（1）
Collecting lycras, is it really not fun?
A camera collector told me that collecting lycras is the least fun, it is too difficult to pick up leaks, and you can buy a lot of money.
Lycra is one of the best cameras in the world, with a huge number of people and a top position in the hall, and Lycra's camera culture is also the thickest culture, and the various Lycra stories, legends and miracles are dazzling.
And the people who use the Laika camera are symbols of status and class, they are all powerful, tycoons and rich people, why do some people say that collecting Laika cameras is not "fun"?
I have written hundreds of camera articles, but so far I have not written a single Lycra camera, and the most of the camera books in my bookcase are all kinds of Lycra camera books, including Chinese, English, German, Japanese, and Chinese.
Among these foreign language camera books, Laika books account for more than half. There is too much information about Laika, and the culture of Laika cameras is exhausted...
And I have also collected some Lycra cameras over the years, some of the old Lycras are still very good, and there are more than a dozen physical cameras in my hand.
So why can't I write Laika?
Mainly there has been no interesting collection, these camera collections are too bland, optimistic to buy, there is no "unforgettable" story.
When I was young, I liked to play with cameras, but my pockets were empty, so I could only buy some simple and cheap cameras, even if there was a collection, it also belonged to "picking up leaks", and this "leak" was basically unfamiliar to people, or rarely famous cameras, although not expensive, but complacent.
And Lycra was so hard to pick up the leak, I didn't pick it up.....
I know in the collection circle that the only Lycra "leak", is a domestic camera enthusiast, a treasure just began to go online when the bubble on the top to find a camera, one day suddenly appeared a Lycra, selling 360 yuan also free shipping, he began not to believe, thought it was a liar, did not dare to buy, but looked at the hanging day, finally could not help but start, the result is a well-functioned Laika M3 body.
The seller did not understand, and the apple was sold as a radish.
（2）
The Laika collection is boring, is it too easy to come
When Chinese have money, it is no longer a big deal and difficult to buy a Laika camera that used to be expensive.
Some friends collect cameras, but also collect and play watches, in their eyes "poor play camera, rich play watch", of course, this sentence is also suitable for other fields, such as cars, audio, antiques and so on.
Camera collections, on the other hand, are "despised" by some wealthy people, or feel too pediatric.
People who have become wealthier, once they have money in their hands, find it too easy for Lycra to collect.
In the collection industry, the Lycra camera is "transparent", mainly because its price is clear, the version is clear, the information is rich, the variety is limited, as long as it is not bad money, collecting a large set of complete lycras is basically not difficult, and it does not take too long.
Because there is no "difficulty" of collecting, collection is much less process and fun, and it becomes a simple purchase.
The collection of Laika cameras has become a collection plaything for money people, and there is no guarantee of funds, even if you like it, you will not easily move your ideas.
And the production of Lycra is very large, only a few rare versions or special things are difficult to get, if you collect according to the general Lycra catalog, it will soon be "Grand Slam", do not need too much energy, as long as you have enough silver.
I once heard a camera collector say that he bought 1 million yuan of Laika cameras online one night, basically bought all the versions of the M6 series, and a friend, originally not to collect Laika cameras, but someone introduced an old man's collection of dozens of Laika (including Laika 250), wanted to transfer, simply bought all at once, and owned most of the Laika.
I also know a person, more than ten years ago when laika was cheap, once bought a lot of laika cameras, different from ordinary collectors, he is whether there are or not, no matter how many in his hand, see the good ones to buy, even buy in a pile, no one can know how many laikas he bought in those years.
This is no longer just for collecting and playing, but for investment and appreciation. Laika cameras later rose a lot, and he still earned it.
（3）
Playing Lycra easy to indulge in another kind of fun
I came into contact with Laika after 2000, the earliest one I bought was M3, with a 50/1.5 lens, I forgot how much it cost, it seems to be 5500 yuan. The second is the M6, with a 50/2 lens, is to see others have, they also bought one, want to take pictures.
In fact, once you get started with Lycra, it is very easy to indulge, which is mainly the feel of the Lycra camera, as well as the depth of the Lycra series of lenses, addictive, this is not the fun of the collection process, but to appreciate and revel in the beauty of machinery and workmanship A "drug addiction".
As a result, I repeatedly bought my favorite, 3F, M3, M6, as long as I see good quality, I can't help but receive, this "morbid" possession is because I like this metallic luster too much, as well as the worship of the top camera, obviously already have, but also want to collect another one.
I once saw a Laika M6 in Shanghai, the fuselage was polished by the four corners of the light, very vicissitudes, as if the Gulf War, Iraq War have been experienced.
The owner told me that this is a camera used by a Japanese person, and it has not been used much, but this person has a hobby, that is, "grinding machine", often holding the camera to rub around on his jeans, seeking a sense of vicissitudes, and becoming what it is now.
（4）
It is better to collect lycras than to collect duplicators
In the past few years, due to the rapid development of China's economy, many camera collectors have been created, and excellent cameras from all over the world have been attracted to China, and Lycra is the first to bear the brunt.
Many people who collect cameras in China will have a series of Lycra cameras and lens collections, and there are too many people in China who collect Lycra cameras.
Personally, I think it's too monotonous to simply collect Lycra cameras, and the Lycra camera culture also includes a large number of Lycra copy cameras.
In fact, the culture of Lycra cameras is not only Lycra's own brand, but also many Lycra copy cameras, which inherit the cultural concept of Lycra, and even whimsical ideas. Some are directly imitated lycras, some add their own patents to the imitation, and the copy version of the lycra has become various and interesting.
There is an English book, 300 Leica Copies(Lycra Copy 300), which talks about 300 copies and imitation machines of lycras, which is actually more than this possible, and the collection of lycra copy cameras is much larger than the collection of lycras, of course, much more difficult and interesting.
The most imitation of Laika cameras is Japan and the Soviet Union, and China's Shanghai 58-2 and Hongqi 20 are also in this series, which is a very rich and interesting and difficult collection, much more difficult than collecting Laika itself.
Sometimes what money can do is not a big thing or a difficult thing, and what cannot be done with money is a worry and a laborious thing.
It is easy to have money to buy a lycra, but to buy some rare copies of lycra cameras, it will take a lot of effort and fate.
For collecting cameras, this is a pleasure and fun thing.
There is a saying: it has always been imitated, never surpassed, and it is completely a true portrayal of Laika.
But in terms of the value of imitating the camera, many copiers are more expensive than the original machine, such as the Hongqi 20, a set of three-headed perfect set of machines to 600,000-800,000 yuan.
Is this beyond that?