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Leica Lens Price Increases

thrice

Active member
Thankfully I got on waiting lists ages ago. Should have all my Leica lenses by January.
None of the ones I'm still waiting on have gone up in price either :) (obviously just the 21/3.4 and 35/1.4 I'm waiting on).
 

larryk

New member
Just wait. There will be a thread on whether it's better to buy a lens made in the old factory or the new, similar to the old thread about Canadian or German made versions of the same lens. I'll go first and say, "get the one from the old factory." For no particular reason, of course.
 

JSRockit

New member
Hmmm, I need to get away from using Leica M stuff... it's getting too pricy for me. The M9 was a huge stretch for me financially... a once in a life time deal (barring unforeseen future riches). The M10 will most likely cost $10,000 and their lenses will keep going up. Even Voigtlander lenses keep going up... and these are supposedly "cheap." Here's to hoping the Fuji LX10 is a great, great camera.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Another way to look at this is your are getting a more expensive lens, rather than the cheaper one Leica used to make.
 

ramosa

Member
But M9 wasn't 2k more than M8, was it? And there's a change in field of view there, as well.

I guess 9 large.
 

Zoffdino

New member
My February 1978 Leica system catalog price list has the following:

55E circular polarizer $177

Leicaflex motor $1,650

Noctilux f/1 $960

and lastly, an

M4-2 $993
Adjusted for inflation, in 2011 dollars they would cost:
* 55E circular polarizer $614
* Leicaflex motor $5,725
* Noctilux f/1 $3,330
* M4-2 $3,445

Only the Noctilux made it--it's currently selling for ~$6500 despite the f0.95. During those times, the future of Leica was even more uncertain than it was during a few years ago.

From an investment standpoint: the Notilux has grown 580% in nominal dollars (and double in real dollars). By comparison, the SP500 returned ~1200% in (nominal dollars) over the same period. That is without dividends reinvested.

Moral of the story: Leica gears don't go down in price. A $1,000 M4 from 30 years ago still sells for $1,000 today. However, inflation will eat away much of the value.
 
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