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!!

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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.

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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:

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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+).

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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

Lenses perform better than the nikon or contax lenses I have owned. Body fits my hands and working style perfectly.
No one has mentioned the built in flash meter which is terrific and so easy to use.

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If you are a doctor, lawyer or rich guy, please buy a bunch of these and then get tired of them so I can buy a bunch of slightly used bodies at a lower price!

Customer Service

All my dealings with Leica over the years have been exemplary.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F5, Original Canon EOS 1, Contax RTS 3 (three of which died in mild studio use in less than a year!!)

Ease of use.
Very easy to use.
Everything on the camera speaks for itself. Very logical

Some battery drainage occurred. Professionally resolved. Compliments to Leica.

They should get rid of "Proverbial Quality Made In Germany" found in all their documentation.
Best camera and lenses, customer service is tops. Let the product speak for itself.

Customer Service

Outstanding. You pay a good price, you get better service than you would expect.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta X-700

Best lenses (on a case by case basis) available for any SLR, best manual focusing SLR, brightest viewfinder in any SLR, great ergonomics, metering modes, internal flash meter, forces you to think, smooth.

Forces you to think, slightly larger than average body, tain't cheap.

This is a german-designed and built camera which, selectively, has some of the highest performing optics available for 35mm photography. Like most high-end products, you pay more for this additional incremental performance gain, which can be negated by sloppy technique. But if you are careful, the camera, and its lenses, are capable of extraordinary performance. An under-rated camera, overall, and taylor made for those who are very serious about both the craft and aesthetics of photography.

Customer Service

Excellent, human.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F5, F3.

Extremely well built and easy to handle. Superb optics, easy flash metering,extremely bright viewfinder and great general design.

None really.

It is simple a great camera as all Leica's are including the M series. There is also the superb lenses and the Leica "feel" that have created a huge group of fellow photographer loyal to this brand.

Customer Service

Superb service and warranty. They seem to really go out of their way to please and even take the time to talk to the users over the phone or during their Leica days at a variety of Leica dealers every year where they also provide free testing and simple cleaning at no cost. Just great.

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Eos 1n, ELAN, Pentax, Nikon N-80, various M series,Fuji 6x4.5, R4,R5,R7, Rolleiflex,Olympus and a variety of other cameras.