Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/03/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I don't know where one can find a rigid Summicron, 35 Summaron AND 90 Elmar for $500 total. Maybe 10 years ago but not today. Please let me know! hahahaha. I've been looking for another rigid 'cron for about a year and the least expensive user I've found so far was just over $500. Missed that one by a few minutes. Summarons go for between $300 and $800. 90 Elmars run about $100. I haven't seen a $500 M body that didn't need significant repair in years. Maybe the odd yard sale find that we only hear about on the internet, but realistically speaking, if one shops around for a month or two and buys the best working user bargains you can, the would-be Leica shooter is still in around $2000 for a M body and 3 lens kit. As for the collectors, I know one man who has 11 M3 bodies in vaults. Those re just his M3s. He has a collection of every other production Leica made and a few bodies apiece. There is no reason for that, small run production numbers or not. If all of the cameras in vaults suddenly appeared for sale at reasonable prices, the price of our regular pool of used gear would have to go down. I see this every day with fellow students who ask to borrow my M4 and a lens. A few of them desperately want to get into Leica but they just can't afford it. They're not poor, either. Most of them are waving around D300s and EOS 5d IIs with pro level lenses on them but can't justify the still high prices on used, sometimes beaten Leica gear. Phil Forrest On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:42:06 -0500 Ho-Tak <junolau at gmail.com> wrote: > Where can I find those stores? > I am still new to NYC and really only know Adorama and B&H... > > Juno > > > On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 10:44 AM, Lawrence Zeitlin > <lrzeitlin at gmail.com>wrote: > > > Frank Dernie is right. You can get into the Leica system for the > > price of a digital Canon Rebel. But you have to forget about > > appearances. A stroll through the NYC camera stores revealed that > > you can buy a functional M body, > > either a M2, M3, or M4 for less than $500. Sure the vulcanite may be > > chipped > > and there may be small dents and scratches on the body but, what > > the hell, its a user, isn't it? A first or second generation 50 mm > > Summicron, a 35 mm Summaron, and a 90 mm Elmar will collectively > > set you back another $500. Or you can go even cheaper, and some say > > better, by picking up Canon lens equivalents. A few years back, I > > bought a Leica IIIc in good working condition from a NYC pawn shop > > for $150. It even came with a nice f3.5 50 mm > > Elmar. I got viewfinders and brass Leica cartridges out of camera > > store junk > > boxes for the price of a couple of Big Macs. Treasure hunting > > through old well established camera stores and photo district pawn > > shops is fun. You never know what you will discover. It's easier to > > find good, functional Leica gear than it is to locate the Holy > > Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. But, remember, if you buy into > > the old Leica system, you have to use film. Larry Z > > - - - - > > > > I just wish all the collectibles would flood the market one day > > instead > > > > of sitting in vaults. Maybe it could bring the price of Leica > > products > > > > down far enough that people who have wanted to get into the system > > could > > > > actually afford to do so. > > > > > > Phil Forrest > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Leica Users Group. > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information