Thoughts on timing

[BigBabyEarl]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Just curious how you guys are thinking about the timeline for a new M. I am seeing some good deals on M-P 240's and would like to get one. Is now a dumb time to do it with a new one coming down the road or is buying one used at a good price really a wash. I know once a new one drops people will sell theirs and used prices on an MP 240 should be relatively decent (?).

[lct]

No problem if you buy it second hand. I would not buy new a soon to be replaced camera but it's just me. No idea about timing though.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Mornnb]

If you are going to buy now, get a used M240. No point in paying for a top of the line version (M-P) of a soon to be replaced body. In terms of photographic ability there's no difference between the M-P and M240.

[ramarren]

I take the opposite view. The current M-P typ 240 is an excellent body that, if it serves your needs and purposes, will last a very long time. Why not buy it new, with warranty, and just use it? 

 

I rarely worry about what's coming next. I buy equipment that serves what I want to do now. I'm sure better things are coming... but it doesn't matter much, what's there now does well enough. :-)

I bought my M-P in February ... I have an MM246 on order ... I'm delighted with how they work, and will be basing the next 4 to 5 years of my photo work on them, at least. 

 

G

Edited July 4, 2015 by ramarren

[bocaburger]

I bought one of my M240's demo, the other CPO, both came with the full 2-yr factory warranty (a pleasant surprise as I was only expecting 1 yr).  I saved a total of about $3K on the pair, which will go toward upgrading to a new model (will also be demo or CPO) should I decide to do so in the future.  If money is no object then by all means buy new. 

[jack-tucker]

I bought my M-P (240) in early January and I don't mind a new one coming. But who says that there is one coming? And, supposedly there is one coming, when will it be available? If you want a camera to use it, then buy it. Second hand is fine, if you find a nice deal, if you prefer a new camera and can afford it, go for it. What ever you buy now, it will be just fine in two year as well, and much longer. There are still many people happy with their M8, I guess.

Particular, if you are interested in the -P version, than you should go for it. It has been out only since half a year or so.

[Peter H]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Realistically, even if a new M is announced this autumn, it could be a year from now before it is readily available, going on past performance. And it could be longer...and it will be more expensive...

 

A year is a long time and a lot of photographs, so it's very hard to imagine why waiting for an uncertain but considerable amount of time for an unconfirmed camera would be a good move, when there's a very good camera at a very good price available right now, ready to shoot.

[mjh]

Realistically, even if a new M is announced this autumn, it could be a year from now before it is readily available, going on past performance.

As I have said before, I expect the next M to be available shortly after its announcement. Or rather I expect it to be announced when it’s ready, but not earlier.

Edited July 6, 2015 by mjh

[jdlaing]

As I have said before, I expect the next M to be available shortly after its announcement. Or rather I expect it to be announced when it’s ready, but not earlier.

I don't think it works that way with this company. I suspect they announce a camera, see what they get for orders, judge reception and then manufacture a batch. They may be too small to make a lot of cameras in advance of a rollout and then get stung.

[Peter H]

As I have said before, I expect the next M to be available shortly after its announcement. Or rather I expect it to be announced when it’s ready, but not earlier.

 

You're usually right about this sort of thing. 

 

But I still expect it to be the best part of a year from now before I can simply and reliably order next-day delivery on the current M's replacement.  No?

Edited July 6, 2015 by Peter H

[thighslapper]

The M240 is a pretty mature product that is a pleasure to use and the potential to produce images of a quality that will exceed your uses for them .......

 

I can't see the next M incarnation improving much on the actual image quality ..... just better high iso output .... and much quicker electronics (which is the only real gripe about the M240).

 

If it remains fundamentally a RF in the classic sense then there will be no quantum leaps in anything ...... so the existing M240 will not become an overnight 'also-ran' 

 

If you can get a good M240 deal, new or second hand, go for it ........ it's a camera that will not disappoint and will do for many years to come.

Edited July 6, 2015 by thighslapper

[Herr Barnack]

 

The current M-P typ 240 is an excellent body that, if it serves your needs and purposes, will last a very long time. Why not buy it new, with warranty, and just use it?

What he said.  The M-P is an extremely capable camera - much more so than most of the people who own and use it, I would suspect.

 

But who says that there is one coming? And, supposedly there is one coming, when will it be available? If you want a camera to use it, then buy it.

No arguments here..

 

What ever you buy now, it will be just fine in two year as well, and much longer.

Can't find fault with that outlook.

 

Realistically, even if a new M is announced this autumn, it could be a year from now before it is readily available, going on past performance. And it could be longer...and it will be more expensive...

 

A year is a long time and a lot of photographs, so it's very hard to imagine why waiting for an uncertain but considerable amount of time for an unconfirmed camera would be a good move, when there's a very good camera at a very good price available right now, ready to shoot.

Peter hit the nail on the head with that post.

 

The M240 is a pretty mature product that is a pleasure to use and the potential to produce images of a quality that will exceed your uses for them .......

 

I can't see the next M incarnation improving much on the actual image quality ..... just better high iso output .... and much quicker electronics

In creating the M-P 240, Leica has set an awfully high bar for themselves to clear in the future.  The doubling of buffer size in the M-P took care of what was the only real technological weakness of the M240, and the change of the LCD screen to sapphire mineral glass was a welcome upgrade.  It would be nice to have ISO capability higher than 6400, but the ISO capability of the M-P and M240 are nothing to take to the bed over.

 

Bottom line:  I would not grow old waiting for the latest, greatest M camera when there is an incredible M camera to be had today.  Spend the extra money and get the M-P, though.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Carlos Danger

[johnbuckley]

As I have said before, I expect the next M to be available shortly after its announcement. Or rather I expect it to be announced when it’s ready, but not earlier.

Michael has consistently given us good advice, and I for one will take him at his word. But also, those of us with long memories recognize the wait for the M-240 was the aberration, not the norm.

 

The M8 was announced in late September, available November 1. The M9 was announced September 9th, and I had one on September 26th.  The M-240 was announced in late September and not available until March 1.  Yes, the original Monochrom was announced in early May and the first ones arrived, in the States at least, by September 1. The MM-246 was available here four weeks after the announcement.    With the new factory, etc., there is every reason to believe Michael is right: an announcement followed a few weeks later by the first deliveries. 

[pop]

...  The M-240 was announced in late September and not available until March 1. ...

The M (Typ 240) was presented at the Photokina with a projected and published launch date of "the beginning of next year" or some such.

[Herr Barnack]

When it comes to announcing the next M, I pray that Leica will not screw with the time/space continuum.  The last thing we need is to get caught in a time loop...

[johnbuckley]

The M (Typ 240) was presented at the Photokina with a projected and published launch date of "the beginning of next year" or some such.

Right.  A five month gap between announcement and arrival -- the exception, not the rule that finds Leica announcing new cameras and them being available 1-3 months later.  As opposed to the myth that Leica announces cameras and doesn't deliver them for a half year.

[jaapv]

Well, the normal pattern is that Leica has, say, 1500 cameras ready to ship at announcement. After that it all depends on the success of the model  whether a backlog develops or not. The type of production does not allow to respond quickly to an unexpected heavy demand.