Leica’s new $23,000 film camera is platinum-plated and destined for collector shelves

Leica is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the M rangefinder camera, but the astir precious acquisition it’s giving for the juncture is for lone 250 affluent radical and costs $22,995. The ludicrously costly Leica M Edition 70 acceptable includes a platinum-plated Leica M-A 35mm movie camera with Leicavit accelerated winder, a matching 50mm APO-Summicron-M f/2 lens, and a metallic movie instrumentality with a rotation of black-and-white film.

Yes, the movie instrumentality is besides platinum, and yes, that’s wholly ridiculous.

This day variation commemorates erstwhile the Leica M3 was released successful 1954 arsenic the archetypal M camera. Leica goes to large lengths to grant the M3 and the brand’s bequest conscionable astir whenever it can. Back successful 2014, the Leica M Edition 60 did the aforesaid happening to observe the 60th day of the M3, but that exemplary was a spot much bold (and polarizing), being the archetypal integer M to region the rear LCD for a quasi film-like experience. That “feature” became much readily disposable successful modular editions similar the M-D (Typ 262), M10-D, and astir precocious the M11-D.

The caller M Edition 70 seems overmuch safer, with its little accumulation tally and rehashing of the Leica M-A movie camera that’s been astir since 2014. The existent devil successful the details present is the Leicavit, an old-timey accessory from the heyday of movie rangefinders that’s been extinct for years. It’s fundamentally an alternate bottommost sheet for the camera, lodging a hidden lever that tin beryllium utilized to beforehand the movie aft a changeable utilizing your near hand. I’ve ne'er personally utilized one, but the premise was that it’s faster and somewhat much discreet than moving your close manus from the shutter to run the regular beforehand lever with your thumb. I’m definite there’s a crushed this wasn’t a wide adopted accessory, but Leica fans thigh this nerdy worldly up. (I’m evidently speaking / confessing from acquisition here.)

So possibly the M Edition 70 is truly a trial to bring backmost the Leicavit arsenic a modular accessory, similar however the M60 was a trial furniture for screenless integer cameras oregon however the aged M9 Titanium experimented with LED-illuminated framework lines. But 1 thing’s for sure: the M Edition 70 is some beauteous and wholly ridiculous. It’s different accidental for Leica to beverage wealth retired of its affluent whales for astir six cardinal dollars successful gross to money immoderate its adjacent quirky thought is, but boy, is it hard not to bask looking astatine purty pictures of it.