Leica M-P 240 Lenny Kravitz Edition “Correspondent” Special Edition
*Wow. You can pre-order yourself one at Leica Store Miami HERE. 😉
Leica is at it again! Another special edition. Last week was the Olive “Safari” Leica M-P 240 Set (Which I loved BTW as it was less expensive than the standard for a SE) and now the Lenny Kravitz “Correspondent” edition which consists of a special M 240 that has been hand brassed to give it that well-worn look. The two lenses included are two of my favorite versions of Leica glass ever, BLACK PAINT 35mm f/2 and the 50 1.4 Summilux which are also brassed by hand. A great set. The camera is extravagant of course with its 125 piece run and the snakeskin covering on the camera and the briefcase.
This set will have loads of haters and attackers for many reasons, I am already seeing it on other websites, even Leica’s own FB page. Creating a Limited Edition set for another celebrity due to the “celebrity status” is off putting to many. The way I look at it is this:
This is a LIMITED EDITION set of only 125 sets. MANY who buy this will store it and keep it for 20 years to resell at that time. It is what it is. Some will use it (I would) and some will scoff at the brassing done by hand as this does not show REAL use of the camera. It comes across as fake. Still, when I look at it I see a gorgeous camera in black enamel (my fave finish for Leica M’s) with the beautiful brass peeking through the camera and the lenses. It’s beautiful. At the end of the day its an M 240 with two amazing lenses in a collectors kit. It will sell out quick, mark my words. There is a market for these or else Leica would not make them. If I had the spare cash to spend, I would buy it in a nanosecond as to me it is a gorgeous version of the M 240 and the two lenses I adore. For me, the name attached does not mean anything but the camera itself is what makes this kit flat-out gorgeous. Leica will sell out, make a nice profit so why wouldn’t they make this set? This is what we expect from Leica is it not?
But here is the kicker that kills it for anyone but the collector. This set is $24,500. THIS rules out mere mortals 😉 It’s beautiful, it’s gorgeous, it is stunning…but $24,500? Crazy. If it were $17,500 I would maybe consider it, but reality would kick in and it would never happen. Even so, 125 lucky people will own this set! 🙂
You can pre-order yourself one at Leica Store Miami HERE. This set will only be available at select Leica Boutiques. 125 Sets worldwide.
Press Release:
Special limited edition:
LEICA M-P ‘CORRESPONDENT’ SET CREATED BY LENNY KRAVITZ FOR KRAVITZ DESIGN
In collaboration with Lenny Kravitz – the musician, actor and designer– Leica Camera AG, Wetzlar, presents a special camera edition set: the LEICA M-P ‘CORRESPONDENT’ BY LENNY KRAVITZ FOR KRAVITZ DESIGN. The edition comprises a Leica M-P digital rangefinder camera and two fast classics from the range of Leica lenses – the Leica Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH. and the Leica Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH. – delivered as a set in a bespoke case. The special edition is strictly limited to 125 sets worldwide and will be available from March 2015.
Leica’s collaboration with Lenny Kravitz was born out of the artist’s passion for photography. The first camera Kravitz ever used was his father’s Leicaflex which he received at age 21, as a gift from his father. The unique, distinctive design of the LEICA M-P ‘CORRESPONDENT’ BY LENNY KRAVITZ FOR KRAVITZ DESIGN set was created in reminiscence of this beautifully aged Leica camera. For instance, the glossy black enamel of the camera and the two lenses have been intentionally aged in homage would usually point to many years of constant use. To achieve this look, every camera and lens of the edition was ‘aged’ entirely by hand to create absolutely unique individual products.
Another characteristic feature of the edition sets is the unusual trim of the Leica M-P cameras in the finest-quality yet very durable snakeskin – naturally from controlled sources that are not to a well-used camera system, showing a distinctive patina that subject to species conservation regulations. This material in premium glossy black is also used for the camera strap and wrist strap that are included in the sets. The LEICA M-P ‘CORRESPONDENT’ BY LENNY KRAVITZ FOR KRAVITZ DESIGN set is stylishly complemented by a custom case handmade in Germany specially for this edition. The custom case picks up the product design theme and is covered with the same material as the camera.
A particularly interesting feature of the set is the special version of the Leica Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH. This lens has been constructed in the classic design of its ancestor from 1959 and reflects the typical features of its predecessor – for instance, the scalloped focusing ring and a finely knurled aperture ring.
