Great Machines: Cameras: Photo Op

Matthew Phenix

06/01/2008

Leica’s legendary m-series cameras are engineered and manufactured with fanatical precision for the singular purpose of taking brilliant images. Properly wielded, an M-series camera merges with its handler, becoming the perfect conduit between the seer and the seen; M-series devotee Henri Cartier-Bresson considered his Leica to be an extension of his eye. For serious photographers who discovered the charms of these magnificent rangefinder cameras since their debut more than 50 years ago, their allure has proven almost fetishistic, their hold on the heart lifelong.

The latest M family member is also the first to employ a digital image sensor, instead of 35-mm film. The 10.3-megapixel M8 joins the retro-mechanical MP and auto-exposure M7, and like all M-series cameras, it is not merely a keeper, it’s an heirloom. This is no pocketable point-and-shoot digital camera. With one of the company’s peerless lenses (a 35-mm Summarit-M makes a splendid starter), the husky M8, with its die-cast magnesium-alloy chassis, weighs in at close to two pounds. And despite its passel of advanced electronics, image composition comes courtesy of a keen eye, focus happens by way of a steady hand, and the metal-blade shutter makes an immensely satisfying snap-click as it opens and closes to capture an image.

Leica considered the inevitability of technological obsolescence when it designed the $6,000 M8—a camera with the means to keep up with advances in digital imaging. The company recently introduced a perpetual upgrade program for the M8, allowing owners to have their beloved digital rangefinders retrofitted with the latest components at the Leica factory in Solms, Germany. The first phase of the program features the installation of a scratch-resistant sapphire glass LCD cover and a quieter, lower-vibration shutter. Participation ranges in price from €750 (about $1,200) to €1,120 (about $1,800).

Leica, www.leica-camera.com