$26,500!!!! Leica M9 Titanium

[larryk34]

Great news

Great news

I feel so much better now about getting a M9 for such a small amount of money. I won't give it another thought. Cheap! And the new luxury version will rub off on mine, making it look even more expensive than what I paid for it.

 

[robklurfield]

M9 Titanium video. How to use the accessories.
Is this camera targeted at users?

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058989&id=1506213784&saved#!/video/video.php?v=935938908770

The important thing to take away from this video is that a photographer must be prepared for the decisive moment by pulling his or her $26K camera from its designer leather holster with a flourish. Quite stealthy the way this fellow does it.

Oh, well. The camera does look nice, though not my own taste. Perhaps I'm just jealous of folks who can afford one of these (not that I'd buy one if I could. I'd spend the money on a plain-Jane M9 and an MP ... plus some nice glass).

 

[Alpacaman]

The two thirds of the video is him repeatedly focusing the camera... is this meant to be enticing? 🙄

 

[leicashot]

I think it's a great looking camera. It represents modern design in a classic shape. In the same way you could say that its the Leica fans that are hating on it 😉 - mainly because it's out of their financial reach. i heard from a reliable source that it's already received 2200 orders, with only 500 made. While this may not represent its design qualities specifically, it does represent Leica's ability to manufacture a product that meets and exceeds demand. In many ways this was a test market product for future design element changes and introductions. I would say it's a success. Leica no longer has to only satisfy the needs and wants of its past traditionalists and loyalists, but the new generation that is evidently adopting this brand with open arms.

> Mostly I love the lens and especially it's hood.

 

[robklurfield]

even if you like the camera, you do admit that this video is slightly over the top. right?

anyway, my own tastes aside, I do hope that Leica sells out of this and whatever comes next. I also hope that while we're waiting for the next thing to come out that all of you current M9 owners are taking good care of your cameras and that when the next thing finally arrives one of you will be kind enough to give me a really good deal on your slightly-used M9.

I think it's a great looking camera. It represents modern design in a classic shape. In the same way you could say that its the Leica fans that are hating on it 😉 - mainly because it's out of their financial reach. i heard from a reliable source that it's already received 2200 orders, with only 500 made. While this may not represent its design qualities specifically, it does represent Leica's ability to manufacture a product that meets and exceeds demand. In many ways this was a test market product for future design element changes and introductions. I would say it's a success. Leica no longer has to only satisfy the needs and wants of its past traditionalists and loyalists, but the new generation that is evidently adopting this brand with open arms.

> Mostly I love the lens and especially it's hood.

 

[Peter R]

You have to wonder if they have reliable data quantifying the amount of customers turned off the brand by this kind of 'luxury' marketing.

 

[Fraser]

Thats just silly a camera without a proper strap, but then who's going to be carrying it about!

 

[Jamie123]

You have to wonder if they have reliable data quantifying the amount of customers turned off the brand by this kind of 'luxury' marketing.

The people turned off by this aren't customers. Customers are people who actually buy products not people who whine about Leica not selling their cameras at used film gear prices.

So they're selling a limited edition camera for $26k. So what? 'Luxury marketing' has been a strategy for them for years. Limited editions of film Leicas weren't exactly cheap either. Doesn't seem to have turned off anyone so far.

 

[StuartR]

While this camera is not going to find its way into my bag, I do think the idea of "concept cameras" is a good one, and could do a lot of good for Leica. I am sure they do some of this in house, but it is beneficial to do it before the public as well -- you can get an idea of what they like and do not like. The strap and holster idea might not be for everyone, but at least they are trying to innovate. The LED frameline illumination is interesting as well, and it is the first step towards electronic framelines, which have the potential to be 100% accurate.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

It wants me to log into facebook before I can view the video. I don't do facebook. 🙁

 

[Sonnar Brian]

This camera being shown at Photokina is a true disappointment compared to real innovation from Fuji.


I'll leave it at that.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Now, seriously folks, if $26 grand were like $150, who would NOT buy the camera?

I liked it... and I have always admired the way Leica markets their stuff. If you take a look at their early ads, they never were aimed at the regular Joe to make him feel good about himself; they always managed to create a "mystique" about their products, and that sells. When you're convinced you're using an exclusive tool, that just because you take snapshots with a camera preferred by the élite, you feel like 6 inches taller. Thank Leica for that.

