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Leica Newsletter - Upgrade revamped


Venkman

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$1200 for sapphire glass so you can see the terrible AWB more clearly from your $5000 German precision camera !! I guess there really is a "sucker born every minute".

And I bet most intelligent people thought they WERE getting a quiet, low vibration , quality shutter, when they paid $5000 for a renown "LEICA", "German precision", world famous, rangefinder camera that was carefully under development for over 3 years. But silly us, how dare we expect Leica quality for $5000 !!!! For starters it's $2000 more for the shutter and lcd quality we so foolishly expected. Now I'm guessing white balance will be $1500, and useable jpgs will be around $2000-$3000. Then even "remotely close" frame lines will be a deal at $4000 in 2009...... And we wonder how those Nigerian Ebay scams keep working !!

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$1200 for sapphire glass so you can see the terrible AWB more clearly from your $5000 German precision camera !! I guess there really is a "sucker born every minute".

And I bet most intelligent people thought they WERE getting a quiet, low vibration , quality shutter, when they paid $5000 for a renown "LEICA", "German precision", world famous, rangefinder camera that was carefully under development for over 3 years. But silly us, how dare we expect Leica quality for $5000 !!!! For starters it's $2000 more for the shutter and lcd quality we so foolishly expected. Now I'm guessing white balance will be $1500, and useable jpgs will be around $2000-$3000. Then even "remotely close" frame lines will be a deal at $4000 in 2009...... And we wonder how those Nigerian Ebay scams keep working !!

Sorry, I almost forgot SDHC card upgrade in 2010, for $2500 (of course the rest of the industry will be using a new media by then, but at least we can start using our 4gb SDHC cards we bought in 2006.

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I had a new a new sapphire crystal installed in my Rolex. At the same time, they cleaned, lubricated and adjusted the watch and installed a new bezel cover. They did three time tests. As Leica, Rolex is not known for their budget pricing. They charged me 750 Canadian dollars. That included shipping both ways This is roughly 500 euros.

 

I am sending my M8 to Rolex Canada for the upgrade!

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Stephens/Wilkinsons are the "Leica Dealer", Leica UK are the "Authorised Repair Centre".

 

If you're in another country and don't know who, or where, the "Authorised Repair Centre" is then it may be best to ask Leica for the details.

 

Where do I go? My dealer where my M8 was purchased (Wey Cameras) have closed.

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Where is your M8 going?

I would feel happier if the 'route map' for future upgrades was a bit more visible, what is in the pipeline, if I skip these two can I sign up to to other upgrades in the future?, etc.

We seem to have an information void.

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$1200 for sapphire glass so you can see the terrible AWB more clearly from your $5000 German precision camera !! I guess there really is a "sucker born every minute"....

 

Now I'm guessing white balance will be $1500, and useable jpgs will be around $2000-$3000. Then even "remotely close" frame lines will be a deal at $4000 in 2009...... And we wonder how those Nigerian Ebay scams keep working !!

 

You ought to try the latest firmware - I'm assuming you actually own an M8, it's difficult to tell - it's hugely improved the AWB compared to the previous version.

 

Quite frankly anyone shooting Jpegs with a high quality camera, be it Canon, Leica or Nikon, is throwing aware a lot of the potential of the camera. Of course there are exceptions, PJs for example who need to get their images back to base ASAP, but anyone who's buying a camera for it's superior image qualities ought to be shooting RAW IMHO.

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I would feel happier if the 'route map' for future upgrades was a bit more visible, what is in the pipeline, if I skip these two can I sign up to to other upgrades in the future?, etc.

We seem to have an information void.

 

You have an information void because no one knows what is in the pipeline - not even Leica.

 

Until a couple of months ago, the idea of an upgradeable camera was a pipe-dream, not a pipeline. And you can see how much trouble the announcement has caused. So, even if Leica knew 100% for certain that they will have a new, fully tested, absolutely no issues with any M-mount lens from 1954 onwards, including all those made by rival firms, FF sensor available for all existing M8 users on 15th October this year, I bet they won't tell until the 16th.

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Now someone is really going to cry ... you mean the additional 1 year warranty only covers the sapphire glass and/or quiet shutter ... not the entire camera?

The original warranty will be extended by one year when you upgrade your M8. According to the old upgrade rules, you would have got a new two year warranty, counting from the date of the upgrade. What’s the better deal depends on how old your M8 is.

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Guest guy_mancuso

I think we also need to remember the time on the new warranty actually may not mean much in the sense a year from now there maybe another upgrade that you may do and it gets extended again. For example i do the shutter this August than a upgrade for FF comes in next January and i do that one also than I get extended again. Depending on length of time between upgrades and such you could really be extending your warranty even past long term ownership. Kind of a interesting thought really. So actually with lowering the cost to get in a upgrade with the 1 year deal maybe actually better overall. Your not paying for 2 years up front but may actually increase warranty life anyway through more upgrades. Seriously also one other point, how long will we actually keep a M8 before a M9 comes or you just move one to another digital solution. We all know digital life is shortened compared to a film body. So this actually may be a good thing if you are a upgrade person anyway.

