The World’S Most Expensive Cameras
Fittingly, the most expensive camera in the world is a Leica 0-series model from 1923, which took the crown, setting a new world record. The most expensive camera ever sold was a prototype (1923) from Leicas O-series (one of 25 made). The most expensive Leica camera is a 1923 serial number 122 of the Leica 0-series, sold for $2.97 million. The Leica 0-series film camera from 1923 sold at auction in Austria for a cool $2.96 million.
As described earlier, the Leica 0-series is the most expensive vintage camera ever sold. The Leica M3D-2 is the worlds second-most expensive camera, selling at the Vienna Auction for a massive $2.18m.
Combining brand names with rarity and history, Leicas O-series model number No.107 was sold for $2.97 million. Leica cameras are never cheap, but even the most discerning camera nerds were left in shock last year when this 1923 Leica was sold at auction. A vintage Leica of the early 1900s just became the most expensive camera to ever hit auction. Prior to last years jaw-dropping Leica 0-series #107 auction, the worlds most expensive camera was an ancient Susse Freres daguerreotype.
This Leica topped the list because it had the highest sales price of all cameras up until that point. Leica is also a costly camera brand, with Leica making some of the worlds most expensive cameras and lenses. The Leica 10770M is still ranked high amongst the most expensive cameras, even though the camera is not made anymore. While there are a fair number of 0-series Leica cameras, only a handful are in original condition, with all original parts such as the rangefinder and lens caps, and these are the ones that command an extremely high price.
There were just 25 cameras made for the 0-Series, in order to test the market before the commercial release of Leicas A-series two years later — and only a handful are left in excellent condition, with original parts still in tact. The Leica 0-Series #107 is one of only 25 cameras produced from this series, and was one of the first of Leicas exported cameras to New York. The O-Serie Leica No.107 is one of the earliest handheld cameras, created by Oskar Barnack in 1923. In fact, O-Series Leica No.107 is a rare piece which is not owned by many photographers and collectors worldwide.
This Leica cameras from 1923 is the only known camera that has the words Germany inscribed in the top plate. The Leica No.107 of the O series was the first commercially available camera, and was lost to the public until 2006 — when a former professor found it in an attic in Munich, Germany. This example of a Leica Luxus 1 dating to around 1930 was sold for the huge sum of $1,300,000 at WestLicht Camera Auctions in 2012.