Driven by demand

Fed by social media, there's a burgeoning desire for things that have a retro vibe. I touched on this in my fountain pen post the other day. Well, it is certainly affecting current camera design, and stimulating a demand for used cameras that look old in a 'classic' or 'traditional' way. 

The more serious of these retro buyers might seek out a pre-2000 film camera, to recapture - or sample for the first time - the particular experience of using film. I have to say, speaking personally, that I won't be joining these people. Film is not eco-friendly, and it's expensive. It always was, especially film from one of the major makers (Kodak, say). Film cost alone limited one's scope for enjoying photography. When I was young and dependent on pocket money, taking pictures could only be an occasional thrill. This situation improved in 1970 when I started work, and could afford to buy more film. And my photography got a further boost in 1973, when I bought a better film camera. Not the one I hankered after, with a lens or two to pop on it (a Canon EF). Mum and Dad wouldn't let me 'waste' my savings on that. But instead a Konica compact (which they approved of). It served me well for years. Eventually I got myself a pair of used Olympus SLRs, plus lenses, and I was still using my trusty OM1-1N in early 2000, when I switched to digital cameras, starting with the quirky and unusual Nikon Coolpix 990. 

I would be a Nikon girl to this day if I  hadn't back in 1974 become aware of Leica, in an article on the Leica IIIg, the best of the amateur screw-thread Leicas. Here it is. Click on the pictures to see the detail.

The crop above was taken from a 20x enlargement of the original shot, according to the article. Wow. But that's what even a vintage Leica could do. You can imagine how I lusted and pined for a current Leica. But it remained a dream. Nor could I have a darkroom at home, although to be honest I couldn't see myself messing about with chemicals. The best I could churn out in 1974 and 1975 with my trusty Konica were shots like these, mostly of other people, taken on Kodak transparency film. Two of my younger brother Wayne, for instance:

And a few more I've hoicked out at random.

These do of course recall the moment when the shot was taken, and say something about the mid-1970s, but they are hardly world-class pictures. 

Still, they show what the 'film look' was. And I agree that film-era images make the near-perfect, AI-assisted digital images of 2024 seem unnaturally detailed and clinical, and perhaps lacking in character. But I have never regretted jumping from film to digital in 2000, and I won't be going back. I actually want detail in my shots, plenty of it, in sharp focus too. But the attractions of film are clear, whether nostalgic or artistic, and I am very pleased to see the renewed interest taken in old equipment. 

Early digital cameras - from the years 2000 to 2007 say, and in particular those very small cameras you could slip into a pocket or a handbag - are also now in vogue. Their output stands midway between the 'film look' and the 'modern digital look'. I've seen young people wielding them down in Brighton. They do look cool. Even chic. It's old tech, but not primitive tech, and fun to use. Perfect if you have £100 or so to spend on something retro. But as the ready supply of these little cameras dries up, people will have to invest in more expensive models. And perhaps raise their ambitions on which brand. The ones to go for are Ricoh, Fujifilm and (of course) Leica. 

Anything good made by Ricoh and Fujifilm in the last dozen years is now so super-desirable that it's hard to get an example a sensible price. And there comes a point when the asking price is so much that you might as well get a Leica, and have the kudos of that famous red dot. This must be happening, because lately the price of secondhand Leicas has been creeping up. People have discovered that Leica is not all about luxury cameras for the very well-off. They have made less expensive models in the past, obtainable used on eBay and from other sources, and these are within reach of people with more ordinary budgets. Sellers have cottoned on to this new demand, and used prices have edged up accordingly. 

My current Leica is an X Vario made in November 2013 that I bought in May 2022. Here's what I found today, when searching on Google for used Leica X Varios for sale. As before, click on the picture to enlarge it:

Today there are six examples for sale, at these prices:

£850

£999

£820

£1,026

£749

And I paid £599 two years ago.

They mostly look in good condition, some with a few accessories and original packaging thrown in. Mine was the same. They all have a black finish, which means they were originally marketed between June 2013 and August 2016, mostly before early 2014. (I have done a bit of research into X Vario production) So roughly speaking all of them are at least ten years old, yet gaining in value. Remarkable! But clearly driven by a surge in demand. 

There are later examples dating from 2014, 2015 and 2016 with a silver and black finish, very smart, which I think were chiefly made for collectors to buy (as by then the X Vario, never a popular model despite its virtues, was getting outmoded as well). Leica never refreshed the X Vario with an updated version, and it was wiped from their product list in February 2017. These later silver/black models, maybe 500 of them at a guess, are usually in a pristine state, sometimes in sealed boxes as if bought as investments for eventual resale at a profit. They do look very attractive, and generally command a higher price than the even the best of the all-black models. Usually there are a couple of silver/blacks on offer, at anything up to £2,000 and beyond, but not today. Last week's have been snapped up! 

The silver/black X Varios are not just nice to look at. They strongly resemble classic silver/black rangefinder Leicas, and of course they have that red dot. Which makes them a touch more desirable than the retro-styled but totally modern Fujifilm X100V and X100VI cameras, which have no zoom, no red dot, and - if you can source one at all - require a small mortgage to buy, such is the crazy demand for these cameras. 

I think my own X Vario could be sold tomorrow for at least as much as I paid for it in 2022, even though I have taken almost 50,000 pictures with it, and it shows a few signs of constant use. But I'm not going to part with it. It was bought for taking pictures with - which it does admirably - and not as an investment. But it's nice to know that I shouldn't lose money on it. If, that is, retro stays in vogue...

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