Guest Colt Seavers Posted March 7, 2009 Share #1 Posted March 7, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) After the glorious end of the R-System production (which is another masterpiece of LEICA customer communication:rolleyes:) I´m wondering if the film based M cameras are still in production or if they only sell them from old stock and let them die after another sellout? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 7, 2009 Posted March 7, 2009 Hi Guest Colt Seavers, Take a look here The end of MP/M7 production?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
NB23 Posted March 7, 2009 Share #2 Posted March 7, 2009 (edited) After the glorious end of the R-System production (which is another masterpiece of LEICA customer communication:rolleyes:) I´m wondering if the film based M cameras are still in production or if they only sell them from old stock and let them die after another sellout? This is a very weird question. Firstly because we're in the digital age, therefore a smal company like Leica has to be efficient. This is where the future is heading. The other question that arose in my mind was: "we're you going to order one?". If you are to answer No to the question, or if you would've bought used instead of Brand new (at a premium price), then it is only normal that Leica stops production. Seriously, put yourself in the Owner's shoes. Everybody loving Leica products but not a lot of people buying them because it's supposedly expensive. Then you watch those same people buying 4000$ DSLRs and liking it because they think they got a better value because they own a f2.8 zoom. If I had to speculate on Leica's financial health by judging the forum discussions, Leica would have bankrupted 30 years ago. Seems to me nobody buys new and that everybody is complaining about the prices. After all this, is it really surprising if Leica would stop producing the MP and M7? I say NO. Edited March 7, 2009 by NB23 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 7, 2009 Share #3 Posted March 7, 2009 Simple answer, no, Leica haven't stopped producing the film M cameras. There was a similar thread a while back. I asked one of the London dealers about their film M sales and they sell them regularly. OK only one dealer but I have no reason to think that they are getting all the new film M business, i.e. others must be selling them too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongrelnomad Posted March 7, 2009 Share #4 Posted March 7, 2009 I hope not - simply because one day (when I'm not so flat-broke), I'd love to buy a second M7 - this one from a-la-carte (black-paint, classic controls, .85 finder, classic engraving, Vulkanite). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimF Posted March 7, 2009 Share #5 Posted March 7, 2009 I seem to remember seeing somewhere that current M8 production is around 1000/month. Film cameras was around quarter that IIRC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest darkstar2004 Posted March 7, 2009 Share #6 Posted March 7, 2009 Man, if the MP and/or the M7 becomes extinct, it's gonna be one black day. Especially if it's the MP... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Posted March 8, 2009 Share #7 Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Man, if the MP and/or the M7 becomes extinct, it's gonna be one black day. Especially if it's the MP... yep, your absolutely right. Its sad that they stopped making R cameras but they cant just stop producing M film cameras. Edited March 8, 2009 by Mystic Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
batmobile Posted March 8, 2009 Share #8 Posted March 8, 2009 It would be interesting to know whether the continued existence of the Ms in any way impacts upon the perception of what Leica is and whether that in turn impacts upon the perception of its other products. It is sad that the R cameras are no longer being made, but the loss of the Ms would be quite tragic I think. Lets hope not. With the prices going up and up, it would kinda make sense if the next step was for them to become special order a la carte items. There was a time when I was planning an a la carte (to get some simple items all on one camera rather than to have anything snazzy) but the prices ran far beyond the practical rather quickly. Another shame. A black chrome MP with 0.58 finder and decent leather would have been rather nice.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted March 8, 2009 Share #9 Posted March 8, 2009 Erwin Puts seems to think that the MP/M7 have got their death sentence ... according to him, the only uncertainty is the timing of an announcement. Leica R9: obituary Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted March 8, 2009 Share #10 Posted March 8, 2009 This is actually a very sad thread... There is only one thing that is absolutely certain - the M8 will not last as long as an M6/M7/MP. Seriously, what is the maximum lifespan of an M8 - 5 years, 7 years - then what. You have to spend another half fortune to buy a new body once again, much the same as the other manufacturers. I'm now really going to have to see that I source an M7/MP from somewhere before they die out. If we stop fooling ourselves here for just one moment, these are the only reliable backup for the M8. Andreas Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 8, 2009 Share #11 Posted March 8, 2009 The R is different, Leica have stopped making them in readiness for their new camera!! As long as they continue to sell the film M cameras then I don't see why they wouldn't make them. Maybe if they drop the M concept and the 'M9' is a totally new design with a new lens mount, maybe AF too.......maybe if that happened then they would stop production of all M cameras/lenses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
