M8, where do we go from here?

[elansprint72]

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I love the Cuprenol bit. When I visited the factory in the early eighties I happened to wander into the development shed, and found a body being built out of laminated and honeycombed aluminium material.I was kicked out before I could photograph it I have always wondered what happened to that project. Maybe this post would fit better in Barnacks Bar btw.

 

Yeah, you're correct about shifting to Barnack's but it seems difficult to get into a decent argument in there- strange sort of pub.

 

I've got some shots of an Aero body in it's development stages somewhere (I had some very peripheral (paid) involvement with the folks who developed and produce the dashboard/instruments, which is the only bit of 21st century tech on the car), these shots are far too dreary for this place though. Unlike on the M8, the electronics went through full evaluation before they were sold to paying customers; which sort of gets us back on topic.

[Johannes Knightworth]

For quite a few people (like myself) it doesn't really matter where the M8 goes from here..... Leica has actually lost these potential M8 customers for good, as for myself I have been a Leica customer all my life up until now. And I'm pretty sure I will not buy a new Leica product again, not because I'm pissed off by them or anything like that, I'm not, I love leica's even the M8 but the economics and the quality have pushed/forced me in another direction with which, so far I am quite happy with.

I have been looking around for a Digital camera for quite a while now, the M8 was my first choice and not only because of the lenses I already own. I have been following the different threads for as long as the M8 has been on the market and my pure theoretical perception is that is just doesn't cut the cake, I have not used one so I am not speaking out of experience here, but the amount of reported errors and mistakes is just to big for such a highly priced camera. As I mentioned I wandered in another direction with which I am content so far, a system which I will continue to build upon and invest in making it less than likely that I will ever switch back to leica, for I don't think has the technology and funds to ever surpass the technology increase of Japanese companies. And for me it's the image that counts, not the actual tool manufacturer, and the images my new tool produces are very good indeed.

Leica made a huge mistake here in my humble opinion by introducing a not fully finished product. They will always sell new M9' and M10 etc. but to a much smaller market and in order to keep up with technological development they will need to sell it at exorbitant prices.... minimizing their market even more.... where will this end ....

[stunsworth]

Johannes, I fully understood your doubts about the M8, I shared many of them before I bought my M8. In the end I went ahead and bought the camera, partly because I knew I would be able to sell it easily if it turned out not to be to my liking. As it happens I've loved the camera and wouldn't dream of selling.

 

The only problem I've had is the magenta issue, fixed with filters. Other than that the camera has worked flawlessly. No hang ups, no streaks, no battery problems, nothing. I realise there have been quite a number of people who have had these problems, but that doesn't give a true indication of the underlying scale of any problems. As I've mentioned before only Leica know that at this stage.

 

Anyhow, enjoy your prefered camera. Whatever it is I'm sure you'll get a lot of satisfaction from it.

[jaapv]

For quite a few people (like myself) it doesn't really matter where the M8 goes from here..... Leica has actually lost these potential M8 customers for good, as for myself I have been a Leica customer all my life up until now. And I'm pretty sure I will not buy a new Leica product again, not because I'm pissed off by them or anything like that, I'm not, I love leica's even the M8 but the economics and the quality have pushed/forced me in another direction with which, so far I am quite happy with.

I have been looking around for a Digital camera for quite a while now, the M8 was my first choice and not only because of the lenses I already own. I have been following the different threads for as long as the M8 has been on the market and my pure theoretical perception is that is just doesn't cut the cake, I have not used one so I am not speaking out of experience here, but the amount of reported errors and mistakes is just to big for such a highly priced camera. As I mentioned I wandered in another direction with which I am content so far, a system which I will continue to build upon and invest in making it less than likely that I will ever switch back to leica, for I don't think has the technology and funds to ever surpass the technology increase of Japanese companies. And for me it's the image that counts, not the actual tool manufacturer, and the images my new tool produces are very good indeed.

Leica made a huge mistake here in my humble opinion by introducing a not fully finished product. They will always sell new M9' and M10 etc. but to a much smaller market and in order to keep up with technological development they will need to sell it at exorbitant prices.... minimizing their market even more.... where will this end ....

 

 

Another victim of Internet hype.... I have two, one of the very first, which went back to Solms for its upgrade and "suffered" a battery charger problem. No big deal,solved immediately by Leica, and a new generation one which works flawlessly out of the box. Oh yes - that first one has a software hiccup now ( which did not make the camera unusable but requires some reset or adjustment or whatever, which Leica does within ten days including pickup and delivery at a time at my discretion), but I would be pretty foolish not to expect that on any complicated {electronic} product. If the image is what counts for you, I can tell you one thing: It is becoming clearer and clearer that you are with the wrong system, whichever it may be.

[Johannes Knightworth]

"If the image is what counts for you, I can tell you one thing: It is becoming clearer and clearer that you are with the wrong system, whichever it may be"

 

What would make you think that Jaap ?

 

I currently have the choice of lenses form 12mm up to 800mm (and more) the sensor is full-frame, the speed is, well, fast I can choose between Manual or Auto focus and the results are astonishing. Ok it's bigger and heavier thats the only downside, but then again less noise at high speeds makes up for this as well as the stabilizing system in the lens makes it perfect for my use.

 

But then I'm not trying to fight a brand-war here, I found my system to be economically and technologically responsible, highly upgradeable and very versatile, you might have other needs and wishes

[Guest stnami]

And I'm pretty sure I will not buy a new Leica product again, not because I'm pissed off by them or anything like that

.......... I am pretty pissed off with them for creating a fragile camera , but I will buy a Leica again in the future.......

[jaapv]

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"If the image is what counts for you, I can tell you one thing: It is becoming clearer and clearer that you are with the wrong system, whichever it may be"

 

What would make you think that Jaap ?

 

I currently have the choice of lenses form 12mm up to 800mm (and more) the sensor is full-frame, the speed is, well, fast I can choose between Manual or Auto focus and the results are astonishing. Ok it's bigger and heavier thats the only downside, but then again less noise at high speeds makes up for this as well as the stabilizing system in the lens makes it perfect for my use.

 

But then I'm not trying to fight a brand-war here, I found my system to be economically and technologically responsible, highly upgradeable and very versatile, you might have other needs and wishes

 

For focal length I'm better off than you are:p , my lenses go from 9.8 mm (which I have to borrow) to 800 mm on the M8 That is 12 mm to 1100 equivalent...

 

It is just that I, and some others here, seem to prefer the images made by the DMR and M8 over other digital producs, for artistic reasons. To be truthful, technological arguments, whilst very interesting, especially for internet forum use, are completely secondary to that for me.