Quote Originally Posted by Helen B
Tom, I'm at a loss to know why a camera made in Germany has more appeal than a camera made in Canada. How about the ones, like your M6TTL, that were made in Portugal? Does the country of manufacture affect the quality of the photographs? Of course it doesn't (and I know that you aren't suggesting that it does). Please, can we leave that country-of-origin stuff for the camera collectors?
If you're going to spend that kind of money on Leica, make sure it's made by little elves in the Black Forest.

Seriously, Jim is spending a considerable amount of money and I thought he ought to know some of the factors that affect pricing. He may pay more for certain models, but he'll also recoup this if he decides to sell.

Leica prices and collector interest are intrinsically linked. This is a fact of life whether or not you want to buy one "just" to take pictures.

By the way, I share your long term enthusiam for Leicas. I first used one (the school's camera) in 1966 as a sophomore in high school. Can you imagine school with a full Leica system, including Visoflex, for its yearbook staff? It gave me a chance to compare prints from the Leica's 50mm dual range Summicron vs. my Minolta's 58mm f1.4. Those who say you can't tell the difference between pictures taken with a Leica lens and something else have never done a real comparison. (probably the same people who say you can print a 35mm neg to 16x20 without a problem, but never mind).

My own first Leica was a Leicaflex SL, which I bought in 1969. Great camera, but not a quiet rangerfinder. I bought 2 M4s in 1974, briefly had an M6 and bought my current M6TTL in 1999. I would'nt trade it for the world.
take care,