Could the M8 become a "classic?"

[sevo]

Electronics doesn't have an expiration date. I still have two of the Apple's earliest laptops (PowerBook 165C and 540C), they still work... nobody cares.

Technology has an expiration data. Those Powerbooks are obsolete.

... but they can still be useful or even required if you want to access old music and media productions.

I do keep old computers (Mac and Atari ST and SGIs) from the early 1990's afloat just to access old work. It is hard - and getting increasingly harder - to maintain computers that old, as semi-consumables like Batteries (NiCd), memory (SIMM) and hard drives (SCSI) all are now extinct (or even abolished) technology, and used parts tend to be in barely better shape than those you want to replace.

 

[pepeguitarra]

M8 is a classic already!

M8 is a classic already!

In my book, M8 is already a classic. It has already been added to my Will, together with my guitars, so the kids and grandkids do not have to fight over it.

 

[nongfuspring]

There are a lot of comments in this thread about how analog gear is repairable basically forever, but not digital. I wonder about this a bit. As we move farther and farther down the digital road, I would think that we are going to see more and more repair people that are versed ONLY in digital repair. I'm not sure I buy this idea that digital gear is destined for the scrap heap after a handful of years of operation. I'm quite confident that by the time my Fuji digital gear needs help, there'll be repair shops that specialize in repairing them... from the motherboard to the LCD. 🙂

I share the skepticism about the dogmatic belief film cameras have better longevity, it really depends. Digital cameras have very few moving parts (some don't even have mechanical shutters) and the moving parts they do have are produced through automated processes to extreme tolerances using modern materials. I reckon a 5d will outlive it's average user just as an M3 - and no doubt with less costly and far fewer services.

You can repair just about anything and open obsolete .stm files if you really want to, it's just a matter of cost and effort. It seems a wasted worry to be concerned about the longevity of a digital camera when in 10 years time nobody will care about it anyway.

 

[hamradio]

Ehhh, classic to some, not to others. Some people see the 1987 Chrysler Lebaron convertible as classic, too...

 

[B-9]

Haha, some even would say my 91 Geo Tracker is a classic...

I have to say, both the RD-1 and M8 are destined to be remembered.
Classics? Yes, as long as people feel nostalgia, and time keeps moving forward, anything and everything we see in our current lives, with eventually be left for that exact designation.

Thats just reality, like it or not.

 

[Huss]

I share the skepticism about the dogmatic belief film cameras have better longevity, it really depends. Digital cameras have very few moving parts (some don't even have mechanical shutters) and the moving parts they do have are produced through automated processes to extreme tolerances using modern materials. I reckon a 5d will outlive it's average user just as an M3 - and no doubt with less costly and far fewer services.

You can repair just about anything and open obsolete .stm files if you really want to, it's just a matter of cost and effort. It seems a wasted worry to be concerned about the longevity of a digital camera when in 10 years time nobody will care about it anyway.

This is why digital cameras will not last, no matter who makes them;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

 

[pepeguitarra]

This is why digital cameras will not last, no matter who makes them;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

Wow, you win! That is really something!😡

 

[Huss]

Wow, you win! That is really something!😡

I wish I didn't.

🙁

 

[jsrockit]

Well, certain computers / video games have attained classic status and obtain big bucks. It could happen with certain digital cameras (since they are computers).

 

[jsrockit]

What has the Big Bucks got to do with attaining a Classic Status?

😉

With regard to electronics, it could mean rarity. And rare items can fetch "big bucks!"

However, if by classic you mean ... an outstanding example of a particular style, something of lasting worth, or something with a timeless quality... then I'm not sure of many things that would be worthy of that definition and not worth a lot of cash (compared to non-classic items).

 

[seakayaker1]

I loved my M8.2, especially the B&W conversions.

Who knows, perhaps some day buy a used one.

.....time and money.

 

[Dektol Dan]

Spend Some Time With the M8 Pic Thread

Spend Some Time With the M8 Pic Thread

Every couple of weeks I go back to that thread. There will be digital classics, and the M8 is most definitely one.

I am the proud owner of the Monochrom, but M8 just plains nails B&W too.

It is well worth reading Puts' review of the M8 MM and 246.

The M8's pictures have wonderful signature and in some cases hard to tell apart from the MM.

Time will make the M8 a classic, the 246 will have many defenders, but the M8 has the B&W look I want hands down. It's imagery needs no defense.

 

[pepeguitarra]

Every couple of weeks I go back to that thread. There will be digital classics, and the M8 is most definitely one.

I am the proud owner of the Monochrom, but M8 just plains nails B&W too.

It is well worth reading Puts' review of the M8 MM and 246.

The M8's pictures have wonderful signature and in some cases hard to tell apart from the MM.

Time will make the M8 a classic, the 246 will have many defenders, but the M8 has the B&W look I want hands down. It's imagery needs no defense.

That is how I feel. I got my M9 back and working fine (wonderful camera), but I keep using my M8.u the most.

 

[Range-rover]

I just got a pretty close to mint M8, about 3000 shots taken. My first Leica
in a long time but it's great being back. I think all the good things about the
camera out weigh's all the small negatives, hey there's no perfect camera
out there and the results I'm getting are pretty impressive with color (UV/IR)
and all plus black and white, this will be a classic.

Range

 

[Range-rover]

Thanks Helen, I feel bad you sold yours, you seem so happy with it and
your right it's a lot less digital looking than the other big company camera's

Range

 

[RichardPhoto]

I guess it all depends on one's interpretation of classic.


Ignoring the fact that most use the term erroneously I do think there a several digital cameras which fit the criteria people popularly use to define an item a 'classic'.

I certainly consider the M8 a classic. For comparison, an example of another digital camera I consider a classic (and luckily own) is the Canon 5D (mk 1).

The fact that both of these cameras are around a decade old (a long time in digital, particularly considering the logarithmic growth in digital that took place in the late 00s) and still make the mainstay of my equipment shows just how special those two cameras are.

 

[Range-rover]

Sweeeeet !.... Tres Happy for You !!
have the Best of Fun 😀
the M8 files are just soooo Good and need not much of anything

Thanks Helen

 

[uhoh7]

Today the M6 and M8 are close in price. I think the 8 is really a steal.

 

[thegman]

I don't think so, basically because in 50 years or whatever, it almost certainly won't work. Also, I think there is something about electronics vs. mechanics which just does not inspire the type of person who collects *anything*. Quartz vs. mechanical watches, for example.

I think there is an attitude currently that mechanics are "better" than electronics, not technically, but something deep in our minds, it just feels better. Until that changes, then I don't see any electronic camera being a classic, even motorized/battery operated film cameras struggle to become true classics, I think.

It's hard to imagine a very electrical car like a new Lexus, with all it's on board computers being collected in the same way a 1970s Mercedes would be. I'm not sure it's as simple as old vs. new, it's just some kind of emotional itch in our minds that electronics does not scratch in terms of collecting.

 

[RichardPhoto]

You seem to define the term Classic by what you own and use, which is hardly its true definition.

The truth is that all the Nikon D200, D300, D700, D600 (and so on) are still in use today. Unless broken, these old cameras are getting used, and traded, on a daily basis and they have a perfectly comparable pricing.

If a "classic" camera is to be defined by whether it is used, after a few years, then we can safely say that the whole Nikon and Canon lineups are Classics.

I think you misread my post. Perhaps I should have gone even further to emphasise that it is entirely subjective?