Yesterday was a big day for luxury camera manufacturer Leica. The company announced some new gear and a few tweaks to their existing lineup. As far as the new cameras go, there was the X2, a follow-up to the fixed lens X1, and the V-Lux 40, a rebadged Panasonic point-and-shoot. New accessories included an adapter that makes Hasselblad (H-mount) lenses compatible with Leica’s S series of cameras, and also a Summicron 50mm f/2.0 lens. If you think a $2000 adapter or $7200 lens is expensive, well then sit down before you read this: Leica’s tweaks on their existing M9-P body were a $25,000 Hermes Edition and then a $50,000 variant called the Edition Hermès Série Limiteé Jean-Louis Dumas.
Leica’s mainstay digital rangefinder these days is the M9. If you are a discerning buyer who wants an upgraded display and no branding you can get the more recently released M9-P. The Hermes editions take the M9-P, which, at $8000, is $1000 more then the M9, to a whole different level of cost/value/luxury (call it what you will).
Before you judge though, take a look at the video above. Maybe you don’t think a camera — any camera — is worth $25,000, but it’s undeniable that a significant amount of care goes into these things. While some of use will have trouble appreciating the M9-P as a piece of technology, you can’t help but appreciate it as a piece of craftsmanship. The amount of highly skilled handiwork that goes into this camera — let alone the Hermes editions — is is truly impressive. And then once you get to the Hermes Editions, it’s even more incredible, although my guess is that the markup on all that skilled labor is even still more staggering.
The model featured in the video is the $50,000 Edition Hermès Série Limiteé Jean-Louis Dumas, which will be limited to just 100 units. For the hefty price, you get all the kit below, which includes 200 Dumas photographs, a custom bag, and three lenses, namely the Summicron-M 28 mm f/2.0, Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95, and a Leica Summicron-M 90mm f/2.0. That Noctilux alone is a $11,000 lens, and it’s backorder just about everywhere, so you can barely even buy one if you hand the cash burning a whole in your handmade, Vicuña wool pants. That doesn’t make the kit a great deal, but it will soften the blow come bonus season.
For more see how the Leica M9 is made, or my hands-on with the M9.
