Leica offers Pope Francis' exclusive M-A No.5000000 all-mechanical 35mm rangefinder kit at auction
Leica has announced it will auction the one-off 'Pope Francis' M-A No.5000000 all-mechanical 35mm rangefinder at the 47th Leitz Photographica Auction, which will be held November 22nd at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna.
Leica, a German company, is known for introducing the world's first, commercially successful 35mm film camera as the Leica I in 1925. It has followed up with decades of high-quality mechanical 35mm film cameras and lenses as well as digital cameras in recent decades.
The Leica M-A (Typ 127) is an all-mechanical, metal-body 35mm film camera released in 2014 that is compatible with the company's line of highly-regarded M-Lenses. Unlike most other 35mm film cameras, the M-A uses a rangefinder focusing system (explained in detail in the video below). Rangefinder cameras do not suffer from momentary image blackout that pentaprism SLRs experience during each shot. Photographers adjust two superimposed images until they sit on top of each other to achieve proper focus with rangefinders, which for some is easier than adjusting a single image until it is focused with SLRs.
The 'Pope Francis' M-A has a unique exterior design made especially for His Holiness. The silver chrome body comes with a white, rather than black, covering, along with white painted elements such as the back door. Engravings throughout the exclusive rangefinder are filled with black, gold, and white paint. These include the Keys of Peter on the flash cover, and the motto ‘Miserando atque eligendo’ on the back of the top plate.
The accompanying Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 lens has a chrome body with engravings filled with gold and white paint. The lens caps come with engravings for the Coat of Arms of the State of Vatican City and the date Pope Francis received this exclusive gift in 2024.
The camera has a shutter speed of 1 to 1/1000th of a second, with bulb, and an ISO speed setting of 6 to 6,400. Frame advance uses a manual rapid wind lever, but can be mechanized with an optional Leica Winder. A hot shoe sits atop the camera, allowing the use of external flash units at a flash sync speed of 1/50th of a second. The base M-A measures 138 × 38 × 77 mm (5.43 × 1.50 × 3.03 in.) and weighs 578 g (1.27 lbs.).
The lens uses six lenses including two aspherical lenses split among four groups to create a strong sense of bokeh at its wide open aperture of f/1.2. The lens can be stopped down all the way to f/16 in half-stop settings, with a focusing range of 1 m (3.3 ft.) to infinity.
Interested readers can register with the Leitz Photographica Auction prior to the start of pre-bidding, which will run from October 22 until November 22, 2025. The starting bid is set at €30,000, with proceeds going to charity. Readers who miss out on His Holiness's M-A can still acquire the regular Leica M-A in silver and black on Amazon.
