Focus on the Holidays: A Leica Gift Guide

Few manufacturers in any industry have achieved the recognized, legendary status Leica has in photography. But even fewer have successfully leveraged and transformed their expertise into the broad range of products outside of their primary field that Leica offers.

The winning combination of Leica’s quality and impeccable style makes for an intriguingly diverse selection of gifts to draw from for the discerning folks on your list this season, including superb options for people who, simply put, don’t take pictures very much.

While Leica has a history of licensing its name to various watchmakers, the Wetzlar, Germany-based brand has more recently begun pouring its in-house, innovative spirit into producing its own watches and movements, with development starting in 2015. That effort led to the launch of the now legendary L1 and L2 watches in 2018.
 

Shutter-advance to today, and the 41mm steel ZM 2 Urban Green timepiece, launched this year, exemplifies Leica’s bold hybrid time/photo spirit for the wrist. Of course, as primarily a photo product maker, a great deal of attention was paid to the color and appearance of the exquisite fumé noir green dial.

However, its unique use of dial and case real estate communicates a certain sense of camera-like efficiency: Minimal two-hand time-telling and gauging; a large small-seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock; understated date aperture at 3 o’clock; and graphic indicators for watch mode, day/night status, and power reserve combine with camera-control-inspired details like a patented pusher at 2 o’clock for setting modes and knurled 3 o’clock crown and adjustment control at 4 o’clock.
 

Finally, a hand-wound Leica ZM 2 movement, visible through the caseback, with 60 hours of power reserve, runs the photoshoot.

When it comes to toting, protecting, and storing photographic equipment, Leica’s camera bags, often produced in partnership with the UK’s Billingham outfitters, occupy a ne plus ultra level of respect from the camera community. Of course, the durability, impact protection, apportionment, size, and weight of this tote for users of the pro-spec Leica M Camera system have all been crafted with the traveling professional photographer in mind.

But this khaki canvas/tan leather execution also carries beaucoup safari-adventure authenticity and style. After all, there’s no law that says you can’t leave the camera gear at home for the weekend and use it as an impressive piece of luggage. In that sense, it’s a perfect spy-camera double agent.
 

Pro golfers, more so than pro photographers, have made the Leica Pinmaster II Rangefinder system such an essential piece of gear.

While the Pinmaster shoots out an eye-safe laser to calculate distance to the desired target (like a golf green hole flag), it turns out that view-finder optics and magnification, eye cup comfort, and signal measuring technology make all the difference in accurate distance calculating – things Leica is more than renowned for.
 

Coming in a durable, compact 7.8-ounce carbon fiber-reinforced impact-resistant plastic package, this gadget won’t add much weight to your recipient’s golf bag, but it will give them hyper-accurate distance data to improve their club selections and game.