Me Leica! Posted May 13, 2019 Share #1 Posted May 13, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) This may not belong in this particular forum, so please feel free to move it to a more suitable one if necessary. I just couldn't decide where it should go. The question refers to a camera you have seen in person, i.e. in a shop or similar. Not online. I ask because...I currently live in Tokyo and there are a lot of camera stores around here. I was idly browsing Lemon Camera in Ginza (if you're not familiar with it, as well as selling cameras in the usual way, it serves as a consignment store where people entrust the store to sell their camera for them and it apparently has a total, zero-exception refund policy, so it's in your interest to check anything there very carefully.) Anyway. There was a (consignment) film Leica there - an M4, I think - with a 50mm lens on it, both with a green paint job. It looked in good condition, for sure, but I had to do a double take when I saw the price: upwards of eight million yen. Looking that up online gives around 65,000 euros / 72,000 dollars / 56,000 UK pounds. That is one very optimistic seller! I should have taken a picture of it (which the store allows). However, I'm sure that the good folk here can match or better that. Let's hear stories of eye-watering / eye-rolling prices from around the world (and any personal views on how / if you think such prices are justified / insane). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 13, 2019 Posted May 13, 2019 Hi Me Leica!, Take a look here What's the most expensive Leica you've personally seen?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
a.noctilux Posted May 13, 2019 Share #2 Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) this one, Leica M Edition 60 in 2014 when released. I didn't buy it though 😉. At that period, I wanted to see in person this "100 years Set" with M-A and Monochrom (but never seen, and I couldn't afford the Set, anyway) Edited May 13, 2019 by a.noctilux Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 13, 2019 Share #3 Posted May 13, 2019 Yah - the olive-green M4 (if original and not a repaint-copy) was an issue of just 30 cameras for the West German (as was) army ca. 1970. Definitely a collectible, and they have sold for much more (and a lot less). https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Leitz/M4-(olive-green,-BUNDESWEHR).html I've handled a new SL when it was $30,000 with a lens. I'm sure in my 49 years in camera stores I've seen a Leica "Reporter" GG250 somewhere at some point (screw-mount body with massive film spools for 250 pix per roll). https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Leitz/Reporter-(GG)-250.html It is the case that the Japanese market has always been a bit more "Leica-crazy," with many collectors, and sometimes higher prices than average. Japanese buyers used to raid U.S. weekend camera swaps to pick up stuff that was cheap and unappreciated here and re-sell it into the Japanese market at collectors' prices. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me Leica! Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, adan said: It is the case that the Japanese market has always been a bit more "Leica-crazy," with many collectors, and sometimes higher prices than average. Japanese buyers used to raid U.S. weekend camera swaps to pick up stuff that was cheap and unappreciated here and re-sell it into the Japanese market at collectors' prices. Definitely. It might be a thing for German technology, they seem to like German cars too. And one of the national traits of Japan is never to do anything by half, so when they collect things, they collect them. Leicas are expensive here as a rule; even "normal" models, second hand, go for way more than I see advertised on sites like Red Dot, Richard Caplan, etc. On the other hand, the Japanese tend to look after their cameras and are usually scrupulously honest when it comes to dealing second hand. The stores, online sellers, etc, will state, for instance, "there is a small mark on the baseplate" - and it turns out to be something so small you'd never even notice it unless you were looking. Edited May 13, 2019 by Me Leica! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmars Posted May 14, 2019 Share #5 Posted May 14, 2019 When the M10 was presented in January 2017 in Wetzlar I saw (like many others there) the original Ur-Leica (not a replica). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
feelssadman Posted May 14, 2019 Share #6 Posted May 14, 2019 The Leica M10 Zagato Edition incl. Summilux-M 1:1,4/35 Asph. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelG Posted May 14, 2019 Share #7 Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) The 100 years set - think it was Leica Soho NYC or Miami Edited May 14, 2019 by NigelG Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted May 14, 2019 Share #8 Posted May 14, 2019 23 hours ago, adan said: I've handled a new SL when it was $30,000 with a lens. Durrr - I of course meant the S2, not SL. 😨 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
