M9 Going Cheap

When you buy something that costs 4-6 times the cost of comparable products, I guess you do have to watch the prices closely because you are holding a ticking time bomb of devaluation. Three philosophies that will help avoid this "stock market" watching:

1. When you buy high quality, just assume it will last longer for you, and ignore the higher cost. Keep it as long as you can keep using it. My Toyota 1995 4Runner cost me $15,000 in 1996. I sold it a few months ago for $7,000. Yeah it depreciated, but I used it for my kids young years, road trips, hunting, 4WD boondoggles, and we put 260,000 miles on it with no repairs. If you buy an M-9, just keep it and quit sweating it.

2. Buy at the bottom of the depreciation curve. I never can figure out people that upgrade every 6 months (see above). But they usually are buying the Next New Thing at the highest price, then scrambling to sell it before it depreciates. I get the second or third older model. My G1 has been a great digital....at about $200. So buy that M8 or M9 when the next model comes out.

3. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Why get a M9 for 3-4-5 thousand, when you can get an Olympus OM-D, Fujifilm x100, X-E1 for $1000? Or is price discussion the main point of an M8 or M9? Buy the Toyota, not the Ferrari.
 
there was one at keh.com yesterday for $3650, BGN, black. lowest price I've seen so far. tried to buy it but just couldn't: blocked card because I had done a $5 purchase of two popsicles 10mins before and the credit card company thought it was "suspect activity" to right afterwards make such an expensive purchase... pissed off but laughing at the ridiculous situation.
 
No one has considered the economy. Everything is a little cheaper in a sagging economy.
The economy seems to be picking up (realistically or not) and as that perception holds, consumer confidence picks up. Therefore, sagging M8 prices and even M9 for that matter are now beginning to tighten up.

As for the merits of the M8, it is true that the M9 has a better sensor, better higher ISO and is full frame. But the M8 will remain the IR king for now due to its weaker AA filter and consequent higher IR sensitivity. I've just started to play with IR and the M8 is producing amazing results.
 
I wonder that the recent price drop of used Leica digital dody is probably because of Fuji X. A friend of mine sold M9 and his 2 Leica lenses a few months after he got X Pro1 and then he got X100. He said he doesn't love Fuji X as much as his M9, but the image quality is on par or better than M9 with cron. AF is OK, he said.
 
SakamakuAme said:
I wonder that the recent price drop of used Leica digital dody is probably because of Fuji X. A friend of mine sold M9 and his 2 Leica lenses a few months after he got X Pro1 and then he got X100. He said he doesn't love Fuji X as much as his M9, but the image quality is on par or better than M9 with cron. AF is OK, he said.
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i doubt it....i briefly used the X-Pro 1 last month and thought it was OK----but nowhere in the realm of a Leica M!

i do think that the arrival of the new M240 is leading to the decline in prices and increased cameras on sale right now----as people prepare to change their current digital leica.
 
jsrockit said:
Nowhere in the realm? With regard to what? Perhaps ergonomics, but in other categories? ... please explain to me as a user of both.
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i mean in terms of build quality, lack of rangefinder, overcomplicated menus on the fuji, and overall a less 'pure' device IMO. It feels like a mass produced camera....it's a nice one in that respect, however i don't think it really stands up to an M.

there are lots of cameras that can produce quality images, however the user experience and the intangibles is often what makes us love using a particular device....
 
IEDEI said:
i mean in terms of build quality, lack of rangefinder, overcomplicated menus on the fuji, and overall a less 'pure' device IMO. It feels like a mass produced camera....it's a nice one in that respect, however i don't think it really stands up to an M.

there are lots of cameras that can produce quality images, however the user experience and the intangibles is often what makes us love using a particular device....
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I agree... but let's not forget the difference in price though. We cannot expect the X-Pro1 to feel like a M9 for 1/4 of the price (new vs. new at the time of release). That said, the Fuji still feels great, its menus are less convoluted than many of its peers, and it will outperform the M9 in many situations.
 
I sold an M9 after a very brief spell with it but lately due to a change in circumstances I'm starting to think of trying one again. I didn't like it too much back then but now that prices are starting to get closer to what I think it's actually worth then maybe I should try again with a little more patience.
It would also give me a chance to use my Leica lenses more.
Average M9 prices for a low count one seem to be €3300 ish. When the new one delivers I don't think it will take long for that to dip into under €3000 territory at which point I'm all in again!
I'm amazed at how low an M8 can be had now and given another year or so it will probably be the same for M9's.
Great news for those wanting to get into FF r/f. It's a shame that Leica charge so much in the first place. Depreciation on these things is similar to buying luxury cars new!
 
daveleo said:
Well, the choice I guess is to drive the Toyota with $250,000 in your bank account or drive the Ferarri with $zero in your bank account 🙂
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No, the people who can afford the Ferrari have multiples of $250,000 in their bank account after buying the Ferrari. No, I'm not one of them, but I don't mind. :angel:

However, I am planning to get an M9/9-P/E one of these days, and regardless of the price of the used ones I am actually very tempted by the M-E, both in its design and in the fact of it being new with a warranty. If I spend that much on a camera I prefer not to take chances, and would much prefer brand new. Are there enough people out there with a similar attitude that it will anchor M9 prices at their current level as long as the M-E is on the market?
 
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