Ebay Watch: Laser-Guided Leicas, Crocodile Skin Lenses and More
The wildest photography gear up for auction this week.
Franken-Leica/Linhof M6 with Winder, Mini II and Zeis Rig****- $500,000.00 or Best Offer We wonder if Ebay seller Chris-ny1000 accidentally tacked on an extra zero to this auction, because half a million dollars is pretty pricey, even by Leica-standards. According to the seller this is a one-of-a-kind set-up. Not only did it apparently win a bronze medal at the Leica Beauty pageant (we're totally going to the next one), but it also sports the coveted Linhof crest on the front of the camera body. But what really makes this half a million dollar rig special is the fact that it "has features that no other Leica M rig in the world has or will ever have, like the ability to shoot on two film types simultaneously on asynchronous triple frame stereo with dual winder film advance." Included in the auction in addition to the crested Leica M6 body is a laser-assisted focusing mechanism, mechanical and electronic timers, a data back, five batteries (including Rite Aid AAA's), five different viewfinders (including a zooming one), two angle finders and a Pentax stereo attachment.
21 million dollars for a .us name is pretty outrageous. For that kind of dough, we’re expecting a .com. Or at least a .net.
Of all this week’s auctions, Ebay seller foto-hobby’s Leica L Model A is definitely one of the coolest finds. This camera first hit the scenes some time between 1924 and 1936. It was the first Leica camera to feature a fixed collapsible lens. The body is made is made up of aluminum and black lacquered brass. Considering the fact that this camera could be 87 years old, it is in really fantastic shape. According to our research, only about 870 of these cameras were made in total. Their serial numbers range from 131 to 1000. This particular one’s serial number, according to the seller, is 545.
Some lucky son of a gun already made off with Ebay seller padresgold’s two gold and crocodile skin Nikon-mount lenses for a measly 300 bucks. But boy, these babies would sure go nice with that gold lizard skin Nikon FA we saw on Ebay a few week’s back. The focal lengths are a 70-201mm f/3.5 and a 35-105mm f/3.5-4.3.
You probably won’t be able to shoot with it (though, we’d be very interested to see what happens if you were to mount it), Ebay seller LeicaPlace’s cutaway makes a pretty awesome display piece for anybody who is a die-hard photography collector.
Ebay seller Leicaplace, the same seller that brought us the Leica lens cutaway, is offering these three super-rare 14-carat gold plated Bordeaux Nappa leather wrapped Rolleiflex TLR cameras. The cameras included are a Rolleiflex 2.8 FX TLR, a Rolleiflex 4.0 FW TLR and a Rolleiflex 4.0 FT TLR. They are all part of Rolleiflex’s 80 years Edition collection and feature the same serial number of 02/80. Included with the auction, in addition to the various accessories that ordinarily come with a Rolleiflex, is a ridiculously swank wooden chest with pull out drawer and gold plush to rest your $33K cameras in.
Why anybody would spend $850 on a see-through film camera is beyond us, but if this does in fact tickle your fancy, Ebay seller GoKevinCameras would be glad to sell it to you. Maybe Pentax will see this and make a clear version of the K-r to go with all of the other wacky color versions they make. That might actually be really cool.