sticker shock

[william_livingston]

<p>have not looked at camera prices in quite a while cause i dont need any new stuff. last nite i was on amazon and there was a pic of the leica m9--i clicked on it and saw that i could drop a $10000 bill on it and a lens. after crp was administered, i looked again to confirm the price. yup-10 gs. for 10 g i could get a new refridge, stove, washer, dryer, microwave, big screen hd tv, surround sound system, an ipod, iphone, and have some money left for pizza and sam adams. somehow, when i compare the pile of stuff i bought with the m9 and lens--the scales of equality just dont balance.</p>

[mark_chartrand]

<p>If it costs more, it must be better. I know I can make any girl into a model with an expensive camera and lens. If I had the money I needed to be a great photographer, I wouldn't need to work. There's something basically wrong here.</p>

[jenkins]

<p>If you make a fortune from your living as a Photographer then 10k is nothing, it's all relative.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p><em>If you make a fortune from your living as a Photographer... <br /></em><br />Hee! That's funny. Whew.</p>

[jenkins]

<p>Matt what one man calls a fortune another man will call <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_finger">fish fingers</a></p>

[ty_mickan]

<p>yeah but you can spend that sort of money on a nikon nowadays.........a nikon!</p>

[jenkins]

<p>Yeah you can do the same with a Canon Tom but you have to buy 20 of them ;)</p>

[Mary Doo]

<p><< I know I can make any girl into a model with an expensive camera and lens. >></p>

<p>I suppose you exaggerated to make a point? ;)</p>

[yog_sothoth]

<p>Some people buy Leica M9's, and some people buy boats or RV's. The Leica is a whole lot less expensive than even a small pleasure boat or an RV/third wheel. Go to a pier and think of all of the M9's that could have been financed for the monthly mooring fees of the boats. Also, as my wife just mentioned, the M9 is a lot easier to store than a boat or RV when not in use. Heck, you can get a nice camera and lens (not Leica) for the price of a good Kayak.</p>

[mike dixon]

<p>My entire collection of Leica gear didn't cost any more than most people lose by driving a newly-purchased new car off the lot.</p>

[albertdarmali]

<p>It's because there are people out there who buy them regardless of whatever price Leica decides to inflate.<br /> I am really curious as what makes that camera costs 10 grand. I assume their markup is much much higher than those of Canon/Nikon?</p>

<p>If that's the case (Leica relies on low volume and high margin), then I also wonder why giant company like Canon, with their purchasing power, market share, higher R&D budget, etc etc.. is not able to build a lens as good as Leica's one? (and sell them at much reasonable price considering the economies of scale?)<br /> They are one of the market leaders afterall....<br /> If I were the person in charge of the company's camera dept, I'd probably feel very disturbed that under my nose, there is a small boutique company that can produce such a great lens and camera system, able to dictate whatever price they want without having to resort to price war and still get so much respect for their equipments. I think I'd probably round up all the important people in my company and ask them to better produce something as good as that or else. But then again maybe they also realise that most of the money is from the mom&dad shooters...</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Considering the way in which many, if not most, Leica owners enjoy their personal pursuit of photography, it's not any more expensive than comparable passions and hobbies, such as high end motorcycles.</p>

<p>I only rode motorcycles for commuting so my choices were mostly utilitarian, such as a Honda VT500FT, comparable to the Olympus OM-1 or Nikon FM2N I've been able to afford and enjoy. Some folks can afford Harleys or custom bikes and enjoy their pursuits in their own way.</p>

<p>We get there the same way and it's none of my concern how much or little someone else spends to get there. Altho' I'm not averse to mooching a beer at the end of the run from someone who can afford to drop $20k on a ride. I haven't had an opportunity to mooch a beer from a Leica owner... yet.</p>

[albertdarmali]

<p>All you need to do is just say how good the bokeh from Leica is, and you'll get free beer. And if they are in good mood maybe they'll let you touch the camera (only touch not actually use it).</p>

[manuel barrera houston,]

<p>I never took up golf because I thought it was too expensive, instead I took up photography:-)</p>

[mark_drutz]

<p>I think that price is crazy, but there are people who have a lot of money and can buy whatever they want. Is it any crazier than a Rolex watch that costs thousands of dollars and doesn't keep any better time than a $25 Timex? How about a Rolls or Bentley. For a couple of hundred thousand dollars it won't get you where you're going any faster than a Ford. To me the real insanity is that some people have nothing better to do with their money than buy Leicas, Rolex watches, and Bentleys.</p>

[dennisgg]

<p>If you want full frame and Leica glass, I'd be inclined to get a Canon 5D Mark II, a bunch of used Leica R glass and a Leica R to EOS adapter. I could even use Zeiss glass from Contax SLR's, Hasselblad glass, Pentax 645 and Mamiya 645 glass. The M uses manual focus so I won't loose using adapters here. <br>

I could then use the extra cash to get a nice L series long telephoto and some other glass. I would have autofocus on the other lenses. I would have HD video if I wanted it, etc.</p>