dysert Posted May 8, 2011 Share #1 Â Posted May 8, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am still on the sidelines about a M9 purchase. As someone who watches the supply side regularly it appears it is close to meeting the demand, finally. Both bodies are readily available and it has been over a month since one of the colors, usually Gray could not be purchased easily. I think it must be time for the upgrade announcement soon and if so, I will make the purchase. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 8, 2011 Posted May 8, 2011 Hi dysert, Take a look here M9 Supply and Demand. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest jarski Posted May 8, 2011 Share #2 Â Posted May 8, 2011 yes been kinda noticing the same. used M9's with almost price of new arent grabbed from sellers hands like before. amazing how long it took Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted May 9, 2011 Share #3 Â Posted May 9, 2011 With respect, waiting for upgrades can be a futile pastime. The moment the next upgrade appears, if there will be one, it will be threatened by either the following upgrade or a new model. Always wanting the latest has no cure. Â A better strategy would be to decide what you want/need in a camera and find the brand/model that most closely satifies that now. Â Warning: Don't do as I do; do as I say! Â I acquired my M9 as 'first cab off the rank', (in my country), but at least it does do what I want/need in a camera. I will (I think) resist the M10 if/when it comes. The M9 does a superb job as it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted May 9, 2011 Share #4 Â Posted May 9, 2011 So you are waiting for a chrome finish with a glass LCD and at a higher price,.........definitely worth waiting for. I'd be happy just to wait for the higher price myself and thank my lucky stars I'm not out with an 'old' M9 taking photographs this weekend instead of sometime maybe never with an upgraded one. That glass LCD will make much better photographs, and chrome will last for ever (unlike the circuit board). Â Just playing, but if you think about it the early adopters are well ahead with a camera like an M9 that will have a reasonable service life after production eventually does stop (I would bet it will run alongside a future M10 in the range, just as a cheaper option if nothing else). So why are they ahead? Well as the cameras get older they will need more spares lavished on them, and those spares will become a finite resource, so the older cameras in ten years time will be fully refurbished and fettled, while there are no spares left for the last ones made that are then just begining to show component failures. As an early adopter you could double the life of the camera, a late adopter could halve it. Â Â Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted May 9, 2011 Share #5 Â Posted May 9, 2011 I bought one on 9/9. Never been happier with a camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guido Posted May 9, 2011 Share #6 Â Posted May 9, 2011 Your logic has one flaw: after the update is announced, you'll wait for another eternity for supply and demand to meet again. And so on... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar B Posted May 9, 2011 Share #7 Â Posted May 9, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Im no expert on Leica Model policy but i would expect that the M9 & X1 have at least one more year to run ... Leica are not like Apple ... releasing the new ipad2 around a year or less from the initial launch ... anyway im off to trade in my black ip4 for a new white one ... Not ... Â Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted May 9, 2011 Share #8 Â Posted May 9, 2011 Waiting for the update to decide what to buy sounds like a wise idea, if you're not in a hurry of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 9, 2011 Share #9 Â Posted May 9, 2011 The next M9 release will be the sky-blue M9 with blue paint and leather.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted May 9, 2011 Share #10 Â Posted May 9, 2011 I would wait until the second anniversary of the M9's release and then decide. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 9, 2011 Share #11 Â Posted May 9, 2011 I would buy an M9 straight away and start taking photographs. Cameras come and go, but enjoying your hobby are moments to cherish. The M9 is to all intents and purposes good enough to last a decade or more - it is certainly a far better camera than I am a photographer and is likely to stay that way until one of use falls to pieces with old age. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted May 9, 2011 Share #12 Â Posted May 9, 2011 I 100% agree with what Jaap says above. Â Anyway, I understand from several dealers that production was diverted from lenses to bodies for a few months to satisfy the demand for M9 bodies. Â Hence the shortage of lenses, (you try buying a new Summilux, any fl) exacerbated by the increased number of new M9 owners now looking for new lenses. Â I don't think its a sign of waning demand in the traditional sense. I expect them to divert production resources back to lenses once the huge backlog of M9 demand has been fulfilled, and this will then reduce body supply again. Â This is a nice position for Leica to be in for once. I don't expect them to pull out too many stops just yet by rushing a substantial upgraded body into production in the very near future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted May 9, 2011 Share #13 Â Posted May 9, 2011 The people that make the bodies do not make lenses, and vice versa. Indeed, most of the body is actually made in a different country, and there seems little point in ramping up body production by moving technicians from lens manufacture to bodies, if that means lots more bodies out there chasing fewer and fewer lenses. Â Lenses are made in batches, so if you get on the list at the wrong end of a batch, you might wait longer than if you catch the beginning of a batch run(provided there isn't a large outstanding list) Â The success of the M9 has caught Leica a bit by surprise, but they cannot just turn on another tap to increase lens production. Â And, there isn't a huge backlog any more - M9s in both colours are freely available now and have been for a while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted May 9, 2011 Share #14  Posted May 9, 2011 The people that make the bodies do not make lenses, and vice versa. Indeed, most of the body is actually made in a different country, and there seems little point in ramping up body production by moving technicians from lens manufacture to bodies, if that means lots more bodies out there chasing fewer and fewer lenses. Lenses are made in batches, so if you get on the list at the wrong end of a batch, you might wait longer than if you catch the beginning of a batch run(provided there isn't a large outstanding list)  The success of the M9 has caught Leica a bit by surprise, but they cannot just turn on another tap to increase lens production.  And, there isn't a huge backlog any more - M9s in both colours are freely available now and have been for a while.  While its true that lenses and bodies are made in different places, that doesn't mean resources can't be switched: when people talk about resources they normally mean money, one way or another, and its the cost of increasing production that has to be resourced somehow, often by reducing costs elsewhere, temporarily.  Anyway, the increase in supply of M9s was quite abrupt, significant batches were received by dealers, whereas lenses have been in very short supply.  Whatever the reason, the effect is the same: more bodies going to more new owners creates more demand for lenses, and you can be sure resources will be devoted to satisfying demand as best they can. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 9, 2011 Share #15 Â Posted May 9, 2011 With Leica it does not work that way - the cameras and lenses are hand-built for the most part which means the production resources are human. One cannot switch a trained camera technician to lens production without long and intensive retraining - and vica versa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted May 9, 2011 Share #16 Â Posted May 9, 2011 With Leica it does not work that way - the cameras and lenses are hand-built for the most part which means the production resources are human. One cannot switch a trained camera technician to lens production without long and intensive retraining - and vica versa. Â No, but for example you can pay overtime, and you can incentivise increased production in many ways, and this has to be financed. Â Anyway, if I've been misled by the dealers (including Leica themselves) I apologise for passing this on. But I do believe we're taking a slightly over-simplified view of the processes involved in production. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi996sps Posted May 9, 2011 Share #17  Posted May 9, 2011 I am still on the sidelines about a M9 purchase. As someone who watches the supply side regularly it appears it is close to meeting the demand, finally. Both bodies are readily available and it has been over a month since one of the colors, usually Gray could not be purchased easily. I think it must be time for the upgrade announcement soon and if so, I will make the purchase.  It depends. I had and still have one of the first available M8's, which has now been serviced and matched to my lenses and which i thoroughly enjoy using and am surprised even now, a few years down the road at the quality of what it produces especially with the 50lux asph and 28cron asph.  I had myself on the M9 waiting list and waited, and waited and even waited some more, until i realised that i was not missing anything as my M8 continued to deliver. As i had waited sooo long and as the M8 meets and continues to fullfil my needs and expectations, i am personally, happy to wait some more for the M10. If and when it arrives i will make the decision then.  Regards  Ali Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 9, 2011 Share #18 Â Posted May 9, 2011 I suggest a visit to the factory. Over-simplification of the logistics of the production process is impossible. For instance, if one of the three ladies that paint the rims of the lens elements black by hand falls ill, lens production drops by 33 %. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccis Posted May 9, 2011 Share #19 Â Posted May 9, 2011 IMHO, it should all be about the picture and not what we use to make one, isn't this why we all love photography? Please let's stop this non-sense with waiting for the next latest and greatest as there is always something coming if you wait long enough. Last time I checked, M8s or M9s are fantastic image making machines. Â If you are happy not being able to make photographs while waiting for the next big thing, I advise you to save your money and don't buy anything as you really don't care about the art of photography and more about the gear. Â I apologize for the rant but I have grown tired of the same disregard for the art of photography as I see everything is about the gear tech these day. Shame, really a shame Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted May 9, 2011 Share #20 Â Posted May 9, 2011 I suggest a visit to the factory. Over-simplification of the logistics of the production process is impossible. For instance, if one of the three ladies that paint the rims of the lens elements black by hand falls ill, lens production drops by 33 %. Â OK, I bow to your vastly superior knowledge! Â And a visit to the factory is a very tempting suggestion. Â (Also, I can bring a paint brush, if that's any help!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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