Watch a Leica M9-P made by hand
The Making of the Leica M9-P »Edition Hermès« – Série Limitée Jean-Louis Dumas from Leica Camera on Vimeo.
A few months ago, Leica announced their Monochrom camera, which many photography enthusiasts were drooling over, but many were also questioning the nearly $8000.00 price tag for a camera that shoots only in B&W. I totally get it (and wish I could get one 
and must admit to have a total soft spot for tradition, and most things made my artisans and/or by hand in these mass-production modern times.
But Leica cameras have always been on the pricier side given that they are made one at a time – by very skilled people. Check out the above video to see the process that goes into making the Leica M9-P Hermes. The price tag for this little gem? $25,000.00 – but of course that camera is a bit on the extreme side… The non-special edition will still cost you close to $8,000.00. I own an M9 and M6 and absolutely love the cameras and the Leica M lenses and have gravitated towards these rangefinder cameras since I started photography 20+ years ago.
The fact that many of these will end up around the neck of some chuckleheaded Saudi prince…whose main distinction in life is that his great-grandfather was born on top of an oil field…and who simply wants swimsuit shots of his shameless white golddigger girlfriend so he can gloat to his brothers while he is vacationing in Ibiza…well we can be at least somewhat content that 1/10th of a mile of the gas it cost to drive our car to the grocery today went to some of the finest camera artisans in history.
Amen.
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I want one… How much extra does it cost to hand around and watch while they make your camera?
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give me 10
please
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Art & Craftsmanship – perfecto… Thanks for the video Vincent & wish I could afford one myself
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Lust!
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Such a beautiful set. I wish I had one!
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Excellent ! Great craftsmanship at work.
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What! Great craftsmanship? It is a leather box and a bag.
The Leica is no different from other M9′s.
I don’t care what it costs, it is not made for a photographer.
This is a piece of fashionable equipment, made to impress your friends.
I would any day go for a M9 without the leather and unnecessary boxes, unfortunatey I don’t need it.
Rob. K
Oh, and I love Leicas. I have a IIa, M2M, M4, M5 and M6 and all the lenses and never use them
They use film.
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The video is really awesome, I never saw a camera being put together just the finished product.
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Wow – I wish!!!
Thanks for sharing. Good stuff.
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Incredible craftsmanship. My father started me out on his M3s 36 years ago when I was in high school. He owns 3 that he has had since his days in the Air Force. They are all still in fabulous condition in spite of the fact that I shot football games from the sidelines.
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[...] Watch a Leica M9-P made by hand « Vincent Laforet’s BlogJul 9, 2012 … The Making of the Leica M9-P »Edition Hermès« – Série Limitée Jean-Louis …. Ken Irby · Maureen Martel · Michele McNally · Sue Morrow … [...]