Mama said I can't afford these $24,000 Lenny Kravitz Leica cameras. Well, I say, it ain't over 'til it's over!

Lenny Kravitz takes a picture during the vernissage 'Flash by Lenny Kravitz' on June 23, 2015 in Wetzlar, Germany.
Lenny Kravitz father, Sy Kravitz, used a Leica camera which was eventually passed on to Lenny, meaning the rockstar has a real connection with the brand (Image credit: Getty Images / Isa Foltin )

I thought cool peaked when Lenny Kravitz and Slash collaborated on Always On the Run, until I was reminded that Lenny Kravitz helped to design a faux-snakeskin Leica: the Leica M Monochrom ‘Drifter’ by Kravitz Design.

The ‘Drifter’ is a limited-edition Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) that the legendary musician designed in collaboration with the legendary camera manufacturer in 2019. Only 125 of a limited edition set with matching lenses were made, hence the rockstar-worthy price tag of $23,950 / £20,500.

The Leica M-P ‘Correspondent’ with its convincing patina and classic black look is just a beautiful camera (Image credit: Leica)

But what I love most about this collaboration is that Lenny has a real connection with the Leica brand. So much so that he collaborated with Leica on another device, released in 2015, the Leica M-P ‘Correspondent’ by Kravitz Design, which is a Leica M-P digital rangefinder camera and was also limited to 125 sets.

According to Leica, the ‘Correspondent’ is an homage to Lenny’s father’s Leicaflex, which accompanied the elder Kravitz while he worked as a reporter in the Vietnam War. Sy Kravitz then gifted the camera to Lenny when he was 21.

The ‘Correspondent’ is packaged in a beautiful set with a Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH and the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph and is similarly priced to the 'Drifter'. What's more, Leica revealed that the 50mm was "constructed in the classic design of its ancestor from 1959".

But far away from the ‘Correspondent’s’ worn look, the ‘Drifter’ is everything you’d expect from the flamboyant Fly Away singer. For starters, the full-frame camera comes in a faux-leather holdall, dubbed the ‘The Drifter Traveler’, with two faux-leather lens cases and a pair of pouches to hold the camera and accessories.

I think the Leica M Monochrom ‘Drifter’ might just be the coolest-looking camera ever (Image credit: Leica)

The rangefinder camera itself is wrapped in a faux-snakeskin leatherette and features a matching camera strap. But what I really love about this camera is that it’s a gorgeous brown color.

And Leica hasn’t skimped on the two lenses, either. Both the Summicron-M 28mm f/2 Asph and Apo-Summicron-M 75mm f/2 Asph match the brown of the camera. Both the lenses and camera have gold accents, which only adds to the set’s unapologetically ostentatious nature.

And finally, the camera is black-and-white only. After all, what’s more rock ‘n’ roll than a timeless black-and-white photo? So there you have it, two pieces of photography and rock ‘n’ roll history. I’m a bit of a Lenny Kravitz fan, so I might be slightly biased, but I just can’t get these cameras off my mind…

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Mike Harris
How To Editor

Mike studied photography at college, honing his Adobe Photoshop skills and learning to work in the studio and darkroom. After a few years writing for various publications, he headed to the ‘Big Smoke’ to work on Wex Photo Video’s award-winning content team, before transitioning back to print as Technique Editor (later Deputy Editor) on N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine.

With bylines in Digital Camera, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Practical Photography, Digital Photographer, iMore, and TechRadar, he’s a fountain of photography and consumer tech knowledge, making him a top tutor for techniques on cameras, lenses, tripods, filters, and more. His expertise extends to everything from portraits and landscapes to abstracts and architecture to wildlife and, yes, fast things going around race tracks...

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