Tar and Feather edition

[eleskin]

Maybe the next special edition M8 should be a hi tech tar covered version with a light white feather coating. The Tar would improve the grip and the white feathers would reflect sunlight, cool the camera, and make the rain bounce off, hence the weatherproofing.

This camera is silly and does nothing for me except cry for news regarding better high ISO performance.

 

[kully]

What does this mean? You don't like your M8?

 

[eleskin]

I am referring to the White Elephant edition M8 here

 

[kully]

If it makes Leica money, that's good, no? And whomever buys it will also hopefully be happy.

What's the problem?

(Apologies if this special edition has any other meaning - I've not been reading the forum for a while).

 

[jaapv]

Maybe the next special edition M8 should be a hi tech tar covered version with a light white feather coating. The Tar would improve the grip and the white feathers would reflect sunlight, cool the camera, and make the rain bounce off, hence the weatherproofing.

This camera is silly and does nothing for me except cry for news regarding better high ISO performance.

Is somebody pointing a gun at your head to buy it😕😕 So you don't want Leica to make a bit of money to invest in R&D🙄

 

[eleskin]

I love my M8, and will buy the M9.

Leica is wasting time and money producing these silly special editions that contribute nothing to making a photograph. The M8 is a tool and should be treated as such. Too many people are worried about scratches on their cameras, the color, the leather, etc,,,,. Nikon and Canon do not get involved with this special edition crap. The $14,000 "Last !00" Noctilux takes the cake. No sane photographer would buy one. What are they for? Some fancy villa for royalty or someone who carries their poodle into fancy stores on Worth Ave in Palm Beach?

I am more concerned with better High ISO performance than this CRAP!!!

 

[Pickett Wilson]

A little white paint is a lot cheaper than R&D and brings a bigger return. Give poor Leica a break.

 

[jaapv]

You are missing the point that they are not wasting money on things like this, they are making money by selling this kind of stuff. I guess the cost and effort of production is similar to a regular M8, but the price is not. So what in that case? The ones wasting their money are the buyers, not the provider. You sound like you have come down with a severe case of sour grapes.

 

[marke]

What's the big deal, guys? eleskin was only voicing his opinion (of which I happen to agree with). He only provided a somewhat humorous followup to the most recent edition, along with saying that the camera did nothing for him. If these editions bring more money to Leica which allows them to produce a future digital M with better IQ, that will be great. But it still doesn't make this camera less stupid looking from a real shooter's viewpoint.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

I think a Panasonic G1 would look cool in glossy white enamel. While it does look strange on a Leica M, the G1's already come in colors.

 

[eleskin]

Naa, I am a nice guy, no sour grapes here. I just get scared when I see this stuff. Sure I want Leica to survive, but that will come with investments in new technology, and possibly some good stuff rubbing off from Panasonic. Yeh, they may make some money with this stuff, but for those of us who use the M8 professionally, this white paint is useless. I want Leica to start selling more to the pros again. I keep hearing that many pros would jump back in if some of the technical issues with the M8 were solved, that they would have an M again along with their Nikon and Canon rigs the way they did 30 years ago (their arms are tired carrying around these heavy cameras, and want the compact M system again). If white paint helps funding R&D for a better imaging chip, I guess I can put up with it. I would rather buy a regular M8.2 though. And I would bet if more people bought regular cameras from Leica, it would do more for R&D than this thing. Hey, why not make the R lenses for Nikon and Canon mount with an autofocus capability? That would really raise some cash!!! Voigtlander is doing it.

 

[jaapv]

Well, yes, I would never put any money in a thing like that as well. But Leica has been making specials like this since day one. Why shouldn't they if it brings revenue without any extra effort? And about entering the pro market again? The M series started losing the pro market forty years ago and although many a pro can use this camera to good effect, it is hard to imagine that it is a concept that can be called professional in this day and age. I would rather call the M series a high-end amateur camera.
Leica's entrance to the pro market is called S2, not M8, nor even M9 nor R10....

 

[eleskin]

Rangefinder concept not PROESSIONAL anymore????

Rangefinder concept not PROESSIONAL anymore????

Jaapv,

Am I hearing this right?

