Hi, > I remember once seeing a Leica or Contax (Zeiss) 50mm/1.1 lens at a big > photo store, used but in full condition. I don't remember the amount, > but my impression of the was price was either less than $1000 or > something like $2000, no where near $12K.
$1,000- would be a low price for a good Leica Noctilux lens (f/1.0 or f/1.2, not f/1.1). It's impossible to rationalise classic camera prices, but I suppose they're cheaper than Ferraris and aeroplanes. Here in London I see a lot of Leicas at very high prices. There used to be a shop called Museum Cameras which specialised in very rare cameras, particularly Leicas, generally with an interesting history. They had the camera bag, Nikon S and several lenses and other paraphernalia that George Rodger, one of the founders of Magnum, used to own and used in Africa. I can't remember the price of those, but it was high. They also had a Leica used by Tazio Secchiaroli, 'the original paparazzo', which they were offering for �65,000-, iirc, which is about one hundred thousand US dollars. In fact, I see there is the same, or another of Secchiaroli's cameras, a Leica MP, for sale here if you want one: http://www.leicatime.com/collectible.htm. Price on application. I have a rather out-of-date copy of the Leica International Price Guide (7th edition, 1997). There are rather a lot of old cameras in the $15-20+ K bracket, and I don't just mean the special editions designed to milk the collectors. Any Leica MP will go for upwards of $25K, and a black one with motor is at least $50K, according to my book. --- Bob mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
