Why this worn-out camera is selling for $80,000 – but may be worth even more

Sunday, 21 June 2026

A vintage camera sitting in a Christchurch shop is selling for $80,000. And despite being old, worn and no longer practical for taking photos, it could be worth even more.

“It’s like a piece of art,” said Greg Bramwell, manager of photography store Photo and Video International, in Merivale Mall.

The value of the Leica I comes down to two things: a four-digit serial number, and the possibility that the owner of the camera company once owned it.

Eighteen years ago, a local collector, now in his late 70s, bought it from Photo and Video International, where it had been a display item. Now, downsizing, he brought it back to the same shop.

“He’s just got a bit older and isn’t maintaining his collection any more,” Bramwell said.

“These genuinely collectable items are worth a lot more than they were 18 years ago. He’s cashing up.”

They considered sending it to overseas auction houses, but the seller wanted to keep his life simple. And while Bramwell won’t disclose the original price, he said the appreciation has been dramatic.

“It’s like buying a nice apartment in a fancy Auckland suburb 18 years ago. It’s gone up.”

In camera collecting, serial numbers are everything. The Leica I’s serial number is No. 5000 – an exact, round figure. A camera without a special number might fetch a few thousand. But the same model with serial number 1,000,000? “That could be worth over five times more.”

Then there’s the mystery. When the camera was sent to Germany for inspection 18 years ago, factory representatives examined it closely.

A few months later, they sent a fax confirming the camera was given or sold to Ernst Leitz II in Nurnberg on November 23, 1927 – the son of the founder of the camera company, and its owner at the time.

“We can’t confirm with certainty that it was owned or used by Leitz himself,” Bramwell said carefully. “But the factory representatives were excited. The company confirmed it was given to him on that date. Even they said, ‘I hope that this info will help you and at the same time increase the value and price of the camera’. It’s all adding up.”

When asked how they arrived at the $80,000 asking price, Bramwell was candid.

“No way this old worn-out camera is worth $80,000 as a practical device,” he said. “It’s like a piece of art, and somebody has to decide the price.”

Photo and Video recently sold a camera for $104,000 to a collector in Macau – who has already expressed interest in the No. 5000. There is also interest from England and locally.

Some locals have come in not to buy, but just to hold it.

“It’s quite cool to have a camera in your hands possibly used by the founder,” Bramwell said. “Like owning a Cartier watch that belonged to Cartier himself.”