As much as I’d like to say it’s ridiculous that someone has paid half a million dollars for this experimental 1958 MP2 Leica, it’s really no more ridiculous than paying for a piece of art by an old master or famous contemporary artist. In that case, you’re paying for a piece of art history, and in the Leica’s case, it’s a piece of photographic history. Try telling me one is more ridiculous than the other.
The camera itself, part of a camera lot that netted nearly a million euros total, is one of only six ever made (in this finish, at least), and more importantly, is the first of its kind ever offered for sale. It had an experimental electric motor drive and should work as well as the day it was assembled.
The auction house, WestLicht, congratulates the new owner: “The buyer now posses the most expensive Leica camera ever sold!” But the real winner is, of course, the auction house.
[via Leica Rumors]