# One Percenters' Leica



## cgw (Sep 4, 2015)

A plutocrat's dream kit...

This Leica M 'Null Series' Camera Kit Costs More Than a Luxury Automobile


----------



## pixmedic (Sep 4, 2015)

pffff..
Leicas just gone all hipster now. 
nothing but bragging rights at that point, selling cameras to yuppies with more money than brains.


----------



## ronlane (Sep 4, 2015)

Holy Smokes......... I could get a medium format, 1dx and 5DS and all the trinity glass for less than that.


----------



## robbins.photo (Sep 4, 2015)

pixmedic said:


> pffff..
> Leicas just gone all hipster now.
> nothing but bragging rights at that point, selling cameras to yuppies with more money than brains.


So where do I go to apply for that job?



Sent from my 306SH using Tapatalk


----------



## astroNikon (Sep 4, 2015)

ouch .. a bit of a profit in that package.


----------



## Braineack (Sep 4, 2015)

Explore 2015+ technology or keep pumping out pointless cameras with interfaces that are completely dated and antiquated...


----------



## robbins.photo (Sep 4, 2015)

Braineack said:


> Explore 2015+ technology or keep pumping out pointless cameras with interfaces that are completely dated and antiquated...



And fleecing the hipsters for big bucks in the process.  In the business world they call that a "win-win".  Lol


----------



## Derrel (Sep 4, 2015)

Oh myyyy, it looks like the rear lens caps for all three of the lenses are also made of stainless steel--like the lens barrels are! Yeesh...this set has uber-rich collector written allllll over it! Leica has made a lot of collector sets over the decades, and this one looks pretty swanky all right.


----------



## unpopular (Sep 4, 2015)

"one percenter's leica"? as opposed to?


----------



## rexbobcat (Sep 6, 2015)

I mean, to many it is a status symbol; a cumbersome point-and-shoot that is expensive, so it MUST be the best.

I went to the Leica store in L.A. a few months back and talked to the people there. They said Leica owners will come in and exchange a lens if it got scuffed, which is _ironic as hell _considering that Leica's were made sturdy specifically so photojournalists could bang them around.

But there's that one subset to consider themselves true artiste's simply because they have to manual focus....


----------



## vfotog (Sep 6, 2015)

Derrel said:


> Oh myyyy, it looks like the rear lens caps for all three of the lenses are also made of stainless steel--like the lens barrels are! Yeesh...this set has uber-rich collector written allllll over it! Leica has made a lot of collector sets over the decades, and this one looks pretty swanky all right.



I'll admit that it's very beautiful. Back in the day when I managed camera stores, we had a nice used department. One of my sales people was a very serious Leica collector. Someone came in to try and sell me a Leica; instead of buying it, I called my salesman. Turned out it was a very rare Canadian Leica. He got his camera at a good price, which was still a lot of money. I got an unexpected finder's fee... so everybody was happy.


----------



## Derrel (Sep 6, 2015)

Leicas are wonderfully made photographic instruments, crafted for a lifetime of use under demanding conditions. But they ALSO do GREAT sitting in presentation cases on shelves or locked up in vaults and safes! I understand that Leica has moved more and more and more into the realm of issuing collectible presentation-grade, very limited issue sets. The Lenny Kravitz limited edition Leicas, with the FAKE brassing on the body and the lenses, released within recent memory, well, that was the "Leica jumps the shark" post that cgw made...now that...*that was freakin' ridiculous*. That edition was also handled by the Miami Leica store...and it sold out of their inventory...Leica M-P Correspondent by Lenny Kravitz for Kravitz Design


----------



## vfotog (Sep 6, 2015)

Derrel said:


> Leicas are wonderfully made photographic instruments, crafted for a lifetime of use under demanding conditions. But they ALSO do GREAT sitting in presentation cases on shelves or locked up in vaults and safes! I understand that Leica has moved more and more and more into the realm of issuing collectible presentation-grade, very limited issue sets. The Lenny Kravitz limited edition Leicas, with the FAKE brassing on the body and the lenses, released within recent memory, well, that was the "Leica jumps the shark" post that cgw made...now that...*that was freakin' ridiculous*. That edition was also handled by the Miami Leica store...and it sold out of their inventory...Leica M-P Correspondent by Lenny Kravitz for Kravitz Design



I don't really follow Leica these days, so hadn't seen this. LOL. The brassing is um, interesting. My cameras never look like this, I tend to keep them close to mint. With the faux wear, this is like a "shabby chic" camera. What also particularly caught my attention is that in the description it says "The camera and case cladding, the outer side of the carrying strap and wrist loop are made of snake skin leather."  Normally with exotic skins, they list the type of snake. Helps justify the price. But in the specs it says "All-metal case made of die-cast magnesium; synthetic leather covering." Not only is it not snake, it's not leather. $25k for pleather?  Leica could do better. OTOH, I did recently get a collectible camera for display. I picked up the camera that first got me into photography as a child, the legendary Polaroid Swinger, mint, complete with original box, manual, flashbulbs and even the print coater. Well under $25k.


