Rare Camera Auctions

Click here to see the auction. Currently $2425.00.

Leica M8 that has been upgraded with the M8.2 shutter and viewfinder through the Leica Upgrade Program. The M8.2 shutter is much quieter than the original M8 shutter, with a sound closer to that of film Leicas. Similarly, the frame lines in the M8.2 viewfinder are significantly more accurate than the original ones and, in fact, more accurate than those on the $7000 M9. I did not upgrade the display to sapphire glass, but it is covered with an ACMAXX hard screen protector. I bought this camera new in May 2009 and had the upgrades done a couple of months later (the total price of the camera plus upgrades was $5595). The upgraded shutter and viewfinder–the two systems on the camera most likely to go out of adjustment–come with a transferable warranty that extends the original 2-year warranty by one year (I’m not really sure how that works, as the original warranty isn’t transferable, but have been assured by Leica USA that the warranty on the upgrades is transferable). The upgraded shutter has received very little use. The hexadecimal Image Unique ID shows that it has had 2520 actuations, i.e. it has been released only 2520 times. That translates into 5-10 days of shooting. The camera is in very good condition but it does show some slight signs of wear, just a few spots of rubbing on the black anodized finish, including rubbing marks from the camera strap. These are unavoidable due to the nature of the finish but are too subtle to show up in photographs. However, someone with a discerning eye would eventually notice that this is not a brand new camera. The bottom plate still has the original protective plastic, though you can see in the third photo that it’s beginning to peel off at the left edge. The camera comes with all the original accessories, boxes, and packing materials. Those include Leica lithium-ion battery; charger with automobile cable and three plug adapters for American, European, and British sockets; brand new unopened Leica camera strap; USB cable; software discs; and instruction manual. The instruction manual does show some signs of wear, as I read the whole thing from cover to cover a couple of times. I am also including a Leica brand UV/IR cut filter in the most common size for older Leica lenses, 39mm. This is an essential accessory for this camera which does not have a built-in infra red filter. I am also including two high-quality Lexar Professional 133X 2GB SD cards, each of which holds about 200 uncompressed images; one card is brand new in an unopened box. And the camera comes with a Coder Kit (photo #6) to add six-bit coding to older, non-coded Leica lenses so that the camera recognizes the lens and makes appropriate adjustments for cyan corner drift and vignetting. This is a wonderful camera that, with the right post-processing, will yield 17″x22″ prints that are indistinguishable from those from 400 ISO medium format film. I am only selling it because I have upgraded to the full-frame Leica M9. I am a working photographer, not a dealer. See my website: www.andrewborowiec.com.