Erwin's Compendium

<p>Why is the current version priced above US$1,000? Isn't the new one the same as the old plus more new info?</p>

<p>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/189780217X?ie=UTF8&tag=leicarumors-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=189780217X</p>

<p>Same thing in the Bay auction site.</p>

 

<p>Wow; I had no idea it was that much.</p>

<p>The same price range in the case of Osterloh's book. I bought it fo about US$ 40 thre years ago. I would like to know why that.</p>

<p>The text of that Amazon entry suggests that it's the original edition, which dates from 2003. In fact, I didn't think that there had ever been a printed 2nd edition. Wasn't there a big disagreement between M. Puts and Hove Books?</p>

<p>However I have this book and I am open to offers! - UK only, and I'll be generous - first offer of £500 gets it..... If that's successful I'll also be prepared to sell my various Osterloh books - the old Leica M book, the new Leica M book, the old R book, and even the 50 Years of M book. Roll up! Roll up!</p>

<p>I share my office with a second-hand bookseller - he says that pricing (excepting books with a well-known value) is based on availability. If a book is out of print and has a low print run, then the price is hoiked up as far as it can go, regardless of its worth. It's easy to search online these days to get an idea of the rarity of a title, which wasn't the case in pre-Internet days, when second-hand book prices were often dictated by the book itself (e.g. interest to buyers, such as what subject its on and how well written) and were typically lower.<br>

So, a book doesn't have to be good or sought after for whatever reason, to have a high price - just uncommon and out of print (perhaps simply because it's a rubbish book that ended up in the bargain bin!).</p>

<p>Email me at : pdn42@optonline.net for great prices on my Erwin & Osterloh volumes.</p>

<p>I guess it's time to start searching used book stores for these treasures whose "value" is not realized by the proprietors. I've probably got a few gems on my own bookshelves, but they're not for sale.</p>

<p>Good for making a bit of cash, though (mercenary, me... !). I had the current (and out of print) Osterloh book, which I bought for £20 about two years ago.</p>

<p>It's a good book and I would've kept it, but I gave in to temptation: put it on Amazon for £150 (still a ridiculous price, but undercutting other copies on sale), and sold it after a couple of weeks!</p>

<p>I've since bought the penultimate edition, which is vastly cheaper and covers pretty much the same material with the exception of the M7 and a few lenses...</p>

<p>There isn't a new Puts book as far as a I know, although an updated M-only version was available free from Leica via pdf download. That price is ridiculous, they are hoping that some fool collector will pay throught the nose for it. It won't happen.</p>

<p>It is a good book and one of the few to really test the old lenses (M and R) and make camparisons, so in a sense it is a modern bible for those interested in Leica lens performance.</p>

<p>As I recall Erwin Puts had a big dispute with the publisher quite some time after the publication of his Lens Compendium. Had something to do with handing over the rights to another company or something of that kind. He then offered a free pdf on his website, which I quickly downloaded. It has the same information but it lacks the pictures and schemes. Still very useful and it now seems to save me over $ 1000,-</p>

<p>I just Puts has it on his website again: <a href="http://www.imx.nl/photo/downloads/page70.html">http://www.imx.nl/photo/downloads/page70.html</a></p>

<p>1000USD is probably the price of the instruction leaflet for noctilux anyway .... But for that money I'd rather buy a lens to use it than read about it!</p>

<p>I downloaded the information from his website.  It was very nice of Mr. Puts to post it.  I can print it out for less than the 1k.</p>

<p>Astounding. And here's the killer ... at least for a while back there, it was downloadable in pdf form from the web. The differences were minimal.</p>