Well built, mirror vibration will dampped. great lenses to get, well, they are expansive

shutter speed knob easily moved 1/250 ttl setting, stated above

Nice camera. Very well built, but no info on reliability. mirror movement is well dampped, smooth, the best feature to me. Great optics. battery need. a couple things I don't have good experiences with them. 1. the ttl flash. it goes to 1/250 when it meters in dark. I don't know what is the logic behind this, but 1/250 is very likely to put the object in the black hole, manually adjustment need. 2. batteries need for shutter. 3. for some reasons, the shutter speed knob are easily moved, too smooth I guess. I had tried a R8 with the motor drive in a shop last year, and they do match nicely.

Customer Service

don't know. I bought it grey market

Similar Products Used:

Contax SLR, Nikon SLR

Longer metered exposures than on the R6.2.

Hmmm...I'll get back to you...none so far.

The ultimate 35mm camera. OK, I know there is no auto focus, but unless you are shooting sports for a living, slow down and have some creative influence on the pictures you are making. This camera is a dream to use, so inuitive and comfortable to hand hold, though a tad heavy. Most of the time mine is on a tripod, coupled to one of the amazing Leica lenses. Really, if you can afford the system, there is nothing that compares in 35mm. I shoot mainly in B&W and typically make full frame imagea on 11x14 paper. I defy (and regularly do) even the most ardent MF shooter to distinguish their 11x14's from mine...buttery smooth grain and tonality...especially when using the 100mm 2.8 APO, the perfect lense. I've exposed maybe 250 trouble free rolls of film in the year or so the I've owned this camera...truly a joy to work with. The meter is totally accurate, the displays easy to read, the viewfinder bright.

Customer Service

Not used yet.

Similar Products Used:

Leica 6.2, Pentax LX

Tough, intuitive, reliable, best lens system in the world, very flexible and well balanced

No complaints ! You get what you pay for !

I''m also using a EOS-1 with EF 28-70/2.8 L and EF 80-200/2.8 L. And a R8 + R7 with 4/35-70, 2.8/70-180 APO, Apo-Macro-Elmarit 100 and 2.8/24. And the R8 and its lenses is way ahead of the Canon L Series. It''s well worth the price. The mechanics are also way ahead. Not only in sharpness or contrast. There is contrast and shadow detail, sharpness and smoothness at the same time and accurate bright colors ! It''s built for a lifetime ! The EF 2.8/70-200 is a good lens, but compared to the Vario-Apo-Elmarit 70-180 just a cheap plastic lens. Chips and plastic are less expensive than brass and premium UD and fluorite glass. Contax + Zeiss Lenses are very good, but the Zeiss 100 macro and the corresponding zoom for the Leica APO 70-180 are no match for the leica lenses. The greatest advantage of a quality SLR-System is its flexibility. And that is inceased by premium APO Zoom-lenses and specialty lenses like macro ones. And there, Leica is top notch ! The R8 itself is great. One wheel or knob for one funktion. Fast and intuitive. Not like the Canon EOS-Series with displays and multi-funktion-knobs. The R8 is tough, reliable, easy to use and well balanced for heavy high performance zooms and big hands. The learning curve is as short as possible !

Customer Service

Great. Equipment is checked for free. You only have to pay for repairs.

Similar Products Used:

R7, EOS-1

bright viewfinder

rediculously priced lenses.

Was given an R8 to take along on a photo shoot to the Everglades and the ten Thousand Islands for 3 weeks. Got some nice, usable shots. Camera was nice to use. Extremely bright viewfinder. HOWEVER, I''ll stick to my Contax RTS III''s for my general photography and the Canon 1V for telephoto and autofocus when needed. Leica lens prices are ABSURD!! Before rebates, if they are still giving them, (and they should be) here are some comparisons: Leica 50 1.4 - $1795. Contax, reviewed as the sharpest 50mm in Pop. Photg.-$385. Leica 80 1.4 - $2795. Contax, considered "legendary" by portrait photogs - $865. Leica 70-180 2.8 (are you sitting?) $5095. Yes, that''s correct, a zoom lens in this range for more that 5 grand!! Canon 70-200 2.8 ''L'', AS SHARP AS THEY COME, $1200. Quite a price to pay to have that "Leica" hanging around your neck. Those kind of prices really tick me off. How can anyone support a company that wants to fleece their customers like this. Sure, there are those who have an almost ''cult'' type following for the ''M'' series, but even these prices are absurd. And we are talking 35mm!! I guess there ''s a lot of money out there!

Similar Products Used:

Contax RTS Canon 1V Contax G2

Easy to understand how it works. Aperture-priority is all I need. Well built. Very nice summicron 50 lens (that''s all I need). Black paint is strong (thought I made a scratch, but no).

A little big for my hands. It takes time to learn to handle it well (ergonomics). Always have to turn it on to see how many pictures left. No 100% viewfinder (why?).

