I rarely see this consideration brought up when I bother to read these discussions, but this is one angle you folks might stop to ponder. For however far behind the technology some people might want to think leica is one thing that is just not debatable is how far behind they are preceptually when it comes to MP count be that real or marketing hype or whatever.
If they intend for this camera to be put in the hand of professionals, which must be some kind of goal considering the price, there is one thing that really needs to be realized here. I KNOW this will be debated for how silly it is, but that is really besides the point as this is just a simple fact of the new world we live in.
Producer hires you for a job. They want X megapixel count. They may know nothing about photography, but they damn well know they NEED X megapixel count for their job. In this situation, one absolutely CAN NOT do that job on an M8 because it does not meet the minimum megapixel count production is asking for. The end. This is perhaps well more common than you think, inquire with commercial photographers and you might find out that many people out there are perfectly content with whatever the newest greatest is, but they keep upgrading as the new cameras come out just simply to stay current with what is on the market so that no other photographer in town has something "better" than them so they dont lose jobs. And today there is absolutely no questioning the idea that you are going to lose a job with a 10 megapixel camera to a guy that has a 20 megapixel camera. It doesnt matter what the pictures look like in so many cases, its just producers doing what they have been led to believe is right.
So by virtue of that fact alone, the m8 is a hobbyist dentist camera in a lot of ways. Its really a shame they cant keep up. I have $5k to spend on a camera, but I dont have $5k to spend on a personal camera. I can only justify spending that money if I can bill for that camera's use commercially. I can do that with a 20mp canon or nikon. I cant book that work with a 10mp leica. Is that ridiculous? Absolutely. Are those the parameters binding my purchase, positively. I would love nothing more than to have an M8 but the simple fact of the matter is that it would be very very difficult to use commerically given the options on the market today for producers. Its really a shame as its probably a fine camera, but it just doesnt matter. For me, and so many in similar positions, I have to wait until the used market drops the price into my "luxury" bracket, which is all an M8 can really be, just a fun camera. total shame. If people could use these bodies in the fashion world, it would be such an excellent angle for leica to exploit but its just not even an option when an editor is demanding 20mp images. crazy, huh?