Leica Updates M8 Digital Rangefinder Camera with M8.2 Version

Leica's digital cameras are quite well-known for their very high level of quality (after all, they're handmade in Germany), but also for their extremely high price tags. And that's also the case with one of the latest models released by the company, namely the M8.2 rangefinder, which adds a few interesting extras to the older M8.

According to the company's statements, this model will actually maintain the same body and overall features of the current M8, but it will also include some additional alternative features built in. One of them is the new, extra-quiet, low vibration metal blade focal plane shutter with the option to re-cock the stutter later on, something that could actually be pretty useful in order to reduce the noise even further.

Additionally, the new M8.2 has also been equipped with an ultra scratch-resistant sapphire crystal cover glass for the camera monitor, and also sports a new snapshot mode, which is particularly useful in tight reportage conditions. At the same time, the viewfinder bright-lines (to frame subject) have been optimized for 2 meters, compared to 0.7 meters in the case of the original M8 version.

The camera's external design has also undergone a couple of changes, since a "vulcanite" finish to the camera body (black and silver versions) will be available for the M8.2. Moreover, since it would seem that quite a lot of photographers have actually requested this particular modification, the new version will also have a slightly more discrete finish, with the Leica dot and accessory shoe being also painted in black.

However, much like the original M8, the M8.2 is an extremely expensive product, retailing for an estimate 3,990 pounds sterling, which translates into a mind-blowing 7,160 US dollars, a price point way too elevated for the vast majority of photographers out there.