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Comment by dale_glass | Hacker News Reader

I remember back when Leica made their own monochrome digital camera (this idea isn't new, Leica did this in 2012).

Half their ad was showing off how they make the bag for the thing.

> this idea isn't new, Leica did this in 2012

They also released the M10 monochrom in 2020 and the M11 just this year. As long as there's people willing to pay 7k for a (B&W) camera, leica is going to make them

And as the Pentax is the only competition, a lot of people are willing to pay for the Monochrom.

With prominently displayed branding, because after all, you don't want any thieves to think that they might have a $7K device that can easily be carted off sitting around.

Oh, wait...

You're meant to put a piece of black tape over it so you can LARP as a 1960s combat photojournalist.

Minor: The Leica M11 Monochrome does not have a red Leica logo.

Besides the branding not being that obvious, it should be quite difficult to sell a stolen Leica. At least for anything more than a pittance. It doesn't matter what it costs, what matters for a thief is what they can sell it for.

Why would it be difficult to sell a stolen Leica? Do they have some sort of cloud backed locating thing installed?

Leica cameras are very specialized equipment. The market is small. It is not that a random person would pick up a Leica camera. They are likely to be serviced at some point in time, as the range finder might need adjustment. A stolen serial number would be detected instantly.

I don't think that's as likely as you think. There are hundreds if not thousands for sale on eBay right now, and dozens on each of the NY, LA, and SF craigslists.

Exactly: thieves don't care what you paid for it they care what they can sell it for and they can sell stolen Leica's for enough money that this is a real problem when buying stuff second hand. More so because whoever you buy it from may not know that once upon a time it was stolen. This applies to all goods that are resold but for cameras, laptops and smartphones it is a big issue because those are stolen with great regularity (and it is why manufacturers build in protection against theft in some of their devices and will not replace certain parts unless you can prove you are the owner of the device).

There is a whole industry in unbricking stolen laptops, for instance.

Laptops are common equipment, Leica cameras are not. Especially M series cameras are only used by enthusiasts. They know about stuff and won't pick up a shady one. The next service would put them into trouble anyway.

Your random thief is just going to grab the bag based on the brand and run off, they won't know or care if it is an 'M' series or not, just like your average Rolex thief isn't going to care beyond the basics of 'expensive brand'. That's all.

Except Leica also makes an entire model option (a few in fact) that also minimize or eliminate any branding.

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