Hold on to your skateboards. This is one to gladden the heart and stimulate the eye. It’s a real doozie among special editions. Leica’s popular little D-Lux is writing a new chapter in its history, appearing for the first time in a stunning finishing-straight chequered flag coat. The special in question is the Vans x Ray Barbee edition which, at first glance, promises to be a camera capable of taking pictures through solid walls. Sadly, that is not the case.
Leica describes the tasteful special as “an extraordinary camera” and never have the copywriter’s words been so apposite. It is very extraordinary, a black-and-white confection with a petrol-blue strap and a matching dust bag. All skateboarding Leica fans will be tempted by the £1,325 price tag. Even non-skateboarding photographers are sure to be filling the order books. Will it be a good investment? Will it be discreet enough for street-corner lurkers, always ready for a little man to jump over a nearby puddle?
Here at Macfilos, we’re not too familiar with skateboarding. Although we have owned the odd pair of Vans, let it be said. Nevertheless, we are impressed to read that: “Leica Camera has teamed up with two stars of the skateboarding scene – the fashion label Vans, and the skater, musician and photographer Ray Barbee – to introduce the limited-edition Leica D-Lux 7 Vans x Ray Barbee: an extraordinary camera that encapsulates the spirit and lifestyle of skateboarding culture. Ray Barbee summarises the venture’s core emotion: “The joy is in capturing the journey.”
The information goes on to describe the accompanying dust bag which is inscribed with Ernst Leitz II’s famous quotation: “Ich entscheide hiermit: Es wird riskiert.” Perhaps the Leica I would have been more successful had it been decorated with a chequered flag cover. We don’t know.
After the hagiography, it’s a bit of a let-down to find that the limited-edition D-Lux 7 has the same technical specifications as the serial model, “distinguished by a large Micro Four Thirds sensor and fast zoom lens with a full-frame-equivalent range of 24–75 mm”. No X-Ray sensor here, so dial down your expectations.
The press release takes over the story…
PRESS RELEASE
Leica D-Lux 7 Vans x Ray Barbee Edition: The Journey is the Destination
Wetzlar, November 19, 2021. Leica Camera has teamed up with two stars of the skateboarding scene – the fashion label Vans, and the skater, musician and photographer Ray Barbee – to introduce the limited-edition Leica D-Lux 7 Vans x Ray Barbee: an extraordinary camera that encapsulates the spirit and lifestyle of skateboarding culture. Ray Barbee summarises the venture’s core emotion: “The joy is in capturing the journey.”
Vans has been creating skate shoes and clothing for more than five decades – staying true to its underground essence whilst gaining global renown. The multi-talented Ray Barbee not only counts as a pioneer within the skateboarding scene, but is also known as a successful musician and Leica photographer. “I am very honored to be working with both Vans and Leica – not just to show the connection between skating and photography, but also to celebrate the enormous contributions of both brands in their respective fields. The coming together of these two brands represents a truly special collaboration.”
The Leica D-Lux 7 Vans x Ray Barbee Edition is covered in Vans’ iconic checkerboard pattern. The top plate of the camera features Ray Barbee’s signature, as well as the Vault logo – a sub-brand which Vans reserves for particularly high-end products and exclusive collaborations. The set includes a specially designed carrier strap and matching dust bag, both in petrol blue. One side of the bag is adorned with Barbee’s quote, “The joy is in capturing the journey,” which has become the motto of this joint venture and its resulting products. The other side of the dust bag shows the famous words of Ernst Leitz II: “Ich entscheide hiermit: Es wird riskiert” (“I hereby decide: the risk shall be taken”) – which marked the go-ahead for the production of the Leica I in 1924.
The limited-edition Leica D-Lux 7 Vans x Ray Barbee has the same technical specifications as the serially produced model, distinguished by a large Micro Four Thirds sensor and fast zoom lens with a full-frame-equivalent range of 24 – 75 mm. Vans complements the collaboration with specially designed T-shirts as well as shoes (including a petrol-colored model with red eyelets and checkerboard lining) adorned with the afore-mentioned quotes by Ray Barbee and Ernst Leitz II. The Leica D-Lux 7 Vans x Ray Barbee Edition is priced at £1,325.00. Selected works by Ray Barbee are on show at the Leica Gallery Los Angeles, coinciding with the camera’s market launch.
Are you in the vanguard for in placing an order for this special edition? Does it skate your board? Will it have a chequered history in your hands? Let’s have a discussion on Leica special editions in general.
Ich entscheide hiermit, es wird riskiert: I’ve decided, we’ll take the risk (referring to the production of the Leica Model I) and is my preferred translation instead of the stilted literal version in the press release.
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My sentiments align with the general comments above……so I googled “skateboarding magazine Leica” to see whether I was missing something……seems that Leica have had a small but definite association with the skateboarding community for some time.
Gotta go now, headin’ across to the ‘Bay to buy my first ‘board……either a popsicle deck or a cruiser? Decisions, decisions, 🥴.
And my M9s
I’ll stick with my Typ 109.
Er, I dunno Mike…
But ‘”Janis” Joplin’ was a “white trash” blues singer, who burned herself out at 27 years old, and as mentioned in my quote above, she tended to judge folk by the shoes that they wore.
Wrong shoes, nothing of value therein.
A somewhat immature view of the world.
I’ve heard of Janis Joplin of course, but I didn’t get the connection here.
Well I thought Janis was quite good for one tune, possibly two, but the constant screaming used to become a little bit tiring… Following, is a part of an interview that she did with Dick Cavett…
“Janis it’s a shame you couldn’t do an up tune for us but I liked that one.
Later in the show.
Yeah, maybe later we’ll be talking too. You’re really shot after, after a number, let alone a whole evening I would think.
