Leica Glass Prices!

[Gobert]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

You are generalising. It has everything to do with priorities.

[Kwesi]

In some instances the higher price and relative scarcity actually increases demand

[RayD28]

My 2 cents.  

High-end product prices shot up when the pandemic started.  Lots of factors.  One is having more time to shop online.  Speaking generally, M glass and film camera prices will not come down.  The question is have prices peaked and on a plateau, or are prices on the low side of an upcoming peak?  

Flip a coin.  

Buy what you can afford, save for what you can't, and enjoy what you have.  

[Herr Barnack]

Quote

...It has everything to do with priorities.

I would agree.  Not everyone on this forum who owns Leica cameras and lenses is "very wealthy."  Many of us are middle class in terms of economics, and middle class is a matter of geographical perspective.  Middle class in the U.S. or EU equates to unbelievably wealthy in Mongolia, Nepal and many other nations.

Quote

...Buy what you can afford, save for what you can't, and enjoy what you have.

Those are some golden words of wisdom. 

Use the lenses you have rather than sitting home and sulking because you can't afford a new 75mm f/1.25 Noctilux.  The whole point of M cameras and lenses is to make images with them and enjoy the process.

[TheBestSLIsALeicaflex]

Leica prices always expensive, but always too peaks and valleys too.  As recently as the dark days of circa 2005, before the advent of the digital M, when people thought Leica was going out of business because they weren't making much money, not uncommon to get great deals on used equipment, or (as I dd) buy new stuff at cost from stores liquidating supplies (because it didn't sell).  In the 90's Leica offer healthy discounts to move sales.  The 1970's too.  Today is just the opposite; the last couple years have seen price explosions.  If history is a guide, it won't last, but who knows.  

[Gobert]

You know, I’ve really tried 3rd party lenses. But then I am looking to my camera and I’m thinking “that could have been a real Leica lens in stead of….”………. I’d better not buy third party lenses.

[Guest]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

You know i've really tried leica lenses,but then i am looking at my camera and i'm thinking "that could have been a voigtlander  instead of .................. i had better not buy leica lenses.

 

[rsolomon]

10 hours ago, Gobert said:

You know, I’ve really tried 3rd party lenses. But then I am looking to my camera and I’m thinking “that could have been a real Leica lens in stead of….”………. I’d better not buy third party lenses.

Agree! 
To me leica is about lenses, I bought into the leica lens system…. Size, function, quality, long lasting, ergonomics, etc.  

while some like, prefer and use 3rd party lenses, I just wouldn’t.

[TheBestSLIsALeicaflex]

On 9/23/2021 at 1:13 PM, fotografr said:

Another "one word," Voigtlander.

I started shooting Leica M in 1982 and for nearly 40 years never put anything but Leica glass on them. A few months ago I bought a Voigtlander 50/2 and liked it so much I followed with a 35/1.2 and 75/1.5  My total cost for all three was about $3200. They are well built and optically superb. I may never buy Leica glass again. The M cameras, on the other hand, have no equal in my eyes 

Current Leica lens pricing seems to indicate they have developed an articulating knee implant which enables them to kick themselves in the arse.

The choices these days for quality M mount optics is truly outstanding.  We are in the golden age of rangefinder lenses.  Back in the day, we had two choices for M mount: Buy a new Leica lens, or a used one.  Damn that patent protection.  Now we have modern Voigtlander, Zeiss ZM and even smaller outfits like Light Lens Lab.  Who?  A wonderful 8-element Summicron, terrific build and authentic optics.  Understand they have a 50mm Elcan too.  Twenty-five years ago, I wouldn't think about placing a non-Leica lens on an M, didn't have much choice, but wouldn't do it anyway, there's an addictive quality to owning Leica stuff, and now the real question for me is why own any Leica lenses at all?  Maybe that's a bit of hyperbole, I suppose there's a place for Leica lenses. but the lenses manufactured by some of these third parties are, in my experience, not only optically excellent, but often better made.  Ha, ha, the only three lenses that have broke on me in the last thirty years have been Leica -- ironically two separate 60mm Elmarit R (the focusing mechanism) and an 35mm Summicron Asph. M.  In fixing the Aspherical lens, the tech (one of the Big Three) said the insides of modern Leica lenses were all plastic and that's actually what broke.  That was 15 years ago, so I don't know if it still holds true, but a modern Summicron doesn't feel like an old one, and glad no longer to feel the need to shell out $4-8K on a Leica lens.  Maybe there's a benefit for them on a digital platform, and maybe I'd have some bad luck with lenses if I used, for example, Nikkors exclusively for the last three decades, certainly had to clean my fair share of old Nikon lenses, but having a Leica lenses on your camera isn't going to make a picture that otherwise doesn't have good light or composition.  In fact, we are in the fortunate position that most of these modern lenses are really, really, really good.  

