HK SUPPLIES 1.25x MAGNIFIER AND DIOPTER LENSES

The Leica 1.25x Magnifier is $299-$319 these days, and if you need mega-magnification, there is the new Leica 1.4x Magnifier. There are third party magnifiers for considerably less. I ordered the HK Supplies version available on Ebay for $47 plus shipping from Hong Kong. Another option is the Megaperl (now called Japan Exposures) versions with the built-in diopter adjustment mentioned earlier in the review. I chose the HK Supplies version because it is available in silver, thus matching the chrome body.

The -2 diopter lens adjustment was also ordered from HK Supplies which is a relative bargain compared to the Leica versions for $90. The Leica M8’s diopter is -.5. There is no built-in adjustment like the typical SLR camera. I figured out how diopter adjustment I needed by counting the clicks on the Canon 1Ds Mark III’s diopter. Without the -2 diopter lens on the M8, the viewfinder is just a blur, so the -2 lens is critical for me. Some of the Japan Exposure’s magnifiers have built-in diopter adjustment lenses which is nice because it saves the expense of buying an additional diopter lens.

My three lenses (at the time of this review) are the Zeiss 50mm F2 ZM, the Leica 35mm F2 Summicron ASPH and the Leica 50mm F2 Summicron. With the 1.25x magnifier all the frame lines are still visible. One downside of the magnifiers is that they reduce the viewfinder contrast. Thus the object looks larger, but not as crisp and bold. The reduced contrast makes it more difficult to see edges, thus more difficult to line up objects in the patch. The viewfinders are trade-off between added magnification and contrast. Ultimately I do better without the magnifiers because the higher contrast is easier for me to see. Your mileage may vary.

The HK diopter adjustment lens is okay, but the viewfinder is not as sharp as hoped. Someday I may splurge and buy the Leica diopter lens just to give it a try.

FOTODIOX SOFT SHUTTER BUTTON

The next bit of bling was a $20 button that screws into the shutter release. Some people like flat buttons, others like concave, or convex, or small, or large, or whatever...  I went with cheap and available - don’t read too much into that. This too was purchased off of Ebay for about $16 including shipping. The basic idea behind the “soft button release” is to increase the shutter button’s surface area, thus making it is easier to find and press. The only surprise was how high the button sits. It is very easy to inadvertently press the shutter button while placing the M8 in the camera bag. When stored in the bag, make sure nothing is pushing or pressing on the button while the camera is being stored.

The button itself is made okay - not bad, not great. It cost $12 and that is about what it is worth. The button has “Leica” engraved on the top and filled with gold paint. Nothing on the M8 is gold, so the gold print looks out of place on the M8. In use the button works as advertised. In fact it makes my shutter button a bit of a hair trigger. When finished reviewing images I often half-press the shutter button to shut off the LCD. Now there is a 50 / 50 chance that I will press just hard enough to trigger the shutter.

TOM ABRAHAM’S SOFT RELEASE BUTTONS

Eventually I picked a couple soft release buttons made by Rapidwinder. These were clearly nicer buttons and pretty cheap too; I bought mine from PopFlash Photo for ~$20 plus shipping. Rapidwinder has a variety of shapes, sizes and colors, so they probably have something for just about everybody’s taste. Again, my issue with these buttons is how easy it is to accidentally trigger the shutter. Just in regular handling it is very simple to accidentally bump the shutter and take a nice picture of the lens cap. Also, I do not like the M8 profile with the button attached - it sits too high and looks like an accident waiting to happen. Just my $.02 of course. All that said, I found Tom’s Lady Bug shutter button to look rather “cute” on the black Leica M8. There are a variety of buttons offered by Tom and given the $10-$20 price point, it is worth picking up one or two just for some and to personalize your M.

LEICA M8 GRIP

After investigating the Luigi Half Cases (which look gorgeous) I asked several people what they recommended to improve the M8’s handling. Everybody suggested the M8 Grip. The grip works well for me because I like to clutch a camera in my right hand - meaning the hand wraps around camera and grips it like a fist. It feels pretty secure, but not nearly as good as the Canon 1Ds Mark III’s grips. While the 1Ds Mark III is big, it feels really good and I wanted that feel for the Leica M8.