konicaman
konicaman
SPLASH!
Selling the Mamiya? You gotta be kidding?! Sell the M 8.2 and get a Canon or Nikon DSLR with a couple of nice primes (M42s suggested) and a quality zoom - just a suggestion
Selling the Mamiya? You gotta be kidding?! Sell the M 8.2 and get a Canon or Nikon DSLR with a couple of nice primes (M42s suggested) and a quality zoom - just a suggestion
Tom Diaz
Well-known
I was glad to move up from an M8 to an M9. Now I can interchange lenses between the M9 and my M6 without juggling around all those filters! At this point I wish I had a second M9 as my backup, with all due respect to my wonderful M6. Film is just getting to be too much of a hassle.
f/14
Established
Dixon at Heathrow Aiport sell them new for 4100 Euro provided you have a boarding card showing you are leaving the EU. Stood in front of the display case for 30 minutes but eventually managed to walk away without buing it.
eleskin
Well-known
How I threw cold water on my M9 itch
How I threw cold water on my M9 itch
The first thing I noticed about the M9 when I tested it is that the prints coming from my M8 looked similar at 17"x22" and I could not see the extra cost of the m9 justified. 1.3 crop is close to full frame, not quite full frame but close I feel.
The M9 has better high ISO, but not by that much.
I bought a second used M8 (I needed a spare body for the one I already had) to save money. My thinking is the M8 is more than enough for my needs right now. What I am really after is vastly improved high ISO. I may buy the X100 for that to hold me over until we see the M10 which I expect to have much better high ISO than the M8 or M9. 7K I cannot justify when what I really need is a larger printer in the $5,000 range from Epson. For me, the print is the goal in the end, and from what I have seen, the M8 and M9 are so close when it comes to actual prints, that the money is better spent on larger printers and supplies to frame and exhibit art. Thats why I bought any camera in the first place 22 years ago! For the prints I would make!!!
How I threw cold water on my M9 itch
The first thing I noticed about the M9 when I tested it is that the prints coming from my M8 looked similar at 17"x22" and I could not see the extra cost of the m9 justified. 1.3 crop is close to full frame, not quite full frame but close I feel.
The M9 has better high ISO, but not by that much.
I bought a second used M8 (I needed a spare body for the one I already had) to save money. My thinking is the M8 is more than enough for my needs right now. What I am really after is vastly improved high ISO. I may buy the X100 for that to hold me over until we see the M10 which I expect to have much better high ISO than the M8 or M9. 7K I cannot justify when what I really need is a larger printer in the $5,000 range from Epson. For me, the print is the goal in the end, and from what I have seen, the M8 and M9 are so close when it comes to actual prints, that the money is better spent on larger printers and supplies to frame and exhibit art. Thats why I bought any camera in the first place 22 years ago! For the prints I would make!!!
furcafe
Veteran
If you can afford it, do it. The M9 certainly isn't perfect, but it is what the M8 should have been 3 & 1/2 years ago.
swoop
Well-known
As nice as the M9-P is. It's not worth the extra $1000. I'd hold out for the M10 in 2 years. Which will probably make its debut at $9000.
Off the top of my head this is Leica's digital roadmap. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
9/2006, M8 at $5300
9/2008, M8.2 at $6000
9/2009, M9 at $7000
6/2011, M9-P at $8000
9/2012, M10 at $9000?
Off the top of my head this is Leica's digital roadmap. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
9/2006, M8 at $5300
9/2008, M8.2 at $6000
9/2009, M9 at $7000
6/2011, M9-P at $8000
9/2012, M10 at $9000?
furcafe
Veteran
willie_901
Veteran
Has your use of the of the Mamiya kit declined in the past year or so.?
Are you tired of the Mamiya's analog work flow?
If so, proceed. Otherwise save up and then sell the M8.
Are you tired of the Mamiya's analog work flow?
If so, proceed. Otherwise save up and then sell the M8.
cee
Member
Hell no.
Hell no.
It's a stupid amount of money for a digital camera.
Hell no.
It's a stupid amount of money for a digital camera.
Ben Z
Veteran
The M8 was US$4800 at the outset, didn't go up until summer '07. My dealer sold me one at the original price within 30 days of the hike.
The M8.2 came out at US$6400. At the time an M8.1 was selling for $5500. A $900 difference for the sapphire screen, better frame lines, and a better shutter. The $1000 difference between M9 and M9P is just for the sapphire screen and a cosmetically-different top plate.
The price difference between an M8.2 and M9 seems like the biggest bargain. $600 got you full-frame and no more IR filters, although albeit the loss of the sapphire screen.
Makes one wonder whether Leica felt that $7000 was as much as the market would bear. If the M9P sells well @ $8000, especially given that it's identical in IQ to the 2 yr old M9, then Leica might very well figure the market will bear $9000 for an M10, or even more depending on how well it addresses the largest complaint about the M9: high-ISO noise. If OTOH the M9P sales are merely mediocre, then Leica might throttle back on their pricing strategy for the M10. Way too many unknowns at this point to predict.
jpfisher
Well-known
I've also got the M9 itch. I should be perfectly happy with the M3 and M8 combo, but it just doesn't seem to be the case. Just don't see a way I can swing it without selling my 35mm Lux ASPH, which is the dealbreaker.
I'm going to try and wait another year. Save up some funds and hope the prices on used bodies drops down to acceptable levels.
