m8 owners: what's your annual income?

[Matt(1pt4)]

Not sure what the problem is, since no one can trace the answer to the person.
I am curious however on how 2 people with less than $32000 income could afford an M8.

I am asking because my income is well above that, but I really can't afford an M8, so any suggestion on how to make it affordable for me is very welcome.

Live in a cheap apartment, cook your own food, drive a junker car or take public transport, no cell phone, no cable tv, get your shoes resoled. I'm not either of those two people, but I've been them before, and you can afford a lot on $30K a year if you are careful.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

This is an awesome poll. I'm quite surprised to see how many lower-income users have an M8. Hell, I'm firmly in the middle of those brackets, maybe I should find a way to justify getting one!

 

[Olsen]

what's the point of keeping it secret? Who the hell cares, anyway?🙂
If u do the same job like me and u earn twice as much, well, good for you (and i'm a loser). What else does it mean?

Several.

First of all it is a part of democracy to have this information available. Such information is important if tax issues are being discussed and to have a meaningful political debate. And it is the only way you can be sure that your tax issues has been treated fairly compared to others.

Further, it prevents banks & creditors to lend out money to people that don't have a realistic hope of ever paying the debt back. Banks can't claim that they were not 'informed', and they are not allowed to squeeze debt down the throats of people who obviously can't pay it back. - I am sure that you see this as an advantage.

 

[bottley1]

about British Pounds 30K a year, and yes, i am not a dentist!! 😡

 

[bottley1]

I cut back on other things to afford an M8, anyone is most welcome to come round to my cardboard box anytime for a swig out of my meths bottle 😀

 

[peppermill]

Some people could feel offended by seeing how low people are paid. Additionally, depending on the message board, I beleive the admin has access to see which username voted what so it could be quite simple to know who earns what 🙂

 

[KoNickon]

Seems to me this poll is equally valid (or invalid) for analogue Ms (like an MP) bought new. Leica has always been for the photo enthusiasts as well as those who are simply well-heeled; the M8 continues this trend, albeit at a higher level.

Maybe a more interesting way of getting at this would be to ask M8 owners what their main automobile is.

 

[luketrash]

The way people get addicted to gear aquisition thinking it'll improve their photography skills seems to coincide with disproportionate equipment buying in rural Iowa.

I know of two people who own about 10,000 dollars of Canon or Nikon digital gear and have no job, living off of the g'ment thanks to those of us who do have a job paying our taxes.

The one person I know who owns an M8 does not live a flashy lifestyle in the least. I can't think of a nicer guy to own that camera though. Basically he deserves to have it since he uses it as it should be used and is a very humble person.

When I see amateurs walking around with Nikon D3 cameras in torn sweat pants driving rusted out Geo Metro cars, it's about the same feeling I get when I see a 30,000 dollar Harley dresser parked out front of a ratty trailer home.

People are retards with money. Is anyone surprised?

My monthly take-home after taxes is about 75% the cost of an M8. And no, I can't afford one because I have other fish to fry. It'd be painfully selfish of me to plunk down cash like that when my family could benefit more from other goods.

 

[kevin m]

Maybe a more interesting way of getting at this would be to ask M8 owners what their main automobile is.

If I buy one I'll be trading down to this:

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

I'd like to know how many of you M8 owners are actually professional photographers......being that leica claims the M8 is a professional camera. looking at the stats from this poll, it looks like the majority of M8 owners are earning between $30K-$160k.

I must be a statistical anomaly that there are more owners who make 0-8k than those who make 13-30k. How do you guys do it? Eat lots of spaghetti?

Keep in mind it's just my observation of this poll which probably isn't very realistic because the sample sizes are too small.

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

point taken luketrash. This same reason I'm selling my M6 is because I've realized I need to pay for necessities like groceries and car insurance, I've come to the conclusion that I don't need expensive gear to make nice photos.

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

the thought just hit me, for the same price of an M8 and your basic 28-35-50 summi lenses, I could drive away second hand car with low millage on it.

I can afford a pilot's license for less than the cost of the M8.

I could pay car insurance for 5 years with the cost of the M8.

 

[luketrash]

I can put siding on my house. I can put braces on my kid's teeth.

We all do illogical things when it comes to money. Sometimes buying an item of obsession like this is cheaper than paying a psychologist for therapy though. Others, it's the cause of the need for therapy 😉

I own 10 vehicles right now. I am only one person. I think we all have our little problems. That's why I don't get why people try to attack the M8 owners. Nearly every person I know 'wastes' money in some way.

I am never demanding that people justify collecting comic books, or spend too much at the bar, or buy their wives jewelry....

If Leica could harness the electrons spent discussing the M8 online, we could solve the world's energy crisis.

The way I view threads like this is the whole "He who is without sin is free to cast the first stone."

😉 Lord knows I waste money like a total moron. Just not on the M8.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I know a very good photographer whose work is brilliantly carried out; he uses a Vivitar Wide and Slim, now on eBay for £4.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I find it rather amusing that so many people are offended about an anonymous poll that nobody is required to answer.

I must be a statistical anomaly that there are more owners who make 0-8k than those who make 13-30k. How do you guys do it? Eat lots of spaghetti?

I'm sure it is a few people who either misunderstood the question (and put down monthly income) or are trolling. It would be extremely difficult to have a roof over your head, regular meals, and transportation for less than $8,000 per year almost anywhere in the US. I highly doubt anyone who actually makes that much (including any welfare, family stipends, trust fund payouts, and other things that people may not normally consider 'earned' income) is willing to drop 65% of their annual income on a camera body.

Never -- we live in a free and private society. It is bad enough that this kind of information can be stolen from us.

What a horror, if names are attached, surely they are not?

If they are, I would personally rather die, than live like that.

While I personally believe that information need not be part of public record, isn't it a bit much to claim you would rather die than have people find out how much you make? Do people really have that much guilt or shame over how much or little they make?

Photographers who own $5000+ cameras from other companies never get teased or their judgment questioned...

I don't think that's true at all. Expensive cameras are more or less a given on a Leica forum, but on other forums people with high end gear often catch a lot of flak. Especially if the Rebel/D40 owning masses don't feel their photographic skill is "worthy" of an expensive camera.

 

[Al Patterson]

hehe it's funny to see how violently people react on this mater, although it is a poll, i.e. nobody can associate the person to the number...

ok i could vote but i have no m8. but i tell you: it's waaay over my monthly income, before or after taxes...

That depends on how one defines income. My monthly business income is more than enough to meet the cost of an M8, but income after expenses it is much less.

Were I a photographer able to expense an M8, I could afford one. On my income after expenses? No way.

 

[luketrash]

I work for uncle sam, so my salary is probably available to everyone on here in no fewer than 18 different forms online.

My coworkers love to sit around and peruse the state salary database and gossip about who makes what. So I'm totally use to it.

 

[Al Patterson]

Some people could feel offended by seeing how low people are paid. Additionally, depending on the message board, I beleive the admin has access to see which username voted what so it could be quite simple to know who earns what 🙂

I'm not offended as I used to make somethong like $3,000 a year while living at home and going to school.

Additionally, we are not all doctors and lawyers on this forum.

I didn't vote because I don't have an M8, and won't know what my tax bracket is until I talk to my accountant...

 

[kevin m]

I saved for my first Leica (M2, collapsible Summicron) while I was a student, and my wife and I had a combined income of under $20k. It can be done.

 

[Ben Z]

Income is misleading. Some people with huge incomes manage not have enough left after their monthly debt repayments to indulge in expensive photo equipment, whereas others with more modest incomes live well within their means and have more disposable income left for sporadic indulgences. And someone in their sixties with a modest income coming from pensions, investments and social security, might be in a net-worth position to easily afford what someone in their thirties with two kids can't, even though he makes the same income.