Leica Upgrades the M8 Digital Rangefinder
The Leica M8.2 digital rangefinder that’s being introduced at Photokina next week has actually been available to a select few photographers since this spring. At least, part of it has - there are some new additions. By joining the Leica M8 upgrade program announced at PMA this spring, an M8 could be upgraded to some of the key features of the M8.2 spec. The upgrade included a super scratch-resistant sapphire LCD cover and a quieter, low-vibration shutter unit, which are standard on the M8.2.
Read the rest of this entry »
Leica says their new Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 Aspherical lens is the perfect all-purpose walkaround wide-angle lens for the M8 digital rangefinder. The digital rangefinder’s digital crop factor effectively converts the Elmar-M 24mm to a 32mm angle-of-view when mounted on the M8. The Elmar 24mm is compact, has excellent image quality wide open at the f/3.8 maximum aperture, and has almost limitless depth-of-field when stopped down a couple of stops. The Leica press release didn’t list a price, but it does point out that “lenses with a medium initial aperture” are usually far less expensive without sacrificing quality. So we might expect the Elmar 24mm to have a more regular guy price than most Leica lenses.
