If you’ve ever been in a camera store and seen a customer squinting at a Leica and rubbing their eyes, it’s probably the enormity of the price tag they’re trying to get their head around rather than the beauty of the camera.
The German camera maker, this year celebrating its 100th anniversary, has a number of pricey shooters on the market, including the Leica X Vario, which can be yours for around $2,100, the M-E, with a heftier $5,500 price tag (body only), and the Leica M Typ 240, which will empty your bank account to the tune of $7,000 – plus the cost of a not inexpensive lens.
And yet, there’s another one that’s way more expensive – the limited edition Leica MP Titanium.
Launched in 2007 to celebrate the first anniversary of the Leica Store in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza shopping district, the film camera – of which only 150 units exist – was until a few days ago only available in Japan, at the Ginza store.
Related: Limited edition Leica M Monochrom sells for $28,000
As spotted by Leica News & Rumors, US-based Leica lovers with a pile of cash to burn now have a chance to get their hands on the special camera, with the Leica Store Miami offering one for $40,000. Oh, and it’s used.
Leica Store Miami says its Leica MP Titanium (listed as “39 of 150”) has had one owner (careful, hopefully) and comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Steven Lee, who was CEO of Leica back when the camera was launched. It’s said to be in “mint condition” and has no “marks, dents or scratches,” which is good news considering how much it’s asking for it.
As its name cleverly suggests, all metal parts are made of titanium, as with the earlier Leica M7 Titanium and M9 Titan cameras.
For your $40,000 you’ll also receive a titanium body cap, a Leica Barnack Club card, an extra battery cover, a test certificate, a warranty card, instruction manuals, a leather Leica neck strap, an inner presentation box, two spare base plate plastic films, and the original outer box.
However, if you really want to remove it from the box and take it out into the big wide world (rather than just drool over it in the privacy of your own home), you’ll have to fork out extra for a lens. But if you can afford a camera like this, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
[Leica News & Rumors via PetaPixel]