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Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) “Drifter”

35mm MF digital rangefinder camera • Collectible

Specification

■ Production details
Announced:May 2019
Production type:Small-batch production: 125 (one hundred twenty-five) units
Order No.:10916 - body with SUMMICRON-M 28/2 ASPH. and APO-SUMMICRON-M 75/2 ASPH.
System:● Leica M (1954)
■ Imaging plane
Maximum format:35mm full frame
Mount and Flange focal distance:Leica M [27.8mm]
Imaging plane:35.8 × 23.9mm CMOS sensor
Resolution:5976 × 3992 - 24 MP
■ Shutter
Type:Focal-plane
Model:Electronically controlled
Speeds:60 - 1/4000 + B
Sensor-shift image stabilization:-
■ Exposure
Exposure metering:Through-the-lens (TTL), stop-down
Exposure modes:Aperture-priority Auto
Manual
■ Rangefinder and Viewfinder
Rangefinder:Built-in, combined with viewfinder
Viewfinder:Built-in, combined with rangefinder
Finder magnification:0.68x
Actual rangefinder base:69.25mm
Effective rangefinder base:47.09mm
Bright-line frames:35mm & 135mm, 28mm & 90mm, 50mm & 75mm
Parallax compensation:Yes
■ Physical characteristics
Weight:<No data>
Dimensions:138.6x80x42mm

Manufacturer description #1

One for the road: new limited-edition Leica M Monochrom ‘Drifter’ is Lenny Kravitz’s ode to touring

Leica Camera AG and Kravitz Design have collaborated on a camera built for rock n’ roll nomads who can be found on either side of the lens. The look of the Leica M Monochrom ‘Drifter’ has been created by Grammy-winning musician, actor and artist Lenny Kravitz, who is no stranger to bold style and individual expression. The result is an attention-commanding and soulful Leica camera made for global touring. The name is inspired by how Kravitz sees himself, “I’m a drifter. That has been my life since I was 15-years-old; I’m always on the road.”

This limited edition camera is designed with an eye-catching ‘synthetic python’ snakeskin covering, made from premium-quality vegan leather which looks straight out of the rockstar’s wardrobe. Kravitz was made aware of this synthetic material by his close friend, fashion designer and animal rights activist Stella McCartney, who uses it for many of her own creations. The matching carrying strap made of woven fabric is coated with the same vegan leather as the camera. The camera’s monochrom body is luxuriously retro in special sepia brown paint, and the hotshoe, thumb wheel, shutter and soft-release buttons are made from untreated brass, which will allow a stylish vintage look to develop over time.

Two state-of-the-art lenses are included, both finished in sepia brown; a Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH, and an APO-Summicron-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. In a departure from the standard production model, the Summicron-M 28mm f/2 features a built-in extendable lens hood to match the design of its 75mm counterpart.

This camera demands five-star accommodation; a smart brown leather-like ‘Drifter Traveller’ bag, two pouches and cases for both lenses are included, so your kit is always protected.

Lenny Kravitz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1964 to an Afro-American mother and a Ukrainian-Jewish father. He is not only a world-famous musician, songwriter, producer and actor but also an accomplished photographer. As a musician, Kravitz is a multi-instrumentalist who uses analogue recording technology to underline the retro-character of his songs. As a visual artist, he has enjoyed success with his design studio, Kravitz Design, and has also become an accomplished photographer publishing ‘Flash’, a book of his black-and-white photographs in 2015. “I love the quality of the Leica’s monochrom system’ says Kravitz, “it’s exquisite. I tend to see things in black-and-white. It looks more real to me, and timeless.”

This is the second time Lenny and his design team have collaborated with Leica on a limited-edition masterpiece. In 2015, he was inspired by the life of his father, a Vietnam War reporter and TV news producer, to create the ‘Correspondent’, a vintage-look Leica M-P. This time, Lenny has looked within himself and authored a design which reflects the lifestyle of a cosmopolitan artist and travelling musician stopping to capture his or her unique experiences.

With production limited to 125 units globally, the Leica M Monochrom ‘Drifter’ is incredibly exclusive and highly collectable; RRP is £20,500.

Manufacturer description #2

Leica M Monochrom “Drifter” by Kravitz Design

Leica Camera is proud to announce the latest special edition camera and second collaboration with world-renowned musician, designer and photographer Lenny Kravitz – the Leica M Monochrom “Drifter” by Kravitz Design. This incredibly unique special edition set consists of an ornate Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) camera finished in sepia-brown paint and wrapped in a vegan python leatherette, two matching sepia-brown paint lenses, two vintage-style brown lens cases, a woven carrying strap adorned with vegan python accents, all-purpose travel accessory pouches and a beautiful yet discreet weekender bag dubbed “The Drifter Traveler”.

