[sean_reid]

Originally Posted by edlaurpic

You have a point regarding having to sell the returned camera as refurbished instead of new, but if they were accompanied by a Leica warranty I believe they would sell well even if the discount from new were only $1,000. And, given that Leica—like all camera makers—stands to make more money selling lenses than cameras, individuals who might balk at $4800 might go for it at $3,800, and here's an idea, what if the refurbished cameras came with a coupon good for at 10% discount on any new lens? The more Leica gets people buying lenses (without using an artificial means of pulling them in, such as unnecessary lens coding), the better will be their profits and the bigger their customer base will become.

Sean Reid's suggestion about manually lens settings through firmware . . .

Regarding my earlier question about the need for coding on lenses that have filters attached, I just re-read Sean Reid's Part IV piece about the M8 and he illustrated pretty effectively that even the 28mm can squeak by without coding with filter attached.

He made an excellent point in that piece regarding Leica making it possible through firmware for an M8 user to specify in a menu which lens is attached, thereby obviating the need for coding except if one wants fully automatic exif data and vigetting control, for example. As with some of his other suggestions, this one is very compelling and one which I hope Leica AG takes seriously, as to refuse to make such an easy change in firmware, particularly in light of the problems we have experienced with this camera and the inconvenience we will have to accept in continuing to use it with IR cut filters, would be ill-advised and wrong-headed (I hope this excess of candor will not be poorly received in Solms).

Indeed, it seems to me that such a change in firmware would be viewed as a generous gesture by Leica. In my opinion, the availability of the Cosina voitlander lenses actually expanded Leica's market for cameras and lenses and the R-D1 prepared the market for the M8. Refusing to alter the firmware to allow manual lens settings would be and should be viewed vy customers as an insecure and defensive decision unbefitting a company with optics of the quality of Leica's. It is foolish to think that the mere automatic coding feature will be enough to make someone choose a Leica lens over a VC lens or even a Zeiss.

Ed,

Please send those thoughts (in some form) to Leica. They need to hear from people who want manual lens selection (for correction) to be available. Then please pass the word to anyone else who cares about this issue and ask them to contact Leica as well. I am unabashedly pushing for this feature in the M8 and I think that it's important for photographers who do not wish to work with a closed system.

Cheers,

Sean