Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/05/06

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To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Subject: Re: Lens Hood Prices
From: Charles E. Dunlap <cdunlap@rupture.ucsc.edu>
Date: Mon, 6 May 96 18:19:09 -0700

>Another question you might want to ask yourself is whether an M-3
>bought in 1963 by a speculating collector and kept in its original
>packaging and never opened would have been a good investment, compared
>to (say) a portfolio of stocks that achieved the performance of the
>DJIA.  Actually, I can answer that one for you.  It would have been a
>terrible investment!
>
>-P.

Very true, no one's going to get rich investing in Leica Futures (now if 
you had bought some oil futures a couple of month's ago...).

On the other hand, you'll probably just keep ahead of inflation with your 
money sitting in a Leica and lenses, and you'll have a very good camera 
and lenses to use. You can get your money out if you need to (+/- 10% 
against inflation) and you get to do something pleasurable with it.

Try taking a picture with a stock certificate (or the land in Palo Alto).

You could do worse things with your money, such as buying four plastic 
cameras over the course of your photographic career for the total cost of 
the Leica. In the end you have three dead cameras, one you're still using 
and less than a quarter of your money recoverable. I guess we could make 
the hypothetical economic arguments all day. I'd rather take pictures!

-Charlie

Charles E. Dunlap
Earth Sciences Dept.
University of California
Santa Cruz, CA 95064


Replies: Reply from Tom Hodge <thodge@charweb.org> (Re: OK....enough beer and inflation talk. I'm sorry I started it!)