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M8.2


plexi

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Eoin - I share your pain. Here I am stuck with two obsolete M8 bodies (no .2 after the number) and no reason to take out a new mortgage to replace them :D

 

No reason? I would think just having the .2 on the body would be sufficient. Maybe we can get Tim to come up with a .2 stencil that we can use to paint our obsolete bodies..

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Guest DuquesneG
First ask yourself if you *need* to upgrade.

 

Well, of course I do :eek: ...How else will I maintain my standing in the pack order? Surely not with a pitiful, tiny, flaccid little...er, that is to say, obsolete M8! :rolleyes:

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Just a reminder: the standard in VAT countries is usually to include the VAT in the listed price - the standard in the U.S. is to NOT include the (state/local) sales tax in the listed price, but to tack it on at time of sale, since it varies with location of sale.

 

U.S. sales tax can be anywhere from 4-8% depending on the state/county/city law.

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Well, of course I do :eek: ...How else will I maintain my standing in the pack order? Surely not with a pitiful, tiny, flaccid little...er, that is to say, obsolete M8! :rolleyes:

This is the Leica forum - top dog is an utterly beat-up IIIf with a scratched Summarex :D

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As for prices, expect

42.000 Nkr (including 25% VAT)

4.900 Euro in Germany (including 18% VAT)

6.000 US$ + local VAT

 

In other words, the same prices as the current M8, except for local specials such as in Germany where the M8 can currently be bought for 3.999 Euro (including 18% VAT) at MEISTER CAMERA Berlin: Home or USA where B&H sells the M8 for 4.995 US$.

 

Wonder if the M8 will drop in price.

 

But the specs sounds fair for a version 8.2. More stealth, more silent, larger memory card and snapshot ready all the time. That's ok.

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Just a reminder: the standard in VAT countries is usually to include the VAT in the listed price - the standard in the U.S. is to NOT include the (state/local) sales tax in the listed price, but to tack it on at time of sale, since it varies with location of sale.

 

U.S. sales tax can be anywhere from 4-8% depending on the state/county/city law.

 

Official price in Norway at 42.000 NOK incl. VAT (tax). This is the same price as the original M8. Price before tax would be 33.600. Current exchange rate NOK/USD is approx. 5,50, which would translate to approx. USD 6000 before tax. Taking into account that most electronics are less expensive in the US than Europe, i think the conclusion should be: No price change.

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So is the M8 still "An investment in the Future"? Or will that turn out to be sphincter inflating hyperbole?

 

My biggest issues, which may cause me to sell my M8 before the M8.2 comes out:

 

1. IR/cut filters.

2. Shutter advance noise.

3. Lock ups in continuous.

4. No higher memory card support.

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My M8 is now on the way to Solms to get repaired...

I wonder if I'd do better leaving it some more days and wait for some upgrades (the IR filter on the sensor would be a panacea to me), or simply just get it repaired in the shortest time leaving it as it was born...

Who knows.

The fact is that I need to shoot some in Prague next October, and it would be a shame to rent a Camera for that work since I already own one.

It was already frustrating to use a borrowed camera in Arizona/California last week to end my shooting session.

(Thanks Philip once again, I can never forget your help!:) ).

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I am positive - although the leak did not confirm it - that M8s can be upgraded to 8.2 status easily (but for a price!) Everything involved is a direct swap of parts:

 

Shutter - direct swap - the "S" mode is just a gimme to have something to replace "1/8000" on the shutter dial (and make things easier for the Hollywood crowd).

 

Framelines - replace a couple of thin metal masks with different thin metal masks. A 20-minute job with (Leica-grade) tweezers.

 

top-plate swap for more discrete engaving - matching dot is trivial "Super-glue engineering"

 

It will likely take longer to do the checks of focus, etc. needed to renew the warranty than it will for the actual upgrade swaps themselves.

 

KM-25: luv your quote/signature! The M8.2 solves two of your issues, but the IR filters will be required for at least another 4-5 years, methinks.

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The M8.2 solves two of your issues, but the IR filters will be required for at least another 4-5 years, methinks.

 

Well, the IR problem is sensor related. I think it's safe to say that it won't be until the next Photokina (in two years) that Leica releases the M9. It looks like a lot of nice little upgrades to an already amazing system right now. Now just time for me to save up enough to buy it ;-)

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My M8 is now on the way to Solms to get repaired...

I wonder if I'd do better leaving it some more days and wait for some upgrades (the IR filter on the sensor would be a panacea to me), or simply just get it repaired in the shortest time leaving it as it was born...

Who knows.

The fact is that I need to shoot some in Prague next October, and it would be a shame to rent a Camera for that work since I already own one.

It was already frustrating to use a borrowed camera in Arizona/California last week to end my shooting session.

(Thanks Philip once again, I can never forget your help!:) ).

 

Did you order express service, Maurizio? And don't even think about an IR filter on the sensor - 2012 earliest, if ever...(Unless,of course.....But that will never be an upgrade, and you need your camera to work, should you decide to trade it in...)

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Did you order express service, Maurizio? And don't even think about an IR filter on the sensor - 2012 earliest, if ever...(Unless,of course.....But that will never be an upgrade, and you need your camera to work, should you decide to trade it in...)

 

Well they had better do something, that darn filter reflects stray light around like a signal mirror and has given me away more than a dozen times now in a dark setting.

 

And I am not the only pro who has had issues with this.

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I believe you, and I believe Leica when they say "as soon as technologically feasable". What I don't understand that they have not brought out at least some lenses with integrated IR filtering by now. The best thing would be an absorption filter next to the diaphragm, although that would make an optical finetuning neccesary.

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Interesting spec sheet. Sounds like it could be real.

 

What's interesting is that the list of improvements indicates that Leica actually may be listening to feedback from it's customers.

 

Frame lines that indicate coverage at 2 meters up from .7 cm, quieter shutter, the optional delay of the shutter cocking etc.

 

.7 cm? <G> It's not quite that bad.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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For all I can see, any difference between the M8 and M8.2 falls into one of the following categories: (1) Upgrade programme, (2) Cosmetics, (3) Firmware tweaks.

 

I'm happy with just the features under (3), assuming that these will be made available to M8 users too. More specifically, they seem to now be allowing delayed shutter cocking, which is pretty much the only thing I've really been wanting for.

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I am positive - although the leak did not confirm it - that M8s can be upgraded to 8.2 status easily (but for a price!)

Good point, Andy!

 

Remember all the discussion over what it meant when Leica introduced the idea of upgrades? Now we've got the answer.

 

This is also probably why they pushed the upgrade program off from August to September as well. Imagine how upset we would be if we had just upgraded to the new LCD cover and new shutter, and suddenly we were confronted with a new set of available conversions.

 

Do you suppose Leica will continue producing the M8? Probably not for long. Sell from stock, sell upgrades, then announce that the sales of the M8.2 are better (as I'm sure they will be) and discontinue the older camera.

 

Good on you, Herr Doktor Kaufmann!!

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Certainly easy to see why they have delayed the upgrades until after Photokina - The new shutter only goes down to 1/4000 so it was always a question what would happen to the 1/8000 position on the shutter speed dial. Now we now, a sort of "Mother Knows Best" snap-shot mode, with the viewfinder arrows meaning camera shake at one end and over-exposure at the other. Maybe this is seen as a way of broadening the M8 appeal.

 

I'm sure Andy's right though. A handful of directly replaceable parts knitted together with a firmware upgrade. Some crumbs will make it through to the non-upgraded low-lifes but I feel sure M8 series production will move to M8.2 specification.

 

Doesn't look like the fundamentals change at all, same sensor, same IR sensitivity, same approximate focussing mechanism. Still, new framelines, SDHC support, deferred shutter wind are welcome.

 

Interesting too that they keep banging on about flashes with motorised reflectors. What flashes, what motorised reflectors?

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