dewittehd Posted March 1, 2015 Share #161 Posted March 1, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) In the late 1960s and perhaps 1970, Nikon ran a series of ads with black Nikon F cameras in varying states of wear. I recall two - Stanley Kubrick's Nikon and Chris Bonnington's. I couldn't find anything on a quick Google. It seems Bonnington took an OM1 to Everest, so it may be my memory is failing me. It was in National Geographic. Anyone else recall this? It is this, and Brian Brake's M2 that sprung to mind when I saw this special edition, and perhaps what triggered a "meh" reaction for me. Brian Brake's camera is in our national museum and it is rather beautiful - particularly in the context of his fabulous images of China in the 1960s. Hard travel, beautiful images, wear on the camera - not sandpaper ... Thinking about this one? http://www.aphog.de/werbung/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Nikon-F3_1.jpg Jean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 1, 2015 Posted March 1, 2015 Hi dewittehd, Take a look here Lenny Kravitz Edition - cool, pretentious, or hoax?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
IkarusJohn Posted March 1, 2015 Share #162 Posted March 1, 2015 No, though that's good. If I recall correctly, it was a picture of a beaten up Nikon F, dark background and a simple caption. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulus Posted March 1, 2015 Share #163 Posted March 1, 2015 Nobody understands. This camera is the result of the Leica T Building Training Program. To build up the muscles required for polishing Aluminum evenly, trainees are required to sand down the paint from M bodies. These are the products from the beginners' class. We may expect fully brassed cameras as the training progresses. I think your story is't fully correct. It were the lens polishers after Christmas having a slow month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewittehd Posted March 1, 2015 Share #164 Posted March 1, 2015 Never mind the M240"Special" - I'll take that shovelhead on your avatar any day !!! In fact, I'm running an 1990 Evo nowadays Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornnb Posted March 1, 2015 Share #165 Posted March 1, 2015 So, presuming this image is real, what do you think? I personally love the idea of brassed up old black cameras and lenses... but this isn't. It's brand new. Does that make it too affected in style - too pretentious, too "poseur"? It does strike me as pretentious. I would feel like a liar if I was walking around with a worn down camera like this, if the wear was not my own work. The Leica is a high quality precision tool, it is something a bit more special than a fashionable handbag. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted March 1, 2015 Share #166 Posted March 1, 2015 So if you were to buy a user, brassed M4 (for example)... ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornnb Posted March 1, 2015 Share #167 Posted March 1, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) So if you were to buy a user, brassed M4 (for example)... ? I probably wouldn't purchase an M4 being an exclusively digital shooter. However actual wear and use is a good excuse for a worn look. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted March 2, 2015 Share #168 Posted March 2, 2015 There seems to be a bit of a logic loop here: You shouldn't buy a camera that has brassing that you didn't earn. But, you had better not brass your own camera because, nobody is supped to buy a camera they didn't brass themselves. Creates a bit of a sticky wicket if you ever intend to sell... Rick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted March 2, 2015 Share #169 Posted March 2, 2015 Your logic foxed me! Is this a combination of different view points? Or your summary of the discussion? Seems to me to be a perfectly good camera with two lenses, and a huge premium. That lot at B&H costs the princely sum of $13,000 and change. So, the old fashioned focus ring, case and someone's time to give it a rub cost $10,000 (more or less). No change in functionality from the standard offering. It's no wonder the discussion is about style and whether or not you've earned the right to have less paint ... Not much else to get het up about! If I bought one, I think I'd be too embarrassed to take it out and use it - people saying, "wow, you've used that hard". Erm, no it's new actually. Alternatively, you lock it up, and people ask "cool, old camera. Whose was it? Elliott Erwitt's? HCB's?". Respond as above ... Distressed jeans never carried that premium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted March 2, 2015 Share #170 Posted March 2, 2015 So if you were to buy a user, brassed M4 (for example)... ? I have - but its 'brassed' black chrome (so cheap) not brassed black paint (too expensive) so 'anyone in the know' seeing mine will realise that I'm a cheapskate and not being pretentious, so that's fine. Mind you I'm not overly worried because the chances of being spotted using my tatty M4 by 'someone in the know' are probably pretty slim in all honesty (and to be perfectly honest, I don't care anyway). This special edition is what it is, not for me but if someone wants and can afford it and wants to use it and to pretend that they are a war hardened photo-journalist and it makes them happy then so be it - I suspect though that this isn't going to happen now is it:eek:? There are other ways of being a pre-used look from manufacturers: RCYLD - Paramo Fuera Windproof Jacket Coat Ultra/Navy S | eBay . Perhaps Leica could take a leaf out of Paramo's book? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted March 2, 2015 Share #171 Posted March 2, 2015 I have suddenly realised how complicated it would be to sell this camera. "Well it was factory supplied with this bit of brassing but this other bit is user wear, if you look at the photographs the user wear is slightly more matt. I have supplied 160 close ups of the surface...." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMaber Posted March 2, 2015 Share #172 Posted March 2, 2015 Buying a brassed camera from use is fine, its a USED camera. Buying a pre-brassed one is a bit odd though, Im aware of the guitars that are pre-sanded and theyre a little strange too. I think more odd with this over the pre-brassing is purely that it is a Lenny Kravitz special edition, and its SO EXPENSIVE clearly noted he is for his reportage skills. :\ Where are the Kravitz fans clamouring to throw their money at Leica for a camera signed off by him? Truly, I dont mind him, he's just a but average and unremarkable music wise, still a very odd choice I'm my eyes. How about a Bon Jovi or Psy or Jedward or maybe a Lance Armstrong? They all seem equally logic to me, I bet theyve all taken photos. of course if you have $25k, go for it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tookaphotoof Posted March 2, 2015 Share #173 Posted March 2, 2015 Matt, imagine you won a price by sending in a photo and they would take that price away from you a couple of years later when they discovered you captured the image with a 50k yellow Leica Lance Armstrong edition... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted March 2, 2015 Share #174 Posted March 2, 2015 It does strike me as pretentious. I would feel like a liar if I was walking around with a worn down camera like this, if the wear was not my own work. I disagree. I have a TTL Millennium and apart from a few minor chips on the strap lugs when I bought it I am solely and fully responsible for all the brassing. But I also own and use a black paint M4 which was used by a press photographer and which has quite a lot of brass showing. The difference between my M4 and the Kravitz edition is that my M4 has gained its considerable marks through ordinary photographic use, not through excessive rubbing and touching in order to create a look. I certainly don't feel like a liar having or using this camera. Instead I am happy to have it and to be able to use it for hopefully many years to come. Imho, this is one of the silliest special editions I've ever seen and I laughed out loud when I saw the email. But the Summilux looks nice. Philip Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 2, 2015 Share #175 Posted March 2, 2015 It does strike me as pretentious. I would feel like a liar if I was walking around with a worn down camera like this, if the wear was not my own work. Well, it is a based on his own camera which he inherited from his father, so there is a link. I think this is not a bad choice at all. Not only is he good enough a guitar player to be elevated to stardom -meaning there are plenty of people out there that like his work-, his photography is more than decent, witness the images displayed in the current LFI. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndReini Posted March 2, 2015 Share #176 Posted March 2, 2015 I just want to chime in on the "buying a pre-brassed used camera" loop: a brassed camera should be bought at a discount, not at a premium. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manoleica Posted March 2, 2015 Share #177 Posted March 2, 2015 I just want to chime in on the "buying a pre-brassed used camera" loop: a brassed camera should be bought at a discount, not at a premium. We Are talking Leica... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted March 2, 2015 Share #178 Posted March 2, 2015 Pretentious Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramosa Posted March 2, 2015 Share #179 Posted March 2, 2015 Silly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted March 2, 2015 Share #180 Posted March 2, 2015 Seems to me to be a perfectly good camera with two lenses, and a huge premium. So $7000+ premium for the M60 is "relatively modest" in your view, and $10,000 for the Kravitz is "huge". Edition distinctions aside, this reinforces what I wrote earlier, i.e., value is determined by the buyer's preferences and judgment….one likes it enough, and money isn't a big deal; one doesn't, and money speaks. Only the buyer can decide. My guess is that Leica will find a sufficient number who decide it's worth it….as usual. I wonder if any special edition has ever failed to sell out. Whether specific special edition "features" are ever incorporated into production versions is another issue. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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