At 45 years old, a beginner and yet a black Leica R8. I always wanted to take photos, and now I have the time (but not always the money). I went for a Nikon SLR, but came home with a Leica SLR. I love the lens, the sharpness, the contrast, the soul, the extravagant design. I buyed a Leica to have it forever. I love the old-fashioned features. (Re)winding manually, no auto-focus. Modern basics. No clics, a silent shutter, well built, and most of the people (in Europe by the way) don''t know Leica. They think it''s an old East-German name and they don''t bother. So I can go on shooting. Most of the people don''t like the design.

Customer Service

Not needed yet.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkormat FT3 (very good), Fujica (good for bric and brac), Leica Minilux zoom (made me turn to Leica forever).

The TTL flash metering is so good I don''t bother with my Minolta spot meter in the studio anymore. The Lenses are truly superb, sepecially the 70-180 f2.8 APO, the 28-70 Japanese built Leica lens surprised me, for portraits it is exceptionally sharp. I am not a fan of zoom lenses but Leica zooms ar as sharp as their prime lenses.

Not being able to use AA batteries, Lithium batteries are expensive and don''t last very long, and are hard to obtain in remote places. The rechargable motor drive solved most of the R8 battery problems. Pity Leica didn''t give users the option of a AA pack for the drive.

I have 2 R8 bodies, with the motor drive attached (not the winder)the R8 is superb. Only complaint I have is that you can''t use AA batteries in the drive. Leica claims that AA don''t last long enough, who cares? It would be nice to have them as a back up if the NM-HI rechargables suddenly went flat. The shape of the grip on the Motor drive is better than the motor winder and the camera itself, it''s easier to hold and feels less likely to slip out of your hand. All the controls are in the right places. Overall the best Leica ever. I hope Leica see the light and make a digital back to fit the R8, wouldn''t that be the best of both worlds being able to shoot film or digital with an R8 body.

Customer Service

Customer service is outstanding in Germany, not so good in Australia, it takes about 3 months to get a camera back through the dealer network here.

Similar Products Used:

Leica R3, R4, R6,R6.2, Canon F1, Nikon F4,and FE2, Olympus OM2

Easiest, Best Balance of Conventional Control and Electronic Enhancements of ANY camera made to date!! This camera is a real pleasure to use. I just finished shooting ALL DAY with this camera and did not experience the slightest eye or arm/hand fatigue. The available lenses are of course, the reason for even considering this fine camera in the first place - truly remarkable. For those who question justifying the price for Leitz optics need only to spend a minute with a Leica produced negative or slide in the darkroom - using a fine grain focuser. You will be amazed!!

None

If you can afford one, and you are playing around with anything else, get serious about your craft and treat yourself to this wonderful tool!!

Customer Service

No Need thus far.

Similar Products Used:

All Tokyoflexes & Contax - The Contax Lenses were also great!

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The R8 is a very potent camera, with perhaps the best ergonomics on any manual focus SLR. Sadly, the camera has been plagued by its reliability problems. As a result, user opinions are divergent. For those that have received a faulty unit, the R8 is a nightmare. On the other hand, those who have not had problems with this camera hail it as the best SLR ever built.

The camera is into its forth year since introduction, and hopefully Leica has successfully addressed the initial reliability glitches. Leica is a company that has amazing engineering creativity and potential, yet its quality control and logistics efficiency have not caught up. Small production runs and heavy depedence on component suppliers limit the company's quality control and pricing flexibilities. Fortunately, they have recently hired a senior manager from Carl Zeiss to head manufacturing logistics activities. Hopefully Leica can again restore the reputation that it deserves.

The R8 really is a very well designed camera.

Similar Products Used:

None

Superior automatic flash system a big advantage over previous Rs. Also, the shutter release is very smooth. I can get better slow speed exposures with this camera, with less camera shake, because the shutter release is very silky.
Auto exposure is right on; good choice of metering methods regardless of exposure method selected.

Has to be turned off manually! How silly, when tahe R3, R4, R5 (I have no experience with R6, 7) turned themselves off--and on--automatically.

A superb photographic instrument. Principal objection is high price, but with discounts, not much more than top line Japanese models.

Customer Service

Haven't needed any

Similar Products Used:

Pentax, Contax (years ago! IIa), also use old Retina IIIC occasionally.

Ergonomics (A+), overall operation (A+), ease in learning how to use (A+), metering (A+), and lenses (A+).

None!

Simply put, I love using the R8. The learning curve upon taking it out of its box is so minute compared to Nikon's and Canon's SLR bodies' multiple dials and buttons and their settings, the R8 is a dream come true for me. And the lenses? Dazzling, just like the rangefinder lenses I use on my M6! The R8 is not for those who have small hands, however, so be sure to sample one in a camera store before buying it.

Customer Service

Good. Would be excellent but for some unreturned calls.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F100