The camera and lenses of the LEICA M-P ‘CORRESPONDENT’ BY LENNY KRAVITZ FOR KRAVITZ DESIGN set are otherwise identical to their series production equivalents in performance and technical specifications. The Leica M-P offers all the technical advantages of the Leica digital rangefinder system cameras and possesses the same enduring and robust qualities for which the Leica M-System is renowned. In the case of the two Leica lenses, their essential properties include superior optical performance and extreme versatility.
A book of Lenny’s photography entitled Flash will be published by teNeues and available for purchase from March 15, 2015. Kravitz’s photography offers unusual insights into the nomadic life of a musician ‘on the road’. In addition to being distributed by the publishers, the book will also be offered for sale by Leica Camera in Leica Stores and Leica Boutiques.
Lenny Kravitz will be showcasing photographs from this book at the Leica Gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibition will be the first in a series showcases of the artist’s photography from the book around the world during 2015. The show, Flash by Lenny Kravitz, at the Leica Gallery in Los Angeles will be open to visitors from March 6 to April 12, 2015.
Lord help us; what’s next, a Brian Williams Edition?
That would be a much enhanced version
I worked for Leitz. While this was long ago, we discovered (I thought) that endless streams of limited edition collectors items eventually try customer’s patience, especially if they commemorate things that are not that special.
Still, one should not be surprised at the success of these cameras. The numbers are very small. In the film camera days, the buyers of limited Leicas were mostly doctors and attorneys whose time was too valuable to spend hunting for a rarity when Leica would make a new one for them.
If one needs to rationalize this as an investment, I don’t see the comparison between a digital camera made in intentionally limited numbers vs. an all-mechanical film camera made in small numbers due to chance or historic conditions.
I hope people will use and beat up their cameras because the idea that a digital camera, stored away, with 20-year old digital technology will be of much interest in the future seems very unlikely.
Note to Leica collector’s, if you take the camera from your shelf after 20 years, and open the metal body, all interior electronical parts are like crackers and falling apart as dust! I know much better ways to through the money out of the window! There are enough very poor people, who need help, all over this world!
i think mike puts it well :
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html
Love it. Yes its silly. No. I can’t afford it – but have an M6 and will be buying a second hand S2. All the ‘haters’ never actually walk down their own road to their neighbour who has a new VW or BMW in the drive (mine is 10 years old) and criticise – yet these cars cost far far more than this camera (and won’t last as long). Its a work of art. If I came into £17,000 I would snap one up rather than a new car, house extension, clothes etc. Its a question of priorities. My Hasselblad film scanner cost as much as this. Its a no brainer.
The VW or BMW are bought to be used and will be used so they wear out. This silly Leica will sit in its distressed livery without being used as that may distress the distressed look and ruin the value! What a stupid idea, A no brainer maybe for people with more money than brains.
Its a very good business for any Leica store! Do someone know how much an Leica store earns, selling such an crap! 35 percent, much more, as with any other camera manufacturer! But this is fine with me, every morning gets an stupid out of his bed!
When are they going to make the “Steve Huff” special edition
never 🙂
It’s sad how threatened the Leica haters are by something so unimportant as a limited edition camera or a corporate logo. It’s not as if pre-brassing is somehow faker than painting a camera black to make it look stealthy or manly. I’ll tell you what’s fake: mirrorless cameras styled like rangefinders and SLRs when functionally they are neither, and the people who use them because they want to be perceived as something they are not, and can’t or won’t pay for the real thing.
Don’t try to shame people over the red dot. It makes you sound petty.
@Mark Alan Thomas. Best, and truest, comment in a long time. 🙂
I just can’t understand those who hate on cameras like this, because…
1. Do people have to buy one? No.
2. Has Leica said it will ‘only’ produce M cameras in this price range, like it or lump it? No.
3. If some choose to buy these limited editions, does it actually impact anyone else? No.
If Leica has indeed sold all of these LK sets, they’ve just pulled in over $3 million in revenue. That helps keep the company going so that others can continue to buy the ‘regular’ Ms the company still makes at a cheaper price (cheaper, not cheap, of course).
Would I buy this LK kit if I had the money? No, I wouldn’t. Does it bother me that other people do have the money and did buy it? Not for a moment.
People are either stupid, or petty (or both) to have a problem with Leica releasing limited edition cameras at these prices (which it has been doing for many years now).
