OMG! The prices!

[Al Brown]

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Leica is really nothing compared to completely irrational price hikes of some used Canon FD L series lenses... Used "New FD" 24mm f/1.4L MF goes for about 15K$ and the SSC version for 20K$+...

[adan]

My "laugh response" is because your post reminded me that I switched into Canon FD BL lenses 45 years ago because they were cheaper than most Nikkors (and to my eye, crisper).

Eventually switched back when Canon went to the plastic barrels and weird aperture-disconnect of the "New FD" line, and Nikon finally came out with a 20mm f/2.8.

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[egrossman]

On 5/15/2022 at 1:15 PM, Tomsmac said:

They also have the MP but sadly Leica US will not cover the warranty.

Leica Camera is covered by a global warranty; if Leica in NJ won't repair it, Wetzlar certainly will.

Erik

[egrossman]

On 5/16/2022 at 5:25 PM, Studienkamera said:

According to an ongoing discussion in another forum, Leica no longer has any main circuit board replacements left for the classic M6. This was recently announced by DAG Camera Repair. The classic M6 now shares this problem with the M6 TTL. That's another factor to take into account when considering an M6. I would look for an MP instead.

DAG replaced the light meter in my son's M6 in October 2021; there are two different light meter versions used over the course of the M6 production run according to Don. When he repaired the failed (earlier version) light meter, he replaced it with the later model's light meter circuit board.

You can tell which version of the light meter is in your M6 because with the earlier version, when the lighting environment is too dark to meter, the LEDs in the view finder don't light up; this isn't the case with the newer circuit board.

Erik

[egrossman]

On 5/18/2022 at 9:40 AM, Tomsmac said:

Yes, no charge on both duty and vat. He was clear that he ships to the US everyday.

There is no VAT charged on goods exported to the US or anywhere outside of the UK. You will likley have to pay a fee for Fedex/UPS/DHL customs processing and the import will also likely be reported to your state's tax authority. When I "forgot" to report the sales tax due on my state tax return for a used Noctilux 1.0 v4 that I purchased from Fotopia in HK last year, California kindly sent me a sales tax bill including a penalty charge and interest. There was no import duty assessed on the lens.

Back to the subject of VAT in the UK on used camera goods. There is none. It's only charged on new gear.

Erik

[Anbaric]

1 hour ago, egrossman said:

DAG replaced the light meter in my son's M6 in October 2021; there are two different light meter versions used over the course of the M6 production run according to Don. When he repaired the failed (earlier version) light meter, he replaced it with the later model's light meter circuit board.

You can tell which version of the light meter is in your M6 because with the earlier version, when the lighting environment is too dark to meter, the LEDs in the view finder don't light up; this isn't the case with the newer circuit board.

Erik

Sadly, the situation changed earlier this year when the M6 Classic main circuit boards ran out, as reported by DAG and confirmed by Cameraworks UK (who are working on reverse-engineering a replacement board). Contrary to previous claims (which I'm sure I have repeated), DAG says the MP board can't be used in place of the M6 board (I think someone may have been confusing the later version of the M6 board with the MP board when claiming that Sherry Krauter was installing the latter in the M6).

[Tomsmac]

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Interestingly, the validity of this thread is still relevant.

[williamj]

I bought an M3, which I always wanted, in March 2022 but I brought the purchase forward because the prices were getting out of hand, there wasn't much stock, and there was this DS M3 priced at US$1650 which seemed a good price. So I jumped on it. And this is why I don't buy stocks. A DS M3 from the same retailer in the same condition today would cost me $150 less than I paid. I bought it for the long term so that's ok, I'm not complaining.

That said, prices haven't dropped to nothing, they did correct by maybe 5% to 10%, and they haven't started to go back up again. But they're still out of reach of first time film shooters who don't usually know whether they're going to commit to film or not, given the price of film.

[SunnySixteen]

In the spring of 2016 I purchased my first Leica film camera, a classic M6 for $1000 USD from Adorama and sent to Dag, he told me it didn't need a CLA. In January 2018 I purchased an M2 from B&H for $700 and put another $300 into it with Youxin. In January 2021 I purchased a chrome M4 in pristine condition for $1700. I was patient and waited for good deals to pop up for all these purchases. I probably overpaid for the M4 but I enjoy shooting with it, so I consider it money well spent. There isn't really a point to this post other than yes, prices have inflated for Leica film bodies.

[Jeremy Bunting]

My first film M was an M2. I still have it; it's a great camera. I wanted 75mm frame lines and a built in meter, so an MP or M6 was the obvious choice. But I also wanted a 0.85 viewfinder. The a la carte program doesn't exist anymore so even if I wanted to spend $6k on a film camera, I'd be out of luck. There are a couple 0.85 MP's floating around on the used market, but they command a $2-2500 premium over a 0.85 M6TTL. I am concerned about a circuit board failure, but the camera I ended up purchasing looks like it's had a very, very gentle life, and these failures seem pretty uncommon.

If the light meter dies I'll be very sad, but for now, I'm loving the M6TTL.