Another Leica price increase coming on January 1st, 2014

Leica-price-increase

Update: here is the list of lenses that will be impacted by this price increase.

Leica will have another price increase on January 1st, 2014 on selected M lenses. I will soon have the list of products that will be impacted. The good news is that almost all of the Leica M lenses are now in stock at B&H and Adorama.

Curious to know what the Leica prices were 27 years ago? See this post:

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Leica T (701) camera without a rangefinder coming soon

Leica-T-type-701-camera
The Leica T (701) will be a new camera without a rangefinder. I am not sure if the Leica T will be an interchangeable lens camera (most likely) or it will have a fixed lens like the Sony RX1. The official announcement should be in the next few months. I am pretty sure that it will not have a Micro Four Thirds sensor (Leica executives have repeatedly said that they will not produce a MFT camera).

A new Leica camera that will be placed between the M and X lines has been rumored for years. After the last fiasco with UK media, in a recent interview with the Australian magazine Camera Leica’s CEO Alfred Schopf confirmed again that they will come up with a new compact system camera:

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The Leica M 240 (RED) camera designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson could reach $500,000 to $750,000 in acution

Leica digital rangefinder camera designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson 7
Leica digital rangefinder camera designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson 8
The New York Times reports that the one-of-a-kind Leica M 240 designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson could reach an estimated $500,000 to $750,000 during the (RED) charity auction on November 23;

“According to a Leica spokesman, the Leica M (RED) camera took two years to design and build and is the only camera ever designed by Mr. Ive. It’s also, as far as I can tell, the only digital camera to cost more than half a million dollars. Even by Leica’s standards, this is an expensive camera.

The special-edition Leica camera is made of die-cast magnesium and anodized aluminum, and comes with a 50mm f2.0 lens.”

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Digiscoping with the Leica M 240 and Leica spotting scope APO-Televid 82

Digiscoping-with-the-Leica-M-240-and-Leica-spotting-scope-APO-Televid-82
Digiscoping-with-Leica-M-240-spotting-scope-APO-Televid-82-2
Digiscoping-with-Leica-M-240-and-Leica-spotting-scope-APO-Televid-82
This guest post on digiscoping with the Leica M 240 ($6,950) and the Leica spotting scope APO-Televid 82 ($2,999) is by Gunnar Olssons Foto:

When Leica Camera Inc. released the new M camera (240) with live view and movie function arose the possibility of using the camera for digiscoping. That is, the ability to connect the camera to a spotting scope and get a high focal length. We have now tested this setup for a couple of days and think that the result is really good.

The camera connects to the spotting scope by a T2-adapter with Leica M-mount (third part, not supplied by Leica) and the Leica Photo Adapter for Leica spotting scopes. The focal length of this setup is about 800 mm with an aperture of f/9.8. A stable and strong tripod and tripod head is needed, we have also used a classic cable shutter release to minimize the vibrations.

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Leica Camera puts photography into focus at Art Basel

Leica Camera Miami Street Photography Festival Art Basel
Allendale, NJ (November 19, 2013) – Leica Camera, in partnership with Miami Street Photography Festival, launches a series of exciting photographic events and partnerships at Art Basel Miami this December. Dubbed the winter playground of the global art world, the prestigious fair annually hosts over 50,000 international art enthusiasts who come to enjoy the fascinating exhibits, events, and programming against the vibrant backdrop of Miami.

During the six days of programming, in addition to a celebratory event and Leica Akademie, the final round of the multi-city X Vario City Challenge will crown a Miami winner who will advance to the national and final round of the competition. Workshops, lectures, portfolio reviews, studio shoots and more will be offered, with world-renowned Magnum photographers Alex Webb, Bruce Gilden, and Constantine Manos, along with poet and photographer Rebecca Norris Webb, National Geographic’s Maggie Steber and celebrity portrait and sport photographer Mark Mann.

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New Leica X2 Gagosian Edition

Leica X2 Gagosian edition
Expressive art meets expert craftsmanship in Leica’s latest special edition camera

Solms, Germany (November 20, 2013) – Leica Camera is pleased to announce its collaboration with Gagosian Gallery on the new-limited edition Leica X2 Gagosian Edition. Leica is known by photography professionals, aficionados and amateurs alike, not only for its expert technical craftsmanship and stunning design, but also for a history of partnering with the world’s best brands to produce one of a kind, limited-edition cameras. The new Leica X2 Gagosian Edition camera features a robust, all-metal construction. Black paint splotches dot the camera’s high-grip white leather trim in an Expressionist style.

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L&H Photographica Autumn Auction 2013 results

Leica-MP-Black-Paint,-Serial-no.132,-1956

Leica MP Black Paint, Serial no.132, 1956

Leica-M7-'Handmade-titanium-camera'-Prototype,-Serial-no.-NA,-2002

Leica M7 “Handmade titanium camera” Prototype, Serial no. N/A, 2002

Leica-M3-Betriebsk-“UR-M5”-Prototype-Serial-no.-M3-–-1209

Leica M3 Betriebsk “UR-M5” Prototype Serial no. M3 – 1209

Leica-IIIf-Black-Paint---'Swedish-Military'-Serial-no.822990,-1956

Leica IIIf Black Paint – “Swedish Military” Serial no.822990, 1956

The 2013 Autumn L&H Photographica Auction is now over. Here are the top five Leica highlights:

Lot No. Lot Name Estimated Price Hammer Price (incl. premiums)
74 Leica MP Black Paint, Serial no.132, 1956 HK$3,800,000 HK$5,428,000 ($700,000)
210 Leica M7 “Handmade titanium camera” Prototype, Serial no. N/A, 2002 HK$800,000 HK$2,124,000 ($274,000)
59 M3 Betriebsk “UR-M5” Prototype Serial no. M3 – 1209 HK$800,000 HK$1,770,000 ($228,000)
184 Leica IIIf Black Paint – “Swedish Military” Serial no.822990, 1956 HK$800,000 HK$1,180,000 ($152,000)
251 Leica MP and MP2 Top Plate HK$300,000 HK$1,003,000 ($130,000)

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S-Magazine issue #4 is out

Leica-S-Magazine-issue-4
The S-Magazine issue #4 is now out (available also for iPad):

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