Edited December 28, 2021 by TheBestSLIsALeicaflex

[TheBestSLIsALeicaflex]

On 11/7/2021 at 10:48 PM, Alan J said:

The increase in price for both used glass and bodies in most case's is truly astonishing to me. Can it be just increased Ebay fees? or is there something bigger here at work? Used prices seem through the roof in the last 2 years or so.

Leica gears seems to simply trickle out and yet prices move higher. Technology wise there are many choices, so it simply cant be because of beyond belief technology within the camera body and sensor.

Leica gear seems to find a fairly narrow clientele with disposable income - and they will always be able to afford what is desired. So is it just a blip on the radar for now, or something tied to the current Covid economy? When will the prices return to earth?

Maybe folks don't want to admit it, but there's an addictive quality in chasing perfection, when in practical terms it doesn't make much difference to photographs, which are often just mundane and ordinary (mine too).  Acquiring finely made stuff can be addictive too, and historically that was Leica but today -- surprise -- Voigtlander (and others) makes pretty good stuff also, maybe even better made.  People (especially newbies) also want the best -- ha, ha, as if having the best equipment will guarantee great pictures --- and the Leica brand (whether true or not) is associated with being the best (or at least the most expensive).  It's got to be good, it costs so much.  I must be a serious photographer, I own a Leica.  Ha, ha, laughing at all Leica owners, myself included.  I was one of those newbies once.  Light, composition, place, all far more important than having an M__ in your hands.  In fact, we should all trade in our digital M's and M2/3 for a Canon FTb ... but it's not a need issue.  It's a want thing.  If you can afford it, enjoy your Leica toys, while also recognizing it's not needed to taking good pictures.  

[Simone_DF]

18 hours ago, Gobert said:

You know, I’ve really tried 3rd party lenses. But then I am looking to my camera and I’m thinking “that could have been a real Leica lens in stead of….”………. I’d better not buy third party lenses.

Ah, another gem to add to the "Modern Manual of the True Leica Man"

[TheBestSLIsALeicaflex]

On 12/23/2021 at 7:53 AM, rtai said:

When I switched to digital earlier this year I sold a lot of vintage lenses as well as my R system. No way could I anticipate a 35mm Summilux-R can sell for $7000. I sold mine for much less nowhere near that. I thought I got good prices but 6 months later they increased in value by 50 to 100%. More recently I passed on a first version e58 filter size Noctilux and in mere two months the price increases by 50%. It’s best not to dwell over it. I use my lenses and am not a collector nor a speculator. The money I got from those lenses I used to buy a bag full of modern Summilux glass and two digital bodies and with them I got some good images. That’s all I care about. The one I regret the most is selling an original black paint 50mm Summicron rigid with a brass mount. 

R lenses are desired by the cine/movie crowd.  Sold off most of my R lenses and was surprised at the demand.  Ha, ha, fifteen years ago, couldn't give the stuff away.  Not literally, but you know what I mean.

Edited December 28, 2021 by TheBestSLIsALeicaflex

[TheBestSLIsALeicaflex]

In the Leica World we often draw a dichotomy between collectors and users, but in reality there are a lot of Leica users who are a mix of both.  We all know them.  The guy who has a collection of 50mm Summicrons, and shoots them all, or the one that has a set of both modern and vintage gear.  Multiple different bodies, both film and digital.  I get it.  You get to see how optics or the bodies change over the years.  You get a unique hands-on user experience -- so this is what it's like to use a 75mm Summilux, a dual range Summicron, a 21mm Super-Angulon, ect.  You get to step into a special line of history.  I also believe on a digital platform one of the easiest ways to change up a look is to change the lens and that's why so many have multiples of the same focal length.  In film days, you could get that change by a different film, by a different developer or how the film was developed.  And I've always felt that creative types get bored easy, and they need new and different to spice things up.  A different body/lens does that.  Ha, ha, it's good for my pocketbook now that I'm a strict user, one that shoots only a single focal length. Keeps things simple, but the Leica/rangefinder experience has always been one of of a journey.  Where it leads, who knows, but the only way to participate is to get the things in your hands and use them.