A big one! (In more ways that one.................... 🙂 )
A Leica SL type 601. It is second hand but looks like new and is still in its box. I doubt that more than a handful of shots have been made with it.
I have been using my Leica M8 less and less over the past few years, due to my eyes finding its finder to be a bit too difficult to cope with in the real world - though I can just cope with static subjects but not street shooting where speed is of the essence. The thing that tipped the balance for me was that it had come to my attention that over the past few years the M8's second-hand price had increased rather significantly from its nadir of a few years back as many people are now saying that its monochrome performance is not far off that of Leica's dedicated Monochrom cameras and as a result, it has regained a bit of its original cult status. So, I figured its new pricing would put me within striking distance of an SL body, making it an easy decision and without any pocket pain.
I must say that while for some years I was a little dubious about the Leica SL due to its size and overall "look," I finally came around. I now have a grudging admiration for its Germanic, blocky, "Bauhaus" look which is distinctive, though in some ways slightly inelegant. It have to admit that it has created its own style class. In the hand it feels like solid metal (justifiably so as its body is carved from solid aluminium alloy) and due to its large hand- grip it feels good even with its large size and significant weight. The real plus for me is the 4.4 million pixel, 0.8x magnification VF which promises (by all accounts) to make manual focusing a breeze. Not having IBIS is a bit of a bummer but, what the hell, I have coped very well without it for the majority of my cameras to the present time so I figure I can continue doing so with this. Little things count when assessing the build quality of a camera. One thing I noticed for example is that unlike some cameras where the on-off switch is a little "loosey-goosey" you damn near need a crow-bar to turn this one on. It has decisive "CLICK" and making it happen takes real effort - on top of which the switch itself is inset a little into the body. A small thing I acknowledge, but it signifies the level of thought and care that has gone into this camera.
One sight disadvantage for me is that lens adapters for L mount cameras are rather expensive; more-so than those for Sony and in the case of the Leica branded one (naturally the most "exxy") it costs over $400 AUD and that is second-hand I think. Ouch. But even the other brands command a premium. I doubt this to be for any reason other than the association with Leica though the better ones all do seem to have high production standards too.
But I have a (partial) strategy to deal with this - with vintage MF lenses at least. As I use vintage lenses from half a dozen classic camera types I would be up for quite a lot of $ if I bought a dedicated L mount adapter for each different lens mount type. Instead, I will follow a practice I have had for a couple of years: Say for example, I want to mount a Nikon F lens on a Sony camera I instead have a Nikon F to Leica M adapter. I also have a Leica M to Sony adapter. Effectively I am using the Leica M Mount as a common mount for all my gear making it easy to buy either a new camera type or a new lens type. As I have done this with all my lens types (and the two or three mirrorless camera types I already have bought over the past 10 years), all I need for my new SL is a single Leica M to L mount adapter and I am good to go with all the lenses I could conceivably want to use and presently own. (And no, I have not found stacking adapters in this manner to create any issues though I know some people will think it might).
There is one exception to the above. The only slight struggle I am experiencing is that I have some lovely Zeiss ZE mount lenses - all in Canon mount and all thus requiring electronics in the adapter to "talk to" the New SL camera. As AF is not a consideration for these lenses, being native MF they require only aperture control thru the camera - plus EXIF data sharing etc. I am hoping that the Sigma MC-21 will function (though it is known to have AF issues on the SL - though not the SL2 etc.) I already have a Sigma MC-11 to allow me to use these Zeiss lenses on Sony cameras and have a high opinion of Sigma's offerings in this regards, so fingers crossed. But, if worst comes to worst, maybe all I need do is to keep my old Sony camera and dedicate it to the Zeiss glass for those occasions when I wish to use them. That is not too big of a downside.
I am still awaiting arrival of said Leica M to L mount adapter so a chomping at the "bit" for it to arrive. Maybe in a week to 10 days. And with any luck the Sigma MC-21 will arrive in my camera store in a similar timeframe and this will allow me to test it out as well. Like I say, fingers crossed.