Interest in M9 weakening?

[plasticman]

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Granted, I said it was dismal in a thread I started on the M9. I said it was my opinion based on issue that I listed which I find dismal. Now, to some that might lessen my credibility, especially with people who use the M8. It still does not change my opinion. However, I mentioned that in a thread I started, and I do not feel the need to subject every single thread to a repeat iteration of the dismal comment like Earl does with the M9. Obviously, I feel he is wrong, and I read his reasons, and I disagree. What is hard to tolerate is having to read it in every single thread about the M9.

 

Well this is where the ignore function is so useful. I found that one person really irritated me too, with the reiteration of one single point in every thread I read, both here and on another forum. It needled me so much I would get into stupid fights over it. The ignore function solved the issue in one stroke.

 

If enough people ignore Earl, and don't rise to the bait, then the problem will disappear.

 

I do think some of his points are correct, though. I'm just not sure they need to be stated with such frequency.

 

PS: and btw (and totally OT) I didn't think your 'reasons' for calling the M8 "dismal" were legitimate, at all. So it just goes to show how divergent opinions can be, and how each person should weigh their own criteria for choosing a camera for themselves.

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[viramati]

2nd best Camera M8.2 even though it won't butter the toast. Now my D700 will make breakfast, butter the toast and put it all on the table, now thats Japanese technology for you.

[brill64]

So if you were running Leica, how would you have satisfied the initial demand? Would you have employed and trained more technicians to assemble the cameras, or would you have delayed the launch until the existing workforce had built sufficient bodies to satisfy the demand following the launch? Or would you have adopted some other strategy?

 

i think this is an interesting point you have raised..steve..is leica possibly adopting a "less is more" strategy to raise the exclusivity profile of the m9 as a luxury item? since production of the m8/m8.s just stopped and switched over the next day to the m9, is output the same as for the m8 or less? i'd imagine the same number of staff and technicians, no need to speculate on that one..

 

this time last year we were drowning in m8's. 2009 was also quite a brutal year so could low production be related to the post-economy boom slowing borrowing and lending rates down? production would be slow and edging on the side of caution perhaps, especially since so much has been invested in development and production of the s2/m9/x1 pre-economic downturn? is leica avoiding over-production?

 

leica wouldn't delay by missing an opportunistic if slightly premature launch date like 09-09-09. however, this would have been dream't up by the ad exec's creative, sassy if not slightly crass ideals (sorry!) to raise broader awareness of leica's products and reach a wider spectrum of potential new buyers?. i think it's having the desired effect and demand seems strong but production is still rolling out surely but steadily, most likely, at normal leica rates. which is slow. after all, it's a camera constructed from (i don't know how many exactly) thousands of parts mostly hand-assembled by skilled technicians in portugal and germany.

 

i am, maybe naively, on just one dealer list for a steel grey model with deposit paid and i for one don't mind the long wait..i'm neither disappointed nor dismayed and am thoroughly looking forward to receiving it. until then i am patient and a much-used and loved m8 will simply have to do..

[Mokkacream]

Oh I apologise! I didn't realise you were on Leica's product developpment team:rolleyes:

 

Why that cynical?

 

I just met a person of Leica's quality management team 2 weeks ago and I took the chance to speak with him.

They are human beings, you can talk with. You might not believe it, but it's true.

And nothing really surprising, what will come up soon, isn't it?

It even sounds quite logical to me.

 

They know exactly any M9 issue, under which also those, that have been posted here already.

The next firmware will fix a lot of problems. Then we could talk again about the M9.

 

Anyway, the discussion within this thread has slipped miles away from being constructive and valuable.

[frank_dernie]

I was interested to read this in the current issue of "The Economist" about the resurrection of a luxury swiss watch maker & it immediately made me wonder about Leica:

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"Hublot’s success stems in part from Mr Biver’s penchant for rationing his products. He was careful to restrict supply when business was booming, delivering only seven watches, say, when ten were ordered. Jewellers pay cash for stock, so it seems foolish not to sell as many watches as possible. Yet for Mr Biver it is an essential strategy. “You only desire what you cannot get,” he says. “People want exclusivity, so you must always keep the customer hungry and frustrated.”"

 

 

Stefan

 

I think this is true. I do not know that Leica do this, I think it is their limited production capability and stronger than expected demand which creates what we have here. Rolls-Royce failed when they re-structured to satisfy demand since the secondhand value dropped so a new one was no longer such good value. They ended up being bought by BMW. Morgan cars have survived, in their opinion, by making sure there is a waiting list, which keeps depreciation, hence the cost of ownership, low.

Hublot is a fashion story and not rational for other industry, I think. Hopefully Leica is not a fashion item, though some seem to believe it is for some reason, and the digital world does not have low depreciation, so I do not think the M9 situation matches either of these scenarios.

Frank

[stunsworth]

Morgan cars have survived, in their opinion, by making sure there is a waiting list, which keeps depreciation, hence the cost of ownership, low.

 

Frank, I'm sure you remember the TV program where Sir John Harvey Jones visited Morgan and advised them to modernise and ramp up production. They rejected his advice and prospered...

 

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