M8 compared to M film cameras: how long before a price drop?

[jerry_pfile3]

Trevor,

 

"I don't care if SD cards are made in 9 years...".

 

You will if you have an M8, the future value of which was the subject of this post.

 

"I had to move from CF to SD recently and I really dont care if I have to change again. You make too big an issue of a few tens of dollars/pounds."

 

Did you factor in that cost? Will you factor in the cost of moving from an SD card to whatever? Don't forget the value (or lack of it), to the M8 when that happens.

 

 

Vinay,

 

"Whatever you have to say about the relative image quality is a separate argument..."

 

'Resolution' is a totally objective result. And certainly germane to to any discussion concerning the quality of images, and the manner in which they were made.

 

Jerry

[terry_rory]

Jerry, don't also forget to factor in the probable, almost total absence of film in 9 years time and what that will do to the value (practical and monetary) of your cameras.

 

Nine years ago digital cameras were relatively rare and few people owned them. It was still a year before the 6000 dollar Nikon D1 was launched and 'consumer' cameras were only about 1 megapixel. Market penetration for digital was tiny and every manufacturer was still making plenty of film models and developing new film cameras aplenty.

 

Market penetration of digital is now almost total and in nine years time film will be rare and expensive or possibly non-existent. Looks like you have a little more 'factoring' to worry about than I do.

[vinay_patel]

"And certainly germane to to any discussion concerning the quality of images..."

 

But just as certainly not germane [sic] to any discussion of the economics of film cameras vs digital cameras although you keep tossing this red herring into it.

[02Pete]

There are three main factors that would appear likely to produce price reductions in items such as cameras. One is attaining a volume of sales that allows the manufacturer to recover the original investment in development and production facilities, thus allowing a price reduction after that point without significant loss in per-unit profit margin. Another is the development and introduction of a newer model with significantly improved technical specifications and performance, thus reducing the perceived value of older models. Yet another is the gradual availability of used units in less than pristine condition, reflected in lower prices. None of these factors appear likely to occur quickly with regard to the M8. The current price for a new M8 is sufficiently high that Leica does not appear likely to generate a large sales volume on a mass-market basis. The technical challenges that had to be overcome, and capital investment that had to be made, in order to develop the M8 were both sufficiently large that Leica probably cannot afford to develop a newer model rapidly. It is also reasonable to expect that the majority of people who are willing to pay a large amount of money for an M8 body will take care of it, and are not likely to part with it rapidly. Considering those factors, there appears to be only a limited probability that the price of new or used M8s will decline substantially any time soon. This is a shame, because the M8 is a very interesting camera, but one beyond the means of many photographers. If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride... Maybe someday I will be able to afford one. For now, I get the film from my M2 developed with both prints and photo CDs, and use my computer and an inkjet printer to make enlargements of photos that come out well. I also use a Canon G5 for digital photography under daylight conditions, but I greatly prefer my M2 for available-light shooting, despite having to wait for the film to be developed. The M2 offers more rapid focusing, greater focusing accuracy, more predictable control of exposure under available-light conditions, and more extended usability in cold weather than the G5, and produces better pictures. In my experience, the G5 takes decent pictures in daylight, but has real difficulty focusing in dim light, uses up a battery charge rapidly under cold conditions, and displays color fringing around the edges of brightly-lit and highly reflective subjects. Although first manufactured 50 years ago, the M2 is still appreciably better than the more modern G5 under available light and/or cold conditions. I would love to have a Leica M manual rangefinder focusing mechanism on a digital camera body, but the price of admission for an M8 is pretty steep thus far. Your mileage may vary, etc., but that's how I see it.