Leica has announced a special edition of its D-Lux 6 high-end compact camera, in collaboration with clothing manufacturer G-Star RAW. The special D-Lux 6 (itself arguably a 'special edition' Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7) will be available from Leica Stores and Boutiques worldwide, and is expected to cost around $1300 - around $800 more than the standard D-Lux 6 and roughly $1000 more than the LX7.
What do you get for your money? Well, 'a new dot structure on the leather body trim' and a leather case with 'exclusive carrying strap'. And a red dot, of course.
This is the new 'RAW' edition Leica D-Lux 6, which comes with a different body finish and leather case with an 'exclusive' carrying strap. It will be available from Leica stores worldwide, at a rumored price of $1300.
According to G-Star, the collaboration with Leica is 'natural', since 'both brands utilise design where form follows function, and stand for high-quality products of authenticity and durability'. The New York-based company has previously collaborated with bicycle manufacturer Cannondale, Hennessy cognac, Land Rover and it even got its name on the side of a 1927 canal boat in Amsterdam.
Shubhankar Ray on the Leica D-Lux 6 ‘Edition by G-Star RAW’
In this video, Shubhankar Ray, Global Brand Director for G-Star, talks about the collaboration between G-Star and Leica Camera on the limited special edition camera Leica D-Lux 6 'Edition by G-Star RAW.'
Hi, I'm very surprised by all these comments. Any professional photographer should know the value of design. It reminds me of Apple haters. Nobody needs to buy this camera.
Producing limited series is an expensive thing, it needs the same research as large production runs. I think this is an exceptionally nice piece for a fair price. It's a nice object to have and much more than just the camera, love it.
I am in awe at the power of branding. Leica is the master.
The camera has no improvements (except for the margin) over the LX7.
The guy on the video is so full of rhymes with hit.
Yet... I am sure that there will be enough suckers to spend $1,300 for a camera that, at B&H, can be bought without the red dot for $398 AND then argue with sane photographers that it is worth it.
Oh my, the video is bordering on hilarious. Easily some of the most pretentious drivel I've heard in years: "So the challenge becomes more about...sort of...how little design you can add, just to underline the usefullness of an object" WHaaa? "Instead of redesigning the camera, we're re-imagining it". The only thing they're imagining is how much money they can rake off of their devoted clan of suckers.
All of these extensive comments and nary a one about the functionality of the camera or any appreciation for aesthetics - at all. Y'all must not be good photographers, having zero appreciation for aesthetics or fashion. Maybe everyone here applied at Vogue and was turned down? If I were Vogue, I'd check to see what my applicants say online.
This is hilarious. I finally sold all my Leica stuff this year. I started becoming uncomfortable to be seen with it. These days the brand is more recognizable as nouveau-riche jewelry than as bullet-proof tools of photography. Call me vain for not wanting to look like an ostentatious tourist in my own city... (I sure got some amazing M43 gear for a fraction of the Leica investment.)
I love how they are still selling the cameras with tripe like this: "Discretion and unobtrusiveness are particular strengths of the M-System. For instance, the Leica M-E’s shutter action is extremely quiet.... ...a reason why M-Photographers often go unnoticed and simply blend into the scenery."
Really? Even with all that Breitling, Armani, Prada, Fendi, etc... on?? :D
I don't have any Leica gear and I used to think of the brand as highly desirable, but after about a year of following the scene I now have a different opinion. I too laugh at marketing like "unobtrusiveness, extreme quiet, blend into background." Not to mention hype about "creative freedom" because all of this can be achieved with an iPhone and other smart phones. They have silent shutters, so even more silent than Leica. They look like phones not camera so they blend in more, they are smaller so more unobtrusive, as for creative freedom, well how about thousands of apps. So so funny. Oh and all this for a 10th of the cost.
I believe a cheaper version Samsung Galaxy camera can do better job than this expensive little red dot. As I said before the little red dot carry weight, some can tell me due to their fantastic Leica lens this cam can perform as good as DSLR!
I seem to remember Saab pasted their name and fascias onto Chevrolet and Subaru during their death throws. People actually bought a few of them. Perhaps people didn't mind paying more for something that looks like what it isn't.
Leica has been doing this kind of stuff for years. The latest is only the most recent of a long line of so-called "collector's items." Why do they do this? Because there are a bunch of suckers out there.
leica's "collector's items" had almost always leica cameras as cores with some pomp added. they lived in show windows but were equally good or even better shooters than their "humble" siblings. in the end they were leica's. but this is not a leica. it is a Panasonic LX7. they do the same stuff like hasselblad and lunar. primary target: prospering chinese and indian rich with traditional "show of" culture.
