M8 used prices

[kenspix]

Wow Has anyone been watching the used prices for a m8...Was it a good idea to spend all that money?

 

[Wiyum]

If well used, then of course it was. This isn't an investment, this is a camera. You use it to take pictures.

Of course, the m8 has held value better than the market over the past nine months, so maybe it is an investment.

 

[Keith]

Wow Has anyone been watching the used prices for a m8...Was it a good idea to spend all that money?

I don't see the difference between the M8 and any other consumer item ... the fact that I've had mine for over two years and it's now worth approximately half what I paid for it doesn't bother me much to be honest!

When (if) Leica drop a full frame M9 on the market it will get a little interesting ... that's when the prices should really spiral downwards.

 

[tbarker13]

I bought mine nearly a year ago, and they're going for around the same to slightly less these days. I think I'm getting my money's worth out of it. Most things you buy are almost worthless after you buy them. 😉

Particularly when you are talking about electronics, computers, digital cameras, etc.
If anyone is worried about digital cameras keeping their value, they'd better stick with used 2nd and 3rd generation models. Of course, they'll still lose value as well - it just won't be as painful.

 

[dof]

Particularly when you are talking about electronics, computers, digital cameras, etc.
If anyone is worried about digital cameras keeping their value, they'd better stick with used 2nd and 3rd generation models. Of course, they'll still lose value as well - it just won't be as painful.

I'm typically a fan of this approach, but the digital rangefinder market is small enough to have limited my options this time around.

Of course Leica is one of the few manufacturers that came out with their 2nd generation model and charged more than it did for the 1st generation. Nearly all other consumer electronics companies will offer more performance for the same amount or less money when the "new improved" model comes out.

The introduction of an M9 may well cause used M8 prices to drop much lower. Film bodies have maintained relatively high resale value because they are well made and all share a common capture medium. You want to get sharper pictures from your M4? Drop in a roll of Delta 100 instead of Tri-X. Should Leica's next rangefinder design embrace enough of the "traditional" values that they don't upset the core audience while greatly improving the image quality, that could be enough to sway the passionate users and naysayers alike to abadon their M8s to upgrade and buy. This would of course have an adverse affect on its used value.

Anyway...

 

[Keith]

I'm typically a fan of this approach, but the digital rangefinder market is small enough to have limited my options this time around.

Of course Leica is one of the few manufacturers that came out with their 2nd generation model and charged more than it did for the 1st generation. Nearly all other consumer electronics companies will offer more performance for the same amount or less money when the "new improved" model comes out.

The introduction of an M9 may well cause used M8 prices to drop much lower. Film bodies have maintained relatively high resale value because they are well made and all share a common capture medium. You want to get sharper pictures from your M4? Srop in a roll of Delta 100 instead of Tri-X. Should Leica's next rangefinder design embraces enough of the "traditional" values that they don't upset the core audience while greatly improving the image quality, that could be enough to sway the passionate users and naysayers alike to abadon their M8s and upgrade. This would of course have an adverse affect on its used value.

Anyway...

That's the one thing that really sticks in my throat about Leica ... as you say every other manufacturer consistently offers better performance for less money with subsequent models.

The M9 will cost alot more than the M8 ... there's absolutely no doubt about that ... but just how much, is the killer question!

 

[Wiyum]

I think the interesting problem facing Leica is that they need to keep the m9 not only at a price point where it'll allow well-heeled amateurs to justify it, they also need to get it to a point where they can drive the price down on the used m8s. By their own admission, they see the m8 becoming an entry-level m camera for the digital age. At $3,000 that isn't really feasible. But if the m8 finds its way to the $1500-1800 range on the used market, it becomes similar to grabbing a used m6 or m7, which of late has been the primary means for students and enthusiasts to enter the M system. This only happens if the m9 draws enough upgraders.

 

[noimmunity]

Over the six months since I bought mine, I've taken a very modest 3,000 frames, the rate of keepers being no less than my film M cameras,which I continue to use regularly as well. That's already like US$700-1000 in film expenses "saved". I shoot about 400 "rolls" total per year, now about half film and half M8, mostly color for M8 and B&W for film.

Bonus: Because it is under passport warranty against even accidental damage I have had no qualms about lending it to trusted yet uninitiated friends, turning them on to RFs. This has turned out to be a painfully delightful experience for an artistically gifted aboriginal friend of mine, a recognized musician (yet like most musicians in Taiwan poorly rewarded) who now dreams of getting a dRF that is waayyy beyond his means. Anyone want to entertain a charity sale of an R-D1 for $1000?.

I'm rather curious though as to why the turnover rate among M8 owners is seemingly so high?

I doubt the release of the M9 will contribute to a deep cut in the price of used M8s. It will however expand the base of dRF users. The only thing that would really change the price structure we have is when a player like Cosina releases a dRF at a new price below $3000.

 

[splitimageview]

I don't think the turnover rate is any higher than other camera models. I bought mine in Nov 07 for $4400 and sold in Aug 08 for $3800. Now they are in the $2500 range a year later.

Compare that depreciation to the Dell Latitude XT tablet PC my company bought in January 2008 ($2600) and sold in April '09 ($500.)

 

[noimmunity]

I don't think the turnover rate is any higher than other camera models.

Probably not. Cameras are somehow instrinsically linked to the insatiable SEARCH!!! 😀