Should I buy a used M now or wait for the "new one" or just buy lens and wait?

[kaiserphoenix]

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Hi guys, a bit of help please if anyone has a few moments....(I am from the UK)

Bit of background, I am not a professional, but I take a variety of photographs and have different tools for each:

Timelapse/Landscape/Extreme Macro => Nikon D810
Everything else => Leica Q, iphone etc

Now after shooting quite continously with the Q and taking it with me on many trips, Ive realized that having analysed the photos in Lightroom, I am cropping at least 80% of the time!! I guess the 28mm is not quite the kind of photos I want to take. Bear in mind, this is my 1st ever leica experience.

Recently I rented a Leica M 262 + Summilux 50/1.4 for a couple to days to see if I can get used to the RF way and man i didnt have to crop anything and I just loved the output! So here is my issue:

In the UK, apparently there is a price increase or "adjustment" on the 1st of November for all leica products....

1) Buy the M + Summilux before price increase.
2) Buy the Summilux before the price increase and WAIT to see if Leica announces anything (like a new M) in November at their event, at which point make a decision then.
3) Buy neither and just wait.
4) Forget the M and stick with the Q. 

Bear in mind i will still keep the Q as its a nice nifty camera with super fast auto focus and it works in that way. The RF way works for me, but if a New M is released with EVF and fast auto-focus, and perhaps a lighter body, that would be a "nice to have" too but i suppose noone knows.

 

Thank you so much.

Edited October 25, 2016 by kaiserphoenix

[lct]

You have a Q and a Nikon already so you can wait a bit don't you. I would wait and see how the next M looks like but it won't be autofocus anyway. 

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[kaiserphoenix]

You have a Q and a Nikon already so you can wait a bit don't you. I would wait and see how the next M looks like but it won't be autofocus anyway. 

Yeah just that the issue is that in the UK there is going to be a price increase next week...And hence the dillema of buying now or waiting....

[Belle123]

Nobody knows when the next M is coming. Could be days, months, or years. I would just get the current if you really want an M. The next M is not likely to be a huge improvement, and doubtful will have built in EVF and for certain be manual. You can't go wrong buying now.

Edited October 25, 2016 by billinghambaglady

[lct]

Yeah just that the issue is that in the UK there is going to be a price increase next week...And hence the dillema of buying now or waiting....

 

I would not pay current prices for an outdated camera (let alone EVF) and new prices will apply to the next M anyway. Second hand? Why not if you are in a hurry but it is the only reason why i would spend the big bucks on a current M personally. YMMV.

[kaiserphoenix]

I would not pay current prices for an outdated camera (let alone EVF) and new prices will apply to the next M anyway. Second hand? Why not if you are in a hurry but it is the only reason why i would spend the big bucks on a current M personally. YMMV.

I agree. I will probably look for a 2nd hand body which would allow me to hedge somewhat I suppose. New now is abit crazy, particularly its the end of the life cycle for the M probably. 

[Belle123]

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I would not pay current prices for an outdated camera (let alone EVF) and new prices will apply to the next M anyway. Second hand? Why not if you are in a hurry but it is the only reason why i would spend the big bucks on a current M personally. YMMV.

The M is always outdated. Never going to be current ever in technology, even in the next version. You buy it because it's an M.

[qbart]

I think at the moment you can stick with what you have.. wait for the new M to come out.. If you don't like it then you can buy M262. By that time, the new M will drive the M262 price down. 

 

One advice: beware of the GAS attack.. there is no best equipment, maybe what you have now is the best

 

Happy hunting..

[lct]

The M is always outdated [...]

 

Outdated by a large or a small margin? The smaller the better for me but again, YMMV .

[Jeffry Abt]

I am waiting! 

[kaiserphoenix]

I think at the moment you can stick with what you have.. wait for the new M to come out.. If you don't like it then you can buy M262. By that time, the new M will drive the M262 price down. 

 

One advice: beware of the GAS attack.. there is no best equipment, maybe what you have now is the best

 

Happy hunting..

 Absolutely. thats why i rented it. I always buy books more than gears. I analysed my shots in lightroom and im cropping over 80% of the time which means i am probably get more use from a 50mm. Thats all. 

[Peter H]

Waiting for a new M to come out is rarely a wise decision.

 

Life's too short.

[Tobers]

To avoid taking a hit on a new M, buy 2nd hand instead. You'll get a guarantee from Red Dot or whomever so its fairly risk free and someone else will have taken the majority of the depreciation. By a 2nd hand 50 while you're at it.

 

Note that if a new M comes out, their will be more M-240s coming to the 2nd hand market so prices will fall. If you buy before that, you'll take a bit of a hit. If you wait you may get a better deal on a used M-240 but then you'll be tempted by the new one :-).

[Smoothlander]

I agree, life is too short.  I was a Canon guy, purchased the Q, fell in love with the whole Leica thing and pulled the trigger on the M240 and 50mm lens.  I love the M and Q and rarely take out my Canon anymore.  I have the Q with me all the time and use the M when I'm doing a specific photo project.  The M is a fantastic camera, but, you still have to compose the image. The manual focus allows you to get really creative.  Enjoy.

[Denys]

I repeat possibly the four most commonly used words in this thread "life is too short"..and add "it's only money". :-)

[mmradman]

As you have a acquisition itch I suggest you get Film M camera like M6 and one M lens of choice, ideally 35 or 50mm. If you don't like it you can sell both with minimum loss maybe even make profit, if you like the system keep film body or just sell it and keep buying lenses and future M digital.

[otto.f]

Why would there be a price increase on the existing M's when Leica would introduce a new M in November? Besides, in general, with digital products in a broad sense, it's always better to wait when you don't really need something new. I doubt whether a new M arrives so soon btw because they could have introduced it at the Photokina in september if they were that far with a difficult technical and commercial initiative in this actual market.

[kaiserphoenix]

Why would there be a price increase on the existing M's when Leica would introduce a new M in November? Besides, in general, with digital products in a broad sense, it's always better to wait when you don't really need something new. I doubt whether a new M arrives so soon btw because they could have introduced it at the Photokina in september if they were that far with a difficult technical and commercial initiative in this actual market.

 

It is because in the UK, we recently had a disastrous event called "brexit" that has sent our currency to the pits. Leica UK mentioned to me that this was an adjustment and not necessarily a price increase per se. i.e. in whichever country you're from, prices are probably not affected. This has happened to other items like watches, cars, and even wine, hams in the UK sadly. 

[kaiserphoenix]

Thank you everyone for your comments. 

I think i will try and find a cheap M262 since I dont need lv and I dun need video either. Lens I will buy new as I know I love it for sure after taking around 400 photos during the rental period, I love it. 

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The M262 is too new for many to appear secondhand, although Aperture (London) had one this week that's in fact new (£3490) but reserved for a customer. If you are happy to crop your Q images then file size may not be a crucial factor for you, so you might look for an (18MP)  M9 with replaced new-type sensor to tide you over until the specifications for a new M model appear. If this did happen, it would probably be months of queuing to get one! A respectable used M9 would cost around £1800-£1900; and the subsequent depreciation would be a lot less than with an M262.