M8-9 upgrade, impossible or unprofitable ? Or..

[adan]

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Don't kid yourselves.

 

Leica will likely support that M8/M8.2 with firmware upgrades compatible with the hardware - for at least a couple of years. That may include a few features of the M9 (say, the option to make the "protect" button an "ISO" button - perhaps the more finely-stepped ISO speeds - maybe the "soft release") - and then again, it may not, if the M9 has a whole new processor. (Try and run Photoshop CS4 on Mac System 9). That may include improvements unrelated to the M9 - and then again - there may BE no significant improvements possible beyond v.2.004.

 

Leica will not buy back your M8s. Leica will not upgrade them to M9s (99% probability - Leica has surprised me on occasion). Leica won't partially upgrade them to M8.9s.

 

Realistically - when you bought an M8/M8.2, what you have a claim to was what came in the box. If you believe anything else, truly, you need professional help. Or at least to grow up.

[jaapv]

Trust is a fleeting item here. I started my professional path with Leica as a USAF forensic photographer. I expect my government to lie to me, not Leica. I have: M6 titanium with matching lenses, M7, M8, MP, V35, and a R8. I am thinking very hard about selling all of them. I am past being mad, I am now just sad. Gone to Canon. jh

 

 

 

 

 

LEICA M8: An investment in the future

 

 

 

With the introduction of a perpetual upgrade program, every LEICA M8 will forever be a state-of-the-art digital camera. Today’s and tomorrow’s users will always be able to incorporate the latest refinements and developments in handling ease and technology. It is our aim to secure your investment in the LEICA M8 for the future. “While other digital cameras quickly become outdated and are replaced by newer models, our new concept extends the value retention and resistance to obsolescence embodied in the Leica ethos. Over time, we will gradually offer new product features and developments as upgrade options,” declares Steven K. Lee, CEO of Leica Camera AG. “Our customers can therefore still invest in the photographic tools they need without worrying that they will miss out on improvements and technological developments alo ng the way.

Well, if Canon suits you better, it is a sound move. If not, it sounds like the wrong decision for the wrong reasons. Watch out for marketing BS from that firm as well, though - nothing different. With just about any firm, come to think about it.

[luigi bertolotti]

But what should Leica do with all the M8s they get? Dump them into the 2. hand market?

 

That's why I said is a difficult marketing exercise ... a trade-in campaign, to have a sense, must target 3 goals:

 

- To be interesting for Users.

- To generate additional-accelerated sales for the Company, i.e., sales that wouldn't come in, of would come in slowly.

- To have a positive financial return for the Company.

 

To balance those 3 needs is difficult, and can be it results impossible so they do not do anything like this. In theory a Leica refurbished M8, with factory warranty, could be an interesting entry level item to sell... but its price would be the sum of 3 costs :

- Trade-in to M9 buyer

- Refurbishing

- Dealers margin.

Plus logistics costs... can it have a financial sense ?

 

They could invent something different... make a campaign in which, to obtain an attractive trade-in value for your M8, you have to buy a M9 complete with a high-margin add-on (which add-on is obvious : a lens) : this could ease the balancing of the operation, but would require a more costly buy from the users... a plot not easy to predict...

[Guest]

That's quite possible, Andy.

 

I was actually expecting the M9 would at least share the "Maestro" processor with the S2 if not the sensor structure since Leica has kept telling us that the technology developed with the S2 will trickle down to other models. Curiously there's no mentioning about it so far.

 

They could be saving that for the M9.2 which will no doubt happen in 2 years time.

Brian

[adli]

They could be saving that for the M9.2 which will no doubt happen in 2 years time.

Brian

 

Not likely. That would probably require dramatically re-engineering of the M9. Either the Maestro is there from day one or it will not be there.

[jaapv]

If we see that there is mention of very large files being transferred in 16 bits, it is not reasonable to suppose that the camera has anything else but the Maestro processor. No way could traditionally built electronics like in the M8 handle that kind of traffic.

[luigi bertolotti]

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Yes, the details of the CPU/16 bit processing/file handling is one of the most interesting features to be scrutinized after the official intro... I suppose that the prospected "DNG compressed - 18 MB file" could be a sort of "M8 emulation" with the same algorhitm for 8 bit compression.

[leicajh]

First: Thank you for being polite in your answer. That sometimes is fleeting here also. I'm sure I will get over it. I am not mad at Leica. As for not meeting a Leica Professional with a Ti kit, I am quite sure most have not photographed as many dead subjects with Leicas as I have. When I shot for a local police department, I used my V-35. I have moved on to teach survival, but still use the Leicas. Thanks for the replies. jh