This special M Monochrom camera is accompanied by a Summicron-M 28 mm f/2 ASPH. and APO-Summicron-M 75 mm f/2 ASPH., all finished in the unique sepia-brown paint. The front rim of each lens – along with the camera's thumb wheel, flash shoe, shutter button and soft release – are made of untreated brass. As a departure from the standard production model, the Summicron-M 28 mm f/2 ASPH. features a built-in telescoping lens hood, matching the design of its 75 mm counterpart. The unique lens cases included in the set are rigid vintage-inspired quivers that perfectly fit each lens and protect them while in transit. Fitting with the nomadic “Drifter” lifestyle of always being on the road, the set is completed by two all-purpose accessory pouches that can be used for photo equipment or travel essentials, and a lovely “The Drifter Traveler” weekender-style bag to carry it all in.

The unique vegan python leatherette was sourced from Kravitz's personal friend and revered designer Stella McCartney, known for her dedication to cruelty-free fashion standards.

The Leica M Monochrom “Drifter” is limited to 125 sets worldwide, and will be sold exclusively through Leica Stores and Boutiques. Please note that the set will ship as a “soft bundle” – one box containing the body and two lenses and one box containing the bag, lens cases, and accessory pouches.

Musician, Designer, Photographer, Drifter

Lenny Kravitz, the world-renowned musician and recording artist as well as creator of Kravitz Design, is also a passionate photographer. Having once collaborated with Leica Camera on the M-P “Correspondent” Set, his sophomore creation with Leica is a celebration of his love for black and white photography and passion for adventure. Always on the road and on the move, the “Drifter” Set embodies his nomadic lifestyle and free spirit. Accompanying it will be his new “Drifter” photo exhibition, making its world debut at the Leica Gallery in Wetzlar.

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35mm full frame

43.27 24 36
  • Dimensions: 36 × 24mm
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Diagonal: 43.27mm
  • Area: 864mm2

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Image stabilizer

A technology used for reducing or even eliminating the effects of camera shake. Gyro sensors inside the lens detect camera shake and pass the data to a microcomputer. Then an image stabilization group of elements controlled by the microcomputer moves inside the lens and compensates camera shake in order to keep the image static on the imaging sensor or film.

The technology allows to increase the shutter speed by several stops and shoot handheld in such lighting conditions and at such focal lengths where without image stabilizer you have to use tripod, decrease the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO setting which can lead to blurry and noisy images.

Original name

Lens name as indicated on the lens barrel (usually on the front ring). With lenses from film era, may vary slightly from batch to batch.

Format

Format refers to the shape and size of film or image sensor.

35mm is the common name of the 36x24mm film format or image sensor format. It has an aspect ratio of 3:2, and a diagonal measurement of approximately 43mm. The name originates with the total width of the 135 film which was the primary medium of the format prior to the invention of the full frame digital SLR. Historically the 35mm format was sometimes called small format to distinguish it from the medium and large formats.

APS-C is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the film negatives of 25.1x16.7mm with an aspect ratio of 3:2.

Medium format is a film format or image sensor format larger than 36x24mm (35mm) but smaller than 4x5in (large format).

Angle of view

Angle of view describes the angular extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera. It is used interchangeably with the more general term field of view.

As the focal length changes, the angle of view also changes. The shorter the focal length (eg 18mm), the wider the angle of view. Conversely, the longer the focal length (eg 55mm), the smaller the angle of view.

A camera's angle of view depends not only on the lens, but also on the sensor. Imaging sensors are sometimes smaller than 35mm film frame, and this causes the lens to have a narrower angle of view than with 35mm film, by a certain factor for each sensor (called the crop factor).

This website does not use the angles of view provided by lens manufacturers, but calculates them automatically by the following formula: 114.6 * arctan (21.622 / CF * FL),

where:

CF – crop-factor of a sensor,
FL – focal length of a lens.

Mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a camera body and a lens.

A lens mount may be a screw-threaded type, a bayonet-type, or a breech-lock type. Modern camera lens mounts are of the bayonet type, because the bayonet mechanism precisely aligns mechanical and electrical features between lens and body, unlike screw-threaded mounts.

Lens mounts of competing manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony etc.) are always incompatible. In addition to the mechanical and electrical interface variations, the flange focal distance can also be different.

The flange focal distance (FFD) is the distance from the mechanical rear end surface of the lens mount to the focal plane.

Lens construction

Lens construction – a specific arrangement of elements and groups that make up the optical design, including type and size of elements, type of used materials etc.

Element - an individual piece of glass which makes up one component of a photographic lens. Photographic lenses are nearly always built up of multiple such elements.

Group – a cemented together pieces of glass which form a single unit or an individual piece of glass. The advantage is that there is no glass-air surfaces between cemented together pieces of glass, which reduces reflections.

