Window Shopping for Leica Stuff Online: It’s fun, fulfilling, and free!
Type “Leica” into your search bar and you’ll be dazed by what turns up!
By Jason Schneider
As anyone who’s ever bought, sold, or looked for Leica equipment on eBay knows, there are literally hundreds of listings for Leica cameras, lenses and accessories posted at any given time. They range from the commonplace and ordinary to the rare, unusual, and extraordinary, and include asking (or best offer) prices ranging from affordable to ridiculous to extravagant. Extensive Leica listings can also be found at other online auction sites such as Etsy, auction houses including Sotheby’s and Christie’s, major online retailers such as B&H and KEH, all Leica Stores in the U.S. and worldwide, and broad-spectrum selling sites such as Amazon. There are many more, and all are well worth checking out whether you’re looking to buy or just looking to look.
To give you a better idea of the fascinating range of Leica items that can come up in an online search, we went to eBay, typed in “rare Leicas,” and selected a dozen items that tickled our fancy. A tip of the Leica lens cap to Alan Weinschel, past president of LSI, for suggesting this article.
Rare Leica Novelty Item Limited Edition Handmade Wooden Camera, Leica item 96689. $299.00, offered by a Hong Kong dealer. “A unique collectible, this special camera is hand crafted in Germany from high quality beech wood, features the renowned Leica red dot logo, and will stand out in any collection. The wooden ‘lenses’ are interchangeable with a magnetic mount, and the Leica box is original—a nice gift for Leica M enthusiasts. Though not made in the Leica factory, it was released in 2015 as an official Leica product and is out of production.”
Leica New York Standard w/50mm f/3.5 Wollensak Velostigmat lens in case. RARE, $3,499.99 by Gulf Coast Camera. This is a chrome Leica Standard (Model E) with a collapsible 50mm f/3.5 Wollensak Velostigmat lens, which was patterned on the 50mm f/3.5 Elmar and offered as a substitute during World War II. The seller states that this camera was assembled in New York from spare parts in about 1947 and lacks an external serial number, which would make it a rare bird indeed. Almost all “Leica New York Standard” cameras were made in Germany, shipped to New York, and do have serial numbers engraved on their top plates. The “case” alluded to is a hinged red Leica presentation box typical of the era. What’s the true value of this camera? It depends entirely on its provenance.
VERY RARE Leica Leicaflex Black Paint Camera Body Exc. +++ condition, $3,890.00 or best offer, by Westborn Camera Company. “Overall superb cosmetic condition with minor signs of use, beautiful patina along some edges, all functions work properly, shutter speeds sound accurate, light meter responsive and reads within tolerance, shutter curtains free of pinholes/deterioration. Includes body cap; no battery included,” This is indeed a rare camera, commonly known as the Leicaflex Standard. Only 200-300 total units were made in black, the first run with pie-shaped frame counter being the rarest. This one is a “Mark II” with round exposure counter window, but still “very rare” as described.
RARE-MINT Leica Brown Bakelite Lens Case for Summar 50mm f/2.8 & Elmar f/3.5 (Note: The true maximum aperture of the 50mm Summar is f/2). $349.99 by Westborn Camera Company. This is a very attractive pre-war lens case and extremely hard to find in mint condition since the Bakelite is very brittle and few have survived unscathed.
Leica M 1st M3 #700059 Camera Rare Original Brochure Leaflet of 1954 in German. $214.50 or best offer by wish-4-vintagecamera, Netherlands. This is an original brochure for the M3 in clean condition with no writing by a previous owner. It shows a very early double-stroke Leica M3, serial No. 700059 in all the illustrations (M3 serial numbers began at 700001 in 1954). BTW if this seems like a high opening price for a small brochure, there are two similar ones listed on eBay, both at starting prices over $200!
Very Rare Nagel Pupille Film Camera with Leitz Elmar Lens, $295.00 or best offer by wizcam (USA). “VERY RARE, FROM 1930, GERMAN NAGEL PUPILLE COMPACT FILM CAMERA WITH LEITZ ELMAR 5cm f//3.5 LENS.GLASS IS CLEAN, FOCUSING AND APERTURE SMOOTH. ALL FUNCTIONS WORKING.PLEASE CHECK PICTURES FOR CONDITION.” This is a very well-made compact scale-focusing camera by Nagel of Stuttgart that provides sixteen 3 x 4 cm exposures per roll of 127 film, has a Compur leaf shutter, and was offered with Schneider and Leitz lenses. The company was acquired by Eastman Kodak in 1932 and continued the Nagel line with Kodak branding. This is one of 7 such cameras currently listed on eBay with 5cm f/3.5 Elmar lenses so take your pick!