Yeah, yeah.
You tell me you kind of collapse after a show ?
Well, I’m used to it because I’m so turned on by doing one that it’s hard to do, it’s hard to stop after one to tell you the truth, because it just makes you wanna do more.
Your engine is revved up ?
Yeah, sort of!
I know all the hip expressions, you see. Your engine is revved up.
You’re a real swinger, I can tell by your shoes, man!
Wait a minute, Janis, Janis. These were good enough for my grand-father, they’re good enough for me.
I had a lot of trouble, last week I, er, it wasn’t that tune, we opened with another tune and I tore a muscle.
I heard about this. You tore a mussel somewhere near Maryland. Er …
It was closer to home than that!
Well, er …
But I played forty minutes, man! I did forty minutes!
Yeah, but how do you, how do you tear a muscle singing, was it from the exhaustion or …
No, I went … like that.
You actually, literally tore a muscle … I mean like that …
Every time, it hurt.
Could you feel it go ?
Yeah.
Phew!
Yeah.
What do they do, do they set a muscle or do they tape you up or something ?
They told me to keep still.
Janis you wrote that tune that you were just singing like we just agreed to ask about. You er, you wrote the first tune, right ?
I wrote the first tune. It’s, er, yes I did, it’s about men.
It’s about men. It’s a little hard to tell what it was about ’cause I was standing over there where the sound is a little distorted.
Well in my story that’s what it is anyway.
Yeah.”
And who’s Janice?
Just to be picky – and as a former advertising copywriter, including on the Leica account for their UK agency nearly 50 years ago – I’d only say please don’t confuse the writing of advertising copy and PR blurb (as here). Two very different disciplines!
Always good to be picky 🙂
It’s good to look for opportunities to gain familiarity and affinity, but the risk (see Louis Vuitton and others) is you have no guardrails and people get greedy for short term revenue. But the red dot itself has plenty of potential if used wisely.
I’m just not sure Leica has any good marketing/comms people. Previous special editions have been poorly packaged, they are behind the curve on communicating the future of the CL (or lack of) and agree on poor copywriting.
Totally agree.
It’s interesting, my initial thought was indeed WTF but who approached whom in this odd collaboration? Vans is a bigger brand than 20 years ago but still a little niche. Buying Vans still marks the wearer out as a little more style conscious than the average sneaker wearer. It’s the type of purchase process that Leica is interested in.
My next thought is what are the financial terms of this arrangement? Leica could make more out of this from licensing a red eyelet variation on the red dot, plus the use of a (presumably) trademarked quote than from the special edition camera’s sales (and probably will).
Third thought — word of mouth increase of name recognition is not to be sneezed at. Put it this way, I work with people who wear Vans, have film cameras but have no idea what brand the red dot on the camera sitting on my desk signifies. But a red eyelet on a sneaker? That opens up a whole range of questions which translates into brand recognition and, somewhere down the line, maybe even sales.
My last thought is Leica please, please, find a new copywriter!
A positive assessment, Steve. Perhaps the rest of us are just grumpy old curmudgeons. But agreed on the copywriters, even though it’s a thankless task, given the material to play with.
Vans a bigger brand than 20 years ago? How come I have never heard of them? Probably because I know nothing about sneaker brands. I know a lot of young people who use film cameras and I have helped them out by donating cameras etc, but I never look at what they have on their feet. I sometimes I look to see what cameras they are using, but, at 72, I am way past judging people by brands, whether they be for cameras, cars or footwear. I own more Leicas than most people will see in a lifetime, but I am not interested in Leica as a brand, just as a make or manufacturer. There is a big difference, I think.
William
It’s a saying in fashion ‘always judge a person by their shoes’; the idea being that if they take care in their choice of footwear — an area often not noticed — then they must take care in their other clothing choices.
There is a variant of the phrase often attributed to Harold MacMillan when referring to ‘gentlemen’.
The only word to describe this is-bizarre. It is truly bizarre. What is the Leica marketing department-if there is such a department-thinking? Or which planet have they been living on? Putting aside the ghastly presentation of the camera do they really think that any skateboarders would even consider buying a camera yet alone one at this price? They already own cameras-except they are called smartphones.
As a Leica enthusiast and owner I am embarrassed to have an association with a brand that is this naive. As Le Chef says in the opening comment “it is a load of bollocks” and as I am sure any self respecting skateboarder will say “WTF”.
If you’re a skateboarder you use a GoPro on your helmet not a camera…
Mind you, I rather like the “dust bag”, an exciting new concept. Perhaps the next special should be sponsored by Brabantia: the Leica V-Lux Brabantia edition with a recyclable plastic dust bag.
Hipster overdrive! I surely am not cool enough to buy this camera…
The Journey is the Destination sounds Confucius-nist
Definitely cool 😎
Sacrilege, having that quote from Mr Leitz. I thought ‘vans’ were for delivering things as in ‘white van man’. I suppose, Mike, you and I and most of us here are not ‘the target market’. The trendy side of Leica is one of the least attractive aspects of the company. So-called ‘luxury brands’ always drive me in the other direction. The camera is fine, but you don’t have to buy it ‘tarted up’ like this. I have probably already devoted more words to this than it deserves.
William
Frankly all these special editions are a load of bollocks, regardless of which “star’s” name is on them. There’s pretty much a guarantee that no performance improvements will be offered and the aesthetics can be questionable, which makes you wonder whether the money spent on developing this SE might have been better spent on improving the fundamentals.
And as a parting”gift” it usually seems to signify that the model is in its runout phase. Presumably we should start looking for a DL-8 in the Spring…
That’s probably what the chequered flag denotes—end of the race.