Should I buy the M8 or wait for the M9

[R.Costello]

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I have been reading this forum for some weeks now having registered late last year. I placed an order for a Silver M8, and a 35-mm Lux-M ASPH about a month ago and am told I could expect it the first week of February. I thought I would start off with this combination and add to it later in the year. But some of the posts to this site are disturbing and have me wondering if I shouldn't cancel my order and wait four or five months (possibly longer) and let the dust settle or see if an M9 replaces M8. I am a Nikon shooter and have shot mostly that brand for over 50 years and have a closet full of lenses and bodies but have gone totally digital in the past three years. Stepping back into the Rangefinder body with a digital Leica had me quite excited but I have been through teething problems with Nikon digital. The D2X seems to have them all solved and stepping into another set of 'problems' doesn't much interest me. I am looking for a small kit that will go with me when I step out the door. The D2X is quite a load especially with three or so lenses in the bag.

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[Jager]

I suspect an M9, or whatever follows the M8, is years away.

 

You could wait a few more months on purchasing an M8 and probably have a slight improvement in your odds of getting a trouble-free sample. But there are enough cameras out there now that I expect most of the major problems have been identified. I also think internet forums tend to substantially skew perceptions regarding the extent of problems - not just with Leica, or with cameras, but with everything. Like you, I considered waiting for a while when the series of M8 teething troubles began to emerge. I finally concluded that Leica had most of the issues in hand and decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. What finally convinced me that I didn't want to wait was the outstanding image quality that kept being reported.

 

There really aren't words to describe how exciting this camera is.

 

Jeff

[gesper]

No question, buy it now. Life is way too short to waste time waiting for the next better technology when what you can have now is as good as it is.

[egibaud]

in a technological world if you wait for the next better fixed perfect great unique definitive version.... you will wait for ever !!!

[John Maio]

I think a lot depends on what kind of shooting you plan to do with it.

 

If you shoot in production volumes and print mostly color and don't want to spend a lot of post processing time, I'd wait a bit. February is supposed to be a milestone month with the availability of the Leica-branded IR/UV cutoff filters and version 1.10 of the firmware, which, among other things, is supposed to handle the cyan-edged color issues with WA lenses that already have IR filters mounted. Who knows, it may also improve the AWB instability that has been mentioned frequently.

 

These items should be tested and reported on here in near-real time, and, at least for me, will mean its time to jump back into the pool.

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Who said there was a M9. Never know

[grober]

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No, no ... when the M9 is announced, wait for the M10.

 

(Are you serious?)

 

M8 ain't perfect but it sure beats any alternative that I've seen!

 

-g

[sdai]

M8 ain't perfect but it sure beats any alternative that I've seen!

 

But there's no alternative to the M8, a M8 can only beat itself.

[marknorton]

Four or five months for the M9? Years, more like. Surprised you've had problems with your D2x, mine has been flawless.

[franklinh]

I agree. There is no alternative to the M8. But one here's rumors of a new mid-priced digital Leica to replace the D-Lux 3. Do you know that may pros do their work with small reasonably inexpensive digicams.

 

I use (don't tell anyone!) a small black Ricoh GR-D as a real creative widget in my life. My other cameras is a GR-1s and a Leica M-3.

 

Franklin

[wparsonsgisnet]

Do you have a good book?

[albertknappmd]

get the M8 now... the bugs are all gone.

It may take YEARS for the M9 to appear and guess what... It will ALSO have teething pains when it debuts!

Albert

[sprice]

To paraphrase Churchill, there are always compelling reasons to do nothing, particularly when it would be you doing nothing> I've had the M8 for about a week and so far the only trouble I've had is with autowhitebalance. The camera is absolutely a thrill to use and the output is tremendous. Don't do nothing.

[bnelson]

I don't expect there will be a M9 for quite some time, years instead of months. What I do expect is that there will be substantial progress of many of these technical issues (filters, banding, camera shut downs, etc) in the next 2-3 months.

 

I fo one have chosen to risk buying here. I did not buy on day one but did in late December. I love the images from the M8. I too have a Nikon D2XS and love the size and feel of the M8 and am willing to risk having problems and having to send the M8 back.

 

I wish the M8 launch had been smoother with less continual problems, but that has not been the case. I just chose to accept it and have a belief that Leica will solve the problems.

 

As an aside, I still follow a couple of the Nikon forums, and much of the chatter about the D200, D2XS, and others is about problems with their cameras; problems with back focus, front focus, etc., and that is with mature cameras.

 

It occurs to me that with digital we photographers are taking many more photographs and reviewing them immediately at 100% crop exposes problems that may or may not be speicific to only digital capture.

 

For example, when we shot film we usually developed the film, made contact proof sheets, reviewed these with loupes of 3-5X, and only enlarged a very few of the photos taken. Contrast that with the digital workflow in which can view each and every frame at 10X enlargements or greater with the touch of a button. Most of us, including me, make most of our judgements on the merits of the image on the screen before we have printed even a single image.

 

What I am saying is that digital capture tends to produce more images and it tends to allow us to critically view each and every image. Had we done this with film I feel certain many more problem images would have been seen in that format as well.

 

Way off topic, but for me I'm glad I have a M8. Do I wish there were less problems? Yes, but not enough for me to sell my M8. It produces beautiful images.

