LEICA CAMERA AG PRESENTS THE ZAGATO LEICA LIMITED EDITION M10 CAMERA
Last June, Leica Camera AG presented the Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’, a timelessly beautiful special edition that unites the best of German craftsmanship and Italian design. Comprising a camera and a Leica SummiluxM35mm f/1.4 ASPH. lens, the set takes its name from Dr. Andrea Zagato, owner of the design house and automotive styling specialist of the same name, who personally designed the limited edition, restricted to 250 pieces worldwide. This collaboration is now the second special edition created between the two long-established companies with the first one in 2015 at the launch of a limited series of binoculars with a strikingly elegant design, the Leica Ultravid 8x32 ‘Edition Zagato’.
Founded a century ago, Zagato has been the creator of the most beautiful coach-built bodies in the history of automobile construction. The quintessential Italian brand is particularly well known for its innovative use of aluminum in automobile design and construction. Today, the company continues to create special, and traditionally strictly limited, editions of cars with unique styling in Milan, where the story of success began with the brand’s founder Ugo Zagato in 1919.
Both Leica and Zagato uphold a strong passion for aesthetics and precision in many respects. Both have intrinsic links, as well, to photography: “Photography plays an essential role in our work. Without the possibilities offered by photography, we would never have had the invaluable pictures to be able to reconstruct vehicle models, and would not be able to present our work from the last decades in such an impressive way” emphasized owner Dr. Andrea Zagato, who, together with his wife and Art Director, Marella Rivolta-Zagato, now heads the family company in its third generation.
The ‘Edition Zagato’ is the first special edition of the Leica M10 camera and offers extraordinary visual and tactile highlights. The top deck, the base- plate, the outer casing and the control elements of the camera are all manufactured from aluminum. This makes it 70g lighter than its serial production counterpart. Instead of the usual leather trim, the bodyshell of the camera is finished with fine grooves, which, together with details like the red shutter release button, lend the camera its unique look and feel. The integrated handgrip at the left of the body visually distinguishes the special edition from the serial production model of the M10 and makes it a delight to hold and handle. The M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ is the first Leica camera to have its own special serial number engraved on an aluminum badge on the base of the camera that is revealed only when the baseplate is opened.
The Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH. lens in the special edition set has an integrated lens hood that can be pulled out and locked in place in a single motion – a new feature for a 35mm lens that simplifies its handling. The design of the focusing aid on the lens pays homage to a typical styling sig- nature of Zagato automobile design, the double-bubble roofline of many Zagato models. The unmistakeable ‘Zagato’ logotype on the lens ring also indicates the role of the prominent design partner in this collaboration. In all other aspects, the technical specifications of the camera and lens in the Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ set are identical to those of its serial production counterpart. In addition to the camera and lens, the set also includes a carrying strap in red full-grain leather embossed with the Zagato logotype. This M-Camera is the first to feature rectangular strap lugs in the same design as those of the Zagato binoculars. The certificate of authenticity graces the packaging of the set in the form of an aluminum plate with an engraved serial number.