joel aron Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 But did you see what is selling on ebay? Out of respect of to not spam an ebaylink, if you have the time, just go to ebay, and search: LEICA M3 PROTOTYPE ..it's real.. and wish I had deep pockets of cash, because as of 1pm PST, it'sup to $70k usd. with 2 days left. It's just nice to see such detailed images of this amazing camera, if anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mendonphoto Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I'm definitely no Leica fan, but that is a cool auction. Nice writeup, nice pics. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Great post -- Thanks!<P>I wonder how they did the reverse rewind direction? Also, I think the film punch was either standard or available on early cameras (I can't remember which. Maybe just on the M1?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnycake_.1 Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 might separate the 'collectors' from the 'photographers.' [pause] Think. [it's just a thought...} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecahn Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 70K for one Leica? Johnnycake is right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Rowlett Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Sometimes I think I am only a collector. :-) Backups? We don’t need no stinking ba #.’ _ , J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdnyc Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 <might separate the 'collectors' from the 'photographers.'> Okay, I paused...and I thought...and here's what I came up with. Photography is an art. So is camera design. Might not some people appreciate both arts? If I stop into MoMA to visit the print collection, are my credentials as a photographer somehow diminished if I visit the industrial design collection as well? If I buy a Movado watch, like the one in MoMA's design collection, instead of a Timex, does that separate me from people who really care what time it is? So, nah, with all due respect, I don't think the responses separate the collectors from the photographers. By the way, I don't collect...but I do admire a collectible item when I see one. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Tony, I fear that you and I are just accumulators, not collectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chromatic-aberration Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Over $70K and they haven't even hit the reserve yet??? Eeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karim Ghantous Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 The only shame is that it is selling on eBay - something that nice shouldn't be hawked off on what is little more than a bazaar. It seems a bit tacky to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Geez, now eBay is not good enough for Leica junk?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowingsky Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Just a though on collecting. I almost hate to say this, because it is such a game killer, but spending $70,000 + (reserve not met yet) indicates a personal decision to value the possession of this camera body above using the money to further benefit the commonwealth that supports one. I think this underlying concern is what makes some collecting seem aberrated. How you perceive the condition of the world today and your part in it varies with degrees of perception and responsibility. From this comes evaluation of importances. Jerry Seinfield buying a building in NYC to house his numerous $250,000 Porsches: OK, he earned his money making a popular TV show that many of us loved. His decision to consume so much wealth personally is part of his self determinism and god bless free will. However, its also ok for some of us to consider Jerry doesn't have much of a world view or see his role in it. Some people produce more desireable products than others and are therefore conpensated at higher levels. Not everyone is equal in this way. These poeple often amass greater personal wealth than is required to survive comfortably for self and family. The concept of "giving back" is becoming popular these days. But how much? Does this mean no one can buy a castle anymore? How do we continue to create the finer material things in life if there is no one willing to pay dearly for them? I suspect we are entering an age beyond democracy and socialism in which models of social, economic and environmental integration that actually increase the survival of the commonwealth without limiting self-determinism and creativity, is the new to-die-for extravagance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony_brookes5 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 How do you establish a reserve price on something like this ? Decide what you want and add 50% ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_werbeloff1 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Y'know, it seems to me that an artifact such as a prototype M3 belongs in Leitz's museum collection so that anyone who wants can go and look at it and appreciate it for what it: a monument to great industrial design and inventiveness. Too bad it'll disappear back into a collector's vault ne'er to be seen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopher_a._junker1 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Collectible? The e-bay posting suggests that perhaps 16 more are still in existence. Sort of sets the market for the other ones, wonder if the seller has two. For those questioning price v. value, how much would you pay for the 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe if MB ever decided to sell one of the only two in existence from their collection? That car is a large piece of mechanical art that might go for $3,000,000+ at auction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_nelson2 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 a good post, if for no other reason that it caused us all to think a bit; perhaps even wax a bit philosophical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joel aron Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 I'm glad that y'all accepted this post, and like Paul just said, it kinda made us think a bit. As I type this, there is a 1932 Argus that sits on the shelf above my monitor. It may not get the use it once had, but by golly, it's a user, and that's exactly what I am. If I had the cash to allow me to fly to Europe, and take ownership of that wonderful M3 masterpiece, I would load it with film as soon as it was in my hands, and click on my 50 DR for the flight home... light leak or not.. I would use that camera. When I get home.. it would take it's place on the shelf.. beside the Argus. No special treatment. And as soon as I would wake the following morning.. I would then donate the camera to a museum here in San Francisco.. and if there was no such museum to accept the camera.. being rich enough to afford the camera, I would then open a museum based around that camera. All this being said.. tomorrow, I am going to load the Argus w/ some hand rolled Efke 25, and hit the streets. I hope that guy selling the M3 prototype at least gets what he paid for it. In my mind, there should be no reserve on that auction. It is what it is.. 1 of 65. One the scale of rare Leicas, this one ranks up there. ...New Yorker article or not... ..and who cares where he sells it. To me, this camera is priceless, and I feel lucky enough to of screen grabbed each one of those images from the ebay page, to enjoy probably more than if I did have the camera here in front of me...because, dreaming of the blond bombshell, sometimes, is better than having it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis triguez Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Johnnycake, I am all the way with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Joel, Here is some information on a real piece camera equipment: http://website.lineone.net/~mauricefisher/KI%20Monobar.html Rarer and much more useful than the M3 or its prototype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_brewton Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I looked at the closeups of this camera body and it has some worrisome problems. While the top plate looks new, all the screws have buggered slots - look at the rewind knob for example. I think it's a "bitsa" - bitsa this and a bitsa that, put together out of a parts bin. I question the authenticity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkie Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I bet One Dollar that its Gen-new-wine. Seriously, I look at the features and it looks like the real deal. That would have to be one of the rarest bin parts collections ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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