"Needless Markup" M9

[sumo_kun]

<p>Who here actually likes ostrich skin!?<br>

I personally think its the most ugly leather available. Who want's nipples all over their camera?! And apparently fake ones according to Alex? The titan M9 was passable because its titanium and I like titanium anything but a plain M9 dressed up in fake ostrich?<br>

A fish skin option would be nice though (I'm actually half serious about this one).<br>

If it actually makes Leica money then I guess its all good but it still makes me itchy...</p>

[jim_hayes4]

<p>Ah, another "P. T. Barnum" edition of a high priced good!</p>

[j.art.photo.]

<p>This special edition fake ostrich Leica is just a lame excuse to give you a reason why to want it. what happened to the real special editions? like high eye point designs, luftwaffe edition or special edition lenses made with radioactive materials like the APO Lantars, or the Takumars, Aero Ektars... then you can actually say something when they ask you why you spent some ridiculous amount of money.. what's so special about your lens?? well errrr.. is radioactive, it can give you eye cancer if you shoot long exposures but absolutely no fringing and totally Apochromatic, also you may need a special license from the department of state to use it. or a Ferrari America you need to already have 3 other cavallinos rampantes in your garage to order one of the 50 in production then you are talking special.<br>

What made Leicas like the M3 so great was the great German Mechanical engineering, clean design, reliable simple and made to last for ages of use and abuse.<br>

But Leica special editions these days are all about white letter imitation Hermes edition and fake ostrich Neiman Markus. Seriously?</p>

<p> </p>

[ifti]

<p>There is a sucker for every thing.</p>

[john_walsh7]

<p>Well it is getting some use : <br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tokyocamerastyle/4981526090/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/tokyocamerastyle/4981526090/</a><br /><br /></p>

[Richard Williams]

<p>Fake Ostrich? Whatever next?! If you're going to bling up a Leica, you should really go all the way:</p>

<p>http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/Leica/Leica-M6/LEICAM6_GoldSultanBrunei/</p>

 

[j.art.photo.]

<p>Richard talks my language! that is what I mean. at least you know you have a Leica that cost the same as feeding ten poor families from your kingdom for a year. but what the heck,, is a real special edition!! I have been told from very good sources, the sultan of Brunei took 3 almost very good pics by Bruneise standards before replacing it for his next favorite toy, a rollerblading capuccino monkey from the amazonian jungle. Its in danger of extinction just like Leica is! but at least you have one of a kind!</p>

[Sanford]

<p>I think the purpose of these cameras is to get people talking - just like we are!</p>

[ishik_tuna]

<p>I stand corrected and must eat some crow,err, ostrich now.<br>

yes, you predicted Leica would introduce an ostrich covered M9.<br>

yes, i blew you off as miss informed.<br>

in my defense, whom among us would have predicted TWO vanity cameras within such a short period of time...from a company know for introducing new cameras once in a blue moon.<br>

The "sticker price" of the base model VW/Audi/Titanium M9 appears to exceed the base price of most of the car models that VW makes.<br>

Some of the "luxury" sites have described the Neiman Marcus M9 as a "practical" gift for the man who has everything!</p>

[Richard Williams]

<p>'Its in danger of extinction just like Leica is! but at least you have one of a kind!'</p>

<p>I think you're on to something, Jose. This rarity suggests an obvious marketing opportunity. As each of the larger animals on the IUCN 'critically endangered' Red List becomes extinct, create a strictly limited commemorative edition of the current flagship camera covered in leather made from the skin of that animal! No need to create artificial scarcity here - supplies of each exotic leather will be extremely low! Manchurian leopardskin has a beautiful pattern!</p>

<p>'Some of the "luxury" sites have described the Neiman Marcus M9 as a "practical" gift for the man who has everything!'</p>

<p>Has anyone actually checked the camera isn't just an urban legend?:<br>

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/cookie_recipe.htm</p>

[michael_dimarzio]

<p>My first experience with the skin was a pair of Luchese boots from Texas. My second was eating some of that bird butt in Tel Aviv.</p>

<p>Both memories would bring me back for a third try. Those big chickens are as endangered as a California Investor. Whatever.</p>

<p> </p>

[christoph_hammann]

<p>People who buy those are fetishists, not photographers.</p>

[bruce_erickson1]

<p>O Lord won't you buy me a Leica M9. My friends all shoot Nikon, so I'll be just fine.<br>

<em>Please feel free to continue the lyrics....</em></p>

[charles_trentelman1]

<p>What's the big deal with ostrich? They used to sell ostrich sausage in Utah until the bottom fell out of the market. You make ostrich sausage, you got to do something with the skin. Not as if the critters are indangered or something.</p>

<p>Cute that they offer a free training session. I'm tempted to say "if you need training, you don't need a Leica" but then I realized that the digital aspects of it would be a mystery to me.</p>