Is now the time to get a M8?

Yes- it is a good time to buy an M8. Prices are down 50%, including cameras with little use on them. Mine was like new in the box, under warranty, under 400 actuations. Works beautifully.
 
Megadust said:
I just picked up a brand new ex demo M8 from RG Lewis in London. £2250.

I dont have a lens as yet! but I have done some interesting pinhole shots and have taken some shots with a Summicron 35 I borrowed from a friend.

I have a feeling my decision to go down the M8 route will turn out to be a great choice.

Do it.
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Is that a M8 or a M8.2?
Just got myself a M8.2 2nd hand i Norway, was neither a bargain or that expensive. A 35mm nokton 1.4 is in the mail, wonder If i´ll make friends with it. Just a small comment on the side . .

vha
 
i got a used m8 for $2200 from a studio who upgraded to m8.2. the m8 had only 372 clicks and even came with firmware 1.x. i upgraded it to latest one and slap my overnight shipped zeiss 25mm lense yesterday. last night was a happy moment.
 
Yeah, the M8 seems to have a lot of "demos" being sold but that said, I think it's one of the best deals going. I got mine with a factory warranty for $2600 USD. It's a later serial # above 3,3xx,xxx so the talk around the watercooler is that it *shouldn't* have any issues.

I had two R-D1's and although they are great, the issue I have is that I use my cameras a lot, day in & day out. The R-D1's all have brass strap lugs which are by no means user-replaceable unless the user is a camera tech or maybe an engineer. I've had my M4 apart numerous times and have repaired it, but the R-D1 is a completely different beast.

I got the M8 because the parts availability is guaranteed for close to a decade. Epson won't service their own products which are out of warranty (my R-D1's both were) and told me to go to a few repair folks here in the states. Strap lug replacement comes with a complete overhaul of the R-D1 which runs over $400. I wasn't willing to put that money into the camera when what I wanted was a digital Leica. The R-D1 is great but I was just thinking of long term service and the M8 beat it in that respect.
Phil Forrest
 
Fact is there is a flood of 2nd hand M8's on the market right now. The reason is simple. They are trade ins for M9's. I'd guess "ex demo" versions are shop owners and employees moving on what they have been using to replace with M9s. Once all those who want to upgrade to M9's from M8's has settled down as supply of M9s increases then M8s will become difficult to find. So if you want an M8 I'd get one now while supply is plentiful because it will drop off very quickly.
 
Well, I've got a M8 as well, demo indeed and it was completely free of any signs of use. Not even a scratch on the display or any signs of use anywhere. Fact is that after intensive use for 3 weeks, I've put more marks on the leatherette than the other demo they had. (they had a second demo, but that had clearly some user marks).
I got two years of guarantee and on the Leica Website I could order two IR filters. And the price was just 25% of a M9. As an amateur I can afford a M8, but a M9 is a big step up then. And the progress/advantages over the M8 not big enough for my use.
So IMHO this would be the time to buy an M8 at very competitive prices.

Well, competitive prices are also relative. For € 300 more I could have bought a Canon Eos 5D mark II, which isn't a bad camera either, I guess. But then again I don't have any lenses for that and I had a 50 lux and 90 cron that I both like. Now I'm getting a new 28 elmarit as well, that was the advantage of buying the M8 over the M9 for me.
 
Lord Fluff said:
The studio chose to spend money upgrading a camera they evidently never used?

Weird.
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yep. i met the person personally. he is an avid photographer and has a studio, partnered with a couple of people as a side business and a senior IT manager at his company. the camera is in original box in pristine condition. i got lucky. base on his business card title i dont see a point to even "scam" me.

the m8 is great. just taking some time learning RF. the unfortunate part is having to deal friends in the nikon/canon clan. i had to defend the ever so boring arguments about leica versus canon versus nikon. so ive settled it with who can come up with better picture at the end of the party.
 
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I've now had mine back from Solms for a fortnight and am completely in love with it. Sure you could get a nice 5d mkII or an A900 for the money but the M8 is a much better photography experience for the money. The files are amazing to work with and although "only" 10mp there is much more useful information to play with because of the quality of image your lens will let you capture. I don't care about the flaws so much now that I am used to them but as long as you get one with warranty or some sort of guarantee now is definitely the time to get one!
 
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