I'll admit up front that I'll never understand collecting, but if buying this lens in its own wooden mausoleum makes a fellow happy, then good for him; and if Mr. Kaufmann uses the windfall profit from this sale to give the company a boost, then that's even better. But if the plan at Leica is to permanently have the company become a manufacturer of, as Roger says, "luxury goods," then they're on the wrong track.
Historically, Leicas have always been expensive tools, with the "tool" part of the equation tempering the sometimes self-indulgent "luxury" aspect of expensive goods. A person could buy a Leica knowing that his money bought not just luxury, but performance and durability, and they consequently were the tool of choice for many working photographers.
That's simply not the case now. The M8, fine as it is, is not the "go-to" tool of many pro photographers, even if they do own one for "personal use." The pro use of rangefinders has always been small since the SLR took over, but it has shrunk even more today. Leica could easily reverse that trend to a degree with a few small improvements to the M8.
It's not enough for Leica to be just the object of desire for middle-aged men with an appreciation for "the finer things," it has to reclaim its roots as a go-to, working tool as well.
IMO, of course. 🙂
