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Leica M9 Titanium

Lloyd

Active member
I think it is absolutely stunning. Not $28k+ stunning, but stunning nonetheless. If it was just under $10k I'd bite. I am a sucker for titanium ever since I rode my first titan bike 15 years ago.
Bikes yes, I own two Ti bikes right now. And I have no issue per se with a Ti camera. I'm sure there will be more than a few of that 500 limited edition run shrink wrapped, and sitting in private collections. But, truth be told, the announcement was really more about the spiffy design, an element I really don't care about. I'm mostly disappointed that so much energy goes into this non-event, as opposed to moving forward on issues with innovation or improvements to equipment that will be used by their "real customers", the every day photographer. The digital M, and especially the M9 has been making a comeback with a fair number of pros, and this certainly does nothing to further that.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
What makes me laugh louder than the price is the already long waiting time to get one (some time in April/May 2011 I saw somewhere). Seriously, Leica, get some expertise in marketing because who ever is doing it now doesn't have a clue.

LouisB

PS Yes, that new Fuji is looking very nice indeed, especially the f2 aperture of the fixed lens.
 

jonoslack

Active member
HI Everyone
From White River Cottages in Crete (nice little place)
Just a few minutes of Wifi, but I've been looking around:
Couple of points (but not from any other information than what I've seen around in the last hour)
1. These are NOT LCD framelines - it's just a way of illuminating the existing framelines in low light - good idea? I dunno, it's never caused me grief anyway.
2. As far as I can see this is a limited edition of 500 (maybe I'm wrong).

Why does everybody get so grumpy about these limited editions Leica do?
They're for collectors - and they make Leica lots of money (otherwise why do them?) - it's not going to slow down R&D on the products we do want (quite the contrary, it'll provide funds for them).

Buy them? Hell no - I've been around Crete for the last couple of weeks with my M9 bodies, and they're currently looking definitely used - these titanium cameras are going to sit in glass cases in collector's houses - good for them I say, especially if the funds generated means that maybe we will have REAL LCD framelines in a 'sensibly' priced M10.

. . . . . . but I still don't understand why people get so het up about silly prices for items they don't want or need to buy - I really don't.

Right - I'm off to the beach :ROTFL::)
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Jono, I couldn't agree more. :thumbs: I was going to say something similar but figured I'd be the lone fish trying to swim upstream ...

Hey, it's not like they stopped the R&D or production line because of 500 special cameras for the collectors.

Now I do think that it's fugly myself. However, I'd buy an $8000 M9 as it is if it were made of titanium though ;) (chrome - ah, if only ...).
 

retow

Member
Great marketing move. Makes the M9 look like a bargain and opens ample room for price increases:eek:
Leica's news allows me to keep my wallet closed and enjoy my ordinary M9 and X1:)
 
I think this is a strategic masterstroke from Leica. This is why:

They knew something like the new Fuji was coming (possibly from others too, later on). They had to show they too could do it without letting go of the rangefinder system.

But they don´t have the capacity to make a large number of them, and they can´t afford to alienate all who have just bought an expensive M9 by making it obsolete.

So, they make a ridiculously flashy and ugly camera with an impossible price tag. No sane user will really WANT such a camera, only that kind of opulent people who drink champagne with their hamburgers just because it´s expensive. And if they give their surplus money to Leica instead of Breitling or Cartier, it´s OK with me.

But they have now proven their technical capability(?); still, they won´t make recent M9 buyers jealous, and they won´t have tomake so many of the new ones that they must take capacity away from the regular M9 line.

End of :lecture: ...
 
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Erik Five

Member
Im pretty disappointed that they dont offer a 3000$ Pro program with it so that I can get my new titanium M9 fixed fast and get an 8 hour a day support line to Dieter in Germany for whenever I dont understand the menu. :thumbs:
 
Jono....Re: Leica M9 Titanium

Why does everybody get so grumpy about these limited editions Leica do?
They're for collectors - and they make Leica lots of money (otherwise why do them?) - it's not going to slow down R&D on the products we do want (quite the contrary, it'll provide funds for them).
Jono, maybe it's because this is the one thing Leica does that keeps the stereotypical view of a Leica owner as being rich and out of touch. I continue to believe that a digital CL would bring in much more cash (and be better for Leica's image) than these overpriced collector's items.

