Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/08/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On 8/30/07, D Khong <dankhong@gmail.com> wrote: > > Friends in the LUG > > Part of the Leica rangefinder appeal was it's collectible status. A fine > mechanical Leica M3 for example passed from hand to hand, over its > lifespan. Well, it depends on a lot of things. There is a certain myth about Leicas holding value. True, they hold more value than many othrer brands, but that Leica that someone bought for $325 in 1973 (was that the new price?) would have to bring nearly $1600 in today's dollars to actually retain value. When I could afford my Agfa Silletto in 1960, I bought it. A similar one is on sale today at $29.00 I paid $45 for it. It is in my collection and still works. It did not ever have a CLA. When I paid $45 for that camera, I was earning $1.50 an hour. Saved for the need to have the occasional CLA, the camera was virtually > indestructible in good hands. Any camera is indestructible if you baby it and don't use it. An average digital camera is like an extension of the computer. It is a use > and discard item. The cost of repairing older digital cameras is often not > considered worthwhile. I have a ten year old Casio digital camera that takes as good pictures today as it did then. I expect it will do as well in ten more years. It is in a drawer, because it has been replaced by cameras that are more able. > The M8 is somewhat different, it has the advantage of > coupling with a vast variety of lenses originally designed for the earlier > M > cameras. Owning and using the M8 has additional meaning in its own right. By the way, I am at about $2300 in earnings from my M8. I am not a pro. I do not do weddings. I shoot occassionaly for a couple magazines. I get to write off part of my camera because I do that. The quality is high enough for them. I love shooting it. It is like an M, only I can send the pictures today instead of next week. Its price is too high for it to be treated as another use and throw away > camera. On the other hand, it is a matter of time when the M8 will go the > way that digital cameras do. Or the way that cameras that fail to do what we need. I started with a IIIf, ended my film career (not really) with 2 M7's. I still have and use my R8 . Electronics and electricals as I understand > deteriorate with time. I don't think that is right. I have an amp that is 30 years old, and it is quite mellow. Only time can tell whether it is worthwhile doing an > digital "CLA" on the M8. That remains to be seen. I think that it will be possible. After all, most of the CLA that digital needs is firmware. A well designed camera can make wonderous changes with firmware upgrade. In the same line of thought, one must also decide > whether it is worthwhile to buy a used M8 that has done some mileage. If > there is disquiet about the wisdom of buying a pre-owned M8, then this > will > have a bearing on its collectible status. Here's my point. Cameras are not for collecting. They are for making pictures. ;-) Sonny