If Leica isn't careful they are going to end up hurting themselves with these silly releases. Leica has always been a well respected brand, but moves like these are... Well, to put it simply- people are starting to laugh at Leica.
I agree with many of the other commenters that said that Leica should stick to their niche (rangefinders and lenses). The Monochrome, M-9, X-2 and Summilux are what I think of and covet when I think of Leica.
Okay, there is just one thing you guys have forgotten: Leica did contribute its lens design to base LX7 and is the fastest arguably sharpest lens in the advanced compact category. Image quality and sharpness is a step above the Fuji X20, for example, as a result. And this is achieved on ten megapixels versus 12. So Leica should be given some liberties to market its own versions.
You add $800 for fake leather, a "Red Dot", company color processing, a leather case (real not like the fake leather on the asian produced camera) and you tell people to use LightRoom (photographer naturally own a RAW processing engine!).
At the end of the day with ANY raw processing engine (including now included OBSOLETE LightRoom 4), Panasonic LX7 do the same exact photos as the Leica but being still 2X less expensive (and I include LightRoom 5), and moreover not using fake leather to try to look "haute couture". lol!
Where is the company "Color processing" or "Image processing" when you use Adobe LIghtRoom (or anoter RAW converter) ?
I wish that the likes of Leica and HB would use their resources and the ability to sell cameras at premium prices to create (or at least collaborate on) cutting-edge innovations instead of pathetic gimmicky niche-market toys.
as for any leica announcement, I have to cite Andreas kaufmann that possess LEICA : “We’re not a luxury brand, but we are elite, and price plays a role in how we see products.”
Notice that I had one of these Panasonic with a Leica "Red Dot", it worked well and was a great photographic tool. As its Panasonic counterpart. It was a gift, and you couldn't refuse a gift.
What a waste of time marketing video. Obviously the target audience is people who's priority to have and to be seen with an expensive brand. They don't care what effort and craftsmanship have gone in to making this product or whether the camera is any better than the Panasonic version. It wouldn't make any difference if it was an "ugly" design. There is no need for portraying the product as something aesthetic blah blah. The target audience will want to know if it is an expensive product of an expensive brand. I'm sure more than half will have heard the Leica name for the first time. If someone said in this video that this is a very expensive compact camera of a very famous brand would've had the desired effect. They can't care less. So, cut the bull...
I only got so far down this page and found myself agreeing/lining every comment.
Leica have been producing 'Emperors suit of clothes' cameras for yonks and if there are people out there daft enough to pay then good look to them. Hopefully, I'm not that daft...
Just because you wouldn't buy this camera doesn't mean its bad. The camera is aimed at those that want to make a fashion statement and have extra disposable income.
You won't see these buyers hanging on forums to put down the vanilla cameras that other manufacturers produce.
It seems the people here only approve of gear they actually own and everything else is inferior. I feel sorry for you guys who look through life half empty.
@scrup...The issue here is not whether the camera is good or bad or if one can afford it. Rather It is a sad state of affairs that actually people pay for grossly overpriced piece of an equipment/brand product to stand out from the crowd and think their existence's been enriched by it.
No- people here approve of cameras that are worthy of it and make fun of overpriced cameras based on silly marketing gimmicks. Respectable cameras aren't pimped out to fashion companies.
@vladimir vanek - why would they be half empty, it seems like you are the bitter one. Do you ever go to bar's and have a drink? Pay 10 times more than what you can get at the liquor store? What you value in a camera can be totally different to someone else's need.
@oselimg - do you look down on people who own Ferrari's and Lamborghini? People buy what makes them happy. You need to get out more and meet different types of people. That comment is very closed minded. Do you let your wife buy anything she wants or does it have to be approved by you!
@samhain do you own anything that has a brand? Leica saw a market niche and is catering for it. Cameras are not just tools they are accessories now.
What's all the whining about? This camera is not for the average Joe. It is targeting consumers who buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes for $2000 and drive them home with an Aston Martin Zagato. For those people the price of the Leica is a bargain. The world is heading to a way of serving the upper 10% only, even Adobe is walking this way. It's becoming a big club and you ain't in it! (me too btw)
I think the guy driving the Aston Martin would buy an actual Leica M...
Why? Because he is obviously the type of person who values how others perceive him based on what he owns. He understands that if he had bought a Ford Pinto with Aston Martin decals on it, it wouldn't have impressed anybody.
And he probably doesn't shop at G-Star RAW, which is probably where this camera will be sold, because its not exactly an exclusive store for the wealthy.
"It is targeting consumers who buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes for $2000 and drive them home with an Aston Martin Zagato."