Focal length

The focal length is the factor that determines the size of the image reproduced on the focal plane, picture angle which covers the area of the subject to be photographed, depth of field, etc.

Speed

The largest opening or stop at which a lens can be used is referred to as the speed of the lens. The larger the maximum aperture is, the faster the lens is considered to be. Lenses that offer a large maximum aperture are commonly referred to as fast lenses, and lenses with smaller maximum aperture are regarded as slow.

In low-light situations, having a wider maximum aperture means that you can shoot at a faster shutter speed or work at a lower ISO, or both.

Closest focusing distance

The minimum distance from the focal plane (film or sensor) to the subject where the lens is still able to focus.

Closest working distance

The distance from the front edge of the lens to the subject at the maximum magnification.

Magnification ratio

Determines how large the subject will appear in the final image. For example, a magnification ratio of 1:1 means that the image of the subject formed on the film or sensor will be the same size as the subject in real life. For this reason, a 1:1 ratio is often called "life-size".

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Electronic manual focus override is performed in the following way: half-press the shutter button, wait until the camera has finished the autofocusing and then focus manually without releasing the shutter button using the focusing ring.

Manual diaphragm

The diaphragm must be stopped down manually by rotating the detent aperture ring.

Preset diaphragm

The lens has two rings, one is for pre-setting, while the other is for normal diaphragm adjustment. The first ring must be set at the desired aperture, the second ring then should be fully opened for focusing, and turned back for stop down to the pre-set value.

Semi-automatic diaphragm

The lens features spring mechanism in the diaphragm, triggered by the shutter release, which stops down the diaphragm to the pre-set value. The spring needs to be reset manually after each exposure to re-open diaphragm to its maximum value.

Automatic diaphragm

The camera automatically closes the diaphragm down during the shutter operation. On completion of the exposure, the diaphragm re-opens to its maximum value.

Fixed diaphragm

The aperture setting is fixed at F/ on this lens, and cannot be adjusted.

Number of blades

As a general rule, the more blades that are used to create the aperture opening in the lens, the rounder the out-of-focus highlights will be.

Some lenses are designed with curved diaphragm blades, so the roundness of the aperture comes not from the number of blades, but from their shape. However, the fewer blades the diaphragm has, the more difficult it is to form a circle, regardless of rounded edges.

At maximum aperture, the opening will be circular regardless of the number of blades.

Weight

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

Maximum diameter x Length

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

For lenses with collapsible design, the length is indicated for the working (retracted) state.

Weather sealing

A rubber material which is inserted in between each externally exposed part (manual focus and zoom rings, buttons, switch panels etc.) to ensure it is properly sealed against dust and moisture.

Lenses that accept front mounted filters typically do not have gaskets behind the filter mount. It is recommended to use a filter for complete weather resistance when desired.

Fluorine coating

Helps keep lenses clean by reducing the possibility of dust and dirt adhering to the lens and by facilitating cleaning should the need arise. Applied to the outer surface of the front and/or rear lens elements over multi-coatings.

Filters

Lens filters are accessories that can protect lenses from dirt and damage, enhance colors, minimize glare and reflections, and add creative effects to images.

Lens hood

A lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare. Flare occurs when stray light strikes the front element of a lens and then bounces around within the lens. This stray light often comes from very bright light sources, such as the sun, bright studio lights, or a bright white background.

The geometry of the lens hood can vary from a plain cylindrical or conical section to a more complex shape, sometimes called a petal, tulip, or flower hood. This allows the lens hood to block stray light with the higher portions of the lens hood, while allowing more light into the corners of the image through the lowered portions of the hood.

Lens hoods are more prominent in long focus lenses because they have a smaller viewing angle than that of wide-angle lenses. For wide angle lenses, the length of the hood cannot be as long as those for telephoto lenses, as a longer hood would enter the wider field of view of the lens.

Lens hoods are often designed to fit onto the matching lens facing either forward, for normal use, or backwards, so that the hood may be stored with the lens without occupying much additional space. In addition, lens hoods can offer some degree of physical protection for the lens due to the hood extending farther than the lens itself.

Teleconverters

Teleconverters increase the effective focal length of lenses. They also usually maintain the closest focusing distance of lenses, thus increasing the magnification significantly. A lens combined with a teleconverter is normally smaller, lighter and cheaper than a "direct" telephoto lens of the same focal length and speed.

Teleconverters are a convenient way of enhancing telephoto capability, but it comes at a cost − reduced maximum aperture. Also, since teleconverters magnify every detail in the image, they logically also magnify residual aberrations of the lens.

Lens caps

Scratched lens surfaces can spoil the definition and contrast of even the finest lenses. Lens covers are the best and most inexpensive protection available against dust, moisture and abrasion. Safeguard lens elements - both front and rear - whenever the lens is not in use.