Smallish digital camera with a decent viewfinder

I'm sure you won't regret it Chris. I'm looking at cases at the moment. Billingham seem popular for the M8, but I'm more of of a Crumpler stylie person.

On cases, I very much like those handmade by Nigel Fogg. The Flute makes an excellent small case for a Leica M carried vertically.
http://www.foggspecialistbags.com/flute.htm

Having also been designed to work in deserts they don't overheat in hot sunny environments, e.g., Greece in August, unlike dark bags from Lowe, Camera Care Systems etc.

.

Doc
I had the Billingham already so the M8 went straight into it at the dealer's. Very comfortable. I just heard too that the latest release of MacOS supports M8 RAW files, so suddenly Aperture becomes an option. Have you used the C1LE that came with the camera yet?

NickS
The Foggs look very interesting and not dissimilar to the Billinghams. Not a UK stockist though, unless I am missing something.

Chris, I bought mine direct from Nigel Fogg who is based in a little village in France. This allows for some customization and personalization of the bag (embossed initials etc). He can also advise which shops may have examples in the UK.

Nick

Latest OS update means M8 DNG files can be managed in Aperture.

Huw
Slightly off topic, do you post on the Leica Users Forum too?

It's good news about MacOS I think.

I used and liked Capture One for a few days. Bought a new computer this week which has Vista and the Capture won't load (like a lot of my other XP compatible software I've discovered), and neither will the website update. So, a bit pissed off with Vista.

Chris - guilty as charged

Mac is typically a lot friendlier than that. I haven't used Vista. My company, like most that I know of, is holding off from going there for quite a while yet.

When and if Notes comes out for the Mac I think that there could be a bit of a swing - last I heard was that it had been promised

Really?
I thought Outlook had won that particular battle!

Shouldn't matter any more, new Macs run Windows via Parallels so you could use Notes that way.

Very true. I haven't polluted my iMac with products from the dark side as yet!

Having used Vista for a few days, it appears that Microsoft have gone overboard with anti-hacker protection, presumably to prevent further loss of sales to Apple. Vista is so unfriendly, I can see it having the opposite effect.
So far I've had to buy a new version of; McAfee and Nero, and I presume will have to shell out for Capture One when they release a Vista version. Avoiding buying loads of software was the sole reason I didn't move to Apple. Doh!

I downloaded MacOS 10.4.10 last night. Should allow RAW file support from both the M8 and DLux3, so I also downloaded a 30 day trial of Aperture just to see how it compares with Lightroom.

Chris - I'd like to get on with Aperture better, but I couldn't be arsed to figure out the hack prior to the last upgrade.

I am quite happy with my workflow, importing via C1 and then editing with CS3 (boosted by Alien Skin Exposure and Nik Sharpener Pro - for prints). At some point I may give Aperture another go, but it seems a waste of time trying to learn yet another app and C1 is really good for the preliminary DNG conversion and colour management.

My major grumble is that iView still does not see the M8 DNG files as this is my preferred DAM application. So, I only import edited DNGs once they become .tiff or .jpeg files. Now that the files are visible in Preview, it makes navigation of non-converted files a little easier.

Rockingdoc - it probably makes sense to back your original M8 DNG files directly to a DVD or external hard drive. Then, convert the files on your hard drive using Adobe's RAW converter which I assume works with Vista. You can then use PSE (if that works with Vista). Once the C1 / Vista app becomes available you can do a compare and contrast between the converted and original DNG files. It may seem a hassle, but it beats the heck out of faffing about in a dark room.

Huw

Huw
Thanks for that workflow. I just thought a 30 day free trial couldn't hurt! Aperture seems to polarise opinion. Until I've tried it for myself I always treat the opinions of others as just that - opinions.
C1 LE is in the camera box - I'll load it at the weekend, by when I hope to have some files to process! (Desperately damp and dull here in the southern UK at the moment!. It's Glastonbury weekend, so rain was inevitable!)
Thanks again.

By the way, UV/IR filters seem almost unobtainable. Got an E39 from my dealer, but 49s and 60s seem impossible to source. Is it any easier in Munchen?

Chris - I have been using the B+W 486, which have only been an issue with my 24 as it makes getting the hood on and off a little tricky. The B+W filters are readily available on E-Bay. Over at LUF, iirc, there was an article cited that suggested there was no material difference in performance between B+W and Leica.

What do you need? I am most likely popping ino town tomorrow and can have a look. Will be in London all next week so happy to bring with and pop in the post.

You can send a mail to huw_nospam at mac dot com

and do include the "_nospam"

I can send some comments on my learning curve and experience with files from M8

Huwge
Thank you for that kind offer and apologies for the time-pased reply! I have just order an E49 and an E60 from the Leica website by registering my serial number online. I got an E39 from the dealer when I bought the camera so my 35 'cron is covered.

I used the camera for the first time at the weekend. I really enjoyed getting back to the rangefinder mode. Was at a concert on Saturday and, between rain showers when the camera was tucked back into the neoprene case and then into the Billingham, tooka baout 140 shots. Just practising with focus and depth of field control really. Got a fabulous purple hue on my partner's jet black goretex jacket with the 75 'cron! E60 filter needed badly!

time-phased. Sorry!

Chris - if you shot in RAW you may be able to do something about the colour on the black jacket. You need to use one of the profiles from LUF in C1 - I think the message is a sticky but you can find them with a search.

B+W filters work well if you need something, the Leica own brand filters seem to be delayed again.

You might want to do some simple tests to make sure that you have no back focusing issues with any of your lenses. Again, there are lots of tips on how to do this at LUF. My 'lux 50 was the only real sinner, but enough to be irritating and so is now on an extended vacation at its place of birth. I really hope to have it back before my hols, but it could be up to 2 months!

I have two Leica rangefinders and I'd really like an M8 but only if it didn't have that "purple" problem. Did you guys not know about it before you purchased? That's a lot of money for a camera with a problem! So it looks like I'm waiting for the M9 or maybe the next version of the D-Lux which should be out in about 3 months.

Edot
Yes I knew. But there are relatively simple solutions. Every camera has problems. Check out web chatter about the new Canon 1DIII. If you have M lenses the M8 is a terrific digital camera. I had 6 M lenses so I knew I would get an M8 when I could afford it. (I still have 2 M7 bodies!)

Huw
The purple coat pic is only a snapshot. I took it just to see if the effect could be seen - and it can! B&W filters are like hens teeth here too, and I'm not sure they do a 49 or a 60 in the UV/IR range.
Anyhow, the camera is so great to use, I am just enjoying lazing away and regaining my focussing DoF skills. Do-it-all SLRs have made me very lazy!

is this 'purple fringing' that you're talking about? chromatic aberration, which some digital implementations seem to be sensitive to. usually can be avoided (where prevalent) by stopping down a little.

Suspect I'm wide of the mark, though - one wouldn't expect this kind of thing with a Leica?

Re the filters - my tutor (a pro photographer for decades) mentioned recently that years ago, Leica filters were in fact made by B+W; the only difference was the name on the case, and the price. Things these days could (of course) be very different. If you can't find B+W filters locally, there's always adorama. hope that helps.