I'm going to try and wait another year. Save up some funds and hope the prices on used bodies drops down to acceptable levels.
Tom Niblick
Well-known
I'm with you. Its time for a M9. But in my case my M8 has to go and I'll also be putting a few Nikkors on the block. 105 DC, 60 D and a 24-120 D + (6) 72mm filters...
Tom
Tom
Jeff S
Well-known
efirmage
Established
Sell the M8 and it's not such a huge cost. Still a hefty toll for a camera, but I've rarely seen people who liked an M8 who didn't think the M9 was worth it.
Ben Z
Veteran
It's hard to be 100% certain from the translation if Dr. Kaufmann meant 1500 sold & shipped to dealers, or 1500 pre-sold by dealers to customers. But it's hard to imagine that the M9-P will sell anywhere near the numbers of the M9.
First of all, people who haven't bought an M9 by now it's likely either because they have an issue with the technology (such as high-ISO) or the price. Not because a sapphire screen or a red logo dot are the deal-breakers. The chrome finish, perhaps. So a new model with old technology and a higher price isn't going to bring the majority of them into the fold. If anything, a large number of hold-offs will take advantage of low-mileage M9 trades.
Second, of people who already own an M9, surely no one would expect all or even a majority of them to buy a second body, suddenly, now, this late in the product life-cycle, for $1000 more than an M9, only because of the mostly-cosmetic differences. Again, some of them will probably buy the M9 trades. And so far Leica have not announced that the M9 Classic is to be discontinued. Unlike the M8.2 which had more user-friendly frame lines and a reputedly more durable and quieter shutter in addition to the sapphire, the M9P has a more limited set of differentiating features.
Third, Leica is offering to convert M9's to M9P's, partially or fully. If there is even a temporary burgeoning of M9's on the used market, depending on how low the selling prices get, people may find it more economical to have theirs converted than to sell and purchase a new one.
So even if there are 1500 pre-sold and 1500 more on wait lists, it's still far too early to predict how well the M9P will sell. I hope it is a resounding success for Leica, because that's where the money will come from to develop new models with the kind of real technological advances those of us seek who aren't as interested in the cosmetics of our cameras.
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traveler_101
American abroad
Why not? Money: obviously you can afford it or you wouldn't be asking. he question then is this your best use of money--considering the superiority of film over digital images? Some of the points made by other posters bear repeating too: "a stupid amount of money" to spend on a camera. And there was this one:
"I'm just saying that for me, a £5000 camera would put me off taking it places I'd take a cheaper camera, and that is the same for film cameras too. I'd rather have a cheap camera and an expensive holiday, than vice-versa, but that's just me." Well, I agree.
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"I'm just saying that for me, a £5000 camera would put me off taking it places I'd take a cheaper camera, and that is the same for film cameras too. I'd rather have a cheap camera and an expensive holiday, than vice-versa, but that's just me." Well, I agree.
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mani
Well-known
These urges are basically just consumption-hunger. I'm not judging - I suffer from them myself. When the M9 first arrived I didn't want to like it, as I'd just bought a brand new M8 - so when I loaned an M9 and made the comparisons, I could see (or convinced myself) that I was happier with the camera I had.
As time has passed, my hunger to buy stuff has meant I've accumulated other (mostly film) cameras. None of them has made any appreciable difference to my photography.
The vast majority of people wouldn't be able to tell whether a photograph had been taken with an M8 or M9 if presented with side-by-side comparisons, despite the tendency to post-purchase rationalization which reinforces our own decisions (my own as well, of course).
Bottomline: the whole urge to get a new toy, reward ourselves with a gadget, fill some void in our lives, accumulate gear - it keeps things going round, it helps us cope with the drudgery of work or the tedium of routine.
Get the newer camera if it'll make you happier. After spending the money you can come back and tell us how it's transformed your photography for the better. We will believe you - because we want to.
(and yes - I'm still scouring the classifieds for the perfect lens and that bargain mint body...)
As time has passed, my hunger to buy stuff has meant I've accumulated other (mostly film) cameras. None of them has made any appreciable difference to my photography.
The vast majority of people wouldn't be able to tell whether a photograph had been taken with an M8 or M9 if presented with side-by-side comparisons, despite the tendency to post-purchase rationalization which reinforces our own decisions (my own as well, of course).
Bottomline: the whole urge to get a new toy, reward ourselves with a gadget, fill some void in our lives, accumulate gear - it keeps things going round, it helps us cope with the drudgery of work or the tedium of routine.
Get the newer camera if it'll make you happier. After spending the money you can come back and tell us how it's transformed your photography for the better. We will believe you - because we want to.
(and yes - I'm still scouring the classifieds for the perfect lens and that bargain mint body...)
The M9 is realy, really nice. No regrets on my end getting it. I funded it by selling gear in the RFF classifieds. So no "guilt" either.
Did it make my photography better? This is my hobby, and I enjoy using the M9.
Did it make my photography better? This is my hobby, and I enjoy using the M9.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
jky
Well-known
Get it. You're not refinancing your house.
If you can live with a regular M9, they can be had (used/demo w/ 1 yr warranty) for <$6K... this makes it hurt less
On that note, the M9P (chrome) is a beauty!
If you can live with a regular M9, they can be had (used/demo w/ 1 yr warranty) for <$6K... this makes it hurt less
On that note, the M9P (chrome) is a beauty!