Here�s one way to identify a pricey lens: it comes with a dedicated luxury humidor for humidity control. Back in 2008, as Leica was ending a manufacturing run of its Noctilux 50mm f/1 lens, the company decided to release the last 100 units as a special edition. Each of the lenses was shipped with a special humidity control box crafted in Paris, France, by Elie Bleu, which makes high-end humidors for cigar aficionados.
Elie Bleu humidors often sell for between $2,000 to $5,000 by themselves, so the box greatly increased the value of this bundle.
The unit was originally priced at �10,000 when it was first released. An auction for one of the 100 units just finished over on eBay, and the winning bid (out of 81 bids) was $12,768.
The seller on eBay writes that they were the original owner of the mint condition lens, which they originally paid �just under 20K USD for.�
From the photos posted by the seller, we see that the box comes with a special pair of Leica gloves for handling the lens as well.
If you�re interested in one of these 100 rare kits, keep your eyes peeled on eBay � perhaps one of the other 99 will show up one day as well.
(via eBay via Leica Rumors)
Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.