The last rangefinder.

[Scrambler]

Please point me to a working M4-P for $400 and change.

Unless of course you think another $400 is "change".

Come on Dante, give up your secret source!

From recent M-mount purchases, I would say cheapest is CL or CLE - you could get either for $400. Bessas around the same. Any Leica since 1975 would be over $1000, or at least pushing $1000.

 

[Major Tom]

Please point me to a working M4-P for $400 and change.

Unless of course you think another $400 is "change".

Come on Dante, give up your secret source!

I'm curious as well.

The M3 and CL are the only Leicas that get close to this, and usually because they're beat up or need repair.

 

[shadowfox]

Please point me to a working M4-P for $400 and change.

Funny you should mention that.

 

[Pioneer]

Don't be so quick to connect "expense" with "luxury", the two aren't connected at the hip. People think they are because this is the Walmart Era, where the ONLY thing to think about is price. If the commercial environment kills Leica it will be because their cameras are digital, not because they have coupled optical RFs. It just costs more to have Leica build something than Canon, et al, and the psychological life span of a digital camera is crap no matter who built it.

Wait for Nikon's new camera, possibly a digital FE2. Returning to past glories because they've run out of ideas to keep people buying. If they build a digital SP or S3, then Leica will sweat. Not because it has an optical RF but because it will be cheaper than Leica can/will build them. It will play out as it plays out. I have an M3 and an MP on order. There are thousands of Leicas on the used market; anyone who wants one will be able to get one. However, if one is addicted to the new well, these will be interesting times.

Cheers,
s-a

While I don't necessarily disagree I do think that "expense" does couple with "luxury" in Leica's case. Obviously there are very expensive Nikon or Canon full frame digital cameras as well, but in the public's mind this is clearly associated with professional use.

As for the move to digital being Leica's downfall, I am not so sure of that. I think it would have been the opposite. In fact I suspect that the M9 actually helped turn them around and increased their market share. So far Leica has done a fairly good job of avoiding the perceptions of continual digital "churn" that has become associated with other camera brands.

Things do happen quickly now days, and I do believe that we will shortly be seeing some really big changes in the camera world. Sales cannot drop this fast without something happening. Whether it affects Leica or not will remain to be seen.

 

[noimmunity]

the M9-P (the last true rangefinder)

Last? What happened to the M-E, the successor of the M-9P? (Congrats to Leica for finally making an M camera that everyone just ignores).

The EVF is still an accessory on the M240, but by the time the next one comes out, it seems hard to say whether it won't be integrally incorporated.

I suspect that those who want to use the RF viewing/focusing mechanism on digital bodies may not have many choices in the future beyond what we already have. And the M9/M9P/M̶-̶E̶ ̶ cameras will become digital classics.

 

[noimmunity]

I just hope that someone smart comes up with a Full Frame camera, similar to the Fuji X100S with a mechanical viewfinder and minimum buttons and wheels on the back - and full compatibility with M-mount lenses.

How exciting. Tom's voice tends to echo in the Land of the Rising Sony*.

*tho it's probably not at Sony

 

[seakayaker1]

I am pretty sure the current stock of available rangefinders will be enough to keep the current generation and future generations going for quite some time. My MP and M6TTL will end up in my daughters hands or with someone else if she does not want to keep them. For individuals who want to be shooting a film Rangefinder they should not have any problem finding one.

The M9, M9P, ME, and M240 will have a short shelf life in comparison as all other digital cameras.

Phones are replacing point and shoot as well as other cameras and manufactures are dropping product lines.

The sony A7 and A7r will most likely take some of Leica's business with others manufactures to follow.

At least some of us have experienced a product that can last decades vs. years, or less.


Oh, time to run I have to go update some software and firmware . . . . .