Granted, the video is kinda silly... but then, it's a sophisticated ad.

All in all, I'm jonesing badly for my M5. Would I like one of these? Heck, sure I would, but I can't, and therefore I won't. Fortunately, I'm not a subscriber to the Robb Report, but I won't bedruge those who are.

 

[maddoc]

... somebody should have told that boy in the video how to properly hold and focus a (M) Leica ... 😱🙄

 

[robklurfield]

C'mon. Can anyone here say that they draw their camera -- whatever camera it might be -- out of a holster?

You can love or hate the M9t, but you gotta admit the video is slightly silly.

If you've got videos of yourself or any other photographers behaving this way, post 'em here on this thread. We can all critique your technique.

As far as the camera goes, while it's not at all my current taste, I'll admit that tastes evolve. I do very much appreciate the engineering even if the aesthetic hasn't grabbed me yet. The little doo-dad that releases the strap lug from its hiding place, though apparently totally unnecessary and gratuitous, is a slick trick. Perhaps this styling exercise will catch on and two years from now we'll be using slings, holsters and little hand straps.

Anyway, Leica would have done better, IMHO, with this video patterned after that Chanel TV ad. Understated would have worked better.

 

[bob338]

This camera being shown at Photokina is a true disappointment compared to real innovation from Fuji.

I'll leave it at that.

Huh? What innovation? They presented a retro styled, pseudo-RF camera that does not yet exist to see if anyone will buy it and we're calling that innovative?
Is their innovation in showing a prototype camera that looks an awful lot like a Leica rangefinder? Leica and their 'fanboys' kept rangefinders alive through the SLR de-evolution of the 60s and 70s, right? There wouldn't be a rangefinder market if Leica hadn't stuck with it. or maybe it's the auto focus, which Leica invented and sold to Minolta.

Roger pointed out in another thread that so many of us may not be so excited about this camera if it were made out of black plastic. I think he's right. This is just a digital Hexar in a pretty aluminum body, which I have no problem with, but let's call it what it is, they're capitalizing on a trend and will abandon it as soon as it stops selling in profitable numbers.

Bob

ps--i do agree that the video is pretty silly.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Innovation in the hybrid finder, an approach that would be really nice to have in a Leica. End the frameline issues as far as them matching true field of view. Electronic framelines could be matched with the particular focal length of the lens, come up one at a time, and be self-adjusting with respect to true field of view with distance. Read the 6-bit coding of the lens to bring up the correct frameline.

As far as the video- they should read Morgan and Lester instead.

 

[ebino]

Leica needs to wake to the fact that they're a Fuji X100 or something similar away from completely losing the digital RF market and becoming irrelevant -digitally.


What they need is a new line of film Leica Ms with digital back capability, and digital back should be outsourced so its cheaper and of better quality.

 

[Dante_Stella]

My wife is better looking than the camera (or that model). But she uses a D700.

 

[braver]

Electronic framelines could be matched with the particular focal length of the lens, come up one at a time, and be self-adjusting with respect to true field of view with distance. Read the 6-bit coding of the lens to bring up the correct frameline.

Yes, I too can totally see how electronic framelines could enhance a possible M10. It would fix many of the limitations of the mechanical design. Definitely interesting.

As for the Audi M9, I look at it like this. Leica gets to try out a couple of things, while building on 99% existing electronics. They get to make a huge margin, while adding a bit of mystique to the brand. I mean, no way Canon could sell a limited edition camera, while throwing one of these things out there once in a while keeps that very profitable market open for Leica. Just look at the market for premium watches: a couple of brands can make pretty much anything they like for any price they like, and as long as they're limited numbers they will be all sold out even before they leave the factory. I say kudos to Leica for keeping that angle alive and making a profit. It never was, nor will ever be, a down-to-earth working-man's brand. It's Bruichladdich, not Johnny Walker.

 

[f16sunshine]

This video shows clearly that Leica does not understand that Photographs are what photography is about. If they want to continue with the "Luxury Brand" theme eventually they will lose photographers completely. If Leica focuses the energy they waste on branding these special edition cameras to elite citizens. They may actually get back to the core of what Cameras and lenses are for......Photography.