$26,500!!!! Leica M9 Titanium

semilog said:
This would not matter if the only thing associated with the Leica brand was luxury. But the brand is also associated with much of the very best and most important photography (and photographers) of the 20th century. That heritage is a direct consequence of the utility of Leica cameras. Cameras not designed to be functional (an M9 without strap lugs!) trivialize the company's heritage.
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I do wish people would not edit their posts continually :p

Its a matter of opinion whether it trivialises anything, I dont feel it trivializes it at all, I see them as two distinct business groups acting under one banner. And for some Leica's value rests in their appreciation in value for limited edition cameras that are bought as investments. Same with art, some buy it for love of art, some buy it for an 11% return on investment year on year.
 
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JayGannon said:
Erm no, Leica is actually in profit. Not near insolvency.
http://www.corporate.leica-camera.com/investor_relations/financial_reports/2010/index.html

They have had issues in the past yes but have always been quite a strong business...
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Nonsense. They may be doing well now, but this shows that you don't know the company's financial history.

And I'm sorry it still just stinks to me of silly "I hate people who have money" motives.
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I don't hate people who have money. I do dislike people who have poor taste, rich or poor, and I like people with good taste, rich or poor.
 
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semilog said:
Nonsense. They may be doing well now, but this shows that you don't know the company's financial history.
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Well if you can't actually give me solid counter arguments what's the point in arguing. Come back to me and show me when Leica went bankrupt and ceased to operate and you will have proved the first point and come back with something more substantial and I'll respond.
 
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JayGannon said:
Well if you can't actually give me solid counter arguments what's the point in arguing. Come back to me and show me when Leica went bankrupt and ceased to operate and you will have proved the first point and come back with something more substantial and I'll respond.
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I said that they were at the edge of insolvency, not that they were bankrupt. This was widely reported through the late 90s and early aughts.
 
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semilog said:
I said that they were at the edge of insolvency, not that they were bankrupt. This was widely reported through the late 90s and early aughts.
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Ok I'll try this then... I agreed that they were at the edge of insolvency, but that they had never went bankrupt.
Investors looked at them and agreed with me that they were a viable business with profit potential and thus bought them out a number of times leading to the issues I outlined above.
 
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I just tire of people speaking with authority on subjects which they seems to know little about, I wouldnt wax lyrical about CCD sensors because I know very little about them. I don't see why people wax lyrical about the impact of special editions on Leicas business model and how that business model is structured when they dont know hat they are talking about.
 
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semilog said:
Did it occur to you that there might be other reasons?

It's simple: we hope and expect that Leica will have good taste, as they usually (but not always) do.

The M9Ti is an ugly camera to look at, and - worse - it's designed to live in a display case, not to take photographs. The absence of strap lugs alone demonstrates that.

The thing that has traditionally defined Leica is that their cameras are (with rare screwups) great for taking pictures. This is jewelry. It mocks the idea of camera-as-tool, rather than celebrating it.

In these ways, it is the antithesis of the S2, a camera that is truly admirable, if equally unaffordable.
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Posts like this give me an almost irresistible urge to go out and buy the d**n thing and use it till the titanium is worn through... (un)fortunately the state of my bank account instills enough common sense not to do that. It is of course at least as good a camera as the M9, which is pretty good in my book. If one can afford it - with ease- one can afford to wear and ding and scratch it.
 
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jaapv said:
Posts like this give me an almost irresistible urge to go out and buy the d**n thing and use it till the titanium is worn through...
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I'd admire the hell out of you if you did that. But I'd still wonder why anyone would spend that kind of coin and not end up with an S2.
 
I think it's important to keep in mind the M9T is simply a flashy design exercise. The fact that it actually works is a bonus benefit not shared by, for instance, cutaway display pieces.

But I agree with the rational words above... for this coin I'd take an S2 and one lens instead! :D
 
Doug said:
I think it's important to keep in mind the M9T is simply a flashy design exercise. The fact that it actually works is a bonus benefit not shared by, for instance, cutaway display pieces....
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Leica could very well deliver them with no internals and it wouldn't drastically reduce the number of pictures they'll take. The film M's were elegant in their pursuit of utility.
 
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Dare I add that I'm all in favour of people buying the dearest, newest etc toys and them replacing them a few months later. It means us poor old pensioners can buy them second-hand and - usually - unused. I'm not planning on getting the M9 btw.

Regards, David
 
Am I the only person here who has actually handled this thing?

At the launch party, I was told that all had been sold -- on the day it was launched. Except of course for no. 4,000,000 which was a presentation camera.

As far as I can see, the designer has completely missed the point of cameras, i.e. taking pictures. Accessory shoe blocked; no cable release socket; single strap lug; frame lines that come on only when you touch the shutter release. Though in all fairness, the holster is very nice.

But the point is this. Go to a motor show. Look at a concept car. Would you want it as an everyday driver? Of course not. Or even to drive at all? Probably not. Might you like it as a piece of art, something to possess? Quite possibly. Assuming you were filthy rich.

That's what the M9 Titan is. It's a limited edition 'concept car'. Leica can learn things from it (including what people don't want).

Stop judging it by the standards of a first-class camera that is mostly bought second-hand because we can't afford new (almost all my Leicas have been second hand). Judge it instead as a status symbol, a piece of sculpture, some ideas tried out that may never go anywhere. Judge it, in fact, as a 'concept car' that was actually made available as a limited edition.

Cheers,

R.
 
DanP said:
M9T suddenly makes the regular M9 look darn cheap...

I have often drooled over $1200-1500 cameras (for example) and finally bought a camera worth $700-800, when my original budget was around $300. :bang::bang:
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Some of my friends consider me crazy too walk around with my $3000 MP. Now I feel that was a bargain.
 
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