hepcat Posted May 27, 2022 Share #1 Posted May 27, 2022 Advertisement (gone after registration) So, I was idly curious as to why I'd never bought an R camera new. I decided to see if I could find the original list prices of my R6.2 in 1992. I didn't, but I did find a Popular Photography article excerpt that showed that an R6 MSRP was $3150 in 1989 and a Summilux-R carried a list price of $2250. Adjusted for inflation, that puts the R6 at $7344.30 today, and the Summilux at $5245.93 today. As I was making about $26,000 in 1989 I know now why I never had one! I'm enjoying them today, however. 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! 5 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/332863-list-prices-of-leica-r6-in-1989/?do=findComment&comment=4442710'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 27, 2022 Posted May 27, 2022 Hi hepcat, Take a look here List prices of Leica R6 in 1989. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
MarkP Posted May 27, 2022 Share #2 Posted May 27, 2022 Nikon F4 the same year was $2500 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted May 27, 2022 Share #3 Posted May 27, 2022 Leica prices really too a sudden jump in the early 1970s, after I had bought my M4 (& 3 lenses) and SL (& 3 lenses). When the M5 came out folks who had older Leicas really complained about the M5 price - but if they looked at the increased prices of the M4 (plus Leicameter) the M5 looked appropriate. But the Leica focus was on the R series then, and the lens prices made me uncomfortable. For something more affordable I added a Pentax MX and several of the small M lenses, and used these as my carry-around system. Not Leica quality, but better than I expected, and I really enjoyed the smaller size. In the 1980s I splurged on an R4 (grey market due to cost), and in 1985 a legit M6 body. Then I got married and no new Leica equipment until after the kids were grown and I retired. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepcat Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share #4 Posted May 27, 2022 (edited) Courtesy of an eBay listing by Pacific Rim Camera:https://www.ebay.com/itm/362596238414 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 May 27, 2022 by hepcat 1 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/332863-list-prices-of-leica-r6-in-1989/?do=findComment&comment=4442941'>More sharing options...
hepcat Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share #5 Posted May 27, 2022 (edited) From Popular Photography, 1989 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 May 27, 2022 by hepcat 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/332863-list-prices-of-leica-r6-in-1989/?do=findComment&comment=4442948'>More sharing options...
hepcat Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share #6 Posted May 27, 2022 Continuing... 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! 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/332863-list-prices-of-leica-r6-in-1989/?do=findComment&comment=4442951'>More sharing options...
adan Posted May 27, 2022 Share #7 Posted May 27, 2022 Advertisement (gone after registration) That price list is interesting, because by 2002 an M6 TTL was selling for $1995 - that is below the dealer cost in 1992. With a 10% discount on top of that ($1799) at Leica Day store events. (And Leica was going broke.) Introduction of the Euro, other currency variations. I wonder what an R8/R9 was selling for ($US) in 2002? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frame-it Posted August 26, 2022 Share #8 Posted August 26, 2022 15 minutes ago, Artin said: What is interesting for me the Noctilux M cost less then the 35 Summilux Asph a thousand dollar less but isnt that the 35mm summilux Double A version? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted August 26, 2022 Share #9 Posted August 26, 2022 The 35mm Summilux-M ASPH was not introduced until 1994 (nor was the ASPH abbreviation). So as the 1992 price list specifically says, this was the original "ASPHERICAL" that used two hand-ground aspheric surfaces, with a high failure rate (melt it down and start over ). Which was what drove Leica to invest a lot of R&D money (in partnership with Hoya) in the molded-ASPH technology. https://www.leicashop.com/classic/Leica-Summilux-M-11873-1-4-35mm-ASPHERICAL/33104-2 Leica pushes the envelope, but occasionally ends up with "non-economic" lenses: original 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux (also hand-ground double-aspherical), the 35 Summilux-M Double-A, and in the R world (to get back on topic), the 35-70 f/2.8 Vario-Elmarit-R ASPH (1998), with only 150 or 300 or 1775 made (depending on source). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiver Posted August 26, 2022 Share #10 Posted August 26, 2022 As an aside, a Leica M9 cost about AUD $9400 in 2010, which is around AUD $11,400 in today's currency. In comparison, the Canon 1D Mark IV of 2010 retailed for $7299, which shows the difference between the flagship pro Canon body and Leica's then-latest rangefinder. Today, the M11 retails for AUD $14,499, and the Canon R3 flagship mirrorless pro body costs $8600. I wonder when secondhand R lens prices were at their lowest. Not that it matters, but I'm wondering when the introduction of mirrorless cameras made them more desirable again. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepcat Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share #11 Posted August 26, 2022 9 hours ago, Archiver said: I wonder when secondhand R lens prices were at their lowest. Not that it matters, but I'm wondering when the introduction of mirrorless cameras made them more desirable again. I started buying and selling used 1970s-1990s film bodies early in 2019 when they were all dirt cheap, plentiful, and there was really just starting to be a rennaisance in the film camera market. I was buying and selling mostly Pentax, Nikon, and Konica because they could be bought in large kit lots cheaply and parted out for resale. R lenses and bodies were still more expensive to buy than the Japanese brands, and tended not to be sold as lots, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to them because there wasn't the profit to be had, but the R lenses were probably about as inexpensive in 2018-2019 as you could find because Leicaflex and Leica R bodies were the only cameras they'd work on (well, besides M bodies of course.) Sometime in 2021 the early mirrorless cine market discovered them. By sometime earlier this year the prices for run-of-the-mill R lens prices seem to have doubled, and continue to climb. I bought my current Leicaflex/Leica R kit with six, two-cam lenses for $3k in early March of this year. Prices have continued to rise for R glass while availability has dropped. I'd guess that all the mirrorless cameras being sold have contributed greatly to both the rising prices and the pending scarcity. What's interesting is that with the rise in the prices sellers are demanding for R glass, camera body prices are coming down because of the glut of used bodies available, and the rising cost of the lenses that are being sold without bodies. For example, I recently bought an SL2 for $199 (it needed an overhaul) and an R5 from KEH in Atlanta for $207. Now those may be outliers in pricing, but still, that's pretty remarkable. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepcat Posted November 20, 2022 Author Share #12 Posted November 20, 2022 The 1994 Price List, once again courtesy of Pacific Rim Camera on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/143187125216 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! 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/332863-list-prices-of-leica-r6-in-1989/?do=findComment&comment=4570786'>More sharing options...
cpclee Posted November 20, 2022 Share #13 Posted November 20, 2022 (edited) i bought the r6.2 new at the end of 2000 for around $1700. i think it was discounted from a street price of $2000 or slightly higher. a year before that i bought a M6 TTL new at a price higher than that but don’t remember by how much. the 50 Summicrom was sold for about $850. that’s about all i can remember Edited November 20, 2022 by cpclee 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpclee Posted November 20, 2022 Share #14 Posted November 20, 2022 what i remember better is in 1999, the contax 645 was $3999 and lenses were about 2000-2500 each. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepcat Posted November 20, 2022 Author Share #15 Posted November 20, 2022 7 hours ago, cpclee said: what i remember better is in 1999, the contax 645 was $3999 and lenses were about 2000-2500 each. What makes these used cameras an even better buy today is the currency value conversion. $3,999 in 1999 is worth $7,153.36 today. My $207 R5 was $3200 new... or $6,434.81 today... and that makes the $207 I paid in today's dollars would have been worth $102.94 in 1994. Amazing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted November 20, 2022 Share #16 Posted November 20, 2022 In 1972 I had to decide between a used Leica M3 with 50mm Summicron or a new Nikkormat with 50mm lens, both cost £150 each. I picked the Leica. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew01 Posted November 27, 2022 Share #17 Posted November 27, 2022 (edited) On 11/20/2022 at 6:27 PM, Pyrogallol said: In 1972 I had to decide between a used Leica M3 with 50mm Summicron or a new Nikkormat with 50mm lens, both cost £150 each. I picked the Leica. Good choice from an investment standpoint! The Nikkormat is still worth £150 in todays money, but the Leica with lens would be worth about £2.5k. No disrespect to the Nikkormat, these are great cameras and a bargain at the current prices. They are better cameras than the more popular FM series IMO. £150 was a lot of money in those days. Correct me if I am wrong but I think the cost of a VW beetle then was circa £300? Edited November 27, 2022 by andrew01 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepcat Posted November 27, 2022 Author Share #18 Posted November 27, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, andrew01 said: Good choice from an investment standpoint! The Nikkormat is still worth £150 in todays money, but the Leica with lens would be worth about £2.5k. No disrespect to the Nikkormat, these are great cameras and a bargain at the current prices. They are better cameras than the more popular FM series IMO. £150 was a lot of money in those days. Correct me if I am wrong but I think the cost of a VW beetle then was circa £300? I don't know what the value of the GBP was against the dollar in 1972, but a Beetle's sticker price in the US was $1999.00 IIRC. I weighed buying a 1974 VW Thing with a sticker of $3150 vs a Dodge Duster at the same price. Edited November 27, 2022 by hepcat Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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