Leica today issued the following media release in response to problems with early versions of the Leica M8:

 

December 13, 2006: Leica today issued the following media release in response to problems with early versions of the Leica M8:

The early versions of the Leica M8 cameras delivered in November displayed two characteristics under certain lighting conditions.
1. Banding
This occurred occasionally under high ISO settings when a bright highlight was present in the frame. The effect manifested itself as a horizontal highlight. This issue has been addressed in the firmware upgrade for all cameras shipped since the beginning of December. Please note, Australia received only 14 cameras in the first shipment, and only these 14 are affected. Of the 14 units sold in November, 6 customers have elected not to have their cameras returned to Leica AG for upgrading as they are very happy with the results so far. All future deliveries from December will be the updated versions with the banding issue corrected.
2. Magenta cast
Under certain circumstances, a magenta cast may be apparent in the image. This may occur when photographing clothing manufactured from synthetic materials as these reflect a large percentage of synthetic fibres. The Leica M8 does not possess an infra-red filter as this reduces images sharpness.
The early cameras do not need to be returned to the factory for updating. Leica AG have offered every customer who pays for their Leica M8 by 31 December 2006 the following (irrespective if the M8 is the early version or not):
– Two infrared filters in diameters of the customer’s choice at no charge.
– A subsidy of one-third of the cost (up to the value of 1,000 Euro [$Aust1688]) off the purchase of a new Leica lens of the customer’s choice.
In both instances, the shipping of the filters and the lenses will be handled directly by Leica AG in Germany.
The customer can register for the offer at http://m8registration.leica-camera.com/start_en.php.