buy an M8 in 2012?

I've been thinking about buying an M8 for a while now - going to wait until a least a month or two after the May 10th event now, assuming that an upgrade to the M9 is announced of course.

While i don't expect a nosedive in prices, i can imagine that there's a bunch of M8 users that decided to skip the M9 and move onto the next iteration that will cause a bit of a price drop. Hopefully.
 
I can't see M8 prices taking a massive hit whatever Leica release in the future. They bottomed-out 12-18 months back and since then the prices have creeped up again (at resellers/stores).

A friend of mine owns a shop in UK and he said that as soon as he gets good M8's in stock, they're sold in less than a week.

I'd buy an M8 in 2030 as long it was in good working order. Truly adore mine, but I solely want B/W.
 
I've just started to follow a few M8 auctions on eBay, and the two most recent to finish sold for £1010 and £1001. The last one looked good, judged to be 8/10 cosmetically and 33000 actuations, about what I'd expect for a camera of that age, but that's the lowest prices I've seen them go for by about 25%..
 
Paps Guattro said:
I can't see M8 prices taking a massive hit whatever Leica release in the future. They bottomed-out 12-18 months back and since then the prices have creeped up again (at resellers/stores).

A friend of mine owns a shop in UK and he said that as soon as he gets good M8's in stock, they're sold in less than a week.

I'd buy an M8 in 2030 as long it was in good working order. Truly adore mine, but I solely want B/W.
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agreed. prices are totally stable. the M8 is a phenomenal camera to buy even in 2012. ive had mine a bit over a week and am truly enjoying photography...
 
huntjump said:
Given the speculation that the M10 is coming very soon, but is likely to be priced so high that I wouldnt be able to afford it anyway...and my feeling is the m9 wont drop too much because the m10 will be so much more expensive...my question is:

Would anyone buy a Used M8u, but brand new shutter (>10 on the shutter), vulcanite grip and 1 year warranty for $2500 cash (no box)? I have someone offering me that, and i'm considering it because of the warranty.
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make it 2200$ and you'll be perfectly fine
 
IEDEI said:
the current street price for an M8.1 (M8u) is between $2500 and $3k.
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It is probably hard to get that for one right now, with the new Leicas about to be announced and the chatter about serviceability. For example, there is a very nice upgraded one with low shutter count on getdpi now that is priced at $2600 with 5 Leica filters extra battery and an extra charger from a very reputable seller. It has set there for a week now. Recently, an 8.2 sold for $2750 on ebay recently and they normally go for hundreds more than a upgraded M8.

It is a tricky time to buy any Leica Digital, IMO. I was considering selling my M9, I may just wait to see how things shake out in a couple of weeks...
 
I am considering the M8 in our classifieds and I seemed to recall some discussion about Leica not supporting repairs etc for the M8 any longer. Does anyone know anything more about this issue?

Thanks.
 
ray*j*gun said:
I am considering the M8 in our classifieds and I seemed to recall some discussion about Leica not supporting repairs etc for the M8 any longer. Does anyone know anything more about this issue?
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They run out of LCD screens for M8 and therefore will not replace it. Otherwise, the M8 is still being serviced.
 
Leica still supports the M8, as mine was serviced a month back for a broken shutter. I was not affected by the LCD problem, or at least not yet.
 
Raymond, you're correct. There are a few accounts here and there of M8 users being offered discounted M9s by Leica directly, so it would appear to be official policy.

I'm still hoping along with many others that during the Q&A session for Saturday at Photokina that Leica will outline a clearer strategy as to how this issue will be dealt with.
 
ray*j*gun said:
Hmmmm seems like a big risk on a 2 thousand camera.
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Well, it is something to consider. Many people make a big deal about this, as can be seen in the long heated discussions here on RFF. But the risk seems quite small, unless one has a habit of breaking LCD screens physically. It's quite safe to assume the rate of screens dying is insignificant. There is one known issue with M8 screens, called "coffee stains", but that does not make the screen unusable, and most units that will develop this problem probably have done so already. In summary, many uncertainties like in life in general.

And as others have pointed out, Leica offers a reduced-price upgrade to M9 (possibly now to M-E?) for those M8 owners who have a failure in their LCD screens. There is a quote from a Leica representative saying this is the official policy.
 
Lss said:
There is one known issue with M8 screens, called "coffee stains", but that does not make the screen unusable, and most units that will develop this problem probably have done so already. In summary, many uncertainties like in life in general.

Bought my M8 over a year ago and it didnt have the stain until this year so it is possible that not all M8's have experienced the issue just yet. That being said it doesnt impact the photos or using the menus. Only when looking at photos on the back... something I dont really do anyway so the only issue for me is the money I paid for it and it has a fault in it that cant be serviced now. Kind of bugs me but when I use the camera I really dont notice because I am having such a great time taking photos. Would I buy one now knowing this issue... not sure... I have thought about an M9 but because of the service issue I think I might want to go to a mechanical film Leica that could last forever... or at least until film totally dies.
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Actually, the better strategy sounds like getting an M8 and hoping the screen does fail (of course, then it won't fail...), since the trade-in that Leica gives you toward the M9 seems to be more than the current price of a used M8 (plus you get a warranted camera with a brand new battery). I think the use of cases does cut down on damaged screens.

Buying any used Leica is analogous to buying a foreclosed house or an old Jaguar. They can be cheap and fantastic, but the costs of ownership (aside from the purchase price) do not diminish with the purchase price. Property taxes never go down, the tuneup for a 3.8 Mark II is just as expensive and frequent as it always was, and a CLA is still a CLA.

That said, people who want the digital Leica experience on a budget don't have a lot of options - with no change in spec with the ME, the used prices of M9s very high, and the M 240 not being widely available until the middle of next year (all of which are required to "trickle down" lower prices), the M8 is pretty much it. And given that the M9's techology is identical, spending 2.5x as much for one gets you megapixels and angle of view but does not otherwise improve the experience.

Dante
 
Dante_Stella said:
Actually, the better strategy sounds like getting an M8 and hoping the screen does fail (of course, then it won't fail...), since the trade-in that Leica gives you toward the M9 seems to be more than the current price of a used M8 (plus you get a warranted camera with a brand new battery). I think the use of cases does cut down on damaged screens.
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I agree Dante. I'm kind of hoping it happens and they offer me a reduced price M-E. If not, I will just buy a used M9 in a few months and be done with it. I should have never sold my M9, but at least I got more back than you'd get now if you sold (and I still have the cash).
 
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