[Leica] Re: Outdated M8

[jshul at comcast.net (Jim Shulman)]

And it would certainly be in the Leica tradition, where it was possible (at
least through the 1950s) to update a Leica A into a iiif rd/st.

Jim Shulman
Bryn Mawr, PA


-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Craig
Roberts
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 2:58 PM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Outdated M8

"...it's a piece of computer equipment with a lens attached and as such 
it will become outdated in the next 24-36 months."

Not necessarily.  Besides the arguments already presented, there's 
another factor to consider.  Digital devices have the capability of 
being upgraded far more simply than mechanical ones. It's possible that 
the M8 may someday become an M9 (or an M8-2) by the simple expedient of 
a firmware update.  An improved and enlarged sensor and supporting 
circuits may be able to be retrofitted at some point as well as long as 
the camera's chassis can accomodate the new electronic components. One 
may be able to get a "new" Leica every few years  for the fraction of 
the cost of a whole new camera.

Of course, no camera manufacturer to my knowledge has been forward 
thinking enough to make their devices upgradeable, but it's certainly 
possible and worth considering for the sake of customer retention.

Craig
Washington, DC