 

Bill

[Eoin]

Even if an M9 was released in 2-4 years time, natural advances in technology would push it ahead of the M8. The question is, will the M8 with it's known flaws and proposed fixes give you images worthy of the M marque. Hand on heart, absolutely yes.

[ptomsu]

I have been reading this forum for some weeks now having registered late last year. I placed an order for a Silver M8, and a 35-mm Lux-M ASPH about a month ago and am told I could expect it the first week of February. I thought I would start off with this combination and add to it later in the year. But some of the posts to this site are disturbing and have me wondering if I shouldn't cancel my order and wait four or five months (possibly longer) and let the dust settle or see if an M9 replaces M8. I am a Nikon shooter and have shot mostly that brand for over 50 years and have a closet full of lenses and bodies but have gone totally digital in the past three years. Stepping back into the Rangefinder body with a digital Leica had me quite excited but I have been through teething problems with Nikon digital. The D2X seems to have them all solved and stepping into another set of 'problems' doesn't much interest me. I am looking for a small kit that will go with me when I step out the door. The D2X is quite a load especially with three or so lenses in the bag.

 

Richard,

 

from what you write here I would assume you should stay with Nikon. Maybe go for the D200, which is much smaller than the D2X and take some interesting glass like the 18-200/DX which gives with the D200 an exceptional versatile combination! I myself work with the D2X and am looking for an additional D200.

 

I also own a DMR and a number of R lenses and must say I am happy with the DMR results, but in the end of the day the D2X equipped with the right lenses (I mean the high quality line from Nikon) is not only more versatile than the DMR and R system, but also same quality of images.

 

Now I also have the M system and bought actually a number of nice M glass awaiting the M8. But with all the issues which are still popping up on the M8 I cancelled any thought about getting this surely nice camera for the moment. I will wait at least another year and see what comes out of this dust.

 

Unfortunately I think that a M9 is far, far away, I would expect at Photokina 2008 the replacement of the DMR in form of a R10 and maybe Photokina 2010 then a M9 (if this will ever happen).

 

So waiting for improvements for the moment is waste of time, just use your Nikon and follow this way for the next 2 years or so!

 

My 5 C

 

Peter

[ptomsu]

I don't expect there will be a M9 for quite some time, years instead of months. What I do expect is that there will be substantial progress of many of these technical issues (filters, banding, camera shut downs, etc) in the next 2-3 months.

 

I fo one have chosen to risk buying here. I did not buy on day one but did in late December. I love the images from the M8. I too have a Nikon D2XS and love the size and feel of the M8 and am willing to risk having problems and having to send the M8 back.

 

I wish the M8 launch had been smoother with less continual problems, but that has not been the case. I just chose to accept it and have a belief that Leica will solve the problems.

 

As an aside, I still follow a couple of the Nikon forums, and much of the chatter about the D200, D2XS, and others is about problems with their cameras; problems with back focus, front focus, etc., and that is with mature cameras.

 

It occurs to me that with digital we photographers are taking many more photographs and reviewing them immediately at 100% crop exposes problems that may or may not be speicific to only digital capture.

 

For example, when we shot film we usually developed the film, made contact proof sheets, reviewed these with loupes of 3-5X, and only enlarged a very few of the photos taken. Contrast that with the digital workflow in which can view each and every frame at 10X enlargements or greater with the touch of a button. Most of us, including me, make most of our judgements on the merits of the image on the screen before we have printed even a single image.

 

What I am saying is that digital capture tends to produce more images and it tends to allow us to critically view each and every image. Had we done this with film I feel certain many more problem images would have been seen in that format as well.

 

Way off topic, but for me I'm glad I have a M8. Do I wish there were less problems? Yes, but not enough for me to sell my M8. It produces beautiful images.

 

Bill

 

I have no clue which threads you actually follow, I only can say I have none of these problems you mention with my D2X and a whole bunch of Nikkor lenses.

 

Maybe it is wiser not to rely on threads and their content and further spread this, if you do not have the experience yourself.

[geoffreyg]

Its worth reminding ourselves that all this hi-tech electronic stuf is far from perfect. I have a glitch in my Canon 20D which seems to be impossible to iron out....nothing in the manual.

 

Sure there are some issues with the M8, some perhaps more serious than others. But like good people, youget their strengths along with some other attributes. if you use this camera, you will see how nicely it works, and that these other issues will fade to the back.

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[gesper]

Also, given the teething problems with the M8, it is going to be later rather than sooner that Leica will be releasing an M9. I also doubt that they want to start too rapid technology recycling at these price levels, or no one but professionals would ever invest.

[andym911]

It is not an unreasonable concern to have, after all it is a big spend.I do not have M8, but after following the whole release and progress I would say it is probable that within 6 months most, if not all of the bugs will be ironed out.

The next generation digital M will appear at Fotokina next year in my opinion, either in the form of 2nd Gen M8 or a new model.(Pro weather sealing/ no requirement for IR Cut filter being incuded)

I dopubt that Leica will skip a Fotokina before releasing the next M digital product, in the Digital world I see that as highly unlikely.

Just an opinion as all here so take it for what it's worth.

 

cheers

andy