M9 Titanium so there you have it!

Seriously? This isn't a joke? Sooo glad I scraped off the M9 logo and taped over the dot - don't want to be associated with this!! Only thing they missed was leather from an endangered animal...
 
Hmmm........looks like another Leica "Turkey" like the M5 was......if the M10 looks this bad, I'm going back to real film full-time once my M8 is worn out :/

What was Leica thinking? If they want a 22k Euro camera, just make a FULL FRAME DIGITAL M3 lookalike in Black Paint and or Real Satin Chrome, with a painted or chrome special edition Non Asph Summilux f1.4/50mm at 22k Euro they WILL sell ;) LOL!!!!!

This crazy thing they can throw in the trashcan, it's sooooo ugly!!!! Who the hell designs cameras for Leica? They certainly dropped the ball with this one....

Tom
 
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tom.w.bn said:
Perhaps for a film user. But the company was almost dead at the time they offered the MP if my memory is correct. Now after M8 and M9 they seem to be on track again.
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Yes, they are. I don't know how many times I've gone through the RFF gallery, and bemoaned the obvious fact that all of those photos were clearly produced without enough titanium in the camera.
 
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Leica defectors will be the norm in 2011.
High-end mirrorless camera designs will continue to erode leica’s niche. Loyalty to the mechanical RF assembly, currently a profitable bridge technology in 2010 turns into an albatross overnight, come 2011.
It’s going to be very interesting to see what Leica announces at Photokina.
IMO, just upgrading the sensor in an M10 offering will only reap a small fraction of the sales enjoyed by the M9.
With the entire ‘weight’ of the camera industry innovating the mirrorless camera design niche, somebody’s gonna get hurt.
Leica can’t keep up, so we are about to enter the ‘theater of the absurd’ like we’ve never experienced from Leica before. They have no other options left.
22k titanium M9s are just the tip of the iceberg.
Ironically, Leica was ‘there’ all the while, with their short register camera design, while others were happy with pentaprism mirrors. Oh well, life goes on.
Needless to say, but IMO Leica’s brand loyalty will be sorely tested in 2011.
Fewer leica loyalists will be asked to shoulder extreme price increases and internet forum ridicule from here on out.
As Get Smart said “…and loving it”. :rolleyes:
 
Oh, and they have a black X1, too. Whee.

I don't think this signals a death spiral. It seems Leica is in better shape than it has been in a long time. They made the X1, which is a step in the right direction. They just need to have more confidence in the thinking that produced that, and emphasize that more, and let go of the collectible camera mentality they were mired in for so long.
 
I always thought Leica nearly went out of business because their cameras were so well-made. Once you bought one you could use it forever. There was nothing to improve on them really.

And of course there was no way for Leica to survive in the dawn of digital photography when companies churn out a few models a year.

Now they are in the digital market where cameras become obsolete fast. So they just need to come up with a new model every year to stay in business, nevermind if it looks half decent.
 
Wow, that thing is ugly. The LED brightlines are a good idea though. It ruins the classic appearance of the camera but will probably be fantastic in use. Likely addition to the M10.

I think Leica was smart to make this a limited edition.
 
This is a special edition so I don't see what all the freaking is about. Yes, the price is absurd and clearly it's not something for the mainstream working photographer (or me). If you're into cars think of this as the Lanbo Reventon of Leica's, probably a better deal actually.

On the other hand I think the introduction of the LED finder illumination system is really a good thing. It's only a small hop to having a killer hybrid viewfinder (like the Fuji everyone is going apoplectic over, me included).

So, let's see where this leads. This camera is "for other people", I won't be surprised if this leads to something "for the real photographers". I think it will :)

Kent
 
I don't really understand what the doom-mongery is all about, to be honest.
Leica doesn't look like it's got anything substantive to show off, so why not release a ridiculously expensive collector's item to raise funds?

Like it or not, Leica's are a fetishised, luxury plaything as well as photographic tools. The M9 Titanium may not be for RFFers, but if people are rich and tasteless enough to want these overpriced pieces of techno-jewellery, Leica might as well cash in on that.
 
I wonder if the LED finder is cheaper, or more expensive to make than the window. Regardless, it does seem like more of a vulnerability.
 
vincentbenoit said:
How so? Just curious...
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Vincent,

I had some lit frame lines in my Nikon 28ti and it's a real pleasure to shoot with at night. Although I love my current Ms this would be a nice thing to have, for me. Very very nice.

Also if you use a projection system you could expand it to allow for the superimposing of data that you would like to see in the finder, according to your tastes. I might want to see the ISO setting and exposure compensation... someone else might like to have nothing appear at all. It would be up to the user, as simple or complex a view as you like.

Kent
 
Well I can't say I would buy one, even if I had the money to throw around. I don't really admire the design. The functionality would be interesting.

I would love to see a good digital body that would use the Leica glass. Maybe an optical system for the split image on the cam of the lens. A much better review screen, which should have been implemented would be much appreciated, but shelling out another 7 or 8 thousand to get what should have been, would not be.

M10? Someone said the Leica rep for the US stated that there would be no M10, but maybe they said there wouldn't be a digital Leica in the beginning of the digital age. :^)
 
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