The Leica M8 is still my favorite “Pro” camera

Writing articles and taking photos are a essential part of my job. And I also work as a freelance photojournalist and reporter every now and then. I use many different cameras when I work but there's one camera that I prefer to use. A camera that has become a natural extension of what my eye sees.



During the last years I have used my Leica M8 as my main professional camera. I have used it on assignments in Egypt and Sweden. The camera performed well in the Sinai desert as well as in the challenging light conditions of a fast paced concert.

When I use my Leica M8 I often get the following question by fellow photographers:
- Why do you still use a nearly 10 year old digital camera when there's newer and better alternatives around?
My answer is always:
- It's old but it's still good, everytime I choose to bring another camera I miss my good old M8. It's hard to explain but the Leica M8 together with the Summicron-C 40mm gives my pictures a certain mojo that I prefer. It's like shooting with film without the boring job of developing and digitalising the images.



I prefer to shoot Black and white but most of my customers prefer color and thats the main reason why I don´t go for a M Monocrome. The M8 is the next best alternative for Black and White and it also gives me the opportunity to deliver color images to customers.



I don´t like using Canon and Nikons oversized cameras and lenses. I have tested Leica M9 and M 240 and I own a Fuji X100s and a Sony A7. It's definetly good cameras, but I prefer the picture quality of my M8. I will definitely stick with my M8 as long as it works.

Text and photo: Mikael Good