There was a time when, with the advent of digital cameras, that many believe it marked the death knell of the traditional camera and, similarly with the advent of the smartphone, the death knell was talked about again. However, it has not come to pass, as the very best ‘traditional’ cameras continue to generate strong and competitive interest amongst collectors and serious photographers alike. In the mainstream markets demand tends to feature brands like Sony, Olympus, Panasonic and Canon. However, for the discerning photographer, it is Leica which is considered the ultimate camera tool, with luxury goods prices to match. Why, you may ask? Quite simply, it is considered by many to produce the sharpest, most organic image that you could hope for, the precision of the functions is superlative and, Leica cameras tend to be the best at holding their value.
Little wonder then that there was stiff competition at Golding Young Grantham’s early July Auction, when a collection of Leica cameras, lenses, and other associated items came under the hammer from a single owner collection.
Topping the bill was a Leica M7 camera, a 35mm rangefinder model, introduced in 2002, which has auto exposure in aperture priority mode, and an electronically controlled shutter. Together with a Leica Summicron ASPH lens, and other accessories, it sold strongly at a hammer price of £2000. Also offered was the more meaty M8 camera , a digital rangefinder model with a CCD image censor, which came with battery packs and charger, and sold for a hammer price of £900. Finally, a Leica R9 model, being a manual focus 35mm single-lens reflex camera which, amongst other things, came with an Elmerit-R E55 lens and a Summicron-R lens, went under the hammer for £1100. Good prices amongst the lens lots included a Summicron-M/22/50mm lens which sold for £650, and a Elmarit-M 28mm ASPH lens that sold for £750.
For the renowned photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson and Sebastiao Salgado Leica was very much the camera of choice. For our discerning customers, the same premise applied, as a combined hammer total of just over £6800, appeared to bear out.
