Photography has been vital to skateboarding’s rise as both a culture and sport. Aiming to add to that legacy, Leica has teamed up with Vans and legendary skater and photographer Ray Barbee for a limited-edition variant of its compact camera called the Leica D-Lux 7 Vans X Ray Barbee Edition.
The German brand has traditionally favoured all black or black and silver designs—with rare and notable exceptions—but this collaborative model pays homage to one of Vans’ most iconic designs. Its body is covered in the shoe company’s signature chequerboard pattern, the same one emblazoned on the classic slip-ons. Other special details include the Van Vault logo on the top plate, as well as the skater’s signature. And, of course, you’ll still find Leica’s familiar red-dot logo. The camera comes with a matching strap and bag that feature a quote— “the joy is in capturing the journey”—from Barbee, who’s best known for helping bring freestyle tricks to street skating.
Like many of Leica’s exclusive models, the D-Lux 7’s technical specs and features have been left alone. It’s not explicitly designed for shooting skate tricks, but its large 17-megapixel sensor, Leica DC Vario-Summilux lens and fast auto-focus (you can shoot 11 frames per second) make it easy to capture the moment just when the board starts to flip. A high resolution, 2,760K-pixel electronic viewfinder also allows you to make sure you got it and once you do, Bluetooth connectivity allows you to share it with the world via your smartphone. And this comes in a small and lightweight (12.7 ounces) package that’s easy to whip out at a moment’s notice.
The D-Lux 7 Vans X Ray Barbee Edition costs RM7,200.
Previously published on Robb Report.
