Camera auctioned for $2.2 mn

A Leica M3D camera, owned by Life magazine photographer David Douglas Duncan, was auctioned in Austria for record 1.68 million euros (over $2.182 million), British Journal of Photography reported.

The initial price of the lot at the WestLicht Photographica Auction in Vienna stood at 150,000 euros (almost $195,000) and climbed to 1.68 million euros, becoming the most expensive camera from a serial production to be ever sold.

The camera is also the second most expensive to be sold following an exclusive Leica o-Series camera that was sold at the same auction in May this year for 2.16 million euros (over $2.805 million).

Photojournalist Duncan, 96, is known for his works during the Korean and Vietnamese wars. He was also a friend of painter Pablo Picasso, who let only Duncan take photographs of his paintings.