There is more to an RF or SLR form factor and design in a digital camera than fakery. For certain applications I prefer an M/RF body style (and sizing/heft) while at other times I prefer an SLR design. Whether the viewing system is pure analog/optical or electronic is simply a matter of what works.
I suppose if I purchase an X-Pro I would be holding a “fake rangefinder?” For me it is about the size and handling. The direct mechanical controls of aperture, shutter speed and manual focus (when desired,) are what suit me.
Another example — I’ve been shooting Olympus OM (various iterations) since 1974. My hands are molded to them and operation is intuitive, freeing me creatively. Others may hate the OM design and form factor, that’s fine. For ages I wanted Olympus to take the EXACT OM body design and make it digital, full frame please. They haven’t done it. I don’t know if the OM-D M1 would be c close enough – I haven’t handled one yet. Due to the control layout, I seriously doubt it. But if it did, and it easily became second nature to shoot with it, then I wouldn’t care that it was a mirror-less “faux” SLR. Or that the sensor is 4/3s. As long as it worked for me and gave the results I was after, I could care less. Technology and life move along.
Are you saying that all the negative reception on this thread are from Leica Haters? I personally think it will be idiots who buy this camera, but I certainly don’t hate Leica or their cameras. I think this distressed look is really cool but who, in their right minds would pay this extraordinary premium for what is a Leica M240, just because of the name of Lenny Kravitz. I mean, this distressed look could be achieved by yourself if you like it so much couldn’t it? Maybe you could get the same gear, undistressed and distress it yourself, a little application of wet ‘n dry should do the trick nicely. As for it being a collectors item, all I can say about that is try and find someone who even knows who Lenny Kravitz is in 20 years time to recoup your money!
Nope. I’m not saying all the negativity comes from Leica haters. Nor do I think the people who buy this camera are idiots or out of their right minds. To some people, the price is negligible, like buying a postage stamp. To others, it’s a ridiculous extravagance. Who cares? I can’t afford a lot of things, but I don’t call the people who can idiots just because something cheaper can be had and they still opt for the expensive one.
The next time I sell a used car with scratches I will call it the “Correspondent” edition car.
This special Edition LK Leica confirms it! Leicas’ ARE NOT really meant to be real photographic instruments but works of art to be shelved and admired. $24K for a snakeskin camera????? If you want a decent camera made of brass try the Pentax MX-1 for less than $400 and you’ll still get a good image. Check it out. it’s pretty when it’s brassed out but I guess it won’t satisfy that desire for that “Red Dot”. Go figure! I can’t.
Steve, Are there really that many people in the world that would shell out this kind of money for a snakeskin, silver, gold, or brass plated technologically stunted camera? Inquiring minds would like to know.
Regards,
Howard
My black OM-2 has gorgeous brassing. I will let it go for the low, low price of $9,999 USD, including both the famous 50/1.8 mIJ and 50/3.5 macro. For the 50/1.4 add $299. The spectacular 21/2 is available for $1,099.99. Cheers!
I think I’m gonna have a go at distressing my F1n as I sort of like this correspondent look, really cool.
It may even raise the value from depressed £ to distressed £££!
leica store MIAMI. makes 100% sense. probably next door to the Peter Lik Showroom.
special edition 2 comes with a kravitz-signature blanket-sized scarf, aviator sunglasses, and download link to one of his shitty albums
I can’t stand his music but this? I kind of think Lenny (or his actual designers) may have found his true calling. I like it. Never own one, of course. But whatever.
Coming next from Leica. For a mere $25,000 they’ll take a camera and fire an AK47 bullet into it so rich frauds can put it on their shelves and pretend to be grizzled war correspondents who were in ‘Nam. Fake cameras for fake people living in their fake little worlds…
Brian Williams will be after one of these.
Price, price, price–ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous! Abs love Leica, but just don’t see how the price is justifiable.
I believe they sold out already, and this my friend is WHY they do these editions. They always sell out QUICKLY. The Ralph Gibson Monochrom sold out within hours.
and now you can buy as many ralph gibson sets as you want on ebay.
There are three there now ranging from $25,000 to $40,000 😉
It’s a collectable. Collectables are an entirely different market niche, and have an entirely different market objective. And, to Steve’s point, they sell very quickly. From that perspective, kudos to Leica.
I look forward to the “Hello Kitty” Edition !
Go, go Powerrangers……………
Since, I would assume, Leica T sales are waning, the 45 minute polishing routine is being redirected to paint removal.
A friend of mine is a luthier guitar maker and has sold ‘distressed’ Fender Stratocasters that guitarists really love to have. It’s like guys having plastic surgery on their face in order to look like Keith Richard of the ‘Stones without the years of physical abuse he’s done to himself to look that way.
It’s a fake world we live in, if people buying this Leica help the company to stay afloat then good luck to them. I would like to be able to afford any Leica ‘distressed’ or not but in the meantime I’ll carry on using my lowly gear and enjoying taking pictures, using film, digital, iPhone or any camera I’ve got with me. If I’d spent 24000 dollars on this outfit I’d never have it with me, it would be locked up in a safe place so that the ‘distressed’ look didn’t get distressed in the wrong way and reduce the value of my investment!
Happy snapping to all.
But possibly drive a car worth just as much? Just saying. I will buy this camera and i’ll use it. Get it battered even more. One Day a Garry Clarkson Limited edition complete with burn marks (from Satanic Verses Bookburning) and battered edges (from being beaten up by security at the Fmzily Court on ‘Black Friday’. A great idea. 🙂
Steve
Look, up in the sky, it’s a jewellery piece, it’s a gentleman’s accessory, it’s a grandfather’s clock no it’s a super Leica camera for $24,500. OK, I know. It’s not funny. I think the most telling thing about this is that the M 240 must be at the end of it’s production run because there are all these limited run sets coming out.
I understand the exclusivity and collectability of a Leica. Even a Digital one. I recognise it’s beauty as a camera. I also think that I can’t use it as a camera because of the attention it attracts. Maybe that is a good thing. May be not. Needless to say that for $24,500 in the camera world buys you an outstanding medium format digital and some lenses depending on which medium format system you purchase. If you wanted spend $24,500 on a camera and it has to be a Leica, the best kept secret is…….shhhh………the Leica S2. As far as image quality, it would leave the M240 in it’s wake.
The M240 is not to digital that the M3, M4, …….to MP is to film. In their heyday, the Analogue M’s were small, compact and produced outstanding image quality on 35mm film without the bulk of a film SLR and without compromises. And were beautiful to use and hold. The Digital M240 is big, heavy, bulky and outclassed in many respect by the cheaper compact system cameras of varied sensor sizes and is not as beautiful as the analogue M. Try as Leica do, it’s not a compact camera. It weighs as much as a Nikon D3 and is as big as a standard non pro Dslr. Bigger than a Nikon d5300. No matter how many limited run M 240’s are released it is not going to change that.
People will buy Leica because they want to own a Leica. Are fooling themselves? Not sure.
The Sony A7, for example, is a fraction of the price of the M240 and full frame, and lighter, and autofocus, and better video and you can tilt the screen and it will take M lenses. My point, this is an object of beauty first and a photographic tool last.
The people that buy this want something beautiful first and a camera second. Nothing wrong with that but it needs to be put into perspective and the owner has to be comfortable with it. In spite of what I said, if I could afford it, I would think about buying one because it’s beautiful. Hold that thought though.
I know of someone who bought an Analogue MP in black. He was so self conscious that he thought everyone who saw him with an MP would think he was a “tosser”. So he went at the finish with some sandpaper so the MP looked old and brassed up. Can’t say what people thought of him after that. I don’t know.
He should have waited for this M because Leica saved him the effort and the cost of the sandpaper. Could it be the Leica for the self conscious?
Noel
A lot of what you’re stating here as fact is wrong. I’m not going to waste my time debunking all of it, but as an example you claim that the Leica M weighs as much as a Nikon D3. No it doesn’t. The M weighs 1.5 pounds. The D3 weighs 2.7 pounds. And what, pray tell, was the weight of the Leica M3? 1.3 pounds.
Furthermore, the M would fit inside the Nikon Df which is one of the smallest full frame DSLRs on the market. Even with an attached 50mm Summilux.
You might even say that digital Ms are small, compact, and produce outstanding image quality without the bulk of a DSLR. Well, you wouldn’t, but I would.
Yes, the M is no where near a D3 size or weight, not even close. Its smaller than a Df as well, as Mark says. Its a beautiful camera design, 100%. In use it is beautiful as well.
Noel, you know little to nothing about Leica cameras.
I have shot Ms for years, analog and digital. Still do. They all handle and feel the same. Use the same lenses.
No one ever recognizes them. Most people think an M240 is an “old fashioned” film camera.
The quality goes on and on. As close to bullet proof as a complicated device can be.
The reason I never bought an S is because I could not see enough image quality difference compared to the M240 or even the M9 to justify the price or the weight penalty.
I have not been tempted by the new Sonys because I do not see any advantage in the printed image output that would call me to the product.
I use Leica Ms because in my years of experience they are the best photographic tools for me.
Who cares about a run of vanity cameras? Makes no difference.
I wish they would sell just the body and maybe a strap. I don’t need the lens nor the fancy case…. I wonder how much that would have cost?
It seems to me that these special editions are a harmless way for Leica to earn money so they can continue to operate and develop more mainstream cameras. They’re like concept cars that they sell to collectors. They’re often beautiful, sometimes ugly, occasionally ridiculous, and always interesting.
Good Investment ?
I know that Leica glass can appreciate in value .
But do/will their Limited Edition digital bodies appreciate as well ?
I range between “so what” and “what the f*$@”. In other words, Leica does another one of their Hermes moves — they seem unable to help themselves. We are all resigned to this. The latter reaction is “Really, Leica? AGAIN??? How does this benefit =photograraphers=? Especially the really struggling, budding photojournalist or documentary photographer who could really benefit from a more reasonably priced Leica set. Yes, that photographer may be successful with “lesser” gear, but maybe a solid Leica would spur him or her on to even greater accomplishment just by having that felt better and was inspirational. C’mon, Leica. Yes, you have a lot of hand build involved, but please use your cleverness to make fine equipment a bit more affordable. Even if I can’t afford a new Leica (whether film or digital,) lowering your average price may at least lower prices on the used market so I can afford a good M4-P, M-6, etc. Otherwise I’m probably going to buy an X-Pro or maybe a Konost. Voigtlander, etc.
What makes you think that Leica, or Andreas Kaufmann, is in the business of making cameras, or of benefitting photographers?
Leica is in the business – like most other companies – of making money. It uses cameras as a vehicle to do that.
I stand corrected. Here I was foolish enough to think that cameras were for making photographs, or that the photographers that Leica either sponsors or references as using their equipment had any other role than bling sales. Or that the awards Leica awards for PHOTOGRAPHY have anything to do with photography as an art form or means of communication.
OF COURSE, David, they are in the business to make money. I’m just saying that I find this type of product and its ethos counterproductive to the other image they project, i.e., that of supporting and enabling photography.
And just so everyone is clear, I am NOT a Leica hater. I have owned Leica gear (M3, 50mm Dual Range Summicron, 21/3.4 Super Angulon and 90mm Summicron) as a professional. It is possible that I will own Leica equipment again, though as primarily a film shooter and no longer shooting professionally, I would probably purchase a used film M and one or two lenses. While I can mount lenses from other manufacturers on an M, I do appreciate “the Leica look” in certain cases and would not be adverse to paying a premium, even for used glass, in those cases.
But for the Leica =worshippers=, I suppose it is not permitted to ever disagree with any and all Lecia marketing efforts. Me, I just like to make photographs with good tools that fit my style and/or mood.
Maybe it’ll even ship with some with black and white photos of random unsuspecting people or parts of people going about their lives in the street – might as well go all the way.
Hey, why is the camera so brassed around the corners, but the lens hood hardly has a scratch? The “Made in Germany” logo should be a bit worn too no? like ” ..ade in Germ…” And while you are at it put a couple of scratches on the LCD display and tear a patch or two off that snake skin. With all this special artisan work and price, I would expect Lenny’s personal signature scratched on the top plate with a pen knife.
As a longtime Leica user and fan, going back to the M5 in the 70’s to the present MM, I find this is simply embarrassing. We deserve all the negative comments on camera forums when pros using Canon and Nikon laugh at us.
This practice has been going on for quite some time in the electric guitar market. People pay big bucks for “relic’d” guitars with that vintage look. Some guitar builders specialize in distressing new guitars to look like well worn vintage instruments. It’s big business which translates into big profits. Very fitting that Mr. Kravitz and Leica should be the ones to introduce this nonsense to the camera world…
I will speculate that the majority of people bashing this (IMHO, quite beautiful) item can’t afford one. Extremely wealthy people purchase multi-million dollar homes that they will never live in as an investment. Less extremely wealthy people purchase vehicles for hundreds of thousands of dollars that they will never drive as an investment. Virtually everyone spending (relatively mere) thousands of dollars in Leica equipment over the past century – while actively USING the product – have unequivocally seen their investment appreciate.
