“A while back, we heard that Apple visionary, Johny [sic] Ive would be co-designing a one-off Leica camera that would eventually be auctioned off for charity,” Stan Horaczek reports for Popular Photography.
“Now, photos of the camera have surfaced and we got something very close to what we expected,” Horaczek reports. “The camera will be auctioned off at the (RED) auction on November 23rd, and funds will go to fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.”
“According to the press release, the camera is based on the Leica M and took nearly 561 models before landing on the final design,” Horaczek reports. “It took 725 hours of manufacturing time and is made from — you guessed it — aluminum.”
More info and images in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: How much do you think that little baby will go for?
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
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50-100k atleast
No hot shoe? Kinda makes it a toy, really, albeit a very dear one.
Tell that to Henri Cartier-Bresson.*
*Google his name. But if you have to ask, you’ll never understand.
Lol, hot shoe is not needed, on-camera flashes are almost useless except to paparazzi.
Oh and btw all cameras are toys to 99% of the population.
Horseshoe design is really ugly anyway.
I own a couple of Leicas and while they are wonderful cameras, they are grossly overpriced even without some special edition.
There are plenty of people who would buy a dog turd if it had the famous red dot on it. Add in all the rest and it should go quite high.
Those with a crude vocabulary like yours will never understand quality.
If you think dog turd is crude you must live on another planet or in a monastery.
The point is that Leica, like Apple, is an aspirational brand for many. Leica makes many fine cameras by themselves and with Panasonic – the “Panaleicas” made under Leica license in Japan. I have a number of 4/3rds and Micro 4/3rds lenses in that series and they are quite excellent. The Leica cameras are however grossly overpriced and desperately behind the times.
My soon to arrive BlackMagic digicam with my Micro 4/3rds lenses will shoot far better than the insanely overpriced M series. Dollar for Dollar, Leica is out of the game and losing it’s future because of the Leicaphile purists.
Leica became great because they broke the mold and defined the future with 35mm Photography. They have missed the boat in the digital age and are no tradition bound that they have become a toy for those with more money than sense.
Most any lead they had in optics is largely gone and their bodies are vastly overpriced toys.
I like it. What really makes the Leica camera is the Carl Zeiss lens they use.
Except they do not use Carl Zeiss lenses. Leica = Ernst Leitz glass, perhaps even better than Zeiss.
I stand corrected, thanks. That is one sweet camera, wish I could afford one.
Leica uses Leitz lenses.
“…nearly 561 models.” What does that mean? 560 models? 559 models? Maybe “nearly 600 models” or “more than 500 models” would have made sense. Why can’t journalists write anymore?
Look up “prototype” in the dictionary.
You didn’t understand what he was saying.
When one says “nearly”, this is because one prefers to use a round number, and the actual number is not round, but close. You would say “Nearly a thousand people lined up for the new iPhone”, when there were anywhere between, say, 950 and 1000 people in the line.
So, what exactly does it mean when the journalist says “… nearly 561 models…”? 561 is not a round number, so why would anyone chose to use it, and then approximate by saying “nearly”? This is stylistically really poorly written.
Ah, maybe it means 560 3/4. That would make some sense, grammatically and mathematically, at least. They completed 560, then almost completed the 561st. My point was, one should not use a precise number (561) for an approximation (nearly).
Ive must like photographing twigs and stick men going by his design imperative for iOS 7.
Those who prefer Victorian computers will never understand design. Form follows function, not fashion.
I hope it is purchased by a museum. This little camera will be worth a lot now, but much more in the future: a one-off piece, designed by the world’s most famous industrial designer of the age.
Deiter Rams
The regular Leica M with 50 mm f2 lens would be $12,000. I say this one will get $10 million.
I bid 300 Quatloos!
I imagine who ever buys this will leave it in a box and bring it out occasionally to show their friends what a beautiful camera they have.
It will be donated to the Museum of Modern Art for a tax write off. That’s how the game works.
Stop feeding those product RED gangsters! Feed the needy directly! Say no to this middleman for-profit mafia!
What possessed you to say that?? The Global Fund has given over $23B (as in Billion) to fight AIDS, malaria and Tuberculosis. It is difficult to find more efficient global organisation in that field.and the product RED campaign has generated over $200M (million) just by itself.
How about feeding the hungry in this Country period.
It’s not either/or. Go feed your local homeless if you want, whilst organisations like product (RED) do their own thing.
They better start the auction fast! Because I expect Samsung to copy this thing pronto! They will probably put a wrist band on it and call it galaxy gear 2.0
So many choices…
These will be ‘investment vehicles not someones family snapper.
This is designer art.
Minimalist, clean, functional – you wonder if the camera runs on OS7 !
But, is it as good as the camera in the new iPhone 5s?
iPhoneography
Get ready for Samsung knockoff in 3..2…1…
How about a raffle? They’d easily sell enough tickets to cover the cost with enough left over for Jony’s favorite charity. I want.
If its made of aluminium those pictures don’t do it justice. It is a very Apple like design. I have mixed reactions. I can see the beauty but if this was camera was made in plastic… Or I don’t know. I think you have to see it in real life. I can see the clean and easy Apple design and interface with te buttons.