marknorton Posted September 16, 2006 Share #1 Posted September 16, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) No-one has really commented on the stated - and disappointing - availability of "late-November", though Sean says he is getting one after Photokina. Presumably by that time, the firmware will be assumed to be in good enough shape for the image quality to be made public even if it is only Version 0.9. Hope they pick up on the typos and capitalisation SNAFUs which I and others have pointed out by the time the Golden Firmware version comes out. The rest of us are waiting at least 2 months and it would be interesting to know what the hold up is. They can clearly make M8s now but presumably the volume is not there, or else there's a 1000 half-built M8s waiting on a sub-contractor to get their act together. Maybe there's yield problems with the sensor, or they're worried about Li-Ion batteries catching fire. Hope they're buying from Panasonic, not Sony. Otherwise, Leica might be building up a big stock to supply a reasonable number to every market so that we don't cry "Foul!" when the US gets 99.9% of production and the rest of us are scapping over the left-overs. Looks like Thanksgiving will be touch-and-go for our US friends, Christmas is a possibility but not certain. Any thoughts/info out there? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 16, 2006 Posted September 16, 2006 Hi marknorton, Take a look here M8 Availability. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
adan Posted September 16, 2006 Share #2 Posted September 16, 2006 I have a query in to my Leica reps. Hoping that the "in shops" means that's when they will be able to deliver cameras for dealers to display and sell over the counter - not already committed to fill preorders. Or, since it has a slightly British ring to it, that that's when Leica UK will be delivering THEIRS (mean, aren't I?) Will post anything I hear on this thread - if and when. My drop-dead point is early December. Caribbean cruise on the QM2 (which with the M8 kills ALL my disposable income for the next 18 months - glad I won't need to buy film!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted September 16, 2006 Share #3 Posted September 16, 2006 Dealers in the US seem to be confident they will have cameras in hand by early November. Leica seems committed to having cameras distributed by the end of November. Seems like they are shooting for early, but determined not to miss late, November. Now, this is a little later than they actually were saying before. The notion that the camera would be available in October didn't come out of thin air. And it is torture: for all of us who didn't buy an RD-1 because we were holding on for the M8, each day between now and November whatever is going to go by drip drip drip slowly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravastar Posted September 16, 2006 Share #4 Posted September 16, 2006 For what its worth, serial #s Leica brochure: N000010 DPR: 3100507 Irwin Puts: 3100677 Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt736 Posted September 16, 2006 Share #5 Posted September 16, 2006 Mark, I have ordered a black M8 from my local dealer Wey Cameras ,upon asking how long after late November I should expect delivery,they said what normally happens is we get invited up to Milton Keynes for the training day on the M8 and then bring some back some boxed M8's after the training.This is what happened when they went up for the training day on the DMR. Hope this helps Mark,try to find out when your local dealer is going for his/hers training day at Milton Keynes. Also of interest Richard Caplan in London are holding a Leica Day on 9/11/06 with M8's and other New Leica equipment , --- Matthew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted September 16, 2006 Share #6 Posted September 16, 2006 Dear Mark, my reseller in Madrid said me that the M8 will be in my hands "sooner than expected". He thinks that the first units will arrive just after the Photokina (mid October). He does not know how many units though. Late november is a safe date. At that moment Leica will have enough cameras for providing a few units to all the resellers, I suppose. In the big cities of Europe we could have those first units several days sooner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 16, 2006 Author Share #7 Posted September 16, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Good to know, I just hope there isn't some last minute change of heart. At some point, Leica are going to have to press the Big Green Button marked "Go!". They cannot sit fiddling with the thing for ever, they need the revenue, we need the camera. Heaven knows they've taken long enough to get this far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlenz Posted September 16, 2006 Share #8 Posted September 16, 2006 I suspect the bodies are already built or are very close to completion, apparently a very large batch, 1000's of bodies??? Last minute things to do will include the firmware updating and packaging - boxes, paperwork etc. Some of this might have to be done at the distributor (e.g., in NJ). Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhoutman Posted September 16, 2006 Share #9 Posted September 16, 2006 I was wondering why Capture One have released 3.7.5 of their software - as also bundled with the M8 - while the M8 firmware seems still in pre-release beta's. shouldn't there be some match ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim B Posted September 16, 2006 Share #10 Posted September 16, 2006 I spoke to one of my favourite Leica dealers in London today (16th Sept) to see how long an order list he had. He said he had been promised a first batch of 24 M8s. His order list was much longer than this - he held his hands out wide! He has no information on a second batch - number of items or date. When I asked another London dealer the same question a couple of months ago, he thought I'd be lucky to get one until well into the new year. I reckon anyone not yet high up on the list is going to have a very long wait. I was reluctant to leap in at the start, because I like to read a few reviews and see what teething problems the early units might have - yes, even with Leica! No doubt I'll pay for that caution with frustration. I console myself that I'll be able to save up for even more lenses. My wife suggested that if I wait long enough I might get one secondhand! Unlikely! Happy waiting. Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlenz Posted September 16, 2006 Share #11 Posted September 16, 2006 I was wondering why Capture One have released 3.7.5 of their software - as also bundled with the M8 - while the M8 firmware seems still in pre-release beta's. shouldn't there be some match ? Interesting point!! Maybe this why processing software often comes out buggy? Many moving targets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 16, 2006 Author Share #12 Posted September 16, 2006 I've been developing software for 30 years. If the software/firmware isn't basically right already, the product should not have been launched. At this stage of the game, any changes to the software should be concerned with cosmetic tidying and handling edge conditions only, not with sorting the fundamental image quality. If Leica feel there's going to be a sea-change in image quality as a result of last minute changes to the firmware, we're doomed. Last minute changes to software are risky because of the potential for de-stabilising the product. If Leica decided to tear up and re-write the user interface, for example, what valiue the testing effort which has gone before? Leica have been messing with this for a long while now. They need to deliver, and deliver soon, otherwise they stretch the patience of their (so far) loyal readers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted September 16, 2006 Share #13 Posted September 16, 2006 Hi Mark, I've been involved in software development for a long time too. In my experience development goes on right upto the wire - including the decision as to whether or not to release software with known issues that can be resolved later. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted September 16, 2006 Share #14 Posted September 16, 2006 No word back yet from my Leica rep(s). My dealer still says the most recent date he heard for mine (no. 1 on his list) is mid-October. US/Denver/order placed Jan. '06 I won't count my chickens until the egg marked 10701 is in my hands, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 17, 2006 Share #15 Posted September 17, 2006 No-one has really commented on the stated - and disappointing - availability of "late-November", though Sean says he is getting one after Photokina. Hi Mark, I won't be able to buy that one though, that will be a production review camera. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 17, 2006 Share #16 Posted September 17, 2006 I've been developing software for 30 years. If the software/firmware isn't basically right already, the product should not have been launched. At this stage of the game, any changes to the software should be concerned with cosmetic tidying and handling edge conditions only, not with sorting the fundamental image quality. If Leica feel there's going to be a sea-change in image quality as a result of last minute changes to the firmware, we're doomed. Last minute changes to software are risky because of the potential for de-stabilising the product. If Leica decided to tear up and re-write the user interface, for example, what valiue the testing effort which has gone before? Leica have been messing with this for a long while now. They need to deliver, and deliver soon, otherwise they stretch the patience of their (so far) loyal readers. Hi Mark, No one said anything about sea-changes, they've just been tweaking and re-tweaking because they're perfectionists and we expect that from them. They're not off target on any schedule they've promised right now. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share #17 Posted September 17, 2006 Apologies, my frustration at the continued wait surfacing. It's right that Leica take the time to get this camera as right as it can be, it's what's needed for Leica's success with the product. But there has to come a point wehre they say "that's it", now test, test, test for a couple of weeks. It would be a disaster if late changes to the firmware upset things like the DMR V1.3 firmware appears to have done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveYork Posted September 17, 2006 Share #18 Posted September 17, 2006 It would seem to me -- given the changing nature of digital technology -- that it would be in Leica's best business interest to sell as many of these as quickly as possible before any potential change in technology outdates the M8 or requires it to be revamped. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbretteville Posted September 17, 2006 Share #19 Posted September 17, 2006 Local diststributor here says deliveries will start in week 49. Just in time for x-mas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 17, 2006 Share #20 Posted September 17, 2006 It would seem to me -- given the changing nature of digital technology -- that it would be in Leica's best business interest to sell as many of these as quickly as possible before any potential change in technology outdates the M8 or requires it to be revamped. A change in technology won't outdate the M8. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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