If you think about it, so far... Leica really has brought nothing to the table at Photokina. No real products. The products they did bring were re-badged Panasonic cameras with the appropriate boost in price for the addition of the red dot and an outrageous (and ugly) version of the M9. My guess is there is no Titanium in the camera at all.. just the name of the color scheme.

Oh.. and speaking of colors Leica also has offered a tweaked X1 in black. So everything Leica is offering is nothing more than cosmetics.... smoke and mirrors.

I guess many of us expected, hoped and wished for something more.

Have a great time in Crete.
 

paulmoore

New member
I have no issues with these limited edition hermes leicas or titan ones.. I question their timing of release and as the main event for them at photokina.. " this is what we are about" statement. I always believed they should aim for the top 10% of the market catering to building quality equipment but these limited editions have always been targeted to the top .01 percent and add little besides decorative value..a concept 95% of that top 10% find superfluous at best. Also I would have expected photokina to be the place to announce anywork or progress on the r glass solution.. I have not heard anything addressing this since last year. "Fish or cut bait"
 

markowich

New member
I have no issues with these limited edition hermes leicas or titan ones.. I question their timing of release and as the main event for them at photokina.. " this is what we are about" statement. I always believed they should aim for the top 10% of the market catering to building quality equipment but these limited editions have always been targeted to the top .01 percent and add little besides decorative value..a concept 95% of that top 10% find superfluous at best. Also I would have expected photokina to be the place to announce anywork or progress on the r glass solution.. I have not heard anything addressing this since last year. "Fish or cut bait"
very good analysis. the fotokina is the event where companies want to position themselves presenting their engineering achievements and not their life style gadgets. also BMW and mercedes-benz produce watches, ostrich leather gearshift covers and other life style stuff but they do not call for press conferences and fanfare to present them. they use the big events for presenting new automobile technology. so, as far as leica is concerned, what shall we believe now? that their main engineering work has gone into the titanium M9? nothing else to show? i have been waiting patiently for the S 120mm lens, the S 24mm lens , the S zoom etc.....and they produce a titanium M9 instead? clearly, this does not drain on the same resources, but still....... very poor marketing.
suffices to say that the average leica fan fotokina visitor is totally underwhelmed and medvedew would have bought it also without the press conference. pretty ridiculous show.
very disappointing.
so from now on we can classify leica as the glamorous photo-life-style-gadget company. i am curious what the serious engineers in the company think about this.
peter
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I'm being a good boy but lets just say extremely disappointed when they have real work to get done and customers to answer too.
 

bradhusick

Active member
I like the bandolier...

I like the bandolier...

Let's hope Luigi makes a copy for the rest of us!! It would be easy to remove the camera from it with a simple grip or grip case on it.
 
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jlancasterd

Active member
I'm being a good boy but lets just say extremely disappointed when they have real work to get done and customers to answer too.
Guy. I don't think you need to get too worked up about this...

Remember that Leica does have a small number of extremely rich customers who have very poor taste...

Think Sultan of Brunei - the oil-rich billionaire - who has already bought literally hundreds(!) of gold or platinum-plated Leicas with special engravings (usually the 'Pingi pingi' - the Brunei coat of arms). Which he dishes out as presents to favoured friends and acquaintances. The titanium M9 is just the sort of thing that would appeal to him and middle-eastern sheikhs with a similar mind set.

Why shouldn't Leica supply this market? It's a nice little earner, to put it mildly.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Personally I like it except for the "bumper-car" hand-strap.
And
The bandoleer, for this market, might have been better to design a shoulder-holster :ROTFL:
But this is all whimsy and fantasy for me since personally I spend my camera cash on more "working" stuff.
I have no criticism for Leica at all in making these special edition goodies. My family history includes several generations of armorers going back to before the battle of Hastings. There were always those who bought heavily decorated engraved and inlaid "special editions" of all sorts of weaponry. It helped pay the bills.
-bob
 
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