Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Leitz Photographica Auction has announced an auction of another historical Leica. This time, it’s a prototype of the 16mm film camera that never got to be produced for the wide market.
The prototype was made of wood, so it’s not an actual working piece of gear. Still, thanks to its historical value, it’s expected to fetch over $162,000 at the auction this June.
One declared a “top secret” project during the Second World War siege of Leningrad, a one-of-a-kind (as far as we know) Russian GOI FS-3 FotoSniper prototype has been sold at the Leitz Photographica Auction (LPA). With a starting price of €30,000 and an estimated value of €60-70,000, the hammer ended at an eye-watering €144,000 (a hair over $170,000).
According to LPA, the lens was reportedly produced at the GOI factory, which continued production and research throughout the war. In 1943, the lens was developed for the Soviet Baltic Fleet Navy with a 600mm lens and a max aperture of f/4.5. It was all very hush-hush, and the only documented evidence that it existed back then is a single photo.
Back in 2009, a charity event dubbed the (RED) Auction, containing one-of-a-kind items by Apple’s former Chief Design Officer Jony Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson, was held to raise money to benefit The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. More than 40 items went up for bid, including a Leica M full-frame camera designed by the pair.
The (RED) Leica M, the standard version of which retailed for around $7,000 at the time, fetched a hair over $1.8 million. Now a prototype camera has been revealed and is also going up for auction, where it’s expected to reach at least $300,00.
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