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M8 upgrade - prices from Leica's website


stunsworth

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Which, after all, would explain why there is no upgrade option for it.

 

I fear not on this - according to the grid that Sean reproduced and his information to date, the re-cock is NOT available either as upgrade or via firmware (as is the case with SDHC) ... Hence my grumpiness of late...:o

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Just got off the phone with Leica, N.J.

 

OK, for M8 users in the U.S., Leica in Allendale is not sure if the new upgrades are to be included in the current ones listed as commencing Oct 1, 2008. The lady I spoke to was nice enough and said that she has got about 7 calls on this already.

 

If I can get new frame lines and the new shutter and more warranty for say, $1,500, I will stop bitching about the M8 and get it done. My warranty is up in 11 months so this might not be a bad thing to do if I want to keep the camera.

 

Never in my entire life as a photographer have I brooded so much over the keeping or selling of a camera body like I have with the M8. It's truly maddening, but it is what it is.

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Leica have posted the latest costs of the various M8 upgrades here...

 

Leica Camera AG - Service - m8upgrade

 

Shutter/Sapphire glass/Bright line frames 1320,- EUR

Shutter/Sapphire glass 1120,- EUR

Shutter/Bright line frames 1000,- EUR

Sapphire glass/Bright line frames 950,- EUR

Bright line frames 650,- EUR

Shutter 800,- EUR

Sapphire glass 750,- EUR

 

Prices include VAT and expect to be available from the begining of next month.

 

Does anyone, including Leica know the status of this program? I talked to the same nice lady in NJ on August 1, gave her my name, phone #, and email and haven't heard a thing.

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strange, no mentioning of vulcanit beleathering, but this is probably done at another dept ?

I think that is something totally different. If you had the covering changed only they would NOT extend the warranty. That is just cosmetic and adds nothing to how the camera works.

More then likely the cost for these upgrades includes a CLA, updating of some electronic parts,dependiing on the upgrade you do, and the extended warranty. Since they are taking the camera apart to do any one of the 3 listed option they are going to update the camera to current specs and clean the whole thing.

With a covering they take off the old and put on the new. You really don't need to take anything off the camera to do this. Although it helps to take off the frame selector lever.

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Does the new shutter include the snap shot mode, or is that upgrade not possible on an M8?

That is a very good question. If it doesn't what do they do with the extra position on the shutter speed dial. If it does then they have to change out the electronics that controls this function. If they change that out then the Silent/delayed Re-Cock feature should be included. But then there would need to be a menu option for this delayed re-cock and that would mean a different firmware from what is used in the M8.1 or M8.2, a M8.1 1/2 firmware.

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That is a very good question. If it doesn't what do they do with the extra position on the shutter speed dial. If it does then they have to change out the electronics that controls this function. If they change that out then the Silent/delayed Re-Cock feature should be included. But then there would need to be a menu option for this delayed re-cock and that would mean a different firmware from what is used in the M8.1 or M8.2, a M8.1 1/2 firmware.

 

I wonder this too, but I would want to be able to set a limit as to how high the ISO would climb as to keep it at 640 or lower.

 

While I am not expecting for all the M8.2 features to be an upgrade, I am expecting a reasonable amount.

 

And what about the stiffer detents on the on/off switch?

 

We'll see I guess......

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If it's true that you cannot upgrade an M8 to include the delayed shutter wind, Leica has already broken their promise (or SKL's promise) to allow the M8 to be kept up to date.

 

This is not rocket science. The shutter has two electromagnets to release the first and second curtains, there are two optical sensors to sense the position of the wind on mechanism and the shutter lock and there's circuitry to run the motor and release the shutter lock. I didn't look at the circuit in detail but each of these should be under separate sense/control of the microprocessor and therefore changeable through firmware. If they have implemented hard wired logic, for example, to kick off the wind on after the shutter is closed, the micro will be powerless to stop it, in which case I would send the designer to the naughty corner.

 

We know the micro can sense the position of the shutter release in each of the positions so I doubt that's a problem.

 

I don't get it.

