Do we buy our Leicas new or pre owned?

[ErikFive]

Originally Posted by razerx

I buy new unless it isn't available new. If I am going to spend a few thousand for a lens then I wouldn't care to save a few hundred by buying used. The risk and lack of warranty and all that are just not worth the penny pinching.

If you buy the expensive stuff you would most likely save a couple of thousand on each item. Thats to rich for me since most stuff is often like new anyway.

I have bought everything used and lots of it...

[Mystic]

I bought a pre owned Leica R8 (from a privat person) and a Summicron 50mm (from a local dealer including warranty).

[Tim Delbeck]

pre-owned is the only way i can afford the stuff.
what's more to it, if i don't like what i've bought (e.g. the 90mm lens - i'm not into tele, ishould have known before), i can sell it without remarkable loss.

[sepiareverb]

Both here too. One A la carte MP, and a new MP3 body. The rest are used, or Leica Certified pre-owned. Of the lenses, most are used.

I'm hoping to go for one last a la carte body here in the next year.

[andybarton]

My only new purchase was my DMR, but that's now been moved on.

[bill]

M7, CM, D-Lux 4. 50 Elmar-M and 135 Tele-Elmar-M, plus sundry accessories all bought new, everything else pre-owned, either because they don't make it anymore (M2) or because they don't make 'em like that anymore (DR Summicron) or because I don't see the point in paying a premium to buy new (90 Elmarit-M).

Ultimately, it's entirely down to personal choice.

Regards,

Bill

[pnoid]

MP ¦ 35mm Summicron asph ¦ D-LUX 2 ¦ D-LUX4 ¦ were purchased new
whereas the peripherals ¦ Leicavit ¦ rapid rewind crank ¦ caps ¦ filters ¦ are pre-owned, mint in box etc..

i guess that the novelty of being able to acquire a *new* film camera overruled the financial sensibilities -
although this could also be achieved with a throwaway plastic-lensed Kodak jobby

[Tietje]

I bought my first M2 in as an art student in 1975 from a small ad in Amateur Photographer it was £110. I bought a second-hand collapsible 50mm 3.5 Elmar from a camera shop in Bold Street in Liverpool for £30. 1979 flush with cash I bought a brand new 90mm F2.8 Tele-Elmarit from the Leeds Camera Centre. Shortly afterwards I bought a second-hand 35mm 1.5 Summilux from another camera shop in Salford. 12 years later reluctantly I had to sell the whole outfit (which I have regretted ever since) to buy a Macintosh Plus. I got £750 for the lot.

1995 I bought a second-hand Leica mini-zoom from Preston's in Harrogate for £220. Then in 2002 a a brand new Leica C11 from a local Leica dealer

Then as a Xmas present and to relive my youth I decided to to go upmarket in 2007 and I bought second-hand a M4 & 35mm 2.8 Summaron from Leica dealer and in 2008 as another Xmas present a I bought a second-hand Leicaflex SL also from a Leica dealer. To go with it I bought a second-hand 35-70mm Vario Elmar.

[zernikepolynom]

Partly new, partly used. I have a preference for used stuff, one doesn't get too concerned then, if the paint gets another scratch - in the end it is a machine to take images. There is something nice about using durable objects with a history. I also think I have everything I need now - the idea of the Leica system seems to me to get along with reduced equipment. The purchasing prices certainly help to support this concept...

[Finnkare]

Originally Posted by zernikepolynom

Partly new, partly used. I have a preference for used stuff, one doesn't get too concerned then, if the paint gets another scratch - in the end it is a machine to take images. There is something nice about using durable objects with a history. I also think I have everything I need now - the idea of the Leica system seems to me to get along with reduced equipment. The purchasing prices certainly help to support this concept...

I think the same. Although I haven't got the chance to buy anything new yet. I don't work full time and I don't get money from my pictures. I'd really like to have an à la carte MP, but maybe it will stay a future dream... Or if they started producing M5 bodies (with a new light meter maybe), or something similar in that body shape, that would be a #1 buy ! A new M3 would be nice, too, but there's plenty of them left, ready to be made "as new". Or a body with a 1:1 viewfinder.

I happen to prefer the "old Leica feel" when it comes to lenses. Of course, if I wanted 100% high fidelity, then I'd consider the newer ones.

[Photoskeptic]

I have purchased all my film bodies used and never, ever had a problem with them (M3, M4, M6TTL) I purchased my M8 new as I have done with three previous digital cameras.

[Finnkare]

Originally Posted by Photoskeptic

I purchased my M8 new as I have done with three previous digital cameras.

But that's completely normal with digital cameras... "It's how the world is today"

[drums1977]

I just bought my first M6 body and 35 cron, second hand of course. I tried to swap my liver for a new M7, but the guy at the shop said "no thanks"...

[m6goesch]

M6 and 50mm 'cron used, D-Lux 4 and Elmarit 28mm ASPH new

[digbyhp]

M7 bought pre-loved, but as new (could not tell the difference visually), but 35 Summicron ASPH bought new.

[markgay]

I will buy new if I can find the money.

Presumably, some people who could find the money, still opt to buy used - that's the question behind the question, isn't it?

Is there any obligation? No, it's a free market but enlightened self interest means I believe in spreading the wealth a little when I can. I know quite a few wealthy people who don't.

My M7 and M8 were new. Five lenses were new. Three discontinued lenses were secondhand.

However I'm an opportunist and also take advantage of foreign exchange movements. I bought several new lenses at discounted prices just after the M8 was announced. The dealer was still trying to clear his "old film stuff" off the shelf.

[LMBSGV]

I’m another who can’t afford new and has found used Leica lenses always perform as good as new. Only my M7 qualifies as “new” since it was a demo under full Passport warranty but more a used price from Bergen County Camera off Ebay. Everything else was used: an M2, 35 asph Summicron (with a dealer warranty), version one 35 Summicron (a gift from my father-in-law over 20 years ago to go with the M2), 50 DR Summicron (Ebay for a near-steal price), 90 collapsible Elmar (local dealer), 90 Elmarit-M (another Ebay dealer with warranty).

[jacarape]

Originally Posted by ErikFive

If you buy the expensive stuff you would most likely save a couple of thousand on each item. Thats to rich for me since most stuff is often like new anyway.

I have bought everything used and lots of it...

I have to agree, the only way I could afford an MP with a 35 Lux ASPH was used. I don't think I'll live long enough to find a good used 24 Lux for a super wide.

[paulmichaelsnr]

I have never bought any Leica new and have, so far, not regretted it. Just take great care whom you buy it from.

[proenca]

new : Leica M8, Leica MP Anthracite, Leica 35 cron ASPH, Leica 28 cron ASPH
used : Leica M7, MP, 50 lux, 50 Noctilux, CV 15, Leica 90 F2 ASPH, Leica 35 Summaron