M8 prices these days?

[chiif]

Another thing to do in the meanwhile is to buy the lenses and wait either for MKII or M9.

Or.... buy my entire range of CV lenses, which only cost a fraction of the Leica lux lenses. :bsmilie:

 

[gommy]

It's true and they are great lenses too. Can get adapter for screw mount lens from someone in Leica forum (jlm) that allow self 6 bit coding. This guy even make a filter adapter for WATE lens.

Or.... buy my entire range of CV lenses, which only cost a fraction of the Leica lux lenses. :bsmilie:

 

[Terence]

There are a couple of used R-D1 and R-D1s coming onto the market for reasonable prices. They are a viable alternative to the M8 which, in my opinion, is an overpriced underperformer.

 

[Hacker]

There are a couple of used R-D1 and R-D1s coming onto the market for reasonable prices. They are a viable alternative to the M8 which, in my opinion, is an overpriced underperformer.

I'm curious how the M8 + ASPH lenses compare against the Epson + CV lenses. May not be worth the M8 price if the difference is simply not large enough.

 

[Red Dawn]

I'm curious how the M8 + ASPH lenses compare against the Epson + CV lenses. May not be worth the M8 price if the difference is simply not large enough.

All the image quality difference is moot at this point because the M8 is riddled with a host of problems:

(in increasing order of severity)

1) Back focus issues - this is not a big problem really, but with Leica, you stand to wait up to months to ship your camera to Germany, get it fixed and get it sent back. I attended this recent Leica seminar where one of the attendees was lamenting his M8 was still in Solms and his R9/DMR was there for 3 months before to fix a loose switch

1) Leica offers 2 free IR cut filters with every purchase, which may or may not be enough for your lens collection

2) Filters can take weeks, if not months to arrive

3) Third party IR cut filters are available, but "are not guaranteed optimum results" with Leica's latest firmware

4) Filters were originally supposed to be from B+W, but somewhere along the line Leica switched to a Japanese company. Some say Hoya. Whatever.

5) You DO NEED those IR cut filters to get accurate colour without the nasty magenta cast due to the overly sensitive nature of the sensor to IR sensitivity

6) You can of course PAY for those Leica IR cut filters on B&H, adding additional expenses

7) Firmware 1.10x is now out which fixes the cyan corner cast issues with lenses 35mm and below, but you need to use it in conjunction with properly coded Leica lenses with the appropriate IR cut filter. Yes, if you want to have accurate colour with the M8, be prepared to switch to Leica lenses only (AND pay $200 for each to get the 6-bit coding) or be prepared to hand code your VC / Zeiss and other third party lenses. Even then, the firmware may or may not help you with the cyan drift problem, depending on your IR cut filter (Leica's or B+W's or other third party ones) and lens' focal length. It's now a closed system buddy!

8) Firmware 1.10x does not fix EVERY cyan cast problem. It still depends on the white balance at the time of the picture and a host of other myraid factors etc etc.

6) Nasty green banding when point light sources are placed at the edge of the picture area. Not resolved as of yet, may pop up anytime.

7) And the last issue, which is the most serious, is the as yet unresolved Sudden Death Syndrome (also known as the SDS). Buying a M8 today is a little like Russian Roulette - you never quite know what you are going to get - a perfectly working body, or one that will die on you suddenly in a few days, weeks or months. Even some who had previously gloated over their working cameras experienced this. The only "fix" is to send this to Germany - some have done so and have their cameras returned without any work cos it was working by the time it got there and Leica couldn't find anything wrong with it. Some have had it happen a few times even after they got it back.

So, buyers beware!

 

[chiif]

All the image quality difference is moot at this point because the M8 is riddled with a host of problems:
(in increasing order of severity)

Thanks for listing out in such detail.
You have made it sound so much like "some" operating system by "some" company starting with the letter "M", where EVERY version of the OS first launched have "teething problems".... :bsmilie:

 

[Ansel]

All the image quality difference is moot at this point because the M8 is riddled with a host of problems:

(in increasing order of severity)

1) Back focus issues - this is not a big problem really, but with Leica, you stand to wait up to months to ship your camera to Germany, get it fixed and get it sent back. I attended this recent Leica seminar where one of the attendees was lamenting his M8 was still in Solms and his R9/DMR was there for 3 months before to fix a loose switch

1) Leica offers 2 free IR cut filters with every purchase, which may or may not be enough for your lens collection

2) Filters can take weeks, if not months to arrive

3) Third party IR cut filters are available, but "are not guaranteed optimum results" with Leica's latest firmware

4) Filters were originally supposed to be from B+W, but somewhere along the line Leica switched to a Japanese company. Some say Hoya. Whatever.

5) You DO NEED those IR cut filters to get accurate colour without the nasty magenta cast due to the overly sensitive nature of the sensor to IR sensitivity

6) You can of course PAY for those Leica IR cut filters on B&H, adding additional expenses

7) Firmware 1.10x is now out which fixes the cyan corner cast issues with lenses 35mm and below, but you need to use it in conjunction with properly coded Leica lenses with the appropriate IR cut filter. Yes, if you want to have accurate colour with the M8, be prepared to switch to Leica lenses only (AND pay $200 for each to get the 6-bit coding) or be prepared to hand code your VC / Zeiss and other third party lenses. Even then, the firmware may or may not help you with the cyan drift problem, depending on your IR cut filter (Leica's or B+W's or other third party ones) and lens' focal length. It's now a closed system buddy!