Give me a beak. Like those people, should they exist, would buy those shoes if they were just Reeboks with a red dot or a Aston if it was a Kia with a fake leather body kit and a huge price.
Well, Astron Martin doesn't sell a Kia with a body kit, but it does sell a Toyota with a body kit and with a nearly 300% markup. It's called the Aston Martin Cygnet and it's a rebadged Toyota IQ with a price hike from £11.000 to £32.000.
The camera is for somebody who worked to get what they have. You don't have to be rich to buy this camera. I took 3 sick days in 38 years. That is why I can afford it. Work and be responsible.
I like my D-Lux 6 just the way it is. It serves a specific purpose. I don't like Leica AG's bad habit of putting bad marketing ahead of good (or great) photography, tip-toeing around the marketplace with "almost M" cameras that are more status symbol than precision tools. And often at absurd prices. Dressing up a perfectly good D-Lux 6 in odd colors and textures and brand logos doesn't make it a an M. That so many photographers are will to spend five-figures on decades old Leicas just show how irrelevant the new Leica fashion cameras have become. Here's an idea: Buy up and refurbish many of the secondary market used Leicas cameras and donate them to art schools under the condition they remain school property. Go back to making the very best new professional tools and the market will follow.
WTF Happened to Leica ? This use to b the bench mark of what all cameras aspire to be & should be .. Now u buy one of these and as u walk of people will giggle and think& whisper " poser " behind ur back
This is so lame. I want to meet someone who has the coin to waste on stuff like this so that I can pick up a few of the $100 bills that fall out when they bend over to tie their shoes...
Just because you people can not afford it, do not make fun of those who can and do! Not my cup of tea either but for some $1000 is less than pocket change!
Why shouldn't we make fun of someone who buys one of these instead of saving a lot of money on the ORIGINAL version? They deserve ridicule and if they have that much money to waste why don't they donate it to a charity instead?
I remember when you could buy a phoney Rolls Royce grill to put on your VW Beetle. This is as if Roll Royce did that themselves and sold you the Beetle for 4X the price.
I agree Greg. Some silly class envy posts about this camera, the RX1 and X Vario. If you want one of these cameras and don't have the money get three jobs if need be. When I bought my last car my young neighbor said "I wish I had one". I told him I took three sick days in 38 years (he has had more than that this week). I noted that he did have the money to get tattoos and get drunk most nights. God knows what a pack of butts goes for these days but he always has one going. Work hard and if that isn't good enough work harder. I personally would not want this camera but I can not knock those who do. That is their choice.
I have no issue with any of this. The LX7 is a fine compact camera. The D-Lux 6 adds the Leica improved colour processing, a copy of Lightroom and the red dot branding.
This designer special extends the idea further giving the very fetching leather trim (making it a fine looking camera to me) and the designer case and strap.
My ex-wife often blew a grand on some overpriced fancy designer bag. It was part of her costume to help her feel at ease in the various social circles she mingled in. It wasn't my thing, and could have thought of a hundred other things to blow the money on, but it made her happy.
The best camera is the one you always have with you. One approach is a good compact camera. But there's no doubt these have a consumer electronics or tech-geek look about them.
This is a very smart looking camera which could help the stylish, who would normally shun carrying a gadget, to enjoy the benefits of the camera you have with you.
"The D-Lux 6 adds the Leica improved colour processing, a copy of Lightroom..."
Clearly, if the camera do the procvessing you don't need LightRoom, and if you use LightRoom you don't need the in-camera processing. Many iof us have a RAW processing software (I have LightRoom 4 and Aperture 3, prefer LightRoom naturally).
Non-sense is a category of humour, not the way to sell 2X expensive camera!
At the end of day, taking raw pictures, processing them with LightRoom, Aprture, DxO (or any other), D-Lux6 is totally identical to Panasonic LX7, except the "Red dot..
It's always easier to knock something down. But the realities are simple:
For JPEG shooters, the colour response is important. Fuji, Olympus and Nikon all have a strong following based on their high quality JPEGs.
For would-be RAW shooters, a copy of Lightroom may have material value.
So the D-Lux 6 benefits may be tangible for some (perhaps not many, but enough for a viable product).
DSLRs get left at home when socialising because of the inconvenience of carrying them, and because of being very conspicuous.
A stylish compact allows someone to say, I like my photography, but don't want a geeky looking device that will alienate my friends who are not into photography.
This (clearly) niche product lets you make your statement, but rather than alienate, to be more engaging your friends who may appreciate fashion and design much more than camera specifications.
I don't invent these social etiquettes, but I do recognise they exist.
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