----------



## cgw (Sep 6, 2015)

The Leica mystique is very durable, probably more so than the legendary cameras themselves. Sadly, they've become celebrity tchotchkes and lifestyle props(http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/fashion/leica-cameras-favored-by-celebrities.html) that probably never see a roll of Tri-X. The old lenses did get a second chance with Fuji's savvy decision to make a Leica M mount adapter. Still, these limited edition horrors sadden me since they amount to a kind of mummification of a camera that was never meant to be coddled, even in old age when brought back to spec. Like classic high-performance cars never driven for fear of chipping the paint, Leica Ms lose something when they're embalmed and laid to rest in a limited edition/collector's casket.

Anyone who doesn't get the Leica M's appeal should start here:

Candid Camera - The New Yorker


----------



## pixmedic (Sep 6, 2015)

I think, as someone that does not have $75,000 to arbitrarily spend on a camera, that perhaps the mindset of someone who does have that sort of money escapes me.
I cannot imagine, even winning the lottery, actually spending $75 on a camera...regardless of how great a camera it was.
It could however, just be the difference between someone who's first car was BMW 7 series, and someone who's car was a 1974 VW rabbit.

I think it's pretty obvious which category I fell into.


----------



## vfotog (Sep 6, 2015)

pixmedic said:


> I think, as someone that does not have $75,000 to arbitrarily spend on a camera, that perhaps the mindset of someone who does have that sort of money escapes me.
> I cannot imagine, even winning the lottery, actually spending $75 on a camera...regardless of how great a camera it was.
> It could however, just be the difference between someone who's first car was BMW 7 series, and someone who's car was a 1974 VW rabbit.
> 
> I think it's pretty obvious which category I fell into.



you have the mindset of the collector and then you have the mindset of the wealthy. combine them and it can be jaw-dropping. handbags are another category where you see this. you can buy a horrible bag at Walmart or you can go to the other extreme and buy a Birkin.  June saw a new auction world record for a handbag: $223,000. That's not a typo. 223K for a used bag. It's an entirely different world.


----------



## Derrel (Sep 6, 2015)

Seems to me that these limited-edition cameras have a fairly high potential for future valuation swings in the upward direction, since the production is low, and known, and the company itself has released serial number information in a very public way. But I'm not a camera collector, and I'm not interested in the field. Maybe I'm wrong...maybe the "value" of sets like this as collection stock could actually drop below the new, retail price in the future? I dunno...

I do think stainless steel has an interesting look as a camera and lens-making material.


----------



## gryffinwings (Sep 6, 2015)

If I were that rich, I wouldn't bother with a collector set Leica, I'd probably go with all the most expensive Nikon bodies and the best Lenses for full from and have fun.


----------



## Designer (Sep 6, 2015)

Derrel said:


> Seems to me that these limited-edition cameras have a fairly high potential for future valuation swings in the upward direction, since the production is low, and known, and the company itself has released serial number information in a very public way. But I'm not a camera collector, and I'm not interested in the field. Maybe I'm wrong...maybe the "value" of sets like this as collection stock could actually drop below the new, retail price in the future? I dunno...
> 
> I do think stainless steel has an interesting look as a camera and lens-making material.


Whether the "value" increases or decreases is unknown at this time, but I think the buyers of this kit are not concerned about that.  I think that most buyers are "camera nuts" with loads of cash that they can "invest" in such a kit.  They probably will not even use it, just put it away and show to their friends once in a while. 

I know people who buy those limited edition firearms with the express intention of just putting them away unused.  They have several (many) examples of something that is dated, limited, and fancy enough to draw their attention.  These firearms will probably never be used, but simply passed on to the next owner, either by inheritance or by sale.  Collecting "collectibles" is a different world from the one we mere mortals inhabit.


----------