Yeah, the aged finish of this asset is faux, blah, blah, blah. I am willing to bet that such an opinion today will have absolutely nothing to do with its future value. My wager will come in the form of ordering one as an investment – but one that I hope to actually enjoy for many years to come – if I am lucky enough to make the list of 125, that is.
Honestly, I’m not too worried about anyone (who could actually afford one) calling me a poseur for using it. For the rest who can’t afford one, keep posting away.
oy oy oy , where to start…
firstly, methinks you misused the word “unequivocally”, because appreciation certainly isnt the case for m9s, m8s, m7s on the market. heck, you could go all the way back to standard serial production used m3s.
and before you start scrumming around for numbers, dont forget the concept of inflation.
that you think a common consumable device is investment class is a big folly. much less a digital one known to chew cards. in this fast-growth electronic world quality in many measures parallel moore’s law (of processing power). the old analog leicas had atleast longevity on its side – it was/is essentially a box to hold film where the glass and the film determines the quality of the image.
very few supercars appreciate. and real estate is far from a sure-thing.
those who can afford a leica wont call you a poseur. but they’ll likely call you highly misguided.
lol….the “Lenny” edition, what next, the Don King edition? Stupidity with marketing has no bounds.
It seems just about all special editions sell out fast !
After Leica sent me a Monochrom and lens to use for a coupe of months I would love to actually own one but there is no way I could afford it. Am I angry that I can’t or for Leica making expensive cameras ? Hello no.
You need one of these to keep your “hand aged” Eric Clapton Stratocaster company.
Leica will have a hard time topping this one .
I heard it’s already sold out !
Already sold out, I can’t believe it! Leica always uses an very smart advertisement! That’s what they said also about the S2 model. But it stands like lead in the photo shops!
Totally pretentious in it’s concept….but it looks badass and if I had the money I would buyt one in a heartbeat.
Rather insulting really, to have it ‘brassed’ for you.
Just like buying a new Ferrari and asking them to deliver it with a cracked windscreen.
Ridiculous!
Shame on you Leica for turning your brand into a kitsch collectible. Any true Leica user would want to earn those brass marks themselves.
Embarassing, these guys are really lost in marketing.
i think leica should open a theme park with all sorts of differnt areas in it . .. . some set up like the back alleys of Ramadi or perhaps a classic watery reenactment of d-day . . .. . there’d be countless possibilities and for a heafty fee wannabe photojournalist types can get in there with their M-P 240 Lenny Kravitz Edition cameras and special vests and rugged straps and bags and run around in a gay old simulation of the real thing !! what a blast ! it could provide employment for all sorts of as yet to be discovered actors and maybe the experience could be combined with some sort of paintball competition and then at the end of the day the thouroughly exhausted but oddly invigorated and deeply in touch with joy to be alive photographers could down load their photos to be critiqued by the leica staff and maybe the day could finish up with some sort of fancy dinner and inspiring talk and slide show by a guest speaker like mccurry or salgado or one of the turnley twins . .. …. seriously i think this would be a mega success complete with diplomas and patches and stories to tell your grandchildren about how in a very convincing simulation of a mogadiishu riot you narrowly avoided getting paint all over yourself and you’ve got the pictures to prove it !!!!!!!
Gary…just checked out your website, you’ve got some great work on there!
On what planet would a rock star have a brief case?
Planet Kravitz
“Brassed by hand”. Whise hands? That’s like a motorcycle poseur artificially wearing out the edges of his tires and his knee sliders, because he doesn’t have the patience and the guts to do the real thing on the track. But it does look gorgeous.
Btw, what’s with the irregularly applied snakeskin? “By hand ” as well? And what are the photographic credentials of Messr Kravitz?
Okay, I started out as one of the haters, especially on the Lenny Kravitz edition. (I thought Lenny Kravitz was one of Jackie Gleason’s neighbors on “The Honeymooners,” so obviously I’m not in the target market.)
But now it kind of makes sense to me. Assuming you’re rich enough to buy one, it’s the first special-edition Leica you can actually go out and USE. Hey, why not? With all the other SEs, you have to think about reducing the value of your investment (rich people care about their investments, right?) because of wear. But this one is PRE-worn — no worries! I really hope some of the buyers go out and have fun with these.
