effect of the M8 on Leica

R

rolleistef

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Hello all,
when the M8 was first release, I had asked whether the M8 would save Leica, but it was too soon to say. How is it going now? Did leica managed to come out of its photographical slump thanks to the M8?
 
It would seem that Leica has a hit on its hands with the M8 from everything I've read -- and I've read everything I could find.
 
On the whole, I think it's safe to say the M8 has been a "plus" for Solms, glitches and all. It's made Leica that much more of a player in the digital realm. And this "rising tide" should be a lift for all M-users, but time alone will tell. (The lone exception to this: people on the lookout for good deals on fast and/or wide Leica glass on the used market.)


- Barrett
 
Any idea or guesstimate of how many units sold so far? From what I understand the used lens market has revived quite a bit since the launch of the M8.
 
Big backlog on lenses and the M8 has sold like hotcakes. Only just now can you find them without waiting for months. If you ever used one you'll know why. Absolutely amazing stuff.
Steve
 
Hi
I have spoken to a few Leica premier dealers in the UK and their initial sales have been phenomenal. (Ffordes over 5o units, Harrisons over 20 units) The real test comes if this rate is sustained. What does seem to be happenning (anecdotal I know) is that a number of professionals are trading d slrs for M8's. If true these are new leica users. This is a different pattern to the predictable die hards such as myself for whom an M8 was an obvious and natural progression.
 
2007 should be the banner year for Leica. Leica have more orders for M8 and M lenses than they can fill. How well Leica will do after this yeaar is difficult to predict.
If they can come out with new digital model every 2-3 years to keep up with the rest of the world, I believe they will be all right.
 
It should also not be missed that the digilux 3 has been very sucessful, and again is bringing in a new first time Leica market. But where are the trolls of doom.....
 
Russ,
Actually I have not left yet (work is kicking my ass)- taking off on the 12th. Leica is replacing the body with a new one and it should ship to arrive before I depart so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll call Leica on Monday but when I called last Monday they told me they had decided to just ship me a new camera after inspecting both the body and the strap. If they make good on their word then this is the Leica I have known and respected all these years- Bravo Solms!
 
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I hope it saves them, it definitely is the best digital camera on the market with maybe a tie with Hasselbald. But in the '35' size no question. As far as I can see the marketing program is almost totally internal, just let everybody see the images. Imagine what they could do if they marketed like Canon.
 
If Solms has worked out the banding, blobing issue and gives us a true 16bit file I would buy another one. With an extended warranty as they seem to be having some troubles. I LOVED the files it produced but I always felt they were not as good as they could be. The best thing about the camera is the leica m mount lens compatibility.
 
espressogeek said:
If Solms has worked out the banding, blobing issue and gives us a true 16bit file I would buy another one. With an extended warranty as they seem to be having some troubles. I LOVED the files it produced but I always felt they were not as good as they could be. The best thing about the camera is the leica m mount lens compatibility.
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Things can always be made better. But right now the M8 is a joy to use, and the more i use it the better it seems to get. I hope leica are out of danger financially. The one area which I suspect is struggling is the leica R system. This is a shame because its a wonderful SLR. Interestingly leica delayed launching the digital back until they had ironed out all the problems but this delay must have cost them big time.
 
Regarding the state of the M8 and it's ability to create worth while images I have only this to say. For me the M8 is not a limiting factor for the way I shoot- I am the only limiting factor. I could opt for a DSLR but that format would get in the way far more then any short comings this camera may have. This is a personal distinction and for others the DRF format may get in the way or**this cameras handling of IR may be a factor. As to green blobs, I have had no green blobs in 4000 images but the IR thing is real. For me I do not care if some colors are IR contaminated. I view IR as a component of this cameras "film," a film I like very much. For others this may be the worst film ever and they will choose a different camera.

For people on the fence may I suggest you ignore the hype on both sides and just look at images created with the M8. If you like what you see and if you like range finder photography then you'll like the M8 and if not then not. The M8 is what it is and what it is is plain to see on flickr- thousands of images now and some exemplify the best of what you can expect. Good and bad, yin and yang. It's as simple as that.
 
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Sailor Ted said:
Russ,
I called last Monday they told me they had decided to just ship me a new camera after inspecting both the body and the strap.
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I hope the new one is as good as the old one was. Best of luck with that.
 
Sailor Ted said:
when I called last Monday they told me they had decided to just ship me a new camera after inspecting both the body and the strap. If they make good on their word then this is the Leica I have known and respected all these years- Bravo Solms!
Click to expand...
That's great news and reflects very well on Leica.

...Mike
 
Richard Marks said:
Things can always be made better. But right now the M8 is a joy to use, and the more i use it the better it seems to get. I hope leica are out of danger financially. The one area which I suspect is struggling is the leica R system. This is a shame because its a wonderful SLR. Interestingly leica delayed launching the digital back until they had ironed out all the problems but this delay must have cost them big time.
Click to expand...

I dont want them to make it better I want them to deliver a camera that doesnt band and blob and actually puts out the 16bit performance they promised. If they have fixed the banding and blobing thats great. If they cease to claim 16bit performance and drop the price I'd buy one tomorrow. I think its a great camera and definitely exceeds my photographic skills by a huge margin.
 
Espresso,
FWIW I have never seen blobs or strips in any of my images. As to 16-bit data, I don't know about that**as I am not a digital expert, however I accept Leica's explanation given it's file quality and I can tell you this. I am more then happy with my images compared to DSLR's from Nikon or Canon (and Nikon is my fav DSLR if you know what I mean : )

Also after viewing your work for some time I can say that you are an ambidextrous photographer. That is to say you shoot very well with both SLR and the RF formats. Personally I would have little use for a DSLR but you could find use for both. It should at this point boil down to whether or not you like the look of Leica's files and not some legalistic interpretation of what you thought Leica promised in the M8 and what finally delivered. If you like the images from the M8 and if you want to shoot a DRF then that's your choice unless you prefer the R-D1. Seems simple to me.
 
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