Regarding the Leica pricing quoted, does it include VAT? If so, US and Canadian pricing may be lower.

Or may not be...

http://luminous-landscape.com/whatsnew/

Cheers,
Bernard

How's Leica ever planning to sell that camera for that price when they are trapped between high resolution DSLRs that sell for 1/3 the price or even less (if all of Leica's claims about the body are true, the D3x and 1DsIII are probably fairer competitors than the 5DmkII) and Hasselblad and Phase One offering a larger sensor, a larger system and more resolution for less money? I'm sure the lenses will be exceptional, but there are exceptional lenses around for many systems. If Leica had priced this at $11,995, it would have been really interesting, splitting the difference between the $8000 D3x and the $16,000 MF systems, but I don't thnk they'll sell many at this price - except to the occasional dentist!

-Dan

Agreed - outside of the die hard Leica collector it is hard to see who will purchase this camera. Especially when you can purchase a Phase back for less money. Even if the Leica lens's set a new standard - its going to take brass balls to plonk down the cash for the body when you cant just swap the back for the newer model in 12 months time.

I am getting close to pulling the trigger on a medium format digital rig (probably later this year), but the Leica wont be on my shopping list as a possible option.