Dammit JL you make a good point!
But collectors would want to preserve the factory-applied “pre-worn-ness” rather than allow an additional wear from actual use.
This is far more interesting:
http://konost.com/
An all new digital RF using Leica M mount lenses.
If it sees the light of day in 2016 😉
2016, 2017, I can wait!
I’d love for this to happen.
Looks like a copy of the Leica T
If it delivers as promised I will buy, but not invest. A solid state electronic rangefinder device without moving, optical-mechanical parts that require (periodic) calibration would be key to an affordable rangefinder concept. They however remain silent about the concept. Doesn’t the X100T simulate a split-image rangefinder, too?
But keep in mind how difficult it was for Leica as a “small and medium sized” company to deliver a digital camera that was reasonably close and competitive to the offerings of the relative electronics giants Nikon, Canon or Sony. On the other hand, the size and the organizational slag makes them exploiting supposed safe, beaten paths rather than actually “seeing” the obvious and technically straightforward solutions.
After all, at one point in time advanced components and software for digital imaging will be obtainable from radioshack or its future equivalent. Like for todays tube hifi amplifiers and vinyl record players there will be a cottage industry or even a enthusiast community that solders the components into camera bodies at affordable prices even for small production numbers. And for this I preserve my vintage Leica M lenses rather than burn money with “commercial” digital M bodies.
As a rangefinder sees outside of the lens view :
Thus can see subjects moving into the lens view
To do same digitally the Konost I assume is employing
An independent liveview sensor that sees outside of the full Frame lens view.
This would be an always On independent sensor
Which stays “open” even when shutter is pressed
Thus no blanked out viewfinder at moment of capture
And overlays what the Full Frame lens sensor sees
Mimicking the mechanical rangefinder.
Konost imply this is what they are doing.
This would be quite different from Fuji XT, X100T.
And no need to calibrate mechanical rangefinder
Back focus front focus issue.
Tiny home surveillance cameras can see a whole room.
Thus i assume Konost is employing something similar
Of much higher quality
For the Konost always On independent liveview sensor
that sees outside the Full Frame lens view
And overlays the FullFrame lens view.
I am offering a service to any Leica owners: I will hand-rub the paint off in key areas. I am charging $10,000 per camera and $5,000 per lens.
Well, well guys: if want something real special from Leica, it’s here: http://www.photografica.com/product/leica-m-monochrom-35-1-4-solv-25-ars-jubilaums-udgave_60083/
aprox 19.000 USD for a Monochrome with 35/1.4 limited edition of 25 sets only !
It’s a beauty!
Price incl. 25 % of danish VAT. Will be aprox 15.800 USD tax-free .
They should’ve brassed the screen too! Y’know…authentic… ha ha
beautiful, but utterly overpriced….not for regular people, that’s a shame, but a real beauty indeed
I have one thought: KITSCH, uber, mega, kitsch!
Yes- I’m holding out for the Kanye West Edition– wins no awards and locks up for no reason.
Honestly i like how it looks the nice brassing and the two lenses as a kit is pretty cool, if they didn’t jack the price up as much it would be a cool thing.
the safari was actually a good thing, actually cheaper as a set than you could normally buy and it was a different color if you like that thing, too bad they don’t do that more. oh well.
Yes, it’s completely silly. It is a shabby-chic camera. I abhor shabby-chic.
But you know what? We’ve been buying “stone-washed” and pre-distressed jeans for decades now. So I won’t judge the collectors and hedge-fund managers who decide to buy this set. Especially if it keeps Leica profitable as a company: Leica will never see oil-company or bank profits. Ever. So whatever they feel they need to do in order to have the cash on hand to keep their engineers busy with new projects, I’m fine with.
I’ll just smile to myself about the silliness of the whole thing as I slowly add my own (natural) brassing to my own Leica gear.
Instead of making cameras which get hidden away by collectors forever, it would be nice if one could order for a reasonable price a plain M with either the enamel covering or alternatively completely brassed. In the Leica forum one member brassed his M and it looked gorgeous.
Peter, can u post the link please, would love to know how this is done
Hi Mark,
here is the link to the thread: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/253488-my-brass-m9.html
Leica cameras are almost always beautiful, as is this one. But the culture that this springs from is IMO negative and breeds contempt. It’s a shame, because the object itself is innocent and a work of craftsmanship.