Well, I succumbed to a la carte...

Picking it up at the factory must be a real thrill. I would have the technician sign it in indelible ink on the rear top plate as a memento.
 
that looks sweet, congratulations! i have made countless cameras with that configurator...usually an MP silver with the brown leather or black with the deep brown leather. and i always add my signature next to the viewfinder, so that my great great grand children who have inherited it will know something of me :)
 
Roger Hicks said:
Interesting quote from Jean-Jacques Viau at Leica: "Half our customers baby their cameras. The other half just use them"
Click to expand...

Interesting quote Roger. I think I may be a rare third variety. I use my Leica all the time, and I don't baby it, but I do treat it with respect. I know some people think it has to be banged up to be acceptable, but I think that is ridiculous. It will get that way on its own, if you use it long enough. There is no reason to treat something roughly just for the sake of it.

Anyway, I think of it in the same way as something I saw on Iron Chef. For those that haven't seen it, Iron Chef is a Japanese cooking show that is essentially a contest between a contender and one of four ringers -- the Iron Chefs. Anyway, the Iron Chef Morimoto Masaharu was battling Bobby Flay. At the end of the contest, Bobby Flay jumped up on his cutting board and started chearing saying that he was going to win. A chef has never done something so utterly tasteless. Morimoto said: "He's not a real chef. A cutting board is sacred to a real chef." And he was right. I think of my Leica in the same way. Sure, it is a tool, but one to be treated with the utmost respect. A cutting board is going to get scratches and scrapes from use, but you don't sit there making your own cuts on it to make it look like you have used it more.

Such is my zen photography lesson of the day.

By the way, thank you all for the overwhelmingly positive response. That is why I posted this here and not on photo.net, where doubtless the responses would have been very different. In any case, they say it can take anywhere from 6-10 weeks to get ready, so it could be any time from Mid-July to the end of August. My best friend is finishing his 4 years in the Navy in July, and we have thought about going to Europe together when he is done, so that would probably be August. Maybe things will work out so that I can go pick it up. That would be pretty amazing.
 
I was going to buy an M this month:(

Then my wife complained about her car, and found a nice little Z3 she wanted... wallet died of shock. Not sure where the heart is. Wanted my first M...

Ah well....
 
Envy, envy, envy .... so I could be nasty and say "hope the factory will still be open, once you finally pick it up"

But that wouldn't nice now would it .... :)

All puns aside though, I wish I had the loot to do that, whenever bored I play around with the configurator, great stuff.... beautiful combinations, and not so beautiful ones... I would go for something pinkish, really!

Back in 70's I had a Duo-Glide totally done over in baby-pink .... with mint green leather sidebags and a yellow saddle, horrible to look at, hurt your eyes, but it was the only one on the continent, and it was mine ....
 
Call me boring but if I could afford a Leica a la carte I'd go for a totally black MP - black chrome, black saddle leather, no engravings.
In the meantime I'll keep using my covered-with-black-electrician-tape Bessa-R...
Cheers
Vincent
 
As I've mentioned a few times, the Ala Carte prices are NOT going up in July.

I ordered two MP's Ala Carte style, one in chrome and one in black paint with the correct "vintage" vulcanite and full top script.

Truly beautiful cameras.

Remember, the LHSA MP is out there NEW for $2,800.00 and it has the correct vintage vulcanite, full top script and a nifty strong Hammertone paint job. That is a great deal!
 
Steve -- you are correct in that the a la carte list prices are not raising, but the dealer flexibility will be gone on July 1st. By buying now, even a la carte, I am saving 12% over what I would on July 1st. That's 500 bucks, which is not chump change. At that price, my a la carte M7 is 250 bucks more than regular M7 will be on July 1st. 250 bucks more for a completely customized camera with an .85 finder is something I can feel comfortable about. Yes, I know I am comparing to the new inflated price, but still, 250 bucks more versus 750 more if I decided to do it later.
 
OK I can't resist any longer I'm in lust, that is one of the most beautiful cameras I have seen. Money is for spending to make life worth living. So if it's the tool that you want and it will give you pleasure that's all that matters. Enjoy !!!
 
Stunning camera, I'm not a royal blue fan myself but hey, it's not my camera either. I personally would be scared sh!tle$$ to take this one on the street for fear of damage, I still remember dropping my baseplate from my M6 on the street...arrrrgh!

Todd
 
Yeah, I don't know. I don't think I will have any problems using it anywhere unless it is really shady -- that's where the Hexar AF is called for. My dad has had an M6 classic since the 1980s...his first and only Leica. He always says to me: "I can't believe you are bringing your Leica to: Japan...Russia...New York...that party...the docks...etc." My response is always: "Well, I paid so much for it, I am certainly not going to leave it at home!" I figure if I drop it, well then it is covered by passport. If it is stolen, well it is covered by my renter's insurance. I certainly don't want any of those things to happen, but I figure if I try to protect it from every remotely dangerous place, then I will never get any use out of it. The whole point of these cameras (for me anyway) is that they are compact, quiet and use phenomenal lenses...precisely what I want when in those situations. Anyway, I am careful, but no white glove treatment.

Why not black chrome no script then? well, I am a sucker for a good looking camera. Also, believe it or not, the ladies love the Leicas...or at least many girls have commented on it. But whatever, that is an added bonus.
 
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I'm not much for Leicas, but I've played around with the online configuration more than once... :D You'll get a great tool that you'll enjoy using. What could be better for you? Now if Zeiss were to do the same thing with the ZI and make the old mount one of the options -- then _I'd_ be in trouble :D :D :D

I'm looking forward to hearing of your joy once you've started using it.

William
 
We all have our excesses... I know that of which I speak here. She's a beauty Stuart, congratulations! I'm envious. The blue and chrome really works well.

Don't lose the battery cover! :p
 
Jan,

Pretty camera. I would get the same thing but in that nifty black leather.

Or maybe that wine color.

Or maybe...

It's silly; it's just a camera, but it's a damn good looking one.
 
Ah, I gotta play "let's pretend" too. My ideal Leica, at least as offered here. MP, black chrome, MP rewind, "Classic" top plate, Ecological taned Cognac, & .85 finder with standard frame lines. Of course, if I actually had the $$$$$ to do this, I'd be getting the ZI 35/2 Biogon, 50/2 Planar, 85/2 Sonnar & (since ZI isn't doing a 135 & I really like that length) the APO-Telyt-M 135/3.4. I'm presuming the 85 will pull up the 90 framelines.

Kind of a wierd bit of fun. It's so unlikely I'd ever get one, yet window shopping can be a little pleasure in itself.

William
 
I must give Leica credit -- they really have nice leathers and a number of good options. I think it is pretty hard to put together a really ugly option. Jan -- I like the red and chrome a lot -- looks great.

William -- that actually looks like a black paint MP with a Luigi case. Very nice.
 
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