m8 availability

L

lhsa

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Jan 13, 2007
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are m8's being shipped right now or are they still backordered? should i get my hand on one now if i can?
 
Several people bought M8s at B&H today (1/17). My dealer also just received one which I had reserved, so obviously a shipment was recently released from customs.

I'm sure you can find one, but you'll probably have to move quickly.

Tony C.
 
My dealer called me today to say that they'd got one camera in today for me (been on order since December). So I'm inclined to agree with the other poster that Leica obviously had some crates arrive this week.
 
lhsa said:
are m8's being shipped right now or are they still backordered? should i get my hand on one now if i can?
Click to expand...

So far it seems Leica is turning them out very slowly, and have not yet completely filled all the pre-orders even after all the cancellations. Beside the known design faults affecting all of them (some already corrected, and the IR requiring filters at least temporarily) there are still incoming reports of M8's dying on people. Filters are still not available from Leica so it's a matter of scrounging up from various sources or buying a larger size than needed and using a step ring (and therefore can't put the original hood on). Spare batteries are also in very short supply. So buying an M8 now you are still going to take on some inconveniences and possible risks that will probably dissolve later on. And although it's probably not going to happen, there is talk among the dealers and reps that Leica may have to bow to pressure from dwindling sales and rectify the IR problem at the sensor after all. All in all, if you can stifle the urge for instant gratification, your patience may be well rewarded. OTOH if none of those issues is a concern to you, I'm sure you'll find an M8 in the near future.
 
Tony C. said:
Several people bought M8s at B&H today (1/17). My dealer also just received one which I had reserved, so obviously a shipment was recently released from customs.

I'm sure you can find one, but you'll probably have to move quickly.

Tony C.
Click to expand...

B&H is out of stock now. I just checked.

/Ira
 
Just took the plunge. After several phone calls was able to find one at Willoughby's. They would not sell just the M8, so I added the 75 f2 (A focal length I did not already have). Soon the RD-1 will be just a backup?
 
Photo Magic or Camera Magic or something like that has an M8 in the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas for, drum roll please... $5200 for a chrome body.
 
Ben Z said:
... All in all, if you can stifle the urge for instant gratification, your patience may be well rewarded. OTOH if none of those issues is a concern to you, I'm sure you'll find an M8 in the near future.
Click to expand...

Patience in such matters is always, always rewarded. Nobody really needs an M8. Nobody. Forget about it for a year or so and it will either go away or become a truly finished product.
 
endustry said:
Egad. I hate those people. This is usury. I know that no one is forcing people to buy the camera but still. My wife and I ducked in there to buy a filter for a lens she had just purchased and it was like dealing with a used car dealer. She wanted a strap, too and the guy jacked the price up on it after she handed her CC over. To help conceal the price inflation, they refused to give her an itemized receipt. When she demanded one, it turned out this silly little nylon strap had been rung up at $39.99. Anywhere else it would have been $9.99. When my wife complained, the cashier just passed the buck over to the salesman who then promptly disappeared. When we rousted him out, he blamed it on the cashier. Gah! :bang:
Click to expand...

I just got another call from them just now, and was worried ... did my credit card choke? But it was just that they were calling to tell me that they have more "kits" in stock. I had asked to be put on a list earlier, and they didn't notice that I had bought one already.

I don't think this is just Willoughby's being evil, it is a Leica requirement. Unless someone knows different? But in any case, if you want an M8 and a new lens, you can give them a call. http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif , http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/images/smilies/banghead.gif or http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/images/smilies/eek.gif
 
If Photo Magic has the camera in Black it may be a "first run" model- something to be avoided. Investigate this cameras SN and Firmware version before you buy. The last thing you want to do is buy this camera only to have to send it to Solms for recall work. Perhaps someone else here on RFf knows about SN's and what is to be avoided.

Ted
 
Good Point

Good Point

I asked him when received the camera and he told me last week. He did not seem to knowledgeable about the camera. The other weird thing was when i asked him if he would sell the camera for the same amount of money as everyone else he told me that he has to sell it for that amount contractually through leica. (kinda weird)
 
I talked to a sales guy at Photo Magic about the M8 while at the CES high-end audio video show at the Venetian- he knew nothing about the camera. That said I saw a chrome M8 in stock. I remarked I could not believe he had one in stock and asked him how much; $5200 ($5300?) to this I said- well I guess that's why you still have one in stock! : )

One thing I did notice when walking from meeting to restaurant to meeting- signs up for Photo Magic throughout the Venetian promoting the Leica brand above all others (P&S cameras).
 
Mine's been ordered in Belgium way back in september, and my dealer tells me he has news that it will arrive at the beginning of february, with the 28mm 2.8.
Long wait...
 
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