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New Firmware; Does anyone know???


agreenspan

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It could go either way. Leica could 'improve' the M8/8.2 so that they offer some improvements and you could argue that it makes sense for them to do so after all the reason to buy the M9 is FF, 18mp and better ISO performance not AEB and easier ISO changing.

 

Hoever, I suspect they won't see the need nor value in so doing and I expect the M8/8.2 to remain as they are. Maybe they could offer a paid upgrade?

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It could go either way. Leica could 'improve' the M8/8.2 so that they offer some improvements and you could argue that it makes sense for them to do so after all the reason to buy the M9 is FF, 18mp and better ISO performance not AEB and easier ISO changing.

 

Hoever, I suspect they won't see the need nor value in so doing and I expect the M8/8.2 to remain as they are. Maybe they could offer a paid upgrade?

 

I would ***guess*** that some of the M9 features I saw today could be incorporated into firmware. For example, the cool info screen showing battery and card capacity remaining.

 

Beyond that...? I'm not a software (i.e., firmware) engineer.

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I believe Kevin is correct here. Leica wants to us to buy an M9 so there is a clear business case in keeping the M9 features out of the M8.x. My prediction is that we'll see support for new lenses added to the M8 if and when they're launched and that's it. New and improved features will be M9 only.

 

- Carl

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I believe Kevin is correct here. Leica wants to us to buy an M9 so there is a clear business case in keeping the M9 features out of the M8.x. My prediction is that we'll see support for new lenses added to the M8 if and when they're launched and that's it. New and improved features will be M9 only.

 

- Carl

 

I simply wish for a non-compressed Raw option. After all, that will not give me any feature of the M9 in my M8.2, but a feature of the M8 which Leica had chosen not to supply to its users.

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I've kept quiet about this until after the M9 launch, just in case that Leica were going to announce something, but in a recent dialogue between myself and Leica, the following sentence seemed to indicate that an M8 firmware upgrade is very likely.

 

"As for the shutter my colleague told me with the coming firmwares the problems with the shutter should be solved so far."

 

Although this wasn't an answer to my question, it seems to indicate that a firmware update will solve the 'Discrete shutter' and 'C' mode problems that some have encountered.

 

Who knows what other nice surprises we may be given? :D

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One smart 'payable up grade' that Leica could offer us M8 users is to oofer us a rebated Adobe Lightroom. One of the frustrations we will see when a lot of guys here start using their M9 with Lightroom. Changing RAW converter is a stressful and frustrating thing. We M8 users will be one step closer to buying a M9 if we are already trained at using the Lightroom software that comes along.

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I don't believe it would be consistent with Leica's philosophy for them to abandon M8.x firmware updates. I fully expect further firmware updates to fix issues and otherwise improve the M8.x cameras.

 

They really don't have to worry about cannibalizing sales of the M9 - it is after all full-frame and 18Mp. No-one is going to be making the choice between an M8 and M9 solely on the ability to change ISO on the fly, or the ability to manually select lenses.

 

There are probably some things that they can't retrofit, because the M8 hardware may not support it (uncompressed DNG springs to mind).

 

Don't worry - be happy :)

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Oh my... why all of a sudden I feel like beeing part of an ethnic minority?

Are we M8 users an endangered species?

Please, Leica, give us a new firmware with some interesting features. Not many, just one or two... :o

 

I have and will keep my M8 and M8u. Desirable firmware update for the M9 would be one that allows the IR/UV filters to be kept on with the M9 so that the lenses can be used with the M8 and M8u without a fiddle. Next wish would be for the manual setting of the lens in the menu, a desire expressed by many on this forum.

I intend to use the M8's as back ups for the M9 and would appreciate being able to do this without too much fumbling.

Teddy

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I'm with Teddy... for years there was (unreasonably) no manual lens selection. They should offer it on the M8, absolutely, as it is really the simplest thing to add in firmware. And much more useful than the back battery view, for which the hardware may not even be there.

 

It will increase the value of a used M8 as well, I think, because potential buyers won't have to worry about getting their lenses coded!

 

I really hope they include this, and I am definitely writing them a letter about it.

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I intend to use the M8's as back ups for the M9 and would appreciate being able to do this without too much fumbling.

Teddy

 

 

I am certain that MANY users will have M8s as backups for their M9s. The fewer difference in handling between them, the better. Accordingly, and to add value to ALL M8 users, I think the useless "defect" button on the M8 should also be enabled in the next firmware to function in exactly the same way as the M9 ISO button. The ability to change ISO quickly is a key benefit of digital shooting.

Connected with this, I would also love to see the same 1/3rd ISO stop increments available for selection as on the M9. Who knows what ISO 1600 (rather than 1250) really looks like on the M8? It's possible that this extra functionality will squeeze an extra third of a stop of usability for shooters unhappy with ISO2500 on the M8....

 

I don't mind if Leica sit back and wait until they've sold a few M9s and release a new lens to justify a firmware update... I just wish they would give us this functionality at some point. I also think it's a fair request. Leica have modified the digital M design based on extensive feedback from M8 users, and if those modifications are backwards-applicable, I feel that they have a goodwill obligation to return the favour.

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Leica's philosophy has always been about keeping their previous cameras viable. The ISO button and manual lens selection should be relatively simple to implement on the M8. I've wanted the latter since the M8 first came out. Anything that keeps the operation of both cameras similar is a good thing.

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One smart 'payable up grade' that Leica could offer us M8 users is to oofer us a rebated Adobe Lightroom. One of the frustrations we will see when a lot of guys here start using their M9 with Lightroom. Changing RAW converter is a stressful and frustrating thing. We M8 users will be one step closer to buying a M9 if we are already trained at using the Lightroom software that comes along.

 

In most resolving tests of RAW developers which I have seen, Lightroom and ACR perform a long way behind C1 especially and others too. Admittedly whilst LR offers a great many features and attributes and is easy to operate; without improvement to the 'preferred' software, the majority of users will not reap the full benefit of the new camera's sensor. It's a real shame that DxO are not supporting Leica M cameras/lenses as their noise suppression would really assist low light performance.

 

For my M8, C1 yields far better results than LR/ACR; just as it, DxO optics and Capture NX2 do for my D700. Thus I would see the provision of LR as a retrograde step.

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Leica will keep it's customers happy and smiling by at least improving the 1250 iso noise issue.

 

Sends out the right message to the rest of the market, IMO.

 

Consistent quality throughout. :)

 

Manual lens selection would be great, but secondary as it does little for the image.

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