8) Firmware 1.10x does not fix EVERY cyan cast problem. It still depends on the white balance at the time of the picture and a host of other myraid factors etc etc.

6) Nasty green banding when point light sources are placed at the edge of the picture area. Not resolved as of yet, may pop up anytime.

7) And the last issue, which is the most serious, is the as yet unresolved Sudden Death Syndrome (also known as the SDS). Buying a M8 today is a little like Russian Roulette - you never quite know what you are going to get - a perfectly working body, or one that will die on you suddenly in a few days, weeks or months. Even some who had previously gloated over their working cameras experienced this. The only "fix" is to send this to Germany - some have done so and have their cameras returned without any work cos it was working by the time it got there and Leica couldn't find anything wrong with it. Some have had it happen a few times even after they got it back.

So, buyers beware!

I am in a state of shock! :bigeyes:

 

[waileong]

My responses with =>

1) Back focus issues - this is not a big problem really, but with Leica, you stand to wait up to months to ship your camera to Germany, get it fixed and get it sent back. I attended this recent Leica seminar where one of the attendees was lamenting his M8 was still in Solms and his R9/DMR was there for 3 months before to fix a loose switch

=> Never heard of this on RFF, PN, Leica-users.org, Nemeng.com, imx.nl or any other place.

1) Leica offers 2 free IR cut filters with every purchase, which may or may not be enough for your lens collection

=> Buy step-up rings.

2) Filters can take weeks, if not months to arrive

=> Wait.

3) Third party IR cut filters are available, but "are not guaranteed optimum results" with Leica's latest firmware

=> That's marketing BS.

4) Filters were originally supposed to be from B+W, but somewhere along the line Leica switched to a Japanese company. Some say Hoya. Whatever.

=> Never heard of this on RFF, PN, Leica-users.org or any other place.

5) You DO NEED those IR cut filters to get accurate colour without the nasty magenta cast due to the overly sensitive nature of the sensor to IR sensitivity

=> Only if you have dark colours which need to be reproduced accurately.

6) You can of course PAY for those Leica IR cut filters on B&H, adding additional expenses

=> Prefer Heliopan.


7) Firmware 1.10x is now out which fixes the cyan corner cast issues with lenses 35mm and below, but you need to use it in conjunction with properly coded Leica lenses with the appropriate IR cut filter. Yes, if you want to have accurate colour with the M8, be prepared to switch to Leica lenses only (AND pay $200 for each to get the 6-bit coding) or be prepared to hand code your VC / Zeiss and other third party lenses. Even then, the firmware may or may not help you with the cyan drift problem, depending on your IR cut filter (Leica's or B+W's or other third party ones) and lens' focal length. It's now a closed system buddy!

=> Is there such a thing as "accurate" colours? In the film days, every type of film and every type of lab machine printed colours slightly differently. Does a slight colour variation (not a large magenta cast) from what you would get on a 5D/1D matter so much?

8) Firmware 1.10x does not fix EVERY cyan cast problem. It still depends on the white balance at the time of the picture and a host of other myraid factors etc etc.

=> Of course. WB is the key to good pictures for every camera.

6) Nasty green banding when point light sources are placed at the edge of the picture area. Not resolved as of yet, may pop up anytime.

=> Heard of this one. Leica said not reproducible, so they can't fix yet, but they are still waiting for more data.

7) And the last issue, which is the most serious, is the as yet unresolved Sudden Death Syndrome (also known as the SDS). Buying a M8 today is a little like Russian Roulette - you never quite know what you are going to get - a perfectly working body, or one that will die on you suddenly in a few days, weeks or months. Even some who had previously gloated over their working cameras experienced this. The only "fix" is to send this to Germany - some have done so and have their cameras returned without any work cos it was working by the time it got there and Leica couldn't find anything wrong with it. Some have had it happen a few times even after they got it back.

=> Heard of this one vaguely. Well, that's what the passport warranty is for.

 

[robertcapa]

wah.. good deal leh --> http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=278004

is this for real or what??? USD or SGD?

quick someone grab it..

 

[oteonghn]

How do we buy from Korea ?
Are they on internet or must we buy it directly from a shop in Korea ie get a friend or something ?
Thanks
ONG Teong Hoon

$69xx to be exact. Leica warranty is worldwide. The Noctilux was $7k also.

 

[oteonghn]

HI
Any idea how to get an M8 from Korea ?
Thanks

i do know that Korea prices are right now one of the lowest in the world.
You can get an M8 for about 6800+ SGD in Korea.
I am talking about a NEW camera.

 

[Hacker]

OP selling 6.9k, so $100 is not much considering the hassle of shipping.

 

[Kid Shotter]

OP selling 6.9k, so $100 is not much considering the hassle of shipping.

WHy switch to RF when M8 is so buggy??

 

[Hacker]

WHy switch to RF when M8 is so buggy??

I'm not switching, merely adding on. :dunno:

 

[paisatge]

so how much is the m8 currently in singapore?