Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/09/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]"To buy the M8 in the hopes that Leica would be the first to retrofit cameras would be the definition of an optimist..." Well, I am an optimist -- but, no, I don't believe Leica is building an upgradeable M8. However, I'm an amateur radio operator and have tracked the technical progress of hobbyist radios over the years. Almost all new radios now accomodate firmware upgrades. The Japanese manufacturers (and a single American one) do not seem to be afraid of losing profits by extending the useful life of their products. These radios are expensive enough to guarantee reasonable front-end profits and upgradeability breeds customer loyalty and sales of accessories and ancilliary equipment. Of course, none of these manufacturers relies on the small amateur radio market to sustain them. All of them build commercial and "disposable" military devices as well. Similarly, I suspect Leica's camera division is the least of their profit generators (presuming they have any). Craig Washington, DC