chikne
Well-known
Looks like a nice cheesebox though... keeps it fresh and all!
I think we're all missing something here: The box is evidently designed to be used as an urn to store the ashes of the soon-to-be-deceased purchaser.
Kaufmann is a man who obviously knows the demographics of his market, and this urn/lens box will be put to quick use by most of the customers of this lens.
And I'd be willing to wager that the majority of those boxed sets will be sold to people in their 40's-50's. From what I observe, that's the age demographic that engages in the most outrageous displays of hedonism. Most of us old farts with more days behind us than ahead, have a more sane sense of value than younger guys in the throes of midlife.
Associated Press -
An obscure manufacturer of cameras and lenses, M. Leica, while enroute to deliver the Sultan of Brunei a gold-plated lens to take pictures at the Royal Danish Wedding, lost control of his vintage Jaguar XK (with matching M6 Jaguar XK) and plunged to his oblivion off the Oresund Bridge today.
Sufferers of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder with camera-collecting fetishes across the globe fanned each other with Hermes scarves at the news. One collector in Japan was so distraught upon hearing of M. Leica's demise that he tore the shrink wrap from a WWII-vintage camera, leaving several fingerprints in the finish. The collector was committed for observation, but the delicate camera finish is expected to make a complete recovery.
. . . This is a joke. The future of this company is very questionable. . . .
The whining and gnashing of teeth on this thread is not coming from anyone in the target demographic.
Get over it.
No, but the target demographic is making the brand a bit of a laughingstock. Makes sense, from a fund-raising standpoint, to tart these lenses up and charge whatever the market will bear. But Leica's got too much experience pimping their own merchandise lately, methinks, for their long-term health.
Find another cliche, please, to express contempt for the opinion of fellow forum-members; This one's been used to death lately.
Leica's plan is to sell only one final Nocti set to each dealer. Already to due high demand, some Chinese dealers are willing to pay the retail price to get that oh so special wooden box.
$15K Nocts seem outlandish at first, but if Leica can make that much money with the special Nocti sets, this is starting to look like smart merchandising.
Stephen