Limited edition £8.5k Leica M7

At a whopping £8,550 suggested retail price, the Leica M7 35mm rangefinder limited edition is for the serious camera junkie.

The 35mm rangefinder camera set includes a silver anodised LEICA SUMMILUX M-35 mm f/1.4 ASPH, wide-angle lens, a matching classic round lens hood (manufactured especially for these models) and a LEICAVIT M rapid winder in silver chrome. A real leather carrying strap, handcrafted by Atelier Hermes, to match the colour of each camera along with a linen-covered silk-lined presentation box completes the set.

Unique to the Hermes edition of the M7 is the top plate engraved with the Leica name in classic script. All control elements of the Leica M7 have been manufactured exclusively in metal, with the back of the camera finished in silver chrome. Other design tweaks such as the red colour of the engraved AUTO and flash settings have been replaced by the specific shade of the camera’s leather.

Technically, the specifications of the special edition are exactly the same as the standard M7 (which RRPs at a far less painful £2,500 – body only). The Leica M7 Edition ‘Hermes’ will be available in the UK from December 2009 at authorised Leica dealers, including the Leica Store Mayfair.

For more information, visit the Leica website.

The Leica M7 Edition ‘Hermes’ will set you back an eye-watering £8,550 – around £6,000 more than the standard edition – but what else could you get for your £8,550?

-    1.9 Canon EOS 1D Mark IV’s – Canon’s high-end full-frame professional D-SLRs
-    1.7 Nikon D3x’s – Nikon’s high-end professional full-frame D-SLR
-    3.5 Standard LEICA M7’s
-    10 Olympus PEN-EP2 micro four-thirds cameras
-    25 Canon IXUS 200 IS touch-screen compact cameras
-    342 7 inch digital photo frames
-    219 JOBY Gorilla SLR-Pods
-    A deposit on a flat/small house
-    A brand new saloon car, such as a Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 308 or Vauxhall Meriva
-    171,000 bars of Dairy Milk!