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What will the M10 Cost


Bojangle

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The M10 will most likely be a more affordable magnesium chassis, polycarbonate clad M9 that Leica will offer in 6 different colors including pink, camoflage, and desert beige. They will accept all of the current M lenses.

 

Damn. I was hoping for a Gummy Bear cladding. Orange.

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That goes for any brand. The bulk of the sales, where the money is, is to amateurs. The professionals are the icing on the cake and a great marketing tool, but do not bring in much in turnover, if only because they are a small percentage of the customer base.

Having said that, all brands, including Leica, will offer a professional service.

 

 

 

True, but take a company like Nikon.

 

They have their consumer lineup, but also make cameras that are specifically geared to meet the requirements of professional photographers and are offered in a tiered pricing structure.

 

Not every pro can afford a D4, but most can manage to purchase a D800 or D300s.

 

The number of amateurs that purchase the D300s/D800/D4 far outnumber the pros, but that still does not change the fact that Nikon considers 'professional photographers' as a specific part of their market that they cater to and who drive the direction of R&D.

 

That is no longer the case with Leica. They can't even manage to get basic weather sealing in to the M series and I can't picture too many PJ's struggling through the mountains of Afghanistan with a Hermes Edition M around their neck.

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Well, Leica started building limited edition snakeskin-covered goldplated cameras in 1929. So I would not take special editons as a convincing argument for "no longer"

A pro will take the tool he needs for the job, and that will often be a weather-sealed versatile DSLR. Some will use Leica M if it meets their needs. But yes,that obviously is a niche market.

A "pro" camera does not exist. An iPhone can be a pro camera in some situations.

Anyway, I would not be surprised if Leica models from now on would be progressively more mainstream. Including adding features that nowadays are considered " professional" A heavily misused word imo that many non-professionals will use as a status symbol.

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Leica has very limited production capacity and will keep the price high to achieve two goals: 1) retain the "aspirational" aura of the brand, which is useful, and 2) control demand. The cameras and lenses are expensive already and you can still barely get them. Imagine what would happen if an M10 or whatever fell into the range of what we might generally consider affordable... you'd never see it, that's what.

 

They loud an clearly said to target 1% of the ww camera market in about 5 years (in 2016 or so) from currenty 0.15%. The MM, Panasonic LX7 and V.. something and neither X2 won't pull the cart to get there.

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These are very crude conversions reflecting the cost at the time of introduction of M models in terms of earning power, inflation, relative currency exchange rates and "Dismal science" fudge factors:

 

M3: $3,000

M4: $4,000

M5: $5,000

etc etc

 

The secret of Leica's pricing revealed! The trend is obvious! lets see how wrong I am! :D

 

X2: $2000 I think you managed to crack their secret pricing code:D

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Leica doesn't care about photojournalists or professional photographers, unless they need one to endorse their product to sell more cameras to those who can still afford them.

 

They like to occasionally roll out one of the Magnum guys or gals and put on an exhibit from the glory days of photojournalism, but the truth is that professional photographers are no longer their target market, nor can the vast majority of professional shooters still afford their gear.

 

Leica is now a luxury brand.

 

If Leica still makes a product intended for professionals it's the S-Series.

 

My guess is the M10 will be priced between $7000-9000. Hopefully not more.

 

What most purists and detractors may miss is that the Leica M is, and always has been, a supplemental camera used and appreciated by more pros than most imagine. These folks appreciate and prize the optics, and use the rangefinder approach for some of their work. BTW, this includes cinematographers I've met as an art director who use it for their serious still work and documentation. Some pretty damned famous ones I might add. Sorry if they do not come here and expound on their use of a M.

 

Given the very small % of over-all camera sales that the M represents, it is pretty amazing how many pros I know that also use M. I've always used one in concert with a 35mm SLR (film or digital) for paying work like events and weddings ... and know quite a few that do the same. I shoot a decent amount of commercial work with a M that warrants a rangefinder approach ... like in medical clinics and surgical centers, or corporate research labs and R&D. Before retiring from advertising, I documented every film shoot I went on for the ad agency to use in self promotion or for the client to use to promote the TV support to their dealers. It was always with a M. (did a fair amount of personal work then also : -)

 

Leica Ms aren't used by most journalists because that category of pro work is financially dying right along with the publications, so yeah, they can't afford a new M9/10/MM ... (unless we include Paparazzi with 800mm lenses taking questionable shots for tabloid rags).

 

So, yes, poor professional photographers can't afford a M and never could. Successful ones are a different matter. Well heeled isn't restricted to CEOs, celebs, engineers and doctors. There are still some photographers that make good money, drive Mercedes, and use a Leica : -)

 

-Marc

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M10 or M makes no difference to me.

 

This is all I have been hoping for.

 

Let us hope that Leica´s execution of the new M will be just as beutiful as the spec sheet!

 

Enjoy your evening everyone, this is the most important product in a hopefully strong Leica future!

 

Best regards

 

Trond

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