Availability of M9 - 6 months later

Sensor production is the rate Detrermining Step

Sensor production is the rate Detrermining Step

I hear from a dealer in the Uk the the production of the sensor (which is out-sourced )is limited in numbers.
 
Ronald M said:
Both places have rediculously high unemployment and underemployment, ie college grads
working meanial jobs, and people who have simply stopped looking and are not counted.

Funny thing this was caused by the US Government who told banks they MUST loan money, mortgages, to people who can`t not pay them back ( Community Reinvestment Act). The loans got more and more liberal from the Carter Administration to the present, the dicy mortgages got moved to Wall Street and they worked their magic peddling the junk, but found ways to to do it profitably for themselves to the detriment of society, short selling, credit default swaps, derivitives, and a bunch of other junk I don`t even understand. Then the public treasury was used to keep them from failing when the house of cards collapsed. But they get to keep all the profit and we as taxpayers absorb the losses. I want in on that business.
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you're going off tangent by adding these statements. a political forum is a good venue for you.
 
I did not realise the summarits did so badly. Its a shame and perhaps points to a mind set amongst the Leica user market that is actually adversely affecting the potential of the company. The summarits are cracking lenses and deserved to do well, but if they did not, I can see a link to maintaining a sense of exclusivity to cultivate this mind set. I do wonder whether the M9 will change that dynamic though. As a FF camera with pro-SLR resolution, and more pros looking to the system for its compactness, I wonder whether Leica will not gradually move towards less of the mindset that dominated the Summarit/M8 era. The M8 did not appeal to a lot of pros in the way the M9 has and so for the first time you have a new type of person interested in Leica... or I should say, the same people that regarded their M6s and TTLs as tools in the 80s and 90s, who are perhaps returning to the fold. It was the last 10-15 years when the brand fetish went through the roof, perhaps linked to the reduced real world utility of the cameras to the pro market. I can see Leica remaining a niche - of course - but that niche might still take on a more practical slant as the M9 changes everything IMO.

We'll see - great times for Leica ahead! I hope they do well, but also hope they temper the insane pricing with a little realism, made possible by volume brought about by M9 demand. Still, its interesting that my fave bit of Leica kit remains a basic metered M (MP/M6) and a 35 2.5. Maybe in a year or two the 35 summarit will be on a M9/9.2/10?
 
Ronald M said:
Labor law in Germany prevents them from adding and subtracting workforce easily.
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Well they can add people without issue. It's the fact they can't get rid of people that makes it difficult. As a result, companies will only staff the bare mininum and customers wait. It's bad for Leica because some customers may choose another system if they don't hae the luxury of waiting.

There are other factors involved, such as the time to train new people. By the time Leica realizes that the M9 is in heavy demand, it is rather late to start training new people.
 
chris00nj said:
\It's bad for Leica because some customers may choose another system if they don't hae the luxury of waiting.
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the problem is that Leica knows their cult bleeds the red dot. moreover, there is no better rf full frame system at the moment or ever? who knows.
 
I got my first after a 3 week wait and I could have gotten a second, from another camera store about 1 month after that. If the camera were less expensive I would have bought a second body as I never like to go with one body but I use my Canon SLR's for much of my work so I will be ok but I would still like another body.
 
I noticed lots of brand new M9 appeared on the auction site and some other well-known forums, asking for a BIN price ( normally around 7k+ or 8k)

This is sth really bad.
 
Received a black M9 about 1 month ago after a 2-3 week wait - love it.

NOTE: the 14464 battery seems harder to source than the body!! Called 12 dealers in New England each week for a month, plus have one on backorder at Adorama. Was quite worried as a battery doesn't last a full day unless turning camera off much of the time; and leaving for Budapest this Thursday... Finally last Friday got a call from a dealer - 3 had come in and I could have 1 or 2. Drove an hour to pick up 2 for $300 (w/ tax) - Ouch, but happy to have the juice...

It's great to travel with SD cards instead of film - 5 16gb cards will hold over 4K raw frames, taking up the same space as a single roll of film!

Taped over the logo and red dot 10 minutes after removing it from the box, such a subtle camera to carry around. The Thumbs-Up looks like a film rewind lever - adding to the stealth. Black Domke strap. When people ask what it is, I just say "it's a rangefinder". Of course, chimping to check exposure is a bad habit I need to get rid of...
 
Well I reckon I'll have the funding a year from now. By then, I hope they'll have one to sell to me.

If CV had their own FF'er, I would've already been a happy camper :)
 
Turtle said:
I did not realise the summarits did so badly. Its a shame and perhaps points to a mind set amongst the Leica user market that is actually adversely affecting the potential of the company. The summarits are cracking lenses and deserved to do well, but if they did not, I can see a link to maintaining a sense of exclusivity to cultivate this mind set. I do wonder whether the M9 will change that dynamic though. As a FF camera with pro-SLR resolution, and more pros looking to the system for its compactness, I wonder whether Leica will not gradually move towards less of the mindset that dominated the Summarit/M8 era. The M8 did not appeal to a lot of pros in the way the M9 has and so for the first time you have a new type of person interested in Leica... or I should say, the same people that regarded their M6s and TTLs as tools in the 80s and 90s, who are perhaps returning to the fold. It was the last 10-15 years when the brand fetish went through the roof, perhaps linked to the reduced real world utility of the cameras to the pro market. I can see Leica remaining a niche - of course - but that niche might still take on a more practical slant as the M9 changes everything IMO.
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Very, very interesting, Turtle... I would very much like for Leica M's to be brought back into regard as a workhorse in the digital age... Perhaps the S2 signifies Leica's attempts to woo professionals once again?
 
The Summarits seem to be very underrated lenses...http://www.imx.nl/photo/leica/lenses/lenses/page83.html

Leica may have cheapened the hoods, but the basic lens performance seems superb.

I think a big part of the problem is that Leica under-marketed the line, for fear of cannibalizing sales of the higher priced lenses. Old time Leica users have their Summicrons and Summiluxes already (I'm one of them), and newbies who read the forums are not likely to get many veterans endorsing the Summarits.

In addition, speed is still king...in the minds of many buyers...even though the higher ISO capability of modern digital cameras makes speed less of an issue for low light than for DOF. And, this is reinforced now that bokeh seems to have become a religion. There isn't much difference here given the one half stop difference compared to the Summicrons.
 
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