hoppyman Posted August 10, 2009 Share #21 Posted August 10, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Mark as you say, that was what Stefan Daniel told us in mid June at Hessenpark. Personally I think that people may be missing the difference between a (possible) announcement and actual production/availability. Andy has recently said here that he made up the 09.09.09 date just because it sounded cool. Now a number of places seem to have picked it up as gospel! Must be like the writer who first wrote bo-ke as bokeh to see if it caught on and now you see it everywhere. The S2 for example was announced at last Photokina but is not yet actually available on dealers' shelves as we all know.. Another factor is that there was certainly no sign of actual assembly or ramped up activity for any M9 when we did the factory tour at Solms on the Monday after that weekend. There were people doing checks on a batch of white M8's. Maybe they hid crates of M9 parts in their lunch room during our visit I would guess that the basic assemblies would come from the Portugal factory to have the rangefinders etc etc added at Solms??? Personally I'll be really surprised if something as significant as a 24x36 M9 is actually announced so soon and not at a major event like Photokina, but that's what the tea leaf readings are hinting at! Maybe there is some announcement coming this year but it isn't the M9???? That's just an uneducated customer guess. My personal SPECULATION is that the M9 when it is actually announced will have a 24x36 CCD Kodak sensor lower noise and some unidentified IR solution? Maybe if it has a son of Maestro processor it will be able to do more in firmware. I can't imagine that Leica would accept loss of resolution from a normal AA filter arrangement either? If there was an announcement but stock was presumably a year or more away, you would have to be concerned regarding possible effect on M8.2 sales for the intervening period? But of course we customers aren't privy to the analysis and financials that Leica must take into account. Stefan Daniel did say as recently as Hessenpark (June?) that they were making progress on FF but no date yet so it's dificult to see how that can turn into a real camera in just a few months, so I agree with Sandy. I think it will be a cropped camera, new lower noise sensor, high speed electronics, maybe the IR problem cracked? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 10, 2009 Posted August 10, 2009 Hi hoppyman, Take a look here How would you price the M9?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
J Mitchum Posted August 10, 2009 Share #22 Posted August 10, 2009 With the S2, no R digital and the rebadged panasonics possibly ending soon. the M9 is the new budget digital solution. At least you don't have to change your lenses each upgrade. The rebadged Panasonics will continue, perhaps more so than ever. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted August 10, 2009 Share #23 Posted August 10, 2009 If you believe it is coming, what price tag should Leica affix? New features won't be free; costs will be higher. Certainly, north of the M8's $6K MSRP but less than the S2's $23K. So, maybe around $10K? If that is so, then the upgrade from M8 to M9 will be an expensive proposition, as the secondary market for M8s is not exactly "robust" and can only get worse with an M9 introduced. It seems unlikely that the M9 will open up a vast new market for Leica digital rangefinder cameras but, rather, will be appealing mainly to us who already own m8s. Not a great scenario. If your assumption is correct, and I see no convincing argument otherwise, how many existing M8 users will justify a potentially sizable investment and suffer possibly severe depreciation on existing kit to upgrade to M9 or whatever? OK, a certain group of owners will always feel impelled to upgrade, but I am sure that I am not alone in being completely satisfied with my existing investment. My M8 has become the heart of my serious photography, my stock photography and my personal photography. I have learned to live and work with its intrinsic weaknesses and strengths. It is a joy to own and use despite its occasional frustrations. Am I a member of a small minority of M8 users or a silent majority? I am sure Leica would like to know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted August 10, 2009 Share #24 Posted August 10, 2009 If your assumption is correct, and I see no convincing argument otherwise, how many existing M8 users will justify a potentially sizable investment and suffer possibly severe depreciation on existing kit to upgrade to M9 or whatever? OK, a certain group of owners will always feel impelled to upgrade, but I am sure that I am not alone in being completely satisfied with my existing investment. My M8 has become the heart of my serious photography, my stock photography and my personal photography. I have learned to live and work with its intrinsic weaknesses and strengths. It is a joy to own and use despite its occasional frustrations. Am I a member of a small minority of M8 users or a silent majority? I am sure Leica would like to know. Not sure of the small or Large minority but I won't be upgrading anytime soon. I couldn't wait to buy a digital M, and even bought 2 of them, but the price is just to much now a days. If the M9 price comes in above the M8.2 I think Leica is slitting there own throat. Sure they will sell some but not a lot of them. I even thought the M8.2 was overpriced. If I hadn't of bought a M8 I would of never bought the M8.2 for the increase in price. Funny also is when other makers start, time line, to drop the price of there cameras Leica chose to raise the price of the M8 and increase that on the M8.2 That's not to mention the worst/horrible service most get from Leica (I've had several M8's return from warranty service that were unusable out of the box and had to go back to have something that wasn't wrong before it went in the first time to be corrected) not to mention the time it takes. Now they want to charge extra for Pro/faster service. If I could only get along with some other brand camera and lenses I'd be out of here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted August 10, 2009 Share #25 Posted August 10, 2009 If it does indeed come in at 5500 Euro, as has been suggested, it will be a runaway success imo. Of course there will be no real need to upgrade, but the arguments of (supposedly) better ISO, full format, no IR filters and 18 Mp will certainly attract a fair number of M8 users, especially amongst those that bought their camera three years ago. Then there is the group still sitting on the fence because of the perceived "issues" like crop factor and filters, Jpg or write speed, etc. who will see this as the first "proper"digital M, plus a number of new users, that mistakenly thought that their DSLR was "better"from the point of image quality. And focussing will be easier. Used M8 camewras will become more accesible on the market, which will, again attract new users, who might feel compelled to buy a lens or two, and maybe upgrade to the M9, etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philinflash Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share #26 Posted September 9, 2009 About the same as the M8.2 - mark my words.... I marked your words and wished and wished they were true, but... Still, I am glad the number was closer to yours than what I was fearing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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