M9 Titanium so there you have it!

[JayGannon]

this is a cruel joke played by Leica on all it's supporters. Now, the DSLR guys will just have to show us a pic of this camera to shut us up... *sigh*
*memory erase*

Why not these:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/Leica/Leica-M6/LEICAM6_GoldSultanBrunei/index.htm

Even more ostentations than Titanium which at least has a theoretical value in hardness etc, and dont forget the M9T has some of the first innovations in the leica rangefinder design in 50 years.

 

[bizarrius]

I hope thats the secret camera they were talking about and they are going to give away 10 in that facebook contest.
😀😀

in a more serious note:
ugliest leica ever.

 

[Sparrow]

I hope thats the secret camera they were talking about and they are going to give away 10 in that facebook contest.
😀😀

in a more serious note:
ugliest leica ever.

the Sultan of Brunei begs to differ 😀

 

[Austerby]

Seems like a clever move by Leica for a number of reasons:

a) great free marketing by association for the standard M9 and rest of the brand
b) gets its name back into the billionaire's fashion pages
c) handily funds some R&D into LED framelines
d) testbed for new design concepts / manufacturing techniques
e) will establish links with a new set of ultra-rich customers who, a la Sultan of Brunei, may not be averse to commissioning bespoke versions, as such people can with their Bentley or Bugatti

Looks like the smart people are still in charge and I don't think they've lost the plot in the slightest.

 

[M4-I-Love]

Yep. Works. And much cheaper. Also allows you to look at the lens scales ...

Full frame, too 🙂

Gonna go to Ace Hardware and buy me some a big tub of JB Weld. Led frame lines ... woohooo!!! 😀

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Nikon DL-1 provided a Lamp for illuminating the meter window. I replaced the burned out Lamp in mine with an LED, had to up the voltage. Lower Voltage LED's are around now.

 

[nobbylon]

I don't believe we, ie users, are the target market. Start reading Hello magazine in a few months and I'll bet we see one draped on some film or rock star. A fashion accessory that has no place here.
On the subject of the D-lux 5, how can they be so blatant about it being the same as the LX5, rebodied and throw in some software we've probably already got and charge ££££££ for the red logo. Total scam and exactly the same as the lx3 v dlux 4 affair. I bought an lx3 and spent the difference this week on a Billingham 445.
There are obviously still plenty of people who don't mind being ripped off! IMHO of course 🙂

 

[Olsen]

Am I imagining things, or is the M9T godawful ugly?

I have a 'top of the line Audi' w/leather interior, but the leather is totally different to this....

 

[Keith]

I have a 'top of the line Audi' w/leather interior, but the leather is totally different to this....

I was intrigued by that report ... apparently VW who own Audi were involved in this camera.

Maybe they meant the leather on the strap! 😛

 

[jsrockit]

Oh, and they have a black X1, too. Whee.

That's actually quite beautiful... but I'm already an X1 fan. Thank god for fuji on the "rangefinder" front...

 

[hteasley]

That's actually quite beautiful... but I'm already an X1 fan. Thank god for fuji on the "rangefinder" front...

Oh, it's nice. But it's not interesting. An X2 similar to the X100, that's interesting.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

I want the "hello kitty" edition back.

 

[gavinlg]

I'm not going to lie, I don't dig that m9t at all. It's rather unharmonious looking to my eyes. Also that it costs £19,000 probably has something to do with it..

 

[sirius]

Special edition Leicas have always been scorned. Remember the king of Thailand gold edition? They are not about functionality, they are purely about profit for the company, which is a GOOD thing isn't it? We all want Leica to survive.

 

[robklurfield]

Good point. Aren't some of the reasons that many of us are so loyal to our Leicas the combination of ...

quick, sure handling ... extreme reliability in extreme conditions .... ? will this camera have those traits?

Do they work and are they reliable or does that not matter since no one will be using them...???

 

[ederek]

This is a camera designed for the show case. No one will run even one roll of film through it...the new design details are irrelevant.

hahaha. 😀 Heard it comes with an 8gig roll that can hold all the pictures you'll ever shoot with the camera!

Hmmm, so what's the point of introducing the lit framelines now, if they won't be used? So much for 'field tested' improvements. :bang:

Why not make a limited run of M9's with the LED illumination and finger strap, and see if these things hold up in the real world? 😕

 

[Michael Markey]

Not really, there were recessions before. They still produced gold plated M3, M4, M6, they produced a gold plated Barnack in times of severe poverty.

Leica has always been a company that caters to a higher end market, people seem to have forgot that all of the M series were epensive cameras when new, yes their quaity control has gone down, yes they are not as responsive as they could be, but its not terribily out of line with their general history.

I'm sure photographers who loved their M4's we're writing to each other aghast at a gold plated M4 that was going to forever live in its box and never shoot a roll. Same for the Barnac, M3, M6 etc etc.

Leica has a history of special editions, and people who pay 22k for a camera are not particularly touched by current situations to be honest, yes they have lost money, but not enough to effect their lifestyle. So I would say Leica has perfectly placed itself to raise 14 million in additions capital through the sale of 500 cameras. Makes good business sense to me.

Oh well ,put like that it is ,as you say, very much in context with their previous products.
Lets hope that it works out for them.

Michael

 

[hteasley]

Special edition Leicas have always been scorned. Remember the king of Thailand gold edition? They are not about functionality, they are purely about profit for the company, which is a GOOD thing isn't it? We all want Leica to survive.

Innovation can lead to profit, I hear.

 

[JayGannon]

Innovation can lead to profit, I hear.

We're talking about the Leica M series here, a camera whohc has only had slight variations over the last 60 years, Leica ain't an innovator, nor do I persoanlly want them to be, I want simple uncomplicated reliable gear, not innovation.

 

[nksyoon]

Found this image on the official M9T page - wonder if those models on the right were rejected M9T design models or ideas for the M10?