Leica Releases New Luxury Camera Wrap Cloth
News | By Stephan Jukic | November 24, 2022
Leica, a company known for premium photographic hardware, also likes to release plenty of luxury accessories for its own products and other photographic equipment.
Their latest is a camera wrapping cloth made from “Italian hair sheep napa leather”. Whatever that means, the cloth is claimed to be at least partly handcrafted and ideal for protecting your own Leica lenses, compact cameras and compact binoculars.
Camera wrapping cloths are also something of a premium and even old-fashioned product in general. Most photographers going out into the field with their own equipment will usually just directly use a more conventional equipment case or bag.
But, for those with high-end camera preferences, leather cloths do seem to like a good idea for a bit more waterproof insulation against bumps and dust.
If you’re such a photographer, then the Leica cloth is definitely up your alley. It does indeed offer a durable additional layer of protection against bumps, dust and moisture for your cameras or lenses, and if either of these items among your equipment is from the Leica brand, protecting them is definitely a good idea.
Other brands that have also previously introduced wrapping cloths (whether from Italian hair sheep leather or otherwise) as accessories for their premium camera hardware include Phase One and Hasselblad. Both are well known for their own very expensive cameras and gear.
In Leica’s case, its wrapping cloth is both premium and “multifunctional” in its design. The napa leather that goes into it is known for being both soft and very tough and was sourced from a producer with a 180-year tradition of making handcrafted leather goods.
Leica has added a strong elastic band to its cloth for easy and snug wrapping of hardware or lenses. Furthermore, the size of the single seamless single sheet of leather measures at 45 x 45 cm (17.5 x 17.5 inches). This makes it large enough to work for a fairly decent size range of camera models and lenses.
According to Leica, “With its silky feel, practical functionality, and elegant Leica design, this versatile wrapping cloth is a stylish and durable accessory,”
Leica has also treated the leather to repel dust and claims that each unit will develop its own unique patina for a “characteristic appearance”, mainly because of its natural origin.
As for the price of the Leica wrapping cloth, it also makes for a pretty expensive piece of sheepskin. The brand is selling them for $175 each, but then if you already own Leica lenses and cameras, that might not seem so bad.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