batmobile Posted March 8, 2009 Share #12 Posted March 8, 2009 thankfully there are enough mechanical Ms out there to keep me going for the next 40-50 years. Can you imagine the final special edition. Dehumidifier, unicorn horn winder... I hope they don't do anything that will spoil things. I suspect the MP will continue to be sold for a while because it still sells fairly well Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted March 8, 2009 Share #13 Posted March 8, 2009 I certainly hope not. It's a specialty market, but they are both terrific cameras. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted March 8, 2009 Share #14 Posted March 8, 2009 The one thing that does speak against a new lens mount in the fact that Leica have released so many new Lenses during the last two years or so. They would not develop these, bring them to market if they were going to drop the lens mount anytime soon. As for film based photography, as David has said, it is a speciality market and there should be enough users out there to keep these going for sometime. Andreas Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Posted March 8, 2009 Share #15 Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) I certainly hope not. It's a specialty market, but they are both terrific cameras. And you can use those cameras in situations where digital cameras (like the M8) are nearly useless. Just think about skiing ( which i love to do ) when you are on the track with a digital camera, your batteries will only last for round about 15 minutes then they are gone because its too cold. With a camera like the MP you wont have this kind of problem. Edited March 8, 2009 by Mystic Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 8, 2009 Share #16 Posted March 8, 2009 I think is not so costly, for them, to maintain film Ms as available, even with a thin demand : is a market so "focused" that they simply must track the global inventory in the dealers' channel and, time to time, build a batch.Film Ms are not camera for display...if I would decide to buy one, no matter if my dealer haven't one and cannot order at the moment: I can search for another dealer, even in another country... with a film M the reasons to buy locally are really unappreciable. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
budrichard Posted March 8, 2009 Share #17 Posted March 8, 2009 As the suplliers of parts and assembly/test technicians age/retire/stop, the death of the MP/M7 is invevitable. As Puts says the only question is when and I believe the when is not far off. Personally, I hope the birth of the M9 should be about the same time but I doubt it.-Dick Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted March 8, 2009 Share #18 Posted March 8, 2009 There are still people around who can build a Leica I, so it's the parts that will be the deciding factor. Leica have committed parts availability for the MP for 30 years, post production, so their end is a long way off yet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan States Posted March 8, 2009 Share #19 Posted March 8, 2009 Gloom and doom, folks. This is a flashback to when the M6ttl was discontinued...we had weeks of threads about the death of mechanical Leica's only to have the MP announced. If nothing else Leica could batch produce a few thousand a year to satisfy collectors and Luditites like myself and never have to invest another penny in R&D. Relax! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Colt Seavers Posted March 8, 2009 Share #20 Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) And you can use those cameras in situations where digital cameras (like the M8) are nearly useless. Just think about skiing ( which i love to do ) when you are on the track with a digital camera, your batteries will only last for round about 15 minutes then they are gone because its too cold. With a camera like the MP you wont have this kind of problem. So you see a great future for the MP as the pefect skiing-camera? What about the sensitive rangefinder when it get´s some nice bumps? Pardon, every modern digital compact camera is better. No problem with batteries, you can wear your camera inside your warm jacket until you take some snapshots. I think the end of new film-M´s is quit near. No positive signs from Solms. Edited March 8, 2009 by Colt Seavers Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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