 

Something to chew on. at least I know this will most likely be the case for many is upgrading again when something comes you want. So we pay a little less which is a good thing but we can regain that warranty by doing a next upgrade anyway. So reality is warranty may not mean that much anyway. I know this works both ways but we have to think ahead also.

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According to the current (german) issue of LFI it´s not a replacement of the shutter but an adjustment of the existing one. I found this good news because it signals they don´t have fundamental trouble with the shutter.

 

An "adjustment" for $1700? The only thing that appeals to me is the quiet shutter (so it is like the previous Ms), but paying that much to adjust a shutter really seems extreme. Are you sure they only adjust the existing shutter?

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This doesn't solve Leica's basic problem which is who is going to buy a new M8 with the upgrade in prospect? Are Leica going the change the specification of the standard M8 or are they going to provide it as a factory fit option like the massaging seats in my Mercedes-Benz? If so, the last thing these prospective customers want to do is buy a camera and then have to pay the upgrade price on a brand new camera.

 

Leica, frankly, do not have a clue.

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The original warranty will be extended by one year when you upgrade your M8. According to the old upgrade rules, you would have got a new two year warranty, counting from the date of the upgrade. What’s the better deal depends on how old your M8 is.

 

Michael,

correct, that's what it says. The revised rules have their merrits. But there is a set-back as to warranty. At the same price as before (combined shutter and glass/ 80 Euros extracted for logistics) the warranty is cut to one year, and this being offered only as an extension of a still running original warranty. Before, they had offered a completely new two year warranty irrespective of how old your camera would be and whether the original warranty has expired or not. If they strictly follow their new terms, the programm will appeal to new buyers (within the initial two years), whereas others will be worse off. It was just the renewed two year warranty that was most attractive to owners after the first two years.

 

The new rules do not explicitly mention that the overall check, exchange of worn parts and functional correction will still be included. This was expressively given as reason for pricing when the programm was first released. Though, with price for a saphire glass of 750 Euro one would expect that it still is. But, since the Upgrade will now be available in overseas service centers, that part of the programm might have been reduced. Is this the reason for shortening the warranty?

 

There is need for clarification: What about cameras out of original warranty? Will warranty be extended again or renewed with second, third upgrade? And for how long? Will complete CLA continue to be included in any Upgrade item, and what will be the price when combined Upgrades are ordered (paying twice or more with each item for same CLA)? Or will CLA plus new 2 year warranty be offered as separate item, then extracting cost portion from present prices for Upgrade items?

 

As long as these points are open, I tend to consider the new rules a hidden price increase (reduced warranty, CLA charged double on combined upgrades) but hope for satisfactory clarification.

 

Horst

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There is need for clarification: What about cameras out of original warranty? Will warranty be extended again or renewed with second, third upgrade? And for how long? Will complete CLA continue to be included in any Upgrade item, and what will be the price when combinded Upgrades are ordered (paying twice or more with each item for same CLA)? Or will CLA plus new 2 year warranty be offered as separate item, then extracting cost portion from present prices for Upgrade items?

Yes, Leica needs to explain this in more detail – even when all the current cameras are still well within the original warranty period. The upgrade FAQ was removed from the website; I suppose that Leica is busy bringing it up to date with the new rules. The new version should answer at least some of the questions remaining.

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You ought to try the latest firmware - I'm assuming you actually own an M8, it's difficult to tell - it's hugely improved the AWB compared to the previous version..

 

I have 2 M8's (unfortunately) and 9 lenses. with the current firmware. The AWB is STILL terrible. By Leica's own admission, the new firmware does NOTHING to help the AWB. Like the SDHC support, Leica has no clue how to fix the AWB without a hardware fix.

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I have 2 M8's (unfortunately) and 9 lenses. with the current firmware. The AWB is STILL terrible. By Leica's own admission, the new firmware does NOTHING to help the AWB. Like the SDHC support, Leica has no clue how to fix the AWB without a hardware fix.

 

I'm curious as to your issues with the current AWB it is vastly improved for me.

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According to the current (german) issue of LFI it´s not a replacement of the shutter but an adjustment of the existing one. I found this good news because it signals they don´t have fundamental trouble with the shutter.

Keep in mind that the LFI article was a last minute affair written more than a week before the official announcement of Leica’s perpetual upgrade strategy, interpreting the information available at that time. Since then, Leica has been consistently referring to a new shutter, not an adjustment made to the existing shutter. Having said that, this doesn’t imply there’s anything wrong with the existing shutter. In fact, if you care more about a fast shutter rather than a quiet one, there’s no reason to get it replaced.

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