You can't afford

[melek]

Well, maybe you can, but it's likely that you cannot.

This Leica O-series from the early 1920s sold at auction for 14.4 million euros. It was expected to sell for between 2-3 million euros. No idea who bought it, but one thing's for sure. That person has more money than me.

[Julio1fer]

I always thought that Leicas were out of my reach, but this one looks a bit extreme.

[titrisol]

More money than sense?
Leicas have always been rich people toys, I've wondered if Cartier-Bresson only had one lens because he couldn't afford a 2nd

[Bennybee]

An M2 or an M3, maybe. This one? No.
I wonder what kind of pictures you could still expect from a thing like this. It's just a collectors item, and IMO not a very nice looking one either... Just my idea...

[GrahamS]

I wonder if these exorbitant sums paid at auctions for silly things like this are not money laundering scams?

[melek]

Graham - that's an interesting thought. It certainly could be. But wow - 14 million+ euros. By the way,, in three years or less, I'm going to retire, and then I'll have a lot more time for film photography.

[PFMcFarland]

I think what some of you are missing is the context of why that particular camera was up for auction, which is why it sold for such a large amount. It is the 105th of the very first 125 Leica's and was the personal camera of its inventor/designer, Oscar Barnack. Provenance is everything when it comes to auctions.

PF