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Us regular mortals may find spending $1000 for a camera rather luxurious but for those who have lots of moolah in the bank, that’s nothing. As the year comes to a close, let us reminisce one of the most historic stories regarding cameras in general. Yes, the NASA photography article surely awed us one way or the other but this year’s most memorable story about cameras happened early this year.

Do you remember that old Leica that was sold for 1.3 million Euros? The Leica 0-Serie Nr.107 fetched this amount at an auction. The antique camera was made in the early 20s and is one of the 25 Leicas made that time.

Truly a beauty, the camera was bought by an Asian collector who decided that the Leica is worth more than its projected price.[1] The buyer had to make what one would cal a split second decision since the auction for this item only lasted for 2 minutes.

Many people think that Hasselblads are quite expensive but the Leica is definitely something else. According to reports, the very camera that was on auction was one of the very first Leicas to be exported to New York City in the year 1923 making it a very special camera because of its history.

The Leica brand is a German optics company that started as early as 1913. Although the cameras were not yet for sale at the time since Oskar Barnack only built the first prototypes for the very first Leicas in that year, many were awed at the technology that Barnack used. The camera was intended for landscape photography to be used for mountain trips.

The first prototypes went through several iterations of course by 1923, Barnack told his boss Ernst Leitz II to manufacture a pre-production series.

Photo via technabob.com

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[1] The auction house expected that they will be able to sell the antique camera between $500, 000 and $650, 000.

Both Rolleiflex and Leica have miniature digital versions of their classic camera models.

The Rolleiflex Mini Digi AF 5.0 digital camera comes in both classic coal black and head-turning vivid red, though it is likely that anyone wearing a miniature Rolleiflex around his/her neck will be turning heads regardless. Weighing in at 2.7×4.4×6.2 inches and 15.7 ounces, the Rolleiflex Mini Digi fits right in the palm of your hand. Despite its intriguing size, the photos it produces are nothing to write home about.

It should be understood, however, that these cameras are only novelties and not meant to replace any DSLR or even a current point-and-shoot.

The camera captures classic square-cropped images at 5 MP (though more like 3 MP), albeit at low quality. The Rolleiflex Mini Digi can currently be purchased for $299 at Amazon.

Similarly, the Minox DCC Leica M3 weighs in at 2.9×1.1×1.7 and 3.8 ounces. Several users of the camera have noted that the body is clearly made with plastic, a disappointment to some, though reasonable given the size of the camera. Would anyone really want  that small of a camera to weigh any more? It has more appeal to be worn as a novelty charm on a necklace than to be used as a serious camera. Either way, the camera’s charming quality makes it a great conversation piece and works just fine to take snapshots wherever you are. The Minox Leica has a 5 MP sensor with 3 MP hardware resolution. It can even take 320×240 video clips. The Minox DCC Leica M3 is on sale at Amazon for $149.

With tags like “Out-performs the human eye” and “The world’s fastest aspherical lens” it is difficult not to look longingly at Leica’s “king of the night.” But for $10,000 that is all many of us will ever be able to do. The Noctilux-M 50 mm f/0.95 is the successor to Leica’s 1975 Noctilux-M 50 mm f/1. After 30 years Leica has succeeded in achieving a noticeable increase in lens speed while maintaining nearly identical dimensions for the 50 mm f/1. The amazing capabilities of this lens allow for portraits and detailed studies of unmatched aesthetic effect. Check out the Leica web site for more details.

Leica M8.2, ISO 320, f/0.95, 1/90 s