Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnGregory
It seems that now, the used price of Leica R cameras is low, (ish) making them such good value. Is this a situation which will change? Will the demand for these cameras start to go up? Or are we just a minority bunch of mirror-flippers; metering in the dark?
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Unlikely that there will ever be queues for the fairly ordinary used SLR film cameras. Even pre digital, new Leica SLR's depreciated in value quickly because the market for used models was not that good and they could sit on dealers' shelves for weeks before selling. However, there are a few scarcer models which
may maintain collector and user demand especially if in unmarked condition .. and even common models can be scarce in mint condition ... Nobody has a crystal ball but here are a few which IMO some collectors and users might still hanker after in a few years time ie for which demand might remain stable or even increase:
Leicaflex SL2 MOT; very scarce; only 1020 made? ; still sells for less than £1000
Leicaflex SL2 ... very usable
Leicaflex SL black model ... scarce
Leicaflex SL MOT ( a real sleeper IMO) ... very scarce; 1080 made?; sells for c. £600
Leica R4S MOD2 ... scarce and usable ... also a "sleeper" at present
Leica R6.2 ... professional fully manual SLR
Original Canon F1 (in mint condition) ... built like a tank
Alpa ... not everyone's cup of tea but superb precision engineering .
Nikon F2AS ... with the SL2 was in 1976 one of the two most desirable SLR's
There are of course special editions too for which there could probably be continued regular demand. And the R8 and R9 seem to have a steady demand albeit at much reduced prices ... the R8 sells for a quarter of its original new price
Cheers
dunk