
ISO	ISOs in full EV steps from 160 to 2500
EV	Exposure compensation
White Balance	Choose presets, Auto, manual or direct Kelvin input
Compression	File format – DNG or JPEG, JPEG pixel size and compression
User Profile	Users can set combinations of ISO, white balance and other parameters. These profiles are created via the main menu

Menu
Lens detection	Set to sense lens data and adjust digital parameters
Save user profile	Set combinations of parameters for various shooting situations
Self-timer	Set delay
Sharpening	Set amount
Color Saturation	Adjust saturation
Contrast	Set contrast
Monitor	Set LCD brightness
Histogram	Set to luminance, luminance with clipping, RGB aor RGB with clipping
Picture numbering	File numbering
Auto review	Set interval
Auto Power Off	Set interval
Flash Sync	First of Second Curtain
Auto Slow Sync	Set to a shutter speed that can be hand-held given the lens on the camera – longer shutter speeds for shorter lenses
Color Management	sRGB, Adobe RGB, or ECI RGB
Reset	Return to factory defaults
Sensor clean	For manual cleaning
Date	Set Date
Time	Set Time
Acoustic Signal	Beep
Language	Menu and alert languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese
Format SD Card	Initialize SD
Firmware	Shows version

Ease of Use
The Leica M8 departs from a range of digital camera conventions, yet we, and most of the other visitors to the Leica booth, had few questions about how to work it – the questions were more often about construction, compatibility and so on. It's simple to use because Leica has made the controls obvious, and because the M8 has relatively few options – it's fundamentally a manual camera.

Components	Page 4 of 11		Modes
Leica M8 First Impressions Review Navigation
Intro	Physical Tour	Components	Components
Modes	Control Options	Image Parameters	Connectivity / Extras
Overall Impressions	Conclusion	Photo Gallery