Discontinued - M9 and M9P

to quite some extent here in Europe...
I'v decided to wait for the new M to come out into the market....sometime ago sold my M8.2....and keep saving....
 
Raid, the M9 is still an awesome camera. I bought mine new a few years ago, and intend to keep it. I was doing a pretty good job resisting the Monochrom, until Klaus showed me his M-M at our RFF get-together last Sunday in NYC.
 
I have an M9-P and at no stage in any of the discussions of forthcoming or discontinued cameras have I been one bit unhappy about it. Indeed, there is a carbon copy of my chrome M9-P on the same shelf where I bought mine from and I am half inclined to grab it, either as a backup camera or as a classic in demand in 5 years time on which I can make a profit. The latter is unlikely of course. Repairs on the M9, if necessary, will be no problem as the ME is current and is the same camera.
 
raid said:
I recently got an M9, so you will not hear any ha ha ha from me.
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I bought one about 6 or 7 months ago, but I have no intention of selling it anytime soon so price fluctuations mean very little for me. I am not typically fond of digital cameras, but the more I use the M9 the more interested I find myself becoming. I still shoot way more film but the M9 is slowly but surely pushing its' way in.
 
It's kinda amazing to me that the life of a Leica digital model doesn't appear to be any longer than those of its competitors. I wonder if it's planned obsolescence or true tech improvements....at just a higher price?
 
For me, the M9 is the first digital rangefinder that truly can replace film and can give you better images than your film M at similar ISOs in daily practical use, and can let you print as big as you usually want to.

Whatever camera comes out in the future, I think the M9 will be enough for many people for many years to come. I am still waiting for the right price, but would have no problems with it being an outdated camera. The only thing I sometimes worry about is the reliability. Besides that, whatever the new M improves can be done much better with other brands' cameras anyway.
 
The famous Leica manufacturing integrity of old, which endowed their cameras with such longevity as to enable them to be used and enjoyed by later generations of one's family tree is long gone, alas.

In today's world, manufacturers can only survive if their products are routinely replaced on an ever-shortening timescale by the purchaser, hence ''repairability'' and ''longevity'' considerations have been consigned to history.

Today's wunderkamera is tomorrow's paperweight/recyclable junk.

C'est la vie...
 
Bill58 said:
It's kinda amazing to me that the life of a Leica digital model doesn't appear to be any longer than those of its competitors. I wonder if it's planned obsolescence or true tech improvements....at just a higher price?
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to me, its amazing (and as potential buyer, bit disappointing too) how well they hold their value, vs competition. M8 from 2006 for example. but guess am even more amazed how some people expect digital Leica prices to hold up like in old film days.
 
tom.w.bn said:
Serious question: who wants such a feature nowadays? I mean this is so strange in my eyes to buy something with the idea in mind to give it to your kids in 30-50 years. No one wants your stuff when you pass away. It may work but it's used and old. The vast majority of people nowadays don't want used and old stuff.
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I think this is true. Furthermore, it is a burden. A wonderful fellow on photo.net, now dead, faced the dilemma of what to do with all his Leica gear. His poor wife had enough to contend with and he wanted to get rid of it all while he was able. I will do the same if I get some forewarning.

I want a Leica to last just for my own use. I love that my M2 is perfect and fully functional, just as on the day it was made, and when I got it 36 years ago, and when I finish with it too I'll bet, hopefully in another 36 years. I prefer for my family's sake that it would all look like junk when I drop dead, to save them the bother of wondering what to do with it all.

But in case I am the one offloading it all, I've kept all the boxes.....
 
tom.w.bn said:
Serious question: who wants such a feature nowadays? I mean this is so strange in my eyes to buy something with the idea in mind to give it to your kids in 30-50 years. No one wants your stuff when you pass away. It may work but it's used and old. The vast majority of people nowadays don't want used and old stuff.
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It depends. I dearly wish I had been given my father's tools as he was a machinist forever. I didn't even get the double shotgun that he let me use as a teenager.

My kids? They want nothing of mine.

Grandkids? Well, why do you think I have been training them to use the rangefinders since age 3?;)
 
@ tom.w.bn ....

...''The vast majority of people nowadays don't want used and old stuff''...

Really ?

In my experience, as one who visits auction houses and car boot sales on a regular basis and sees hordes of similarly-minded people seeking to obtain beautifully made items from yesteryear, I would say it's a rare person who ISN'T interested in ''old and used stuff''.

If you're about to throw out an old Stradivarius, or a Ming dynasty vase - or even some old Leicas - that you don't want, get in touch with me ... (!)
 
tom.w.bn said:
Serious question: who wants such a feature nowadays? I mean this is so strange in my eyes to buy something with the idea in mind to give it to your kids in 30-50 years. No one wants your stuff when you pass away. It may work but it's used and old. The vast majority of people nowadays don't want used and old stuff.
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Tha vast majority of people wouldn't buy a FF dRF camera.
But I'm sure, the vast majority of people who own a M8 or M9 would happily embrace a ability to upgrade their cameras to a current sensor if this would possible instead buying a new camera.
 
tom.w.bn said:
Serious question: who wants such a feature nowadays? I mean this is so strange in my eyes to buy something with the idea in mind to give it to your kids in 30-50 years. No one wants your stuff when you pass away. It may work but it's used and old. The vast majority of people nowadays don't want used and old stuff.
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No, but the smart ones do. Last week-end Frances and I visited an expensive kitchen shop with our 'adopted daughter' Aditi. As Aditi said, "Why do people buy this rubbish? You can buy much better made stuff at a fraction of the price at a vide-grenier." A vide-grenier is a sort of annual, village-wide car boot sale/yard sale/flea market.

Don't raise stupid kids...

Cheers,

R.
 
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