Leica UK has announced a promotion which could save you up to £1,170 on an M240-series camera if you also buy one of a wide selection of lenses. The cameras are the M, M-P and Monochrom.
Tier 1 lenses comprise the Tri-Elmar, 28mm Summicron, 75mm Apo-Summicron, 90mm Apo-Summicron, 135mm Apo-Telyt, 21, 24, 35 and 50mm Summiluxes and the Macro-Elmar 90mm f/4. A second tier of lenses comprises the 18mm and 21mm Super-Elmars, the 24mm Elmar, 28mm Elmarit and 35mm and 50mm Summicrons.
The biggest saving is £1,170 on an M240, in either black paint or silver chrome, together with a Tier 1 lens. Choose a Tier 2 lens and the discount falls to £770. On the M-P and a Tier 1 lens you can save £1,145 or £895 on a Tier 2 lens. The Monochrom is available at £1,100 off, or £800 off with a Tier 2 lens.
There is no time limit on the discounts but we can assume that they will be available while stocks last. This substantial discount could adversely effect prices of used cameras.
Following the introduction of the M10 last month it was stated clearly that the M240 would continue. But this promotion seems to indicate that stocks are being run down. Could this be the end of the corpulent M240 series?
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- The prices above, and the illustration, are taken from the Red Dot Cameras website.
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I saw the impending release of the M10 as a great opportunity to get a nice deal on an almost unused M-D 262. I couldn’t be happier with it.
It’s interesting how the development of the M240 line mirrored Leica’s new philosophy which culminated in the M10. The M262, in particular, was an milestone — a first admission that the throw-everything-in approach of the original M240 had been a mistake. The M-D was another indicator of this new approach. Let’s hope they have learned their lesson now and will keep the rangefinder pure. Let them tick new boxes on the SL and keep the rangefinder as a specialist camera, away from the madding crowd.
Let’s not forget that the "corpulent" M240 series was a very successful camera for Leica. So much so they couldn’t stop making variations. Although I understand the need for this promotion, I’m not sure how many M buyers will take advantage of it given the number of minty used ones available at about a 50% discount over the svelte M10
Yes, the "corpulent" comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek. It was a successful camera, although I’m not sure that the variants support that premise. They have variants with any digital, although I admit more so with the 240 than with the M9. We can expect variants on the M10 sooner rather than later. Already one or two friends are saying that they will "wait for the M10-P". I’m looking forward to the M10-D which should be even more fun and even more true-to-film-body than even the svelte M10. Always something new to breathe new life into an established range.
I met someone today who said that he saw drawerfuls of M240s (I assumed traded in, but I could be wrong) in the Leica Store in New York last week. The concept of Tier 1 and Tier 2 lenses might get the chattering classes going on about the ‘significance’ of this. It is, obviously, nothing more than a way of simplifying discounts. No sightings of M10s in Dublin yet, but I can wait.
William