This beautiful camera just sold for over US$700,000 – and here's why

A Leica M3 black paint camera with a worn black textured finish and a chrome lens, showcasing signs of age and use.

Rare, storied, and steeped in photography legacy, the Leica M3 represents the pinnacle of Leica collecting – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that, in this condition and early manufacturing year, is hard to find.

The Leica M3 Black Paint, paired with its original lenses – a Leitz Elmar 50mm f/2.8 and Elmarit 90mm f/2.8 – recently sold for an astonishing €625.000 (around US$722,000 / £544,000 / AU$1,120,000) at the 7th Wetzlar Camera Auctions on October 11, 2025. It's one of the earliest Black Paint versions ever made.

The Leitz Elmar 50mm f/2.8 and Elmarit 90mm f/2.8 (Image credit: Wetzlar Camera Auction)

It was the highest-selling item at the auction, outshining even heavyweight legends like the Voigtländer Metal Daguerreotype Camera (sold for €500,000 (around US$578,000 / £435,000 / AU$895,000), or the Leica MP black paint (sold for €425.000 (around US$490,000 / £370,000 / AU$760,000).

The Leica M3

This Leica M3 Black Paint has the Serial No. 781330 (Image credit: Wetzlar Camera Auction)

Made in December 1955, the Leica M3 was originally delivered internally to the Leitz Technik department (later the Leica School, now the Leica Academy) in January 1956 – it served as a test and teaching camera for years.

During this time, it received several Leitz-factory modifications, including a conversion from double- to single-stroke winding, the addition of a long winding lever, a black lacquered rear door with a 1300 ASA marker disc, and a black lacquered baseplate.

Its unique early characteristics – such as the silver chrome-plated release button, counter dial, and index – match only a handful of black M3s in the serial range 746571 to 746576. But this one is different: Serial No. 781330 makes it even rarer, possibly the only one of its kind configured and preserved this way.

Included to the Leica M3 black paint is a copy of the sales invoice from Leitz to Theo Kisselbach dated December 6, 1971 (Image credit: Wetzlar Camera Auction)

In 1971, the camera was sold internally to Theo Kisselbach, then head of the Leica Technik department – further anchoring its place in Leica's own institutional history.

While the sale didn't break the world record (€14.4 million for the Leica 0-Series No. 105 in 2022), this M3 went much higher than its estimated €200,000-€250,000.

If you want to discover historical cameras or invest in one, the next auction by Wetzlar Camera Auctions will take place on October 10, 2026. Consignments are now being accepted. For more information, visit the Wetzlar Camera Auctions website.

Above: see the video of the sales results

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