You cant be serious. I was driving my car and I was thinking why I still loved the rangefinder despite auto focus SLR designs (I have one). Nothing out there allows you to look directly at the subject. SLR's focus on a piece of glass/plastic, and that can get between you and the subject, especially with lenses of high speed. Why does an artist have many types of brushes? Why does choosing to use the rangefinder way of looking at a subject less professional than the SLR design? And the lenses, would we call Leica glass amateur?

I have a Fuji GSW 690 which has the words PROFESSIONAL printed on the front of it. The M8 is like having a mini version of that great camera. I am a pro, and I love rangefinders, and your argument makes no sense to me .

 

[Uwe_Nds]

..., but for those of us who use the M8 professionally, this white paint is useless. I want Leica to start selling more to the pros again.

Jaapv,

Am I hearing this right?

You cant be serious .... I am a pro, and I love rangefinders, and your argument makes no sense to me .

Well, in my opinion, you can't be serious.

What makes you think you're the centre of the world?

So, you're a pro (at least you've got a camera stamped "professional" on the front...😉). So what? Does that mean that any camera manufacturer has to listen to your wish list?

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[Rui Morais de Sousa]

For me, this whole story with limited editions is just going too far and too ridiculous!

It is sad to see such a great camera, with a fabulous heritage, beeing treated this way.

In my opinion this crazy madness is NOT helping the Leica camera reputation as an exceptional photographing tool in any way, but is instead turning Leica into a fashionable meaningless toy to collect dust in the shelves of (rich) people who wish to show off at any price.

Leica used to be a discreete camera, a fantastic tool to make good and interesting images. Now it's turning kind of a joyless clown...

I can't imagine people like Cartier-Bresson walking around with such an eye-catching camera. And even if he did, I wouldn't care and wouldn't try to emulate him on that one!

Leica should better worry about keeping on producing high quality usable equipment that appeals to qualified photographers (amateur AND professionals), because THAT is important!

Leave the Spielereien behind!

Care about PHOTOGRAPHY, not fashion!

Earn the Leitz heritage. Keep the flame! Concern yourselves about PHOTOGRAPHY, not silly limited editions that don't add nothing to the main purpose of the camera: make a good photograph!

Open your eyes to the colors and the shades of grey around you. Care less about the colors of your camera...

Have a nice day,

Rui

(P.S.: I can see a certain kind of "limited editions" making sense. The original MP surely was making sense for some working photographers. It added features that helped them on doing their job, but that was something different...).

AL-MOST-LY PHOTOGRAPHY

 

[eleskin]

Rui,

Well said! A very eloquent and thoughtful message with great respect to the traditional values of those who strive to make "a photograph".

I hold your words here in high regard and find them quite refreshing indeed!

Ed

 

[eleskin]

Roi,

Hey, my wife is from Portugal, and her family is from near Braga. I cant wait to bring my M8 there. we have not been able to go for a while because my wife had a baby, but she is now old enough for the trip. Her family name is Oliveira, and yes, all her sisters including herself are Maria. Her name is now Leskin (Russian Jewish), a good combination. Her father makes wine too, here in Bethlehem PA!!!

Cheers!! Bom Dia!!! Shalom!!

Ed

 

[Rui Morais de Sousa]

Thank you for your kind words Eleskin.

Wish your baby and all your family all the good things in the world.

Wenn you come to Portugal, come by to say hello.

Cheers,

Rui

AL-MOST-LY PHOTOGRAPHY

 

[Pickett Wilson]

eleskin, I think Jaapv's point was that professionals made a choice about what camera they were going to use 40 years ago and it wasn't Leicas. Whether some pros use Leicas really isn't the point.

 

[Martee]

I love the white, even more than the safari, and frankly do not understand the whole debate. Since when is there a universally correct colour for cameras. I wish there was more choice; a la carte design is a brilliant idea that other vendors should adopt too.

If you absolutely must have a reason other than taste to like a white Leica, consider the fact that some optical systems (not necessarily cameras) are white to reduce adverse solar and thermal effects. And the M8 surely is a precision optical instrument where this makes sense.

Then again some people will never get over the black-instead-of-red dot on the M8.2 🙂