semi-ambivalent Posted May 14, 2019 Share #9 Posted May 14, 2019 4 hours ago, adan said: Durrr - I of course meant the S2, not SL. 😨 I've held an S1, down at Waxman's (I seem to recall), on 15th St. I wandered in and it was off its tripod for a couple minutes of freedom. That was what? $20k or so? In late-'90s dollars. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulus Posted August 17, 2019 Share #10 Posted August 17, 2019 (edited) Leica Monochrom Ralph Gibson Edited August 17, 2019 by Paulus Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richardgb Posted August 25, 2019 Share #11 Posted August 25, 2019 If you extend the catchment area to include lenses, then the X-hundred millimetre R lens made for a middle-eastern prince and which used to be on display in the Solms factory reception has to win hands down. I recall it was a bespoke request for bird photography and only 2 or 3 were produced; I can't recall the quoted price, but think of a typical Leica number and add a few zeroes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willeica Posted August 25, 2019 Share #12 Posted August 25, 2019 (edited) On 5/14/2019 at 5:49 AM, elmars said: When the M10 was presented in January 2017 in Wetzlar I saw (like many others there) the original Ur-Leica (not a replica). Probably worth at least $10 mn, way beyond anything discussed here. The original is kept in a vault. If you are talking about the one in a glass case in the lobby of the Leica AG HQ, that one is a replica. Jim Lager told us last year in Wetzlar that he had seen the Ur-Leica only once about 30 years earlier. There is no doubt, however, that the Ur-Leica would be the most expensive Leica if were ever to come to market. Its value would well exceed that of the original 0 Series models which have sold for in excess of $2mn. William Edited August 25, 2019 by willeica Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted August 25, 2019 Share #13 Posted August 25, 2019 On 5/14/2019 at 12:51 PM, adan said: Durrr - I of course meant the S2, not SL. 😨 Did you mean the S1? Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted August 26, 2019 Share #14 Posted August 26, 2019 Nope. I meant the digital MF Leica camera - S2. Successor to S (typ 006). I've handled an S1 also (scanning back from the 1990s), but they don't count as expensive these days. Less value than a new 35 Summicron. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiver Posted September 18, 2019 Share #15 Posted September 18, 2019 I saw a tourist in Melbourne with a S2 and some chunky lens. He said it was a great travel camera! I bumped into a guy doing street photography with a black paint MP-3 that he got from Japan Camera Hunter. It looked gorgeous, and it was great to see a collector's piece like that being used. A shop window in Hong Kong in late 2017 had some crazy limited edition Leicas, I'll see if I can find the image I took. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiver Posted September 20, 2019 Share #16 Posted September 20, 2019 (edited) Images from a shop window in Hong Kong, late 2017. First image is the limited edition titanium M 240 which comes with matching 28 Summicron and 50 APO. The set sells for about $30,000, I think? I have no idea what those gold monstrosities are in the second picture. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited September 20, 2019 by Archiver Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/297204-whats-the-most-expensive-leica-youve-personally-seen/?do=findComment&comment=3823148'>More sharing options...
Archiver Posted September 20, 2019 Share #17 Posted September 20, 2019 (edited) Another picture from the crazy shop in Hong Kong. What is the MP on the left with green leather and red dot?? Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited September 20, 2019 by Archiver Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/297204-whats-the-most-expensive-leica-youve-personally-seen/?do=findComment&comment=3823209'>More sharing options...
Ambro51 Posted October 3, 2019 Share #18 Posted October 3, 2019 I like shooting with my Working UR replicas....people ask “watzat???.... I tell them it’s a replica of the most valuable camera in the World...about 10-20 million$. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted October 3, 2019 Share #19 Posted October 3, 2019 Oh I don’t remember these things. I must have seen a lot of special camera’s and lenses, for instance a golden M6, the Bhoumibol type. But why would I keep that in mind? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
analog-digital Posted October 3, 2019 Share #20 Posted October 3, 2019 https://www.schouten-select.com/index.php/products/rare-collectables.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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