gvaliquette Posted December 27, 2007 Share #1 Posted December 27, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I found this rather unusual item advertised for sale on e-Bay. I did not even know such an animal existed! Leica M5 automatic - prototype with compur shutter - (eBay item 370009071916 end time Jan-03-08 07:43:32 PST) However, it is not cheap Guy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 Hi gvaliquette, Take a look here Unique M5 prototype!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jc_braconi Posted December 28, 2007 Share #2 Posted December 28, 2007 http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-collectors-historica/41558-leica-factory-museum-items-sale.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 28, 2007 Share #3 Posted December 28, 2007 ... a very exaggerated evaluation, for me... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted December 28, 2007 Share #4 Posted December 28, 2007 Buy it now - $203,000 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 28, 2007 Share #5 Posted December 28, 2007 Buy it now - $203,000 I'll buy it... LATER.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted December 28, 2007 Share #6 Posted December 28, 2007 There's one born every minute, so they say, so the seller might just strike lucky. Ludicrous. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted December 28, 2007 Share #7 Posted December 28, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Would it be cheeky to offer a round 200K ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 28, 2007 Share #8 Posted December 28, 2007 My budget, damn, is 199500 $ ... I don't dare to make such a cheap offer.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canfred Posted December 28, 2007 Share #9 Posted December 28, 2007 I find shipping costs a little expensive, have to give it a miss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishimage Posted December 28, 2007 Share #10 Posted December 28, 2007 Plus VAT at 19%..: mad: well thats me ruled out of the bidding then.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tummydoc Posted December 28, 2007 Share #11 Posted December 28, 2007 It will be interesting to see how this goes. The concensus in the camera collecting world is that the halcyon days of Leica-collecting are past, witness the closure of Christie's open camera auctions. Whether there is still any interest in paying six figures for even such a rarity as this, should be very telling. I know I wouldn't pay more than a twentieth of their asking price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvaliquette Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share #12 Posted December 28, 2007 The real question is: Can it take photographs? How does the M5 meter cell on that swinging arm get a reading through the Compur shutter? Guy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 28, 2007 Share #13 Posted December 28, 2007 http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-collectors-historica/41558-leica-factory-museum-items-sale.html Well, JC... apart the joking on this cheap price... it's really an interesting item : have you some infos about ? I remeber to have read (and seen pics) of the M4 Prototyp with M5-look, but didn't know of this... I noticed some oddities : - Big Selenium meter: I suppose it is not an "auto exposure camera" in proper sense, but a "meter coupled" one... don't see how the time could be automatically set with an "unpowered" body. - Ok the Compur... but the time ring extends from 1/2000 to 30' !!! I guess it's only for metering purpose... never saw a Compur with such capabilities, and, btw, the "real" M5 had also a time scale that extended to long exposure times, even if the shutter did the usual 1- 1/1000 (or maybe 1/2 ? I confuse with CL, maybe...) - It appears that the time setting ring is mechanically separated from the lens-shutter assembly, coupled to it with a proper bayonet ... but.. HOW to activate the RF with this ring in the middle ? Unclear in the pics... the lens appears to have a RF cam... and seems to be a brass mechanism inside the body that could be reached by the lens cam... maybe the tried to use this in lieu of the usual and simple "RF roller". - There is that strange "folding lever"... I guess it's some mechanism to be able to change the f/stop-time couple without changing the EV... Zeiss used this system on several of its cameras (Contina, Contaflex "auto"...) - The body shape is different from both the classic Ms and the future M5... the curved rear resembles the Leicaflex body... and the back seems to open completely (see the two "sliding levers" at left), so the bottom has a standard-centered tripod screw mount. - Two small windows on front... ok one for the RF... I suppose the second is to illuminate something displayed in the VF, probably the meter reading and the exposure set; Such a system would mean a VF/RF assembly of terrible complication... not strange this prototype has remained at this stage... I'd never throw away the money they speak of (neither 1/10 of it, for myself... ), but I would be VERY pleased if I could have it in my hands for some minutes... pity it's in Hong Kong... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe D. Posted December 28, 2007 Share #14 Posted December 28, 2007 Would any one give twenty bucks (or 19,99) away for that, at a garage sale ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted December 28, 2007 Share #15 Posted December 28, 2007 Would any one give twenty bucks (or 19,99) away for that, at a garage sale ? Probably not. They'd assume it was a Russian fake! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted December 28, 2007 Share #16 Posted December 28, 2007 Luigi, People from the new management in Leica/Leitz need some fresh money so they open the museum doors and give Boris Jamchtchik the exclusivity for selling this museum pieces Photo Arsenal they are in Germany, the Hong Kong place is for attracting collectors from Asia Leica has a lot of prototype, this one for M5 is not the only one ( I mean in the M5 studies ). I know I have a lot of pictures of them ( in some place) Cheers JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhild Posted December 28, 2007 Share #17 Posted December 28, 2007 Is Leica is in such a desperate need of fresh money they have to sell their history? I hope they aren´t. Apart from this the dealer is a questionable person to say the least and the 19% VAT story which is practised by many dealers ( ...item for export, German buyers have to pay 19% more) is just a rip off so I stay away. Of course I will never be in a position to spend such a lot of money for a camera, I wouldn´t be surprised if a rich Chinese is the new owner... Just my ...cents Jo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjr Posted December 28, 2007 Share #18 Posted December 28, 2007 It has no historical,practical or even curiosity value...it is a wreckage in which they were propably testing the meter. Will offer £50-00 to include carriage and they pay the import duty as well. Ludicrous !!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted December 28, 2007 Share #19 Posted December 28, 2007 and what do you think about a piece of wood at € 8000.00 Photo Arsenal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvaliquette Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share #20 Posted December 28, 2007 - Big Selenium meter: I suppose it is not an "auto exposure camera" in proper sense, but a "meter coupled" one... don't see how the time could be automatically set with an "unpowered" body. Luigi: The selenium cell does generate a current without a battery, so it conceivably could power the automatism. However, I do not know if it would generate enough power to actuate electro-mechanical couplings. Guy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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