Buying a new camera as an investment... i.e. not using it ever!

[happypaddler]

This is new to me, I wonder if anyone else has come across it as an idea? Buying a camera (in this case a Leica M7 Hermes) and not using it at all - just keeping it like a fine wine as an investment to potentially sell on later.

The story I read can be found here: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/leica-m7-hermes-unboxed-photographed-then-promptly-re-boxed/

[Oldboy]

He's reduced it's resale value by opening the box!  

[picsfor]

if i could afford to do such a thing i would be in the southern hemisphere right now adding to my catalogue!

[irv_b]

I also have one gathering dust in the cupboard   

[Jonathan]

Yeah there was a special edition F5 made once and AFAIK there was only one guy who actually used his to take pictures.  There was outrage at this but he said that at a most optimistic result he'd make more money investing in GM.

As for putting cameras in display cases....there's a company that make special cases for Hasselblads so that you can safely transport them from your locked dust free display case to the camera club and back.  http://www.artisanandartist.com/bags/wcam60.htm

[Hybridphotog]

This is new to me, I wonder if anyone else has come across it as an idea? Buying a camera (in this case a Leica M7 Hermes) and not using it at all - just keeping it like a fine wine as an investment to potentially sell on later.

The "Top Gear" presenter, James May, once went to an auction to buy a Hornby electric train. He'd sussed out that the thing hadn't been treated as it was meant to be treated... its previous owner had kept it in its box, purely as an investment. After he'd won the auction, he collected his prize, unboxed it there and then, and asked the person behind the counter to bin its box. He took his train home, and he ran it on his railway layout.

In other words, he treated it as it was meant to be used.

Collecting is common with Leica equipment. Buy a "special" model, then keep it hidden, hoping that it'll be worth much more in later years. Such 'photographers' bump the prices of Leica equipment up.

I have two 60+ year old Leicas, both are a joy to use, even more so with todays level of automation in cameras.

Use the equipment as it was meant to be used! Keeping cameras boxed up is akin to a prison sentence!