Leica M9 Titanium Special Edition

Somewhere, Henri Cartier-Bresson, legendary photographer and Leica loyalist, is rolling in his grave at the extravagance or whispering, “I want one.”

 

I’m talking about the Leica M9 Titanium Special Edition, a collaborative effort between Leica and Walter de’Silva, chief designer of the Audi Design Team.

Priced at the princely sum of US$29,000 and limited to just 500 pieces worldwide, the Leica M9 Titanium is based on the traditional Leica M9 model except for the paltry difference that its camera body is rendered in solid titanium.

That also extends to its included 35mm f/1.4 SUMMILUX-M lens which is also crafted out of the same luxurious metal. Scratch-resistant, sapphire-crystal glass is used for the camera monitor and the camera’s trim is fitted with leather that lines the interiors of Audi’s premium automobiles.

Sleeker and more streamlined than the classic M9, a key difference is that the illumination window that lets light illuminate the famous bright-line viewfinder has been replaced by an LED-lit frame in the viewfinder.

In short, it’s a camera fetishist’s wet dream.

The LEICA M9 "Titanium" special-edition set includes a distinctive shoulder holster, a carrying strap and finger loops in two different sizes.

 

The price alone offers the irony that any fortunate collector who gets his hands on one will keep it in a display case or bank vault or than actually use it, but we’d be envious all the same.