It’s been quite the week for special-edition Leica cameras, with another one clamouring for your attention. This time it’s the rather lovely Lecia M Monochrom that gets the glamorous makeover, with the firm teaming up with rockstar Lenny Kravitz to create the M Monochrom Drifter.
The M Monochrom is, as the name implies, Leica’s black-and-white digital camera, sporting a 24MP full-frame sensor. The name “Drifter” comes from Kravitz himself, as he explains: “I’m a drifter. That has been my life since I was 15-years-old; I’m always on the road.”
Internally this new edition is the same as the standard M Monochrom, but on the outside it has a faux-snakeskin covering made from high-quality synthetic vegan leather, a material that was frequently used by fashion designer and animal rights activist Stella McCartney.
The new Drifter camera comes with a matching carrying strap made from the same material. Its body is painted sepia brown, and its hotshoe, thumb wheel, shutter and soft-release buttons are all made from untreated brass, which Leica says will allow them to develop a vintage look over time.
The full Drifter kit, including carrying bag and lenses
The Drifter also comes with two Leica lenses that have been finished in sepia brown to match – the Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH and the APO-Summicron-M 75mm f/2 ASPH, both of which come with matching lens hoods. It all also comes with a stylish leather-like “Drifter Traveller” bag, as well as pouches for the lenses.
Only 125 of these limited-edition sets are going to be produced. The RRP for the whole set will be £20,500 / $23,950.
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Jon spent years at IPC Media writing features, news, reviews and other photography content for publications such as Amateur Photographer and What Digital Camera in both print and digital form. With his additional experience for outlets like Photomonitor, this makes Jon one of our go-to specialists when it comes to all aspects of photography, from cameras and action cameras to lenses and memory cards, flash diffusers and triggers, batteries and memory cards, selfie sticks and gimbals, and much more besides.
An NCTJ-qualified journalist, he has also contributed to Shortlist, The Skinny, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh, The Guardian, Trusted Reviews, CreativeBLOQ, and probably quite a few others I’ve forgotten.
