I haven’t shot my new (old) M8 much yet, but did a bit and got some nice results already. And as my wife requested that I post some of the pictures I took, here you go.

My wife and Lilly | Leica M8 + Nokton 35/1.4 @ f/1.4 or f/2, 1/6000 sec, ISO 160

Here’s why I wouldn’t have wanted a shutter-upgraded M8 or M8.2 – you can shoot your fast glass wide open using shutter speeds > 1/4000 sec.!

"Lilly" | Leica M8 + Nokton 35/1.4 @ f/1.4 or f/2, 1/4000 sec, ISO 160

My wife | Leica M8 + Nokton 35/1.4 @ f/1.4, 1/45 sec, ISO 320

I really like this lens’ classical bokeh. Some might call it “busy” or “jittery”, but in this particular shot I find it looks quite creamy – I don’t think a (pre-asph.) Summicron would’ve done a better job here!

Leica M8 + Nokton 35/1.4 @ f/1.4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 160

Here it does indeed look more busy, and you can also see it renders “doughnuts” in the out-of-focus highlights. This is what lenses without aspherical elements do, and some are looking for exactly this kind of rendering. For me personally, it works. Not that it’s the most beautiful bokeh to look at, but also not the most ugly. And for the price tag, I can live with it.

Leica M8 + Nokton 35/1.4 @ f/1.4, 1/500 sec, ISO 160

I didn’t meter correctly here so I had to adjust -2 EV (!!!) in post-processing. That’s why the leaves are partially blown out. Have to get used to the M8’s metering …

All in all quite enjoyable results! Maybe not as warm and 3D as with Zeiss glass, and not as perfect and smooth as with Leica glass, but the quality is there.
Also, I readjusted the M8’s rangefinder as it was slightly off at the infinity setting. It’s now spot on there, and focus between f/1.4 and f/2 is now correct. I do have to compensate for focus shift from f/2.8 onwards, but I knew this could be a problem with the Nokton, so I don’t complain. When focus is correct, the results are great! (They are even if focus is not correct, especially when reducing the images to web-size, but I am kind of a pixel peeper …)