M8 perpetual upgrade program? What happened?

jaap, that will be a pleasant and welcome surprise. hope springs ... and i'd like to believe that leica would see a way to do it.

if and when it comes to pass, i'll be at the head of the line of the shame-faced.
 
I wonder what they wrote the firmware for the M8 and M9 in. Adding a menu option to manually select the lenses would be very simple. Simple selection to convert to the 6-bit coding, invoke the parameters for the lens chosen using that entry point.

I'm surprised no one has written a firmware hack for it yet. Did they use an ARM Processor?

Have many of you actually worked on the design of a Digital Camera? If so, did any of you believe the "perpetual Upgrade Hype". It would probably be possible to design a camera with upgrades in mind. It would be much bigger than the present M8 or M9.
 
Last edited:
Roger,

Just out of curiosity, whose position do you think that case would support here? And what do consumer protection acts among the United States and the EU have to say about advertisements?

Regards,
Dante

Roger Hicks said:
No, you're not. Carlill vs. The Carbolic Smokeball Company, 1892, 1 QB 256 CA for the distinction between 'mere puff' and contractual obligation.

Also, how do you know that they aren't going to continue offering upgrades? You can't prove a negative.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...
 
I agree that an upgrade to lens selection via a menu would be nice instead of 6 bit coding which I've never bothered with as I've never seen anything in my files that made me think it was essential.

That's an upgrade I would applaud from the bleachers!
 
jaap, what do you know that rest of us don't? an unfair question for sure, as I am guessing that any insider's info you've obtained is bound the remain a secret per a non-disclosure. but, if I'm wrong, pray tell, what do you know???

jaapv said:
Just wait until the next firmware upgrade for the M8 comes along. A large number of words will be eaten:angel:
Click to expand...
 
robklurfield said:
jaap, what do you know that rest of us don't? an unfair question for sure, as I am guessing that any insider's info you've obtained is bound the remain a secret per a non-disclosure. but, if I'm wrong, pray tell, what do you know???
Click to expand...


Isn't it obvious?

Have you never noticed ... when you see those youtube clips of Leica execs telling us about the next miracle from Solms ... they have perfect teeth! :angel:

😀
 
Keith said:
Isn't it obvious?

Have you never noticed ... when you see those youtube clips of Leica execs telling us about the next miracle from Solms ... they have perfect teeth! :angel:

😀
Click to expand...
Dear Keith

When ever I publish anything academic there is always a statement about 'conflict of interest' confirming that the author has no financial or other un declared associations with the subject of the publication. If there is a declared interest it does not prevent publication but does clarify the position of the author. I am not implying that internet posts should be so strictly regulated but those reading this forum should no doubt be aware that when some one defends Leica to the hilt come what may, there may be a good reason for them to do so other than paper fact. If the site did publish declarations of interest it might actually be helpful. If anything it adds to rather than detracts from credibility of the forum as a whole.

Best wishes


Richard
 
jaapv said:
Just wait until the next firmware upgrade for the M8 comes along. A large number of words will be eaten:angel:
Click to expand...

Other than about a stop better noise reduction using algorithms based on the M9 R&D, and menu access to lens coding, what other improvements/feature could it be possible for Leica do with only a firmware update?
 
Ben Z said:
Other than about a stop better noise reduction using algorithms based on the M9 R&D, and menu access to lens coding, what other improvements/feature could it be possible for Leica do with only a firmware update?
Click to expand...

Hopefully they will eliminate the banding noise more than anything, noise in Black and White doesn’t bother me, but when you start getting horizontal banding over your image it is effectively useless.

After 3 years of M8 Beta testing one would hope that they would finally come up with a solution for this frustrating problem.
 
Ben Z said:
Other than about a stop better noise reduction using algorithms based on the M9 R&D, and menu access to lens coding, what other improvements/feature could it be possible for Leica do with only a firmware update?
Click to expand...
Correction of the shutter lockup problems, for instance?Or add the soft release? I don't think they can do much about noise, most of the M9 advantage is hardware-related.
 
MCTuomey said:
Richard, it will not cost them anything. Leica has moved on to the M9, and so "failure" to support a camera they will not be manufacturing or distributing for sale is actually saving the company the cost of continuing support.
Click to expand...

Although Leica may not derive any immediate profit from supporting an older camera model, it is still possible that it would be a good investment for them to do so. Look at Volvo. A few years ago, I heard that they still make spare parts for their models going back to the 1950's. This is quite unique in the world of cars. The EU forces manufacturers to provide spare parts until 10 years after a model has ceased production; before regulation, most manufacturers dropped support even faster. Volvo's policy means that old Volvos can stay on the road forever. This promotes longevity statistics and helps build a reputation of durability. I doubt Volvo didn't have a marketing objective behind their decision to provide long-term support.

I don't think it is realistic to expect sensor upgrades to the M8 because they are unlikely to be economically meaningful to the end user (cost of upgrade would be greater than trade-up to M9). But firmware updates are another matter as they can benefit from M9 R+D and be distributed at low cost. Again, supporting the M8 would be done not for the bottom line on the quarterly earnings sheet but for the halo :angel: effect.
 
Last edited:
Daneinbalto said:
Although Leica may not derive any immediate profit from supporting an older camera model, it is still possible that it would be a good investment for them to do so. Look at Volvo. A few years ago, I heard that they still make spare parts for their models going back to the 1950's. This is quite unique in the world of cars. The EU forces manufacturers to provide spare parts until 10 years after a model has ceased production; before regulation, most manufacturers dropped support even faster. Volvo's policy means that old Volvos can stay on the road forever. This promotes longevity statistics and helps build a reputation of durability. I doubt Volvo didn't have a marketing objective behind their decision to provide long-term support.

I don't think it is realistic to expect sensor upgrades to the M8 because they are unlikely to be economically meaningful to the end user (cost of upgrade would be greater than trade-up to M9). But firmware updates are another matter as they can benefit from M9 R+D and be distributed at low cost. Again, supporting the M8 would be done not for the bottom line on the quarterly earnings sheet but for the halo :angel: effect.
Click to expand...

What jarrs is that the M9 is free from the 6 bit gimmick which was purely an attempt to sell new lenses (or make money on upgrading old lenses). The M9 has a menu for lens sellection so clearly leica recognised this as an improvement. I think Leica would do well to put this on M8's. I doubt at this stage that it would advresely affect new lens sales.

Richard
 
jaapv said:
Hmm... The menu selection is as unpractical as many of us expected it to be. As far as I'm concerned it is utterly useless. I would never buy an uncoded lens for my M9.
Click to expand...

perhaps for pro's who have to change lenses often, in short of time and stress of getting work done.

as an amateur I probably would use this feature, as I did earlier with D200 (was sold since).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom