There are no production M's anywhere right now.
I was at a Fellowship group visit to Leica's smart suite in Mayfair, London on Tuesday hoping to see one, even if it was only a pre-production model. The M-E was available, the Paul Smith X2 and the Pana Leica latest offerings, but that was all.
In fact the top staff and management were available to answer questions and it soon became very apparent that they have very little information to hand about the M or the R lens adaptor. However they did state that a form of focus peaking will be included but they couldn't answer my question whether this would be available with the accessory Visoflex (Olympus) EVF viewfinder, it will definitely be included when viewing the LCD screen.
Most of them had handled the M at Photokina, purely momentarily as it was quickly snatched away from them. They did say however that the final specifications were not determined and once they were, Leica sales and technical staff would be advised.
The target date for launch is January, but they couldn't advise which year!! (Fellowship joke!
) At the same time as the M is launched the M9 will cease production, but the Monochrom will continue in it's present form.
We were let loose in their bespoke studio fitted with massive Elinchrom Strobes and an S2 tethered to a MacPRo with two Eizo screens.
The new S2 may be available as early as December this year and the changes are very useful indeed, with sharper AF and many other smaller but important changes for pro photographers. The new leaf shutter lenses will also be rolled out starting next year. The S2 is a very desirable camera indeed and the drooling started the second my hands landed on it! :thumbs:
Pity I am trying to cut down on camera bulk and weight. :facesmack: