When two masters of their domain come together to collaborate, no chin is safe from slobbering, wet drool. In this case, the German manufacturer Leica Camera AG and the Parisian high-fashion house Hermes joined forces to create a very special limited edition camera, namely the new Leica M7 Edition Hermes.
I know that this is the PurseBlog and I am going off on distant tangents here. But let me elaborate. I have three good reasons to share my new acquisition with our readers.
Firstly, I am an avid photographer. Not only do I occasionally contribute to the editorial with my Shutterbags bit, but I also enjoy photographing in my spare time.
Secondly, I am an avid Leica fan and collector. Their optics are outstanding, their rangefinder cameras are legendary and have worked their magic in skilled hands of masters like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Annie Leibowitz.
Thirdly, it’s Hermes! There is a good reason that the iconic fashion house’s enthusiastic crowd is one of the most active and devoted on TPF. Hermes’ leather working, craftsmanship and history are second to none.
If that does not convince you, I may just flat out say that I am bloody excited and just want to show off!
This is not the first time that these two iconic companies have joined up to collaborate on a 35mm film M-body. Back in 2003, the first love child came in form of a Leica MP “Hermes Edition”, which was built in a small series of only 500 kits and featured exquisite Barenia calfskin and a 35mm f/2 Leica Summicron-M ASPH in silver chrome.
Hermes has a solid track record of collaborations with other luxury manufacturers, prime example being the spiffy Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes which I had the pleasure of personally discovering back in 2008 in NYC. With a price tag of (now) over $2mil dollars, the car will have to wait.
This new Leica M7 “Hermes Edition” kit includes an Hermes-adorned M7 35mm film rangefinder, a Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH wide-angle lens, a matching classic round lens hood, a Leicavit M rapid winder and an Hermès leather carrying strap, and presents itself in a beautiful linen-covered, silk-lined box. The body of the rangefinder is covered in supple “Swift” calfskin which is, of course, hand-wrapped after a time-consuming tanning process that gives it a fantastic luxurious feel. This series is limited to 100 kits of classic Hermes Orange (serial numbers 1-100) and another 100 kits of Etoupe (101-200) worldwide. As you can see from the images below, I received the early number #8 of the series.
The beautiful M-body is accompanied by an equally stunning silver chrome 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M lens. As I learned from our local Leica guru David Farkas of Dale Photo, the unique part about this limited lens is that Leica created a new production process to silver anodize the lens’ aluminum alloy barrel and rings; unlike in previous lenses, where the silver chrome effect could only be applied to much heavier brass barrels and rings. As a result, this silver chrome ‘Lux is the same weight as the black anodized version which is a first for Leica.
Edit: As it was pointed out correctly on Leica Rumors, previous M8 limited editions had silver chrome aluminum alloy wide-angle Elmarit-M lenses already. The fast 35mm ‘Lux is new, however.
You see, I am going to get a whole lot of crap of many Leica enthusiasts for saying this, but for me personally, this is an investment piece that will never see a roll of film. This camera will remain in its cozy silk-lined box until I get a worthy cabinet to display it in for a while, then it will go back to rest in its dark box. If I want to go and throw a rangefinder around, I can rely on my classic M6 to get the job done.
The price for this limited edition is $12,950, I got mine from the good folks at PopFlash Photo. You may inquire at 1.805.492.6548, though I do believe that they are out of stock.
It is currently available at Adorama. Only 200 world-wide are available, with very few designated for the North American market.
The Gallery
48 comments
Such an amazing camera!!! It is even more gorgeous in person.
Wow! Really? But is it meant to be used? Or just an art piece? 😀
He is not planning on using it, it is really a collectors piece in his mind.
He has the same camera non-Hermes edition, which he shoots with.
Vlad,
you finally have your Hermes! 😀
I’m honestly very happy for you! I enjoy your photos, you really deserve this! I hope you’ll use this baby 😉
Congrats!
It’s stunning, Vlad! I’m thrilled for you!
p.s. I mean it, don’t stick it in a dark box!
The camera is lovely. All I have to say is that it is amazing that you have $12,000 plus on hand to spend just like that. That being said please adopt me 🙂
this is crazy! $12,000 for a camera just because it has “hermes” attached to it?!?
It’s much more than that. Leica’s are quite expensive on their own, owing to peerless quality and old-world craftsmanship.
This would go nicely in the basket of the Chanel bike . . . but really, this is a beautiful camera.
WOW what a camera! I totally understand your decision to store it. In an ideal world, it would be great to be able to afford to buy one as an investment and one to use! I always have my camera with me, as I love to take photos, but if I had this camera, I couldn’t resist the temptation to use it…
How beautiful! Congrats Vladi, you deserve an Hermes collecters piece 🙂
OMG my boyfriend would not only freak out, but buy this! I am calling him now!
OMG. It is beautiful but the price is outrageous.
wow. it is really beautiful. truly amazing. congrats on your purchase. Leica cameras are already gorgeous but with that orange calfskin, it just makes it even more stunning. if i had that i wouldn’t bear to use it either! it’ll be like a family heirloom! haha.
wow wow wow!! If only I had that kind of money to spend on a camera!! How much does the non-hermes version cost? I loveee the retro look!
The exact outfit with M7, 35 Summilux and Leicavit would retail for $10,185 sans Hermes.
I don’t know much about photography but this is a gorgeous camera. Simply because it’s associated with Hermes 😛
Goodness, it’s beautiful but oh lordy it is expensive! LOVE the orange – what an utter collector’s dream, and how awesome to snag such a low number. Congratulations!
I do think it’s sad it won’t be used though, even though you do have the same machine already..
It’s beautiful!
As a professional photographer, I have to say that I cannot imagine spending 12K on gear that is not going to earn its keep, but to each his (or her) own. Clearly, I am in the wrong segment of the photo biz or I need to charge more — or both! 🙂
I agree. There is no way I would purchase a camera just to store. It is a beautiful camera though. Leica’s are such works of art.
These pictures are actually some of the best ones you’ve taken Vlad! Congrats on the camera. 🙂
You should use it.
Absolutely silly waste of money…. this is a joke right? It probably cost the manufacturer about $500 to make. Just another bloated expensive device to make the rich feel richer. So silly….
Congrats on the new piece of kit Vlad.
Don’t feel pressured to use this. I love it when Leica turns out these limited types of designs, which is not as much per unit as anyone thinks but it does add up. Remember people, these things are not made in China. The craftsmen (and women) who build these earn an actual wage that they can survive on.
Thank you for mentioning where you were able to purchase this item.
TR
Many congratulations!! Looking forward to seeing the pics you’ll take with it 🙂
I’ve visited Leica’s factory in Heerbrug and their lens craftsmanship is second to none!
This is an outstanding camera and lens! I trust you will enjoy it.
That’s one butt-ugly camera! What ever happened to basic black?
Frilly,silly things for frilly silly people with money. I use Leica too but these limited editions are beyond me. Do you know how silly you’d look with that thing around your neck?
Ahh so this won out over the M9? Or are you contemplating getting both? 😀
The M9 will have to wait. The availability is terrible at the moment.
The Hermes Leica M7 actually comes in Brown calf leather as well as orange and can be pyrchased form the Austria Leica Shop for $10,950.00. But that’s wihtout shipping or tax.
Learn more here:
http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2010/02/limited-edition-hermes-leica-m7-in-2.html
It says above that it comes in Etoupe, which is taupe/brown
“This series is limited to 100 kits of classic Hermès Orange (serial numbers 1-100) and another 100 kits of Etoupe (101-200) worldwide.”
You rich folks buy such silly things just to impress the rest of us. I could live four months or more on what that costs.
I have to say, this purchase would be ridiculous for me. It would cover two years of tuition and books at my state college!
But you work hard on this site, presenting us with beautiful pictures and at least one portal for the everyman’s forray into couture fashion. The camera is a piece of art, very unique, and totally appropriate for you. Congratulations!
When you receive it tell us how it measures up in person, both as an accessory and as a camera. Some of my friends would kill for the specs on your camera!
Mario – We do have it now, that is what the pictures are from – this exact camera! The camera itself is a masterpiece!
Thanks for the kind words 🙂
“How it measures up as an accessory?” That comment says it all. It’s an over priced Leica because it has some Hermes leather. This is for showboaters and posers who have too much money to burn.They can take it out once in awhile and impress their equally self indulgent rich friends. Buy yourself a normal M7 and donate the rest of the money to a Haiti.
Normal M7? Check.
Shooting it regularly? Check.
Donated significantly to Haiti? Check.
The point of this camera is not to take it out and impress anyone. It’s a collector’s item, an investment and a piece of art for me. If you want to ridicule and condemn any art collector on the planet, you can do so. But in my case, you are making false assumptions. 🙂
u said it all vlad it truelly is a beautiful camera! i LOVE <3 the orange its soooo nice (being my favourite colour and all :P) i was wondering if it came in that light blue that Hermes have for their belts???
Tools is what they are. Leica knows the whims of the wealthy and so have created these “limited edition” to appeal to the vanity of weathy buyers who can’t resist anything with their favorite designer label. They may as well be built with out any internals as most will never be used, just fondled and as i said before, paraded in front of a few to demonstrate what good taste the purchaser has. This is consumerism taken to it’s max. A $14,000.0o camera that will never be used. After 6 years at The Maryland Institute of Art and a lifetime in the crafts, I can assure you this isn’t Art. I’ve used Leica for 40 years and I’ve never known one serious photographer that thought of these special editions as anything but what they are, geegaws for the wealthy. But …. collect away. I guess you’re helping to keep a small company in business.
I can think of a lot of less worthy purchases that are more consumerism. A cheap camera for example. Some little hands in China made it for 1$/month wage. Then you buy a hundered of them in different colours just because you can. This is an excellent investment that is likely to go up in price with time and if I had a spare 22k€ to spend I’d get both colours pronto. As for art, who is to say what is art? There is a jet engine fan blade stuck on a pole in a rather well known museum of modern art, so go figure. Not to mention four pieces of Wärtsilä 24TS connecting rods welded together to form a statue of some sort in an “everymans” art collection along a path in a forest nearby.
“But …. collect away. I guess you’re helping to keep a small company in business.” Well said! Keep up the good work.
I’m into gadgets, in particular nice digital cameras and slrs, when i saw this a few months ago i was intrigued, a leica and a hermes one at that! very interesting! if only the price was right! (fb)
if the price was different you can bet that I would own this. There is something amazing about a great camera (fb)
This camera is absolutely stunning. I would love to own one… but other things come 1st! Great combo of Hermes and Leica. ‘(fb)’
+1 to Mr. Jack Palmer.,
I know a few dozen guys who owns Leicas and their Russian/Chinese/Japanese copies who are also serious and professional photographers in their own type of photography and I believe they would say the same.,
cheers!
-Jepp
Who cares if it’s just an accessory for rich ppl. I still want one.
Beautiful (ipad)