Camcraft Norman Goldberg Leica M Film Camera Belt Clip Holster Vintage RARE V23, $322.69 by VSSOutlet (USA). “This very rare Camcraft Norman Goldberg Leica M film camera belt clip/holster came to us on a Leica M3. It has a couple of light scuffs on its exterior.” Designed by Norman Goldberg, Pop Photo’s late great tech expert, tech writer, and equipment designer, this is indeed a well-thought-out, nicely made, and very useful accessory for analog M users—and it’s hard to find.
Vintage RARE 1960s Leica M 24 x 36mm Post Film Camera, C $2,999.00 (Canadian Dollars) or best offer, by mabe-4983 (Canada). The seller offers few specifics on this camera either in the heading or the description, and doesn’t even mention the lens, a fixed focus 35mm f/2.8 Summaron. Here’s the scoop from Pacific Rim Camera:
The Leica MD eventually replaced the M1 as the camera for Visoflex reflex housing and microscope use. It was a further simplified M1, lacking a viewfinder of any sort. In addition, it had a slot in the baseplate for inserting data strips, to record written info on the photo.
The MD was also built in special versions for German telephone meter recording. The telephone system was managed by the Post Office, and so these special cameras are known as "Post" cameras. They were available in the normal 24x36 image size, as well as 24x27. These were normally fitted with a fixed focus 35/2.8 Summaron lens. A total of 227 24 x 36 Post Cameras were made from 1963-1966, so they’re truly rare.
Rare Leica III Model F Stapo Stuttgart Film Camera 1939 $2,499.99 by LCS Camera Store (USA). Leicas engraved “Stapo” were supplied to the German State Police prior to World War II, but whether any wound up in the hands of the dreaded Gestapo is uncertain. In any case “Stapo Stuttgart” refers to the Stuttgart branch of the State Police. The camera, serial No. 322875 comes with Summar 50mm F2 Lens Serial Number 467308 (from 1938) and the listing includes the lens cap and case.
Camera and lens are in excellent cosmetic condition showing light to moderate wear. Viewfinder is bright and clear. Rangefinder patch is bright and contrasty. The honest seller notes that the lens has a moderate amount of haze and possibly mold, that the slow shutter speeds need to be fired several times before they work correctly, and that rangefinder alignment is close but not perfect. These defects are unlikely to be of major concern to potential buyers, who are likely to be serious Leica collectors.
Leica Half Moon Brown Leather Case for 50mm f/2 Dual Range Summicron-M, Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron RF, or the rare 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M RF Steel Rim, all with “Goggles.” $160.00 or best offer by Jimmynbetty (USA). “This unusual case is in Excellent+++/Mint minus condition with slight signs of use and no deep scratches, and the metal clasp is in perfect working order.” Sounds like a potential good deal if you’ve got the right lens(es) kicking around.
RARE Vintage Ernst Leitz Wetzlar 9cm Leica Camera Cradle Finder View Finder, $150.00 by vintage-guy-dollars (USA). This is known to Leica aficionados as a SEROO 9 cm folding optical sports viewfinder and it’s a beauty. It has a manual parallax correcting lever on the right side in viewing position, and it folds for easy storage. This series of viewfinders was replaced with rigid optical sports viewfinder around in 1942-1943 so they’re not too common. Original 1936 selling price if the SEROO, a blistering $12.60.
Finally, if you really want to drive yourself nuts, when you type in “Leica” or “Rare Leicas” on your next eBay search, take a tip from Alan Weinschel and set the search preferences to “sort by highest price plus shipping” first. We guarantee you’ll gasp, chuckle, or just cringe (maybe all three) at some of the outlandish prices being asked for Leica stuff. Examples: A Leica Q3 thumbs-up listed at $100,000.99 and a Light Lens Lab 35mm f/2 for $276,276. How many Noctiluxes is that again?