 

I'm passing Solms tomorrow on my way back from Audi at Ingolstadt. Perhaps I should sort them out...

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Does anyone, including Leica know the status of this program? I talked to the same nice lady in NJ on August 1, gave her my name, phone #, and email and haven't heard a thing.

 

As far as I can tell the web page with the details of the upgrades only went online today. NJ could have been waiting for the nod from Solms.

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I wonder this too, but I would want to be able to set a limit as to how high the ISO would climb as to keep it at 640 or lower.

 

While I am not expecting for all the M8.2 features to be an upgrade, I am expecting a reasonable amount.

 

And what about the stiffer detents on the on/off switch?

 

We'll see I guess......

 

Well if Auto ISO works like other cameras you set the lowest shutter speed and ISO you want to use and the ISO climbs from your low limit only if the shutter speed would be lower then your lowest setting and only enough to bring it back to your lowest shutter speed. It's been so long since I've used any other camera I forget what the Nikon settings were. I think you could also set a high ISO and the camera wouldn't go over that but I'm not sure. It's got to give somewhere and I think it is on the shutter speed. Even if you set a low limit of say 1/30 and the shot you are taking, with the aperture you are using, goes all the way to 2500 ISO but it is still to dark then the shutter speed wiuld drop to below 1/30. Otherwise you'd end up with NOTHING. And as we all know that's NOT good. I need the camera to DO SOMETHING when I hit the shutter release.

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Well if Auto ISO works like other cameras you set the lowest shutter speed and ISO you want to use and the ISO climbs from your low limit only if the shutter speed would be lower then your lowest setting and only enough to bring it back to your lowest shutter speed. It's been so long since I've used any other camera I forget what the Nikon settings were. I think you could also set a high ISO and the camera wouldn't go over that but I'm not sure. It's got to give somewhere and I think it is on the shutter speed. Even if you set a low limit of say 1/30 and the shot you are taking, with the aperture you are using, goes all the way to 2500 ISO but it is still to dark then the shutter speed wiuld drop to below 1/30. Otherwise you'd end up with NOTHING. And as we all know that's NOT good. I need the camera to DO SOMETHING when I hit the shutter release.

 

This is what I would expect too. And I am not sure how often I would use it as the image quality changes dramatically from ISO 160 to 2,500. The funny thing is, I have heard auto ISO on the D3 and D700 is really great but I have yet to use it.

 

Some film habits are hard to break, LOL!

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That glass seems to be a pretty expensive item.

 

Yes, but I think that the "single item" upgrades are anyway priced to discourage people to make one only. New framelines and shutter are tempting me... but I think that, as I 've often thought about the upgrades, at the end I'd say "well supposed I'd like to spend 1,2 KEuros or about on Leica gear...isnt'there some more attractive for about the same amount ? ;) " . At the end, my M8 works still so fine...

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The triple combo looks nice... I'll take the shutter/sapphire/bright-line frames seriously into consideration.

I'm already convinced about the shutter, but the triplet looks really attractive!

My camera is in the labs at Solms for a repair, it's a pity that still they couldn't put the new shutter on my camera (I asked for that), not because of the shutter availability, but just because the software to control it is still missing (or not complete as well), and that's gonna be ready after October 1 2008 (this is the explanation that I received today by the Leica Customer Service, they were really kind!).

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1300€.... well on the positive side is the fact that Leica keeps it promises to make this camera concept capapable of updates.......

 

on the´other side...uuuuu aaaa..... for this amount of money one can buy somewhere else a whole new body.... Labourship is expensive it it may look worthwhile to M8 owners but i must admit i find it rather expensive...

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1300€.... well on the positive side is the fact that Leica keeps it promises to make this camera concept capapable of updates.......

 

on the´other side...uuuuu aaaa..... for this amount of money one can buy somewhere else a whole new body.... Labourship is expensive it it may look worthwhile to M8 owners but i must admit i find it rather expensive...

 

Actually, I am selling my 2 M8s and am going to get a Mamiya 6 & 3 lenses for about that update money :D makes more sense to me now than keeping my M8s and getting them updated. Film M it is, until the next round of digital Ms. :D

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