I used a Leica M8 for a minute or so yesterday; my first ever hands-on experience of the digital version of a classic rangefinder camera. These two shots, which used a standard 50mm lens and the automatic exposure settings on the camera, show just what an amazing camera it is. There’s something about the incredibly sharp images, and seeing them after converting them to black and white has shown me the reason why so many people class the Leica as perhaps the world’s best camera. Henri Cartier-Bresson used the original versions and though I can certainly not claim to have an eye as acute as his, I can be very proud of the images I shot with the modern version of his favourite camera. In the absence of Fr. 10,000, which would be the approximate price tag of this wonderful camera fitted with a 50mm/f2 lens, I am currently looking into refurbishing my OM10. I have already found a 50mm/f1.4 lens on eBay, a lens which accompanied me through my sixth form years at the end of the eighties and which I foolishly exchanged for a 28mm – 70mm zoom many years ago. I shall next weekend be buying chemicals and re-introducing myself to the world of black and white film photography and film development. Yes, again.
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