Is V1.10 late? Is it vaporware?

[Jamie Roberts]

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@ John--

 

It's hard to tell on the 'net when someone is joking sans smiley So of course I took your list seriously!

 

Besides, I still disagree with you about 1) the M8's inability to take a good snapshot and 2) whether people should be too concerned about whether Leica is a) late (they're not) or lying (they're also not, IMO).

 

And of course I take fun shots with my M8 too; I love it for that, actually.

 

But--and this is the but I'm trying to get across--using an M8 in existing low-light without a flash is something very few point and shoots would *ever* get right (and a lot you couldn't turn the flash off!).

 

It's also not an easy thing to do with any camera, let alone the M8. And while any "pro" level camera (like the 1ds2) will *let* you make a good picture in those conditions, you can't just put it on "P" and hope for the best; )

 

Well, you can with a Canon, but your WB results, especially in mixed light, aren't going to be very good. But your noise floor in low light will be at least two stops better than the M8. Any current Canon dSLR has better low-light capability than the M8, especially with a 50 lux R or an 85 1.2L bolted on it

 

My point here is that to get a good "snapshot" in those conditions, you simply can't rely on AWB--regardless of who's brand is on the box.

 

If you want to shoot JPEGs and post then to the 'net without post, do a custom WB and (carefully) expose to the right. With filters, you'll be fine at ISOs up to 1250. But you need to know what you're doing.

 

You're missing a bit my point about Leica, too. They're *already* better than any other digicam company I've dealt with in terms of communication, and I don't expect them to commit more than they do already.

 

They admitted the problems, offered a free of charge hardware upgrade, publically, offered free filters, and published their firmware schedule. I mean--what the heck more do you expect? Wait--I forgot--they also offered a free 30% off the best 35mm lenses you can buy as a goodwill gesture.

 

I've done my time in marketing too. That's a pretty stellar response, IMO.

 

As for dedictating an engineering resource to telling people stuff like "you have a backfocus issue, please send your camera in" that's just a waste of resource IMO. I'd rather have them working diligently on making the M8 the "best that it can be."

 

Of course, we also have the benefit of the Guys and Seans and Scotts and Pascals and Marks and Marcs and all the rest of the really experienced crew here, too (sorry for missing names).

 

When I had a backfocus issue with my Canon gear, do you think Canon dedicated an engineer to post to the forums and guide people through a fix? Of course not! I had to send body and lens into CPS and they fixed it for me--at full charge too when under warranty!

 

But here, and the LUF, there is a very good, and illustrated, fix for common backfocussing problems right here on this forum! It's astounding, and it took me exactly 45 minutes to fix my M8 such that at 1.4 on the luxes it's perfect. Not great--perfect!

 

@ Danni--well, we agree to disagree completely on this. All language works at many levels, and the subtext to the blatant question "is it vapourware" is potentially "yes it is." The spirit, if not the letter, of the question is an accusation, whether you intended it or not.

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[DaveEP]

I don't recall anyone here, including me who started this thread, complaining about v1.10 being vaporware. I did. however, ASK the question, and I believe it is a legitimate question.

 

Then excuse me for miss interpreting your words, but in my mind asking if it 'could' be vapourware suggest that 'you think' it could be, otherwise you would never have asked it.

 

If you didn't think it could be vapourware, why stir the pot like this?

 

 

The classical answer is.."It Depends..." Many of the more savvy software companies have developed the practice of providing release notes that have three major headings:

1. New Features added since last release dated mm/dd/yyyy (US Format) followed by a list and explanation of new features.

 

Maybe - but don't force every one around the world to use US format dates - they are the odd ones out. Leica is a european company, and so dates can be european for me, i.e. in ascending order of significance [day/month/year], whereas the Japanese have desending order of significance [year/month/day] - and the US....well they have mixed it all up !

 

2. Bugs Fixed followed by a list of the bugs that have been fixed (some you wouldn't have known were there.

If we don't they are there - how do you know this is a complete list? You are making assumptions here....

 

3. Known Bugs to be fixed at a future release followed by a generally short list of bugs that didn't make their cutoff for the release.

 

Well, the cut off point, and the list of remaining bugs are always going to be acting against each other. For me (and I stress 'me'), I can work with the camera 'as is' for a while longer yet - allowing them more time to fix more things. Others clearly feel that the camera is unusable and so are screaming for fixes quicker. Guy and Sean seem to be working quite happily - as do others.

 

So, C'mon guys, lets all calm down here - let Leica choose their time, and format for the release. It will be released when they are ready to release it, and how 'they' choose to document it....

[mitchell]

Danni,

 

The title is provocative. It does suggest Leica may be lying.

 

With a start like that a thread predictably desends to the sort of misunderstanding between Mani and Guy. It is the nature of the internet, not hearing the tone, not seeing the facial expression.

 

If you want to provoke, go ahead. If not realize how your words will be taken.

 

Best,

 

Mitchell

[Michael Jones]

I have also developed software - so take the following with a grain of salt ...it might lighten the air:

 

How many software developers does it take to change a light bulb?

 

It will never happen. It's a hardware problem!

 

Michael