Used M8 prices getting very attractive?

T

Tuolumne

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I just noticed that Tony Rose of Popflash (one of the sponsors here) has a used M8 for $3,497. That seems like a very attractive price. Are used M8 prices coming down?

/T

 
I switched from the RD-1s to the M8 for one reason, the far superior image quality of the M8. I do miss the wonderful handling and no-nonsense design of the Epson and still love the manual shutter cocking, but the Leica image is so much better.

I have seen some bascially new M8s on Fred Miranda for around $3800 too.

O.C.
 
The used prices make it fairly reasonable as long as it's a "good" M8 and doesn't have to be adjusted or such by Solms and/or New Jersey.

Cheers,
Dave
 
GrahamWelland said:
Ok, I'll bite ... WHAT new camera. No new Mx anywhere here anytime soon. Wishful thinking I'm afraid.

Not that I don't think there'll be an M9 at some point, but I don't see it happening this year.
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maybe not this year, but really really soon. official price drops like what are being seen can only be due to a new product coming out soon and needing to clear out inventory so that expenses aren't wasted.
 
Tuolumne said:
I just noticed that Tony Rose of Popflash (one of the sponsors here) has a used M8 for $3,497. That seems like a very attractive price. Are used M8 prices coming down?

/T
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That's still $500 more than a Nikon D700. Doesn't seem like such a good deal to me, given that the D700 will match the D3 in low light performance.
 
RObert Budding said:
That's still $500 more than a Nikon D700. Doesn't seem like such a good deal to me, given that the D700 will match the D3 in low light performance.
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You realize, of course, that you're on a forum dedicated to rangefinder cameras and that a lot of us would rather eat worms than use an SLR.

Jim B.
 
Ya know I have been thinking about a year or so down the road when I need to get a new digital camera and this new nikon d700 really does sound interesting to me but after I spec it out with the two lenses I want, the zeiss 28 f2 and the 50 1.4, I find that it would cost more to do that then just get a m8 since I already have lenses that would work for it. In a year maybe the prices will be more in my range after I get my stuff going here. Who knows, when the time comes it will come, but yes, used prices are quite nice right now.
 
You can't compare the D700 market to the M8 market.

They appeal to very different groups of buyers, although there is some overlap, it's not a simple A/B split.

What will probably happen is the monied class of initial M8 buyers will immediately ditch their M8's and buy the M9, if and when it comes out. This is a static market of the faithful, who will buy anything with the Leica name on it.

The discarded M8's will circulate back and forth between those with the desire but less money. The price will probably stabilize at around $2000 to $2500.

I think that Leica has now effectively priced themselves out of any sort of mass market. I think they even have severely limited their niche market with their absurd prices.

If a viable third party repair option ever arises, the price will hold for a long time. If the only source of repair is Leica, then the price will start to drop dramatically in a year or two.
 
PS: I think that Leica has effectively priced themselves out of any hope for even a moderately large niche market share.

The prices are so absurd that the baseline of new buyers is going to continue to drop to small numbers. That may keep the used prices high, but in the face of global recession, high repair costs and low reliability, the sales may become more and more difficult.

I really hope a third party such as Nikon steps in.
 
M. Valdemar said:
PS: I think that Leica has effectively priced themselves out of any hope for even a moderately large niche market share.

The prices are so absurd that the baseline of new buyers is going to continue to drop to small numbers. That may keep the used prices high, but in the face of global recession, high repair costs and low reliability, the sales may become more and more difficult.

I really hope a third party such as Nikon steps in.
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Valdemar,

You know perfectly well why the Leica prices have become so high. It is due to the falling dollar. - Somebody mentioned here that the price of the M8 has fallen slightly, in gold...

That 'a 3. party' comes in is no help for the M system. And Nikon is very little likely to be a digital rangefinder supplier. Nikon is fighting for survival too. They are dependant on much larger market segments.

Let's hope that Leica survives the dollar fall. They are the right company to bring the M system into the digital future. That 2.hand M8s now are available to reasonable prices should be encouraging for the many photo enthusiasts with M system lenses.

Indirectly, it is an advantage to Leica that people buy 2.hand M8s. These buyers will later buy service, accessories and lenses, and keep the M system alive.
 
I still think an M mount zeiss or nikon will be a real leica killer. zeiss does not have a bad digital rep like LEICA right now, and nikon can afford a mass-produced, super good IQ DRF.
 
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Given the price of a new M8 at $5500 USD the used prices seem quite low -- especially given the fact that the camera will be upgradeable through Solms starting in September.
 
quite a few lately in the $3500-$3800 range. Most claim to be under 2000 clicks. Early next year >$3000.
 
35mmdelux said:
quite a few lately in the $3500-$3800 range. Most claim to be under 2000 clicks. Early next year >$3000.
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I can put 3,000 "clicks" on my R-D1 in 3 good days of shooting. I consider 2,000 actuations on a used M8 or R-D1 to be approximately "zero".

/T
 
3500 DOLLARS is incredibly cheap. To get a new camera M8 in Sweden costs about 8000 $$.

Thats why I always feel I can afford anything from Leica when I look at US prices :)

I can understand that US is very big country so people have to suffer to pay